From 22 to 24 January 2010, the world's best skiers will gather in Kitzbuehel, Austria, to celebrate one of the highlights on the World Cup calendar and a high-class event representing a sporting and social highlight.
It is this week-end that the 70th edition of the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuehel will take place just one week after the 80th edition of the Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland.
Independent from the 70th anniversary this year, the legendary Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbuehel is always equally fascinating to athletes, spectators and fans the like. This event continues to fascinate year after year, irrespective of it being watched on TV or live on-site.
The Hahnenkamm race has been taking place on Kitzbuehel's landmark mountain since 1931. While the downhill is held on the Streif piste, the slalom takes place on the Ganslernhang, which is renowned for its diverse terrain. Introduced in the 1990s, the super-G is carried out on the Streifalm.
The Hahnenkamm Downhill
There are many fascinating facts and figures about the ‘Streif' downhill course. Right from the start, at breakneck speed the racers need to conquer the first section of the course consisting of the Startschuss, the Mausefalle and the Steilhang. The medium stretch features the Gschöss, Alte Schneise, Seidlalm, Lärchenschuss and Hausberg. After having negotiated the Hausbergkante, the competitors venture into the last section of the race: a jump over the Kante followed by a traverse along the Hausberg and over the final jump, down to the Zielschuss.
The Streif downhill exhibits jumps up to 80m, steep slopes up to 85% and speeds up to 140 km/h. With an altitude difference of 863 m from the starting point (1665m) to the finish (802m), and an average speed of 103 km/h, it takes less than 2 minutes to complete the 3.3 kilometres of the world's most difficult downhill course.
Results of 1st downhill training
This morning the first downhill training run was held at 11.30 h CET in perfect weather conditions with 63 athletes participating. Swiss Didier Cuche was fastet, ahead of Mario Scheiber and Michael Walchhofer (both from Austria).
The athletes gave a positive report of the race course, which presents itself in good condition. The final jump has been reduced in scale after Daniel Albrecht's crash in 2009. It does not pose a problem anymore to the skiers now.
Thursday's second training run on the 'Streif' has been moved up from its previously scheduled 11:30 CET start to 10am. This is due to a weather forecast predicting poor visibility caused by low lying clouds expected around midday.
The weather forecast for the race days is good with sunny conditions on Saturday.
The preparation of the Streif
Each year, the local cable car operator Bergbahn Kitzbühel AG and the organizing committee of the International Hahnenkamm races make the exact amount of snow needed on demand using a device invented in Austria by the PowerGIS company. "We avoid producing too little and too much snow, because saving energy means saving costs and protecting the environment at the same time." A profile of the terrain based on exact GPS data collected in summer is superimposed with current data in winter, so the current snow levels can be determined. The groomer can therefore take snow from a well-covered hilltop and fill up spots where more snow is needed.
„In earlier times as much snow as possible was produced", Robert Sölkner recounts. "Very often, costly excess snow simply melted away. Today we are able to produce the snow base on demand within 70 hours, which is environmentally friendlier and more cost effective."
Improvements for the fans
Another giant LED video wall has been added this season in addition to the four already existing ones. It will be positioned opposite the tribune at the Mausefalle, right after the start of the legendary Hahnenkamm downhill. Many die-hard fans watch the race from the first key point of this classic downhill. „Here in Kitzbühel you can see the race well from anywhere. We simply owe that to our fans that have travelled from far and wide (to see the races)", says Hermann Stanger who, with his team, is always coming up with improvements for the Hahnenkamm Races.
70th Hahnenkamm-Race Kitzbühel - Programme
The Super-G on Friday begins at the same time as the Downhill on Saturday at 11.30 a.m. The first Slalom run on the Ganslernhang is on Sunday at 10.30 a.m., the second starts at 1.45 p.m.
During the event, the town on the Gams will be bursting at the seams with reporters and celebrities from all over the world. Numerous parties and side events are taking place throughout the Hahnenkamm-week. Visitors can enjoy the unique Hahnenkamm flair in Kitzbühel as well as cheer on some of the world's best skiers along the piste with tens of thousands of fans!
