Miller was 22nd in that race, and 18th in a super-G the next day, then failed to finish Thursday's super-G at Beaver Creek, blaming goggles that iced up and made it tough to see.
He began last season by winning four of the first five races and six of 10 en route to becoming the first American since 1983 to win the overall World Cup title. But he said on Friday he wasn't concerned by this season's much slower start.
The 32-year-old Rahlves has said this likely will be his final season of competition and his goals include filling an already impressive resume with two things he lacks: An Olympic medal and a World Cup discipline title. He's come quite close to the latter, finishing second in the downhill standings in 2002-2003 and 2003-2004, second in the super-G in 2003-2004, and third in the super-G last season.
He was 32nd in the Lake Louise downhill, but was brilliant on Friday, at one point righting himself after tilting sideways.
As if winning a World Cup race wasn't enough motivation, particularly at the only US hill on the men's circuit, Rahlves said he also got a little extra pumped up when he heard Miller talking near the start about how he planned to "rip this hill apart."
"I'm not putting in all this effort to finish second over and over again to the same guy," said Rahlves, who was fifth in Thursday's super-G.
"Last year was tough -- always just kind of like a step behind Bode, every time."
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