Austrian alpine skier Benjamin Raich has extended his lead atop the overall World Cup standings, by winning a men's super-combi event in Chamonix, France.
Raich was only 17th after Friday morning's downhill leg, but he did well enough in the lengthy afternoon slalom run to give him the best combined time. Austrian teammate Rainer Schoenfelder was runner-up, 0.83 second slower (2:36.48 to 2:37.31).
American Bode Miller, returning from a brief golfing break in Dubai, placed third, about one second behind Raich (2:37.47). It was Miller's third podium result in the combined this season.
Austrian star Hermann Maier posted the third-quickest time in the downhill but later withdrew from the race in protest. The Austrian was unhappy with the race's format, arguing that the downhill had been shortened too much and the slalom leg was too long, favoring the technical skiers. The downhill was shortened 530 meters and the slalom included 64 gates.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
