After winning 3 medals in Vancouver Bode's back for another season

Bode Miller’s back for the start of another season. Whether he’s around for the finish remains a big mystery even to him. The U.S. skier was swayed from retirement last year by the lure of the Vancouver Olympics, where he won gold, silver and bronze to run his career total to five Winter Games medals. This year, there’s no such enticement dangling out there for him.

Michael Walchhofer and Bode Miller set the pace for the season-opening men’s World Cup downhill by clocking the fastest times in final training at Lake Louise — the course where they both had their maiden downhill wins.

Walchhofer, a winner on Whitehorn mountain in 2003 and the reigning World Cup downhill champion, signalled he was ready to defend his crown with the hard-charging Austrian clocking a time of one minute 50.66 seconds.

Miller, who claimed back-to-back victories in Lake Louise in 2004 capturing the downhill and super-G, also looked in superb early season form crossing in 1:51.25 just in front of Italy’s Werner Heel.

Twice World Cup overall champion Bode Miller has announced his return to the United States ski team in one last bid for Olympic gold.

Miller, who after a falling-out with the US team split from the programme following the 2007 World Cup season to start his own team, said he was excited to be back and would try to get a spot on the 2010 Vancouver Olympic squad.

“I’ve had some great seasons. I’ve had some great runs here and there but I’ve never… in hindsight looked back at a season and said, ‘Wow, I really did all the stuff I could do’,” Miller said.

Bode Miller has denied reports that he will definitely compete in the upcoming season’s World Cup. Rainer Salzgeber — director of Miller’s Head team — had been quoted saying that his number one skier had already committed to the 2009/10 campaign.

It appears Bode Miller plans to be at the World Cup openers in Soelden this October, probably without a coach. In a widely distributed report carried by the Austrian News Agency Miller reportedly told Head Skis Race Director Rainer Salzgeber he had not made his mind up about racing at the 2010 Olympics, and that he would not take a season off. Instead, Salzgeber says, Miller plans to continue. The two met at the Kapruner Glacier Thursday.