SOELDEN, Austria, 26 October 2004 — Bode Miller and Anja Paerson set off on parallel paths as the Alpine ski World Cup season began at the weekend.

Both won their opening giant slaloms of the campaign, carrying on where they left off when last season ended in March.

Both declared themselves ready to branch out from technical ski racing to the speed events of downhill and super-G.

Paerson, who triumphed in Saturday’s opening women’s event on the Rettenbach glacier, won last season’s overall World Cup without conspicuous success in the speed events — sixth was her best in super-G and 21st in downhill.

But she won 11 technical races and was helped by the absence of the previous year’s overall champion Janica Kostelic, who made her comeback from illness and injury on Saturday with eighth place.

Rarely does a skier take the all-round crown without collecting regular points in downhill and super-G, as the Swede well knows.

“After years of only racing giant slalom and slalom, it’s very exciting to try to excel in all four specialities,” said Paerson. “It creates a new momentum for me.”

Paerson, who also won the giant slalom and slalom World Cups in March, undertook downhill training in the off-season with the German team in Chile and has asked her father Anders, formerly head coach of the Swedish women’s team, to become her personal trainer.

She has set her sights on the world championships in January and February, as well as the season-long cup.

“I may have a hard time to be as successful in the technical specialities because I will have less time to train them, but that’s my choice,” she said.

“When I was a kid, I dreamed of winning a gold medal in downhill, a feat that has not been achieved by a Swede so far. I didn’t plan to try it so early but I found out last winter that I’m ready, so let’s go for it.”

Miller, too, has made some changes in pursuit of success in the speed events, switching to Austrian-made skis.

The American, who won the giant slalom cup last season but was only fourth in the overall, looked in superb form in Sunday’s giant slalom in Soelden, beating Italian Massimiliano Blardone into second place by 1.17 seconds.

“It’s my dream to win a downhill and that’s the main reason I changed skis,” said Miller, who has never done better than seventh in a World Cup downhill.

Both Miller and Paerson have a month now to hone their speed skills before the World Cup resumes in North America.

The men have a downhill and super-G in Lake Louise, Alberta, on Nov. 27 and 28 while the first women’s downhills are at the same resort the following weekend.