“Then there will be a massacre”: That’s the mood in Kitz

The usual Kitzbühel madness will also be canceled in 2022, even the otherwise crazy departure Saturday is initially a Friday. At least 1.000 selected spectators are expected in an atmosphere that has been slimmed down by Corona when defending champions Beat Feuz, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Dominik Paris or the ÖSV hopefuls Matthias Mayer and Vincent Kriechmayr compete for victory on the legendary and slightly modified Streif from 11.30 a.m.

About two weeks before the Olympic downhill run, an emerging bad weather front is causing the no less prestigious Hahnenkamm races to wobble. The chances of winning one of the coveted cup chamois in the premier discipline are doubled, as the Super-G beloved by the ÖSV stars had to give way in favor of a second downhill run on Sunday. But the amount of new snow expected for the weekend could push even the professional Kitzbühel Ski Club to its limits. The final training session on Thursday took place in light snow on a shortened route. “If we start from the Old Lane, there will be carnage.” Vincent Kriechmayr “If we start from the Alte Schneise, there will be carnage,” predicted Kriechmayr. “Then the most difficult passages are missing, mousetrap, U-hook, steep slope exit, then the circle of favorites is very, very large.” The world champion, who started the Hahnenkamm week stuttering, seemed much more confident and lubricated on Thursday the fastest in training, Christof Innerhofer Honey in the mouth. “I know who to look at. Only you,” Kriechmayr said to the experienced Pusterer in the finish area.

Innerhofer immediately played the ball back: “We need to pay extra attention to Vinc. He always drives extra slowly in training and he's there in the race." If the Lauberhorn winner actually wins in Kitzbühel, he would be the first athlete since Didier Defago in 2009 to achieve this feat. The favorites There are some contenders for victory in the 82nd edition even under normal conditions. A season dominator has not emerged from six descents with five different winners. Only Kilde won twice, but otherwise did not end up on the podium. In the weather on Wednesday he was the fastest, but in completely different conditions the next day he was only 39th. In his “home race”, the Norwegian, who lives in Innsbruck, has never been better than sixth (2016). “A Streif victory is one of the greatest successes you can celebrate,” said the man who was injured last year. According to his own statement, he would rather celebrate an Olympic victory this year.

With the exception of Val Gardena winner Bryce Bennett (USA), the other daily season winners Kriechmayr, Mayer and Paris are among the top favorites on almost every downhill run around the world. You and of course Feuz, who has always been on the podium for five Hahnenkamm runs and last year's double triumphant, can also be expected to pull off a coup this year. Feuz has saved his first win of the season so far, his third Kitzbühel victory in the first possible race after the birth of his second daughter would be a complete story for the Swiss. Paris could catch up with brackets Paris is going for his fourth downhill triumph in Kitz, which would mean he would catch up with Franz Klemm. Only Didier Cuche can call himself a five-time Streif winner; this year marks the tenth anniversary of his last prank. Paris is ahead in the extremely tight discipline World Cup - Kriechmayr is fifth and has 31 points less - but he is still missing the downhill ball. But in Kitzbühel he doesn't think about points, Paris said.

The “Eberharter” line, which has been sought on the Hausberg crossing since Stephan Eberharter's triumphal journey in 2004, can no longer be targeted. By correcting the terrain and setting a new course (one more gate), the runners are encouraged to take the momentum into the lateral journey more smoothly. This should result in a reduction in speed during the dangerous target jump. “I think they’ll have to think about something else for next year.” Dominik Paris on setting the course on the Hausberg crossing The measure is controversial not only for nostalgic reasons, but also because the pace has only decreased marginally. “Goal missed” was the conclusion from Paris. “The Travis (Ganong) had 143 on the target jump yesterday. I think they’ll have to think about something else for next year.”

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“Then there will be a massacre”: That’s the mood in Kitz

About two weeks before the Olympic downhill run, an emerging bad weather front is causing the no less prestigious Hahnenkamm races to wobble. That's what Dominik Paris & Co. say before the first departure on Friday.

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