SOELDEN, Austria, 25 October 2004 — Bode Miller began his bid to become the first American in 22 years to win the Alpine ski overall World Cup with a convincing victory yesterday.

Charging down the Rettenbach glacier with his usual aggression, Miller held on to a first-leg lead to win the opening giant slalom of the men’s season by a gap of more than one second, clocking two minutes 16.44 seconds.

Italian Massimiliano Blardone was second in 2:17.61 with Finn Kalle Palander, who just lost the giant slalom World Cup to Miller last season, third in 2:17.92.

Defending overall champion Hermann Maier of Austria finished 15th, 2.20 seconds behind Miller, but declared himself happy after a difficult run-in to the season.

Miller, who also won here last year, reveled in difficult conditions on the rough, hard course, which dropped 360 meters from a starting altitude of 3,050 meters.

“The conditions were perfect. The more difficult it is, the better it is for me,” said Miller, who has switched to Austrian skis this season.

“It was great to see that I was right to change equipment,” said Miller, who hopes the new skis will help him to win a downhill for the first time.

Miller, 27, wants to be the first American since Phil Mahre to be crowned the best all-round skier of the five-month season.

Blardone was delighted with the third podium place of his career, despite complaining that his skiing was “horrible” in the first leg.

“In the past I have often had trouble keeping focused for two runs in a row; this year I am happy to see that I am very strong mentally,” said Blardone. “I feel ready to win a race.”

Palander, a former slalom world champion, had never been inside the top 10 at Soelden before and was delighted to finish third on one of his least favorite hills.

“I hate this course, it is a terrible course and I have never skied well here so for me to be on the podium is fantastic,” said Palander, who was joint second with Blardone after the first leg. Frenchman Joel Chenal, third here last season, finished fourth, 1.51 seconds behind Miller, with Austria’s Hans Knauss a further 0.10 seconds back.

Maier, whose return after a motorcycle accident three years ago in which he nearly lost a leg astonished his fellow skiers, has been recovering from a back muscle injury.