Walchhofer was timed in 1:56.70 with World Cup leader Didier Cuche of Switzerland, who won Friday's super G, second (1:56.88). Macartney finished in 1:57.26 while Miller's time was 1:57.85. T.J. Lanning (Park City, UT), starting 54th in the field of 60, was 31st, bumped out of the points, i.e., top 30 racers, by the next-to-last skier. Steven Nyman (Provo, UT), who won in Val Gardena last season, fell on the upper part of the course.
Macartney's top-3 was the second of the day by a U.S. skier, following less than an hour behind the second-place downhill result from Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
"I didn't do anything amazing, just charged and had a mostly mistake-free run," Macartney said. "I skied clean at the top."
"I thought 'Uh oh'..."
Macartney felt he was having a strong run, but added, "It's always hard to tell how fast you're going. The run felt clean. I felt I was carrying good speed, but you never feel really fast. I got massive air off the Camels and I thought, 'Uh oh' - but I pulled it off."
Macartney paused and agreed with a reporter, "Yeah, never a bad time for a podium."
"This is awesome. 'Scotty Mac' has been paying his dues for a long time and this is a sweet payback for him," said Men's DH Head Coach Chris Brigham.
It was the second podium of his career for Macartney, a two-time Olympian from Dartmouth College. He's in his 10th season on the U.S. Ski Team. In 2006, heading into the Torino Olympics, he was second in a super G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Saturday, he became the fifth U.S. man to reach the podium this season.
"The biggest thing, and what I really like, is this is the third downhill of the season and I'm the third different American to be on the podium," he said. Previously, Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) was second in Lake Louise and Steven Nyman (Provo, UT) was second at the Charles Schwab Birds of Prey DH (behind Walchhofer) in Beaver Creek, CO. Other U.S. top-3s have come from Miller in Friday's super G and Ted Ligety (Park City, UT), who has been top-3 in two giant slaloms. "I'm psyched to be with those guys. It's a good group," Macartney said.
The 3.4K Saslong speed course is one of the sport's classic downhill runs, threading from sunshine at the top of the course through a tree-lined run where shadows flicker. The fabled Camel Bumps produce big jumps and have claimed numerous skiers through the years.
Macartney said he didn't take any extraordinary time on the pre-race course inspection. "I always tend to take a while. I wanted to get a good plan in my head."
Under a new seeding system this season, the top seven downhillers get a random draw for start positions between 16-22. Running 23rd, Macartney said he knew the best racers had gone just before him. When he hit the finish and looked to the timing leader board, it took a few seconds to find his name and number - at No. 3.
Mac: "Oh yeah, there I am..."
"It's nice to come down when you've done well. I saw all the top numbers on the board and I was trying to find my place...and, 'Oh yeah, there I am.' It felt pretty darn good," he said.
"Mac stuck with his plan. I think he learned quite a bit from his super G yesterday [Macartney started 50th and finished 23rd]. He had a great run. He skied well on top, really well through the first set of bumps and was really hauling across that first flat...and he kept it going to the bottom," Brigham said.
Lanning's near-miss was frustrating, but Brigham said it was another strong race for him. "He's the real deal. He was here for the first time last season and he's learning every day. This was a good week for T.J. This was a good day for the North Americans, two U.S. and two Canadians in the top 10...a good day."
The men's Audi FIS World Cup schedule swings from speed events to gate-running for the next two days. The men race a giant slalom Sunday in Alta Badia and a slalom Monday.
A full gallery of photos from Val Gardena are available at
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
AUDI FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP
40th Saslong Classic
Val Gardena, ITA - Dec. 15, 2007
Men's Downhill
1. Michael Walchhofer, Austria, 1:56.70
2. Didier Cuche, Switzerland, 1:56.88
3. Scott Macartney, Crystal Mountain, WA, 1:57.26
4. Erik Guay, Canada, 1:57.54
5. Ambrosi Hoffmann, Switzerland, 1:57.62
-
8. Bode Miller, Bretton Woods, NH, 1:57.85
31. T.J. Lanning, Park City, UT, 1:59.33
41. Marco Sullivan, Squaw Valley, CA, 1:59.63
-
DNF:
Steven Nyman, Provo, UT; Andrew Weibrecht, Lake Placid, NY
Macartney Podiums in Val Gardena DH
Macartney Podiums in Val Gardena DH
