Miller has new attitude after overhaul Skier’s goals include breaking record for most World Cup wins in one season

VAIL, Colo. – New sponsor, new equipment, a new training program and a new knee. Bode Miller has undergone a significant overhaul since last season, when he entered the Turin Olympics as a favorite in every event – and left without a single medal.

He was due for some changes.

Last winter, Miller said in a TV interview that he skied “wasted,” called for liberalized anti-doping rules and showed a marked lack of interest in the Olympics.

Though his results early this season have been modest, his goals are not.

“If everything works out, hopefully I’ll be able to win more World Cups than anybody has been able to win in a season,” said Miller, the 2005 overall World Cup champion.

Hermann Maier and Ingemar Stenmark hold the record, each collecting 13 in a single season.

At the season-opening slalom in Levi, Finland, earlier this month, Miller failed to qualify for the second run. In Lake Louise, Alberta, last week, Miller finished 14th in a super-giant slalom and 29th in a downhill.

“I’m in different condition. I’m not as prepared to race,” he said. “I felt great after the first three races physically, but I’m definitely at a different phase of my preparation this year than in the past.

“In the past I’ve peaked end of October, beginning of November and then there’s been a dropoff after that. This year I’m hoping to peak more all through these races, in the beginning of December, hopefully have a break over Christmas where I can relax and rest, then peak again through January and February and the world championships.”

Miller weighs 215, four pounds more than at the end of last year, but he looks lighter and leaner.

“I suck my cheeks in when I talk, a trick my agent taught me,” he joked.

After undergoing surgery in the spring, Miller says his knee is in better shape than it has been in a long time.

“The surgery was something I did without feeling 100 percent like it was the best thing to be doing at the time,” he said. “I never like to be cut up like that, but sometimes it’s necessary.”

Miller has a new sponsor this year – Superfund, an Austrian futures management company, has replaced Italian pasta maker Barilla as his headgear sponsor. He has new equipment, switching from Atomic to Head skis over the summer.

Miller is relieved to have longtime U.S. team coach John McBride come out of retirement to help with his program and fitness. McBride quit last March to spend more time with his family, but Miller convinced him he needed his help, and they worked out a deal under which McBride goes home once a month.

McBride officially is the U.S. men’s combined coach, so he also will coach Olympic champion Ted Ligety, Scott McCartney, Steve Nyman and a few others.

“He’s been my coach for 10 years. I’ve worked with him since I first made the team. We have similar philosophies and a pretty great, strong relationship,” said Miller, who joined the World Cup squad in 1998. “I needed somebody to come on board with me personally to help me figure out the logistics of training in four events.”