Bode Miller has decided that he doesn’t need the US Ski Team any longer, having decided to quit and go it alone as an independent racer next season. I don’t doubt that there are a few amongst the US skiing establishment saying ‘good riddance’ under their breath, happy to be rid of one of the most frustrating talents to grace the top levels of world sport.

But let’s not forget that Bode was the first American in 22 years to take the World Cup title away from the mighty Europeans, and in doing so he revitalised a sport that was in danger of suffocating under the weight of an enormous tradition and a traditional way of doing things. As ski racers go, Miller is one who has clearly broken the mould.

"Bend your knees, $50.00 please..." The mantra of ski instructors the world over; if there is one thing that is universal to skiing it is the way in which you should ski. Knees bent, lean forward, arms tucked in, upper body straight, the perfect ski position. For coaches these are the fundamentals, the basic form a skier has to have if he or she is going to be a champion.

With these raw materials in place, the finer details that lead to success - mental toughness, physical prowess and a finely-tuned technique - are passed to the skier through the rigid structure of the national team, with its coaches and support staff. It works, too. Just ask the Austrians.

But every now and again there comes an individual that somehow throws all the collective doctrine out the window. Bode Miller is that individual. He sits back on his skis, arms flailing about, right on the edge of his ability, testing his talent and resolve and the notion that a fall at 130kmh in a spandex bodysuit doesn't tickle.

Miller shuns media and sponsors’ commitments, he races in every discipline, he crashes or doesn't finish in one-third of his races. He is the reigning Super-G champion, and by far the most popular skier to grace the slopes in Alpine racing since the legendary Alberto ‘LaBomba’ Tomba.

In a sport that has taken a fearful battering, image-wise, from the new brigade of snowboarders and free-skiers in the US and Europe, Bode emerged as the white knight who could get the public interested in racing again. He was brash, bold, brilliant, brave and brainless in equal measure. He was Bode and the skiing public loved him.

Some say that genius and eccentricity go hand in hand. Miller proves it. He infuriated coaches by steadfastly refusing to toe the party line. He ignored technical advice, invented his own training regime, travelled separately from the rest of Team USA and loudly and proudly told everyone who would listen that he really didn't give a damn about winning. Which is fine, of course, if you win.

In 2005, he did win. Six of the first ten races of the season, in fact. The World Cup was his and the adulation and rewards soon followed. Everyone was in his corner and happy to overlook the more aberrant aspects of his behaviour. The media adored him and Americans had bragging rights over Europe for the first time in more than two decades.

It seemed a formality that Olympic success would follow. The sporting media sang the praises of the maverick from the woods of New Hampshire, giving him a cover of Time magazine no less, and postulating that it was only a matter of 'how many', when speaking of the medals on offer at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino, Italy.

Miller won no medals in Italy. America rounded on the maverick and, as one, chastised and denigrated everything that they had once celebrated and admired in their wayward hero. He didn’t respect the flag, the team, or the Americans’ God-given right to victory, they said.

He said that winning was the last thing on his mind; that he only wanted to test his own limits and abilities and that medals didn’t mean a thing to him. (The fact he said this before the Olympics raised no eyebrows at the time). They said he let down his sponsors and his country by losing big-time and partying even bigger. He said that he was happy to "have partied and socialised at an Olympic level".

The dichotomy of expectation and realisation raised its ugly head in the US media as they looked for the easiest target to vent their frustrations on. The prodigal son was out on his ear again.

So the decision of Miller to part company from the US Ski Team really hasn’t caused much of a ripple at all amongst the skiing and sporting fraternity. Those who support him will continue to cheer their hero. Those who vilified him will be glad to see the back of him. Whatever the next World Cup season brings, you can be sure that every eye will be looking to see how things bode for Bode.

What are your thoughts on Bode Miller's decistion to quit the US Ski Team? What do you think of Bode Miller? Post a comment, or better still, write an article.