From the U.S. Ski Team:

Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was the top American in Saturday's Hannenkahm downhill, tying for fourth place with Swiss rival Didier Cuche. Didier Defago took his first win in skiing's Super Bowl to mark his second straight victory after winning last weekend's Lauberhorn.

Erik Fisher (Middleton, ID) was 11th in his first race at Kitzbuehel, while Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) and Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) were 22nd and 24th respectively.

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Rain overnight made the course hard and slick, adding to the list of difficulties racers had to deal with. Icier terrain, especially in the tough technical sections, forced athletes to ski with even more aggression and grit. As Fisher said, "You just had to get over your boards and hang on."

For Fisher, finishing in 11th place was a surreal experience. Men's Alpine Coach Sasha Rearick said his performance went way beyond expectations.

"To come here for your first time is about experience. You come down and you want to overcome the fear of the course. It's not about how fast you are," Rearick said.

But Fisher, 23, who is spending his first season on the World Cup (and coming off a torn ACL to boot) started defying expectations before the New Year when he placed seventh at a downhill in Val Gardena.

"For him to come down and perform that way is truly awesome. For him to execute the plan like that from top to bottom, with no wild sections, is a huge success," Rearick said.

"It's my first season on the World Cup. I'm thrilled to be skiing as well as I am, especially after the knee injury," Fisher said.

"This is surreal to me right now. Hermann (Maier) coming down and only getting me by four hunnies - it's a cool feeling," Fisher said.

Fisher said he hadn't set any expectations for the race, but knew he'd have to ski with grit after the course conditions changed overnight.

"It was a lot faster and bumpier today. I wanted to have a clean run since it was my first time here and make it to the finish line safely," Fisher said. "It was tough and icy, basically you have to get your feet under you and hold on."

Weibrecht was also racing the Kitzbuehel downhill for the first time. Starting with bib number 47, he flew to 22nd place, making him the athlete with the highest start number to make it inside the top 30.

"It was great, the whole aura behind the race coming in and the atmosphere while I was here, it's been overwhelming," Weibrecht said.

Friday Weibrecht was 11th in the super G at Kitzbuehel and it was his best speed finish since 2007 when he rocketed to 10th in the Birds of Prey Downhill at Beaver Creek.

"I was really happy all week with my training runs. Today had a little to be desired. It got darker and I missed some of the terrain, but I know this is a good course for me, Weibrecht said. "My Mom especially will be happy that I made it through this weekend alive."

Rearick said Sullivan, who was coming off a podium performance in Wengen last week, might have tried too hard Saturday.

"For Marco this was a big goal for him. Maybe put too much pressure on himself, and tried a little too hard."

Rearick said the race would be a learning experience for Sullivan, who is more than capable of winning a big race like Kitzbuehel.

"We need to go back and talk about his approach. The skiing approach is good, but we need to teach him to try less hard in the big events," Rearick said.

TJ Lanning (Park City, UT), started number three, but crashed into a fence above the traverse. After a course hold and being evacuated from the course by helicopter for safety reasons, he was taken to a nearby hospital but released. He will return to the USA to be evaluated for a possible knee injury.

Headed into Sunday's slalom, Miller, Weibrecht and Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) are well poised for the combined. Miller won the combined title in Kitzbuehel in 2004 and was second in 2006, while Ligety is defending Olympic champion.

Fans can tune in to the men's slalom on UniversalSports.com Sunday. The first run will be broadcast live at 4:15 am ET with second run at 7:15 am.

Multimedia: For photos, audio and video from Kitzbuehel click here.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 AUDI FIS WORLD CUP
Kitzbuehel, Austria - Jan. 24, 2009
Hahnenkamm Downhill

1. Didier Defago, Switzerland, 1:56.09
2. Michael Walchoffer, Austria, 1:56.26
3. Klaus Kroell, Austria, 1:56.38
4. Didier Cuche, Switzerland, 1:56.59
4. Bode Miller, Franconia, NH 1:56.59
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11. Erik Fisher, Middleton, ID, 1:57.16
22. Andrew Weibrecht, Lake Placid, NY, 1:57.87
24. Marco Sullivan, Squaw Valley, CA, 1:57.96
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33. Kevin Francis, Bend, OR, 1:59.10
37. Ted Ligety, Park City, UT, 1:59.28
45. Bryon Friedman, Park City, UT, 2:02.01
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DNF: TJ Lanning (Park City, UT),