KITZBUHEL HAHNENKAMM STREIF

The Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Streif mens downhill ski race represents the pinnacle of the world cup racing calendar. It is universally feared by its participating racers, attracts up to 100 000 spectators to the edge of the race course and earns its victors a place in ski race folklore. Any racer who starts this course instantly becomes a legend, the winners attain godlike status and rightly so. Racers accelerate from 0 to 80 km/h in less than 3 seconds, from then the course mimics a near vertical ice rink. Next the party …

KITZBUHEL HAHNENKAMM - TOUGHEST SKI RACE ANYWHERE

Race week in Kitzbuhel sees tens of thousands of people descend on the town, with fur clad rich folk mixing with Austrian farmers from the valleys. They all come to see the almost inexplicable descent of the Hahnenkamm race course. No race on the FIS calendar comes close to the Hahnenkamm as a spectacle - think of the All Blacks at Eden Park, the Aussies at the SCG or Brazil in Rio - the Hahnenkamm is the toughest ski race in the world, right in the heart of the Austrian Alps and the course throngs with knowledgeable and passionate spectators. After the race the party is unbeatable in downtown Kitzbuhel - mayhem best describes it. The Hahnenkamm piste dominates the town, cutting its way down the mountain directly above Kitzbuhel. For much of the winter the piste is either being prepared, is left unprepared or has sections closed. That said it is possible to tackle the course and it is certainly challenging - right after the race the course retains its formidable deep icy surface. Ski it and imagine what it is like in race conditions with deep blue ice under ski and impossible gate alignments.