Solbakken denies Maier in Super-G
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Solbakken (center) celebrates his victory, flanked by Maier (left) and Knauss.
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| SUPER-G RESULTS |
1. B. Solbakken (Nor) 1:132
2. H. Maier (Aut) 1:13.44
3. H. Knauss (Aut) 1:13.50
4. P. Fill (Ita) 1:13.58
5. D. Cuche (Sui) 1:13.73
6. L. Kjus (Nor) 1:13.76
7. A. Schifferer (Aut) 1:13.85
8. P. Jaerbyn (Swe) 1:13.95
9. C. Gruber (Aut) 1:14.04
10. A. Hoffmann (Sui) 1:14.06
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| OVERALL STANDINGS |
1. H. Maier (Aut) 405
2. H. Knauss (Aut) 288
3. A. Schifferer (Aut) 275
4. B. Solbakken (Nor) 273
5. M. Walchhofer (Aut) 270
6 S. Eberharter (Aut) 215
7. B. Miller (U.S.) 213
8. D. Rahlves (U.S.) 211
9. L. Kjus (Nor) 205
10. K. Palander (Fin) 169
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BEAVER CREEK, Colorado -- Norway's Bjarne Solbakken denied Austrian comeback king Hermann Maier his second World Cup win of the weekend as he took Sunday's Super-G at Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Solbakken, joint second behind Damon Rahlves in Friday's downhill, had 0.39 seconds in hand in claiming his maiden victory.
Maier, who has made an stunning return from a serious motorcycle crash two years ago, had hoped to celebrate his 31st birthday by taking his third World Cup title in eight days.
The Austrian was almost a second faster than the rest of the field in earning his first downhill win since 2001 on Saturday.
But the 26-year-old Solbakken, who had never been on a World Cup podium until Friday, set a blistering time of one minute 13.05 seconds in difficult conditions.
Maier's Austrian teammate Hans Knauss was third, 0.45 seconds behind Solbakken, with Italian Peter Fill earning a career-best fourth place in 1:13.58.
Good feeling
"I had a good feeling here from day one," said Solbakken, who races in every event except the slalom and could provide Norway with another threat for the overall title.
"I was second in training and I was second in the first downhill. I did not do so well in the second downhill because I could not sleep after my first podium. But last night I could sleep and I just put down a good, clean run.
"I knew I could compete against the best but I did not expect to win."
While Maier was not able to celebrate his birthday with a win the double Olympic champion will still rate his trip to North America as a huge success.
Maier arrived in Lake Louise, Canada, last week with questions hanging over his form as he continued to battle back from a near-fatal motorcycle crash that shattered his right leg and left his career in doubt.
But in the span of eight days Maier proved he was back near his best, registering a pair of wins and a second place.
"Yes, I had a great weekend," said Maier, who received a birthday cake during the podium presentations. "I feel great, now we'll see how it goes when we return to Europe."
