The Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm 2010 - the ultimate winter sports challenge
The start gate at Hahnenkamm Kitzbuhel Streif - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk
Just back from the first race training at the 2010 Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm downhill on the Streif course, skiing in from Kirchberg to avoid the mayhem of Kitzbuhel during race week. The mind truly boggles - how these guys get down is one thing but what is going through their minds in the start hut before they launch themselves toward Kitzbuhel down in the valley? Alas I will never know - my skiing is really OK but this for me has to be the ultimate winter sports challenge.
It must surely be in the DNA - image www.skiingaustria.co.uk
Conditions today were superb with bright sun and temperatures below zero. Not so good for the proud Austrians was the fact that Didier Cuche once again topped the training session and things are looking ominous for the weekend. Bode might well have something to say about that, on his day he is unmatched, maybe Saturday?
thanks for the update. this really is the greatest downhill race in the world. hopefully aksel will make it into the top 3. i have never seen the race live but from what i have heard this would be the perfect event for a guys trip down from norway. maybe next year it will work out! anyways keep the insider infos coming. i would love to see some footage of the party as well.
Hi Bard, great to hear from you again. I think Aksel might be up there, I really hope so. As well as being just about the best all-round skier in the world he is also a very, very cool guy. I have been to many of these events and he is the one who always stops and signs kids ski helmets, their lift tickets anything they throw at him. I noticed this a couple of years before the Hahnenkamm race, just an hour before the race he was in a melee of kids happily signing stuff - absolute legend!
In terms of the after race party then yes it is unbeatable and you guys are very well represented - there are Viking horns and red, blue and white flags everywhere. I will get some après ski video from this year but you can see the chaos from an earlier video:
http://www.youtube.com/ineedsnow#p/u/57/dzjry0dr75s
wow wow wow. this would definitely be the proper setting for our trip. very nice! looking forward to your new video.
one of the craziest things in recent years was christian gehdinas jump at the last jump before the finish line. unbelievable! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_onJpunYHO4
Hey Bard, you know your Hahnenkamm history for sure - this Ghedina show boating will etch him in the history of the Streif - the crowd went wild when he did this and most of them really know their ski racing. So long as a Swiss racer doesn’t win or a German (although they ski race like they produce pop music - not very well) then the Austrians are happy to see a deserved winner from any nation. Bode is a hugely respected racer as is Aksel. In terms of the après race après ski then it is without equal anywhere, Kitzbuhel goes absolutely crazy - just the place for a group of Vikings!
I am so excited that the Kitzbuhel race weekend is finally here again! I have had many memorable moments watching the race and celebrating there. Ambrosi do you remember me?
Ambrosi will undoubtedly recall the troubled meeting. I am not sure if he ever stood on a podium again - a racing career in tatters due to a persistent journalist. My feeling is Bode is going to get it, that or a fall - he really is the all or nothing racer, one of the reasons he is so popular I think.
I have seen 4 downhills in Kitz, each one unique in its own way but all linked by a common thread - mayhem…the only thing that could possibly surpass the mania on the mountain is the real mania on the mountain by the daredevils on skis. As Chad Fleischer said ’say your prayers and just give it hell’. I have recentley listened to Bode Miller reflecting on his first finish..he said he was ecstatic with simply finishing ,his 30th place was an after thought…thats the spirit Bode !!
Yes even when you see the fore-runners coming down they must have b&lls the size of the moon. They are a few seconds off the lead times but when you see them throwing themselves out of the start hut and poling to get all the speed possible you know they are extraordinary people - the Hahnenkamm racers club is a very elite group.