Triple crown

Page 2 of 2 -- But last summer Miller made a decision that may have proved momentous. He switched to skis made by Atomic, an Austrian manufacturer well known for producing the fastest downhill skis, and once the exclusive provider of skis to the famed Austrian ski team. Now both Miller and fellow US downhill threat Daron Rahlves are skiing Atomic.

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The new combination of boot and binding has changed Miller's approach. "I can be more aerodynamic now," he said. "Before, I was doing so much to compensate for my awkward setup that my chest was always up [slowing him down in the glide]. I'd end up needing to make up all my time on the turny parts of the courses."

A mega star in Europe, where ski racing is the king of winter sports, Miller for a while toyed with the idea of not pressing his career to the heights he has now attained. Instead of switching to Atomic, which could give him the potential to win every race, he could have picked a company with a lesser race program and stayed at the level of a "good and solid racer," winning a few events over the course of a season but leaving the big fame to skiers like Maier.

"I thought about that a lot," said Miller. "I have no interest at all in expanding my status as a star. And that's something I'm risking in a big way right now. Once you go down that road, there's no going back. Once you have people following you around and you become the target of paparazzi and people wanting to know about your life all the time, you just can't get away from that crap once it starts. And that's something I have zero interest in. It would put a serious damper on my ability to enjoy my life."

But the pressures to excel in the top tier of international ski racing are enormous, he says, since so many people benefit from a winning athlete's performance. "There's a huge engine pushing you -- just a lot of people who get all the good things but don't have to deal with the crappy things. More salary money for coaches and administration, easier fund-raising for my team, more branding for sponsors and more recognition. There's a ton of money invested and a ton of people for whom that is their entire job. I don't have any extra energy to dig my heels in against that. So that's an area where there's a lot of risk for me. And it's been happening for the last five or six years. That's why I seriously thought of not making the choice I did."

Always underlying his approach to life and sports is the deeply rooted country boy who spent his early years in a backwoods cabin without running water, and was let free to romp on the slopes of Cannon Mountain in Franconia. Ever the purist, Miller considers the enjoyment of racing to be far from the numbers on the screen when he crosses the finish.

"When I ski down and don't do well in a downhill -- if I'm 2 seconds out or whatever -- it doesn't make that a not enjoyable day. I've skied races that don't feel that good and been really fast, and I've skied races that felt really good but I was slow. The enjoyment comes from letting both of those go and just doing your thing out there between the starting gate and the finish. That's what I race for."

Whether the 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pounder, who also teaches tennis and plays golf, is committed to winning the overall World Cup this year by competing in slalom, GS, super G, and downhill, only time will tell. But this weekend's four races, the last before the tour heads to Europe, should be a good indicator.

Last season, Miller did lead the overall at one point before failing to score in his last three events and letting Maier slip into the lead. But for head US Alpine coach Phil McNichol, the early speed races in Canada were, in a word, "shocking."

"Bode outdid his expectations and he outdid ours," said McNichol, pointing out that the wide-track gliding course had never before appealed to Miller's technical prowess. "We were as shocked as anyone else."