Dalcin wins downhill at Val d'Isere, Miller falls

VAL D'ISERE, France (AP) _ Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin ended a 12-year winless streak for French skiers in their nation's most famous downhill, while Bode Miller misjudged a turn Saturday and fell in

Saturday, January 20th 2007, 6:27 am

By: News On 6

VAL D'ISERE, France (AP) _ Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin ended a 12-year winless streak for French skiers in their nation's most famous downhill, while Bode Miller misjudged a turn Saturday and fell in the World Cup race.

Canada's Erik Guay and Manuel Osborne-Paradis were second and third. The top American was 19th-place Scott McCartney.

Dalcin captured his first World Cup victory by finishing the Oreiller-Killy course in 1 minute, 56.37 seconds. Guay was 0.26 seconds slower, and Osborne-Paradis was a further 0.06 behind.

Dalcin said being among the first to go down the course probably favored him.

``The piste started to warm up a bit and that was to my advantage because I went earlier,'' he said. ``But I did a great race and I have the ability to be out in front.''

Miller went inside on his skis on a turn on the top section of the course and toppled over. He refused to talk about his fall, but could be heard complaining ``it wasn't even a hard turn'' in discussions with U.S. ski team officials.

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway leads the World Cup overall standings with 725 points, Didier Cuche of Switzerland is second with 677 and Miller is third with 640. Cuche tops the downhill standings with 436, followed by Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein (329), and Italy's Peter Fill (318).

The previous Frenchman to win the downhill at Val d'Isere was Luc Alphand in 1995.

``I always wondered what I would feel (after a win),'' Dalcin said. ``When it happens, it's a strong feeling. It's a relief to tell yourself that, when you look at the results, your name will be next to the number one.''

Dalcin's previous career best was second place in a super-giant slalom at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in January 2004, and his previous best downhill was seventh at Bormio, Italy, in December 2005.