Originally published Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Winter Sports | Bode Miller earns downhill victory

Finally, Bode Miller of Bretton Woods, N. H., won in Norway. He skied a nearly flawless run Saturday to take a World Cup downhill on Kvitfjell's...

By The Associated Press

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KNUT FALCH / AP

American Bode Miller reacts after finishing Saturday's World Cup downhill race in Kvitfjell, Norway.

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KVITFJELL, Norway — Finally, Bode Miller of Bretton Woods, N.H., won in Norway.

He skied a nearly flawless run Saturday to take a World Cup downhill on Kvitfjell's Olympic course. Miller finished 0.40 seconds ahead of Didier Cuche of Switzerland and increased his lead in the overall standings.

"It was good. I really pushed it hard," said Miller, who covered the 1.9-mile course in 1 minute, 46.16 seconds.

Werner Heel of Italy was third, a day after he beat Miller on the same course to win a downhill for his first World Cup victory.

This was Miller's third downhill victory of the season and the 31st World Cup victory of his career.

Miller became the third American to win in Kvitfjell since Tommy Moe earned gold at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Kyle Rasmussen won a World Cup downhill and finished third in a super-giant slalom in 1995. Daron Rahlves won back-to-back downhills in 2000 and a Super-G in 2004.

Miller boosted his overall lead over Cuche, the defending downhill champion. Miller has 1,283 points. Cuche is second with 1,118 and Austria's Benjamin Raich is third with 1,058.

"Yesterday, after only one training run, I really didn't feel I could go 100 percent," Miller said. "Today, I knew what it was going to feel like. I knew the bumps.

"I cleaned up a few of the spots where I had trouble yesterday."

Americans Marco Sullivan and Steven Nyman each crashed into a safety net and escaped injury.

Notes

• Denise Karbon of Italy secured the World Cup giant-slalom title without strapping on her skis. The race in Zwiesel, Germany, was canceled because of rain and strong winds.

A slalom event was postponed from Saturday to today.

• It was a California sweep for women at the junior world figure-skating championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Rachael Flatt of Del Mar won the title with 112.03 points. Irvine's Caroline Zhang, who won the title last year, was second with 109.24 points. U.S. senior champion Mirai Nagasu of Arcadia took the bronze medal with 97.82.

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