Rahlves skips final practice

SESTRIERE, Italy – A bit of gamesmanship? Overconfidence? Or, as Daron Rahlves and his U.S. skiing coaches insisted, merely a chance to rest?

One stellar practice run in his pocket, gold medal favorite Rahlves skipped an Olympic downhill training session Friday in the Alps near Turin, figuring he could do without the extra work.

That’s right: Rahlves passed up a chance to test the tricky turns and uneven terrain of the Kandahar Banchetta course two days before he’ll be hurtling along at up to 75 mph during Alpine skiing’s glamour event, trying to win his first Olympic medal.

On the other hand, there’s no penalty for not showing up; starting positions for Sunday’s race will be determined in today’s third and final training. Plus, Rahlves already knows the route well: He won the last World Cup race here in 2004 and made a point of taking extra test runs earlier this week.

“I felt really comfortable on the course, and the weather is looking to be the same,” Rahlves said, “so I’m just going to rest and come back for (today).”

His absence lent a taste of pre-Olympic intrigue in the mountains. On a clear day, with temperatures in the 20s and Eminem blaring over loudspeakers, Bode Miller turned up his intensity, a pair of Austrians served notice they are ready for a showdown with the Americans, and Steve Nyman earned a berth on the U.S. squad.

While Rahlves wasn’t there, he was on many competitors’ minds thanks to a blistering training run Thursday that put him more than a second faster than anyone else. Several skiers spoke admiringly of Rahlves’ decision to take a day off so soon before the real deal.

“He’s the coolest guy ever,” said Liechtenstein’s Marco Buechel, who won a World Cup downhill in December. “He beats everybody by 1.2 seconds – and the next day, he’s not even around.”

Two-time gold medalist Hermann Maier liked the strategy, too.

“Rahlves is very clever,” Maier said, “because if he knows the course, and he had such a good run, and the slope is suited to him, then it was smart to stay in the RV.”

Others called Rahlves the clear favorite.

“I still pick Daron as my No. 1 pick,” said Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, sixth in the overall World Cup standings. “He did well yesterday. He has good self-confidence.

“You have your own program, and you don’t worry about anyone else.”

Klaus Kroell secured his place on the always-competitive Austrian downhill team by logging the day’s fastest time, 1 minute, 49.75 seconds – 0.29 slower than Rahlves was 24 hours before. Another Austrian, defending Olympic champion Fritz Strobl, was 0.36 behind his teammate.

After coasting home with the 16th-best time Thursday, Miller got serious and was the quickest through the first two-thirds of the run before easing out of his crouch and slowing to come in seventh.

Wearing a red-and-black knit cap and sunglasses, his skis slung over his shoulders, Miller sauntered off without offering much more than praise for the course. It’s unusual when he doesn’t have much to say – as the world has learned the past few months.

If Miller is the team’s mouth, Rahlves is its acknowledged leader.

“It’s really fun to see veterans like Daron around being able to set the pace and then see the young guys fitting right in and learning from them,” U.S. men’s Alpine director Jesse Hunt said. “The kid’s so solid … sets a really good example.”

Rahlves, a 32-year-old Californian, would love to cap a brilliant career with Olympic success. He’s won 12 World Cup races and the 2001 super-G world title, but never fared better than eighth at a Winter Games.

“I’m proud of the accomplishments I’ve had,” Rahlves said last month, “and I want to keep it going.”

Some skiers use practice sessions to read the course or decide how to attack it rather than trying to post impressive times, but the day carried true significance for a trio of Americans competing for two berths in Sunday’s downhill.

Rahlves and overall World Cup champion Miller already owned two of the country’s four places, and Nyman – who has broken each leg in the past few years – barely claimed another spot with his 11th-place finish.

Marco Sullivan (0.24 seconds behind Nyman) or Steve Macartney (0.27) will compete for the last American spot today. They finished 12th and 13th.