This weekend the best skiers in the world will gather in Kitzbuehel to celebrate the 76th Hahnenkamm race. If Aksel Lund Svindal is to maintain his domination in the men's downhill he will need to improve on the performances from previous years.
The “Streif” is considered to be one of the most challenging downhill slopes in the world. The reigning course record was set in 1997 by Fritz Stöbl, who crossed the finishing line in an impressive 1:51.58 minutes.
The first Super-G in Kitzbühel took place in 1995. Since then it is known as one of the steepest and fastest Super-G courses worldwide.
What remains undisputed in the World Cup circuit is acknowledgement of the fact that the Ganslernhang’s undulating, natural terrain with seven transitions in total makes it one of the most difficult slalom slopes in the world. “Keeping rhythm and pace going at the same time is the greatest challenge for the athletes competing at Kitzbühel”, says Chief of Piste, Stefan Lindner.
The Course
Super-G - “Streifalm”
Start at 1345 m, Finish at 805 m
Vertical drop 540 m
Course length 2150 m
Downhill - “Streif”
Start at 1665 m, Finish at 805 m
Vertical drop 860 m
Course length 3312 m
Slalom - “Ganslern”
Start at 1004 m, Finish at 811 m
Vertical drop 193 m
Course length 590 m
Historical results
2015
Super- G - 1st Paris Dominik, 2nd Mayer Matthias, 3rd Streitberger Georg
Combined - 1st Pinturault Alexis, 2nd Hirscher Marcel, 3rd Bank Ondrej
Downhill - 1st Jansrud Kjetil, 2nd Paris Dominik, 3rd Fayed Guillermo
Slalom - 1st Hargin Mattias, 2nd Hirscher Marcel, 3rd Neureuther Felix
2014
Super- G - 1st Defago Didier, 2nd Miller Bode, 3rd Franz Max
Combined - 1st Pinturault Alexis, 2nd Ligety Ted, 3rd Hirscher Marcel
Downhill - 1st Reichelt Hannes, 2nd Svindal Aksel Lund, 3rd Miller Bode
Slalom - 1st Neureuther Felix, 2nd Kristoffersen Henrik, 3rd Thaler Patrick
2013
Super- G - 1st Svindal Aksel Lund, 2nd Mayer Matthias, 3rd Innerhofer Christof
Combined - 1st Kostelic Ivica, 2nd Pinturault Alexis, 3rd Mermillod Blondin Thomas
Downhill - 1st Paris Dominik, 2nd Guay Erik, 3rd Reichelt Hannes
Slalom - 1st Hirscher Marcel, 2nd Neureuther Felix, 3rd Kostelic Ivica
Who's hot?
Super - G
This will be the 4th Super-G start of the season. Aksel Lund Svindal is leading Super-G ranking with two wins in three races, he is followed by a group of racers with very tight results.
Svindal has won Super-G on “Streifalm” just once, but reached Top3 four times in last five starts. On this season’s form he is the favourite to claim a first place here.
Georg Streitberger also has good stats on this hill. He has got three podium finishes in last five seasons.
Combined
Technical skiers should have an advantage on the Alpine combined event. There are several athletes with outstanding results on this hill. Alexis Pinturault has won two times and placed 2nd in the last 3 starts here. Marcel Hirscher has 2 starts on this hill reaching 2nd and 3rd places. Victor Muffat-Jeandet and Thomas Mermillod Blondin are also to be considered as a contenders.
Downhill
This is the 6th Downhill of the season and the favourite to win stays the same - Aksel Lund Svindal with awesome record so far this season: four wins in five races. He has never won on the “Streif”, but history is meant to be changed. We would like to mention Hannes Reichelt with two 2nd places in the last 2 races this season and two Top 3 finishes in the last three races on this hill. Also worth mentioning Dominik Paris with 1st and 2nd places in the last three races here, as well as Kjetil Jansrud winning here last year.
Slalom
Season leader in special Slalom Henrik Kristoffersen is hot this year. Five starts with four wins and one runner-up position this season. He has only three starts on the “Ganslern”, but still managed to finish 2nd in 2014. Marcel Hirscher is “hot” too with three 2nd places and one win in 5 competitions so far. He has won on this hill in 2013. Felix Neureuther is worth mentioning too, he has not finished outside of the top 3 in the last three years in Kitzbuhel.
PROGRAM
FRIDAY, 22. JANUARY
11:45 HAHNENKAMM SUPER-G Streifalm
16:45 HAHNENKAMM KOMBI-SLALOM Ganslern
SATURDAY, 23. JANUARY
11:45 HAHNENKAMM DOWNHILL Streif
SUNDAY, 24. JANUARY
10:30 HAHNENKAMM SLALOM 1st run Ganslern
13:30 HAHNENKAMM SLALOM 2nd run Ganslern
Materials used in this article:
https://www.hahnenkamm.com
http://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/
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