Rahlves walks away wistfully

SESTRIERE, Italy -- He can always smile.

Through any emotion, any situation, the smile shines boyishly beneath a crop of surfer-dude sandy hair belying his 32 years.

And, yesterday, belying the sad end to the Olympic career of one of American skiing's best.

Halfway through the first run of the giant slalom, Daron Rahlves, better known as ''D Money," was late on a turn, skied low, and missed a gate. Off course. Race over. Games over. Olympic career over.

And yet, that smile.

''It wasn't for lack of trying, that's for sure," Rahlves said as he talked quietly with reporters, recalling how he, like the rest of the US Ski Team, came here with high hopes. But after a slow downhill followed by a slower super-G, Rahlves cashed in his last chance and came up empty -- 0 for 3.

''I definitely wanted to walk away being on top here. And I had my chances," he said. ''I had three chances. I was skiing well all year, and it's just kind of wacky how the wheels fell off and I wasn't able to get it done here. It's probably going to take a little while to figure out what happened. But I've definitely got a sour taste in my mouth right now. This is the last time I'll ski in an event like this."

Rahlves, of Truckee, Calif., where he lives with his wife, Michelle, when he's not traveling the World Cup circuit in his RV, was clearly looking for answers. As a medal favorite in the downhill last week he placed 10th and never challenged for the podium, leaving Bode Miller as the top American in fifth.

A few days later was the super-G, a discipline Rahlves does not favor, saying he can't find a comfortable rhythm. He was tantalizingly mediocre -- only four-10ths of a second from the podium, but finishing ninth.

That left yesterday's giant slalom, and though he is ranked only 10th in the world in the discipline, Rahlves felt his training was good and that he could have a good race.

Over the top of the course, through turns that should have favored his quick feet, Rahlves was quickly four-10ths of a second behind by the first interval, and in the next portion, a steep transition with some tough technical turns -- again, Rahlves's forté -- he went too straight on a lefthand turn, leaving him no room to make the hard righthander that came next. He skied off course, and with a dispirited pause, gathered himself and skied slowly to the finish, where he talked to reporters.

''This is not the way I wanted to end it off," he said. ''Not quite the way I wanted to step back into Truckee. But you've just got to step forward and move ahead. The Olympics is a great place to showcase yourself and what you've got. You step forward for your country and your team and all that.

''We've won in every event this year. But here . . . it just sucks. It was definitely a poor performance."

Most skiers regard Olympic races like any other, subject to the whims of luck, seeding, and weather conditions. The consistency to win World Cup championships holds more long-term prestige, they say. And yet Olympic medals, with their historical significance and endorsement potential, still can define careers.

In his Olympic debut in Nagano in 1998, Rahlves finished seventh in the super-G and 20th in the giant slalom, both top finishes among Americans. Four years later in Salt Lake City, he slipped to eighth in the super-G (after winning the discipline in the 2001 World Championships), and came in 16th in the downhill.

But then his World Cup success began his rise in the international rankings. In 2003, he placed second in downhill in the World Cup standings, and next year was second in both downhill and super-G. At last year's world championships he won silver in downhill and bronze in giant slalom.

Three World Cup downhill wins this season gave him a US men's-record nine victories for his 13-year career, six more than runner-up Bill Johnson. Picabo Street also had nine for the US women.

Rahlves says he plans to finish out the World Cup tour this year, though it is all but mathematically impossible for him to meet his goal of winning the overall title. Then it's back to southern California to ski and ride his dirt bike, and, of course, surf.

''I have some more racing ahead on World Cup, but that'll be the end," he said. ''I don't want [to race] at Beaver Creek next year because I wouldn't want to just show up and ski like this. If I trained all summer and was ready to ski physically, that's the only way I could ski again. And I'm not going to do that. It's over for me."