KITZBUEHEL, Austria — In a race as treacherous as any and as nerve-racking as the Olympics, Daron Rahlves and Bode Miller gave the United States a big lift leading to next month's Turin Games.
Rahlves finished third in a World Cup downhill Saturday on the perilous Streif course while Miller, the reigning overall World Cup champion, was fourth.
"Kitzbuehel is the ultimate in downhill skiing," said Rahlves, who plans to retire after this season. "There is no place like it in the world. I didn't win, but being on the podium is still a nice way to go out."
Austria's Michael Walchhofer of Austria tamed the World Cup's most prestigious slope with his second downhill victory of the season. Liechtenstein's Marco Buechel was second, 0.05 seconds behind. Walchhofer was timed in 1 minute, 46.75 seconds on a run shortened because of dangerous fog on the upper part of the Hahnenkamm mountain.
Another Austrian, Fritz Strobl, had a far rougher day. He broke his left hand, threatening his chance to defend his Olympic downhill title. He lost control after landing on the tails of his skis during a jump, but found his footing again after smashing through a gate. He was expected to have surgery in Salzburg on Saturday night.
U.S. coach John McBride called this race a "great result" for the Americans.
In women's races at St. Moritz, Switzerland, Lindsey Kildow has this uneasy feeling about the Olympics, and she wonders how she can turn things around next month.
She finished 17th Saturday in a World Cup downhill won by Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister. She has failed to finish better than ninth in her last five speed races, troubled by the same problems each time. That does not put her in a good frame of mind with the Torino Games looming.
"That's the thing I'm worried about," the American star told The Associated Press.
The 32-year-old Dorfmeister, in her final season before retirement, won a day after capturing a super-G. The Austrian covered the Corviglia course in 1 minute, 43.76 seconds for her first downhill victory this season and padded her lead in the discipline standings. She has four other top-three downhill results.
"To win twice in 24 hours — unbelievable," said Dorfmeister, who has 24 World Cup victories. "It's an amazing series. Like a dream. I'm not sure about a triple with the super-combi tomorrow."
Teammate Renate Goetschl was second in 1:43.83 for her first podium of the season. Croatia's Janica Kostelic, the overall World Cup leader who last week won a downhill for the first time, was third in 1:43.95.
U.S. SKI JUMPING: At Lake Placid, N.Y., World Cup aerials leader Evelyne Leu of Switzerland earned her second victory of the season Saturday in a competition reduced to one round of jumping because of gusting winds.
The men's event was postponed until Sunday.
After the women completed what was to be their qualifying round in light rain, with 12 to move into the finals, the winds picked up at the MacKenzie-Intervale Jumping Complex.
Several hours later, organizers declared the qualifying results as the official results and said the men's one-round contest would begin Sunday.
"We never got a chance for the men," said Konrad Rotermund, race director for the International Ski Federation. "Once the winds arrived and picked up, it was unsafe to jump, and there was nothing we could but wait."
Leu's double-twisting-double with a layout (two twists, two flips) was worth 102.98 points. Russian Anna Zukal and Canadian Amber Peterson tied for second place at 90.09 with similar double-twisting doubles.
The postponement means Sunday will be a doubleheader, with moguls starting in the morning at Whiteface Mountain, outside Lake Placid, and aerials at the MacKenzie-Intervale site.
WORLD CUP JUMPING: At Sapporo, Japan, Norway's Roar Ljoekelsoey had the day's longest jump Sunday to capture his first World Cup ski jumping title of the season. Ljoekelsoey soared 140 meters on his first jump on the K120 Okurayama hill and followed up with a second jump of 125.5 to finish with 281.4 points.
"I like this hill very much, it suits my technique," said Ljoekelsoey, who won in Sapporo last year. "I had two really good jumps today and this win will give me a lot of a lot of confidence heading to the Olympics."
Japan's Daiki Ito was second with jumps of 137.5 and 128 meters for 280.9 points while compatriot Takanobu Okabe was third with 258 points after jumps of 117.5 and 137.5 meters.
Many of the top jumpers, including overall World Cup leader Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic and defending world champion Janne Ahonen of Finland, decided to sit out the event with the Winter Olympics less than a month away.
Norway's Bjoern Einar Romoeren, who won Saturday's event, finished fifth with 247.2 points after jumps of 122.5 and 126.5 meters.
Janda leads the overall standings with 872 points, followed by Ahonen with 755. With Sunday's win, Ljoekelsoey moved into third place with 590 points.