Miller wins super-combi title, increases lead
Bode Miller was far from his best in the slalom portion of Sunday’s World Cup super-combi in Val d’Isere, France, and that might be why the American won both the race and clinched the discipline title.
“I was at 40 percent in the slalom,” Miller said after winning in a combined time of 2 minutes, 18.45 seconds. “I know that if I’m at 100 percent in the slalom, chances are that I won’t finish.”
The American skied the Face de Bellevarde downhill leg in 1:33.88 in the morning, 1.37 seconds faster than second-place Didier Defago of Switzerland. Most of the slalom specialists trailed by more than a second.
Miller’s 30th win on the World Cup circuit, and fifth this season, was enough to give him his third super-combi title with 410 points. He won the discipline in 2003 and 2004.
The win also increased Miller’s lead in the overall World Cup standings.
Miller has 1,067 points after 28 races. Benjamin Raich of Austria is second with 945, and downhill leader Didier Cuche of Switzerland is next with 882.
•Emily Brydon of Canada won a super-G for her first World Cup victory, while Lindsey Vonn of the United States just missed a top-three finish in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Vonn, who missed the podium by 0.01 seconds, is second in the overall World Cup standings. Nicole Hosp of Austria still leads overall with 957 points. Vonn follows with 868, ahead of Super-G leader Maria Riesch with 781.
•Shani Davis of the United States won the 1,500-meter race and Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic won the 3,000 to clinch the overall title at a speedskating World Cup event in Baselga di Pine, Italy.
•Three-time Olympic champion Andre Lange of Germany picked up his first victory in more than a year in a four-man sled at a bobsled World Cup race in Koenigsee, Germany. Russian Alexander Subkov was second and American Steven Holcomb was third.
Tennis
Fed Cup delayed
Steady rain washed out Sunday’s matches at the Fed Cup quarterfinal between Germany and the United States, forcing organizers in San Diego to try again today.
The best-of-5 series is tied at 1-1.
The winner will move on to face defending champion Russia, which reached the semifinals behind Maria Sharapova. China and Spain also reached the semifinals.
Auto racing
Hamilton taunted
Lewis Hamilton endured racist taunts from spectators at Formula One testing, Spanish media reported.
The 23-year-old from Britain, F1’s first black driver, was jeered and insulted when he moved between the McLaren motorhome and the team’s garage at the Montmelo circuit on Saturday.
Circuit director Ramon Pradera instructed staff to erect barriers around the team’s paddock for Hamilton’s safety, the reports said. Banners making references to Hamilton and team boss Ron Dennis were removed while the stands directly above McLaren’s garage were cleared to ensure no debris could be thrown down when the car returned to the pit lane.