Kitzbuehel, Austria – Swiss ski racer Didier Cuche, who at 37 is already the oldest man to ever win a World Cup race, padded his record by winning a historic fifth Hahnenkamm downhill Saturday to surpass Austrian legend Franz Klammer for the most downhill wins at Kitzbuehel.

A foot of heavy snow fell overnight and throughout the race, forcing the jury to shorten the notorious Streif by starting on the Alte Schneise below the treacherous Mausefalle and Steilhang sections. Klammer, covered in wet snow, was in the race finish to congratulate Cuche for his third straight downhill win in Kitzbuehel. Cuche announced Thursday that he will retire from the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup tour at the end of this season.

“I really couldn’t wish for a better ending,” Cuche said of his victory on Sunday.

Travis Ganong, of Squaw Valley, Calif., posted the top U.S. result with a personal best 12th.

“It was incredibly snowy and the lower start changes everything on this hill. It’s a lot easier starting where we did. The bottom side hill is still pretty intimidating, but it’s still really fun,” said Ganong. “We look forward to this race every year and running from the top is just a blast. You’re missing a lot when you start where we did today, but it’s still a ski race and you still the fastests one from the top to the bottom who wins.”

Marco Sullivan, also of Squaw Valley, also finished in the top 30 at 17th.

“This was a crazy race. It was really short for a downhill and you had to be fired up right out of the start and go as hard as you can. It’s pretty rare to not be tired in the finish after a downhill, especially in Kitzbuehel,” said an exhausted Sullivan. “The weather is unfortunate, but everyone made the best of it. There’s so much build up to this race and to only run half the course is a bummer, but that’s our sport and I hope I’m back next year to run the whole thing.”

Franconia, N.H.’s Bode Miller made a spectacular recovery from a near crash just below the Hausberg jump to finish 29th. He hit a bump, nearly lost his right ski, was thrown sideways and miraculously pulled it back to make the next gate.

“That was an incredible save by Bode,” said the legendary Klammer. “The fans love seeing skiing like that just as much as they love seeing wins.”

“I made a save down here and it feels pretty good to make a save like that. Those are life savers, 100 points is great, but I’d much rather be in the finish with all my parts intact,” said Miller. “For me, that’s in some ways better than a win, so I’m really happy.

“This was less than ideal conditions but in any race, someone is going to win. It’s no fluke that Didier won,” Miller added. “He’s great off this start position and he’s always strong in that middle section – that’s where he’s won this race a few times. For me I was pushing pretty hard and I knew I had to take some risks, but there’s not a lot of risks to be had on this course because there’s not that much to it.”

Canadian Jan Hudec’s first experience of racing the legendary Hahnenkamm was worth the wait as the 30-year-old claimed a 10^th-place finish, bumping teammate Erik Guay into 11^th place.

“The snow conditions were OK but the visibility was horrendous. It was snowing so hard the lines were covered,” said Hudec, who made his World Cup debut in 2002 but went into this week as a rookie, having never raced the Kitzbuehel downhill due to injuries and other circumstances. “I just had to put my nose in there. The times were super tight. It’s one of those races where you have to rip everywhere.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
72nd Hahnenkamm Downhill – Kitzbuehel, Austria
Jan. 21, 2012