ALPINE:

Minus Kostelic, men's super-combi title is up for grabs

Feb. 13, 2011 — The Canadian Press 

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — The only man to win a World Cup super-combined race this season is skipping Monday's event at the World Championships, leaving the field for gold wide-open.

Ivica Kostelic, who took all three races on the World Cup season, is taking a break from the worlds and will return only for the GS and slalom later this week.

The Croatian's absence boosts the chances of rivals like defending champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and World Cup super-combined champion Benjamin Raich of Austria.

"The top favourite is not here, so it should be easier to win a medal," said Raich, who has won five World Cup super-combined races in his career. "With two good runs, I will have my chances for sure. It's going to be close and exciting."

Raich has won seven medals at World Championships, including gold in the 2005 combined event. He also took bronze in the same discipline at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

"It's been quite a long time," the Austrian said. "It makes me aware that getting good results is nothing that comes easy. Everything must fit together."

Svindal dominated the super-combined race at the 2009 worlds, finishing almost a second ahead of second-place Julien Lizeroux of France.

The Norwegian said that competing at the World Championships or Olympic Games inspires him.

"I embrace the fact that you're part of something that's not an everyday thing, it's something bigger," Svindal said. "Instead of making that into stress, I try to take energy from that."

Svindal took third in the last super-combined prior to worlds, in January at Chamonix, France.

After the speed events at the worlds, he said he was "going to try to get a couple of slalom turns in one of these days. I'll be ready for the super-combined."

Bode Miller will be looking to recapture the title he won at the 2003 worlds in St. Moritz, Switzerland. However, the American standout has not finished on a super-combined podium in three races since taking the Olympic title a year ago.

U.S. men's coach Sasha Rearick told The Associated Press that Miller had to step up a gear after placing a disappointing 15th in Saturday's downhill race, in which Miller appeared to stand up out of his tuck on the lower section.

"That wasn't the effort I want to see from him," Rearick said. "It was not the skiing that he can do."

Rearick was impressed with Miller's performance in Wednesday's super-G, where he lost a pole and lost balance at the final section.

"Things were just not going his way but he was skiing fantastic there," Rearick said. "The effort he brought into the super-G, that's the kind of skiing that I want to see from him."

Like Kostelic, overall World Cup champion Carlo Janka is skipping the race, which leaves teammate Silvan Zurbriggen as Switzerland's main medal hope.

Zurbriggen has finished in the top three of a World Cup combined race seven times.

"I was diappointed after the downhill," said Zurbriggen, who placed 12th in Saturday's race, which was won by Erik Guay of Canada ahead of Didier Cuche.