Italian Mother and Her Son Give Miller a Lift Home

Mind if I ride along?

After U.S. skier Bode Miller won the morning downhill portion of the men’s combined at Sestriere Borgata, he skipped out of the mixed zone and ran through the mud, in his ski boots, in search of the fastest route back to his motor home.

As people chanted his name, “Bode! Bode!” Miller cut through a line and plopped himself on the chairlift next to two unsuspecting Italians -- Paola Vicari and her 13-year-old son, Lorenzo.

The Vicaris were thrilled that their 15-minute uphill ride back to Sestriere would include the World Cup overall champion.

The mother and son speak very little English, but they knew they had someone special on board.

“Mama, it’s Bode!” Vicari said her son told her.

Miller didn’t talk much on this chair-lift ride, but he did scribble out two autographs on yellow Post-it notes. He signed “Bode.”

The Vicaris said they would be rooting for Italy’s Georgio Rocca in the evening portion of the combined, but they would never forget their chair-lift ride with a “celebrity.”

Rocca, by the way, finished fifth in the event.

Miller straddled a gate in the first run of slalom and was disqualified.