We do not follow ski racing closely, but the Hahnenkamm Downhill is perhaps the most famous World Cup event. We got out of the Sandhof at 7:30AM and drove to a parking area in Kirchberg, where shuttle trains were running to Kitzbuhel. The Kitzbuhel train station is right by the Hahnenkamm base, where one of the original 1958 trams is still on display.
Walking toward the arena was this booth with many flags on display. I was intrigued by this one.
Perhaps in honor of our new president? :stir:
We arrived in the viewing area just as the first racer started at 11:30. Attendance was ~50,000, so it was best to stay back some with clear sight lines of the video screen and the lower part of the course. There was a grandstand much smaller than at the SLC Olympic events and requiring VIP tickets. Our general admission tickets were 30 Euros.
The top 30 seeded racers go first and I got some pics of eventual winner Dominik Paris of Italy, who also won in 2013. First zoomed on video screen:
Lower course with video in corner as Paris hits one of the bigger jumps.
Paris is just a speck at this resolution live on the final jump.
The Governator attends the Hahnenkamm nearly every year and is a fan favorite.
Just two of the top 30 seeds crashed. They replayed in slow motion. Here you can see one ski is off and pointed backwards, so the crash is imminent.
Beat Feuz of Switzerland, second last year, has a lead halfway through the course.
But here he is about to crash into the protective fences just before the final turn.
The fans are part of the show. One of them twice set off industrial size flares.
Authorities would freak out if someone did this at a US sporting event.
Here are some cowbells used by the hometown Austrian fans.
Some Swiss fans marched with theirs.
The final leaderboard with Austrian fan in foreground.
The podium:
Weather was ideal for the event, clear skies, cold and calm. 53 of the 61 racers finished vs. only 24 last year. The course is frequently plagued with wind on top, fog or flat light. The record time of 1:51:58 for the full course was set by Fritz Strobel in 1997. Dominik Paris’ time in 2017 was 1:55:01, only the eighth time the full course has been run since Strobel’s record. 10 races have been shortened and two cancelled.
Walking toward the arena was this booth with many flags on display. I was intrigued by this one.
Perhaps in honor of our new president? :stir:
We arrived in the viewing area just as the first racer started at 11:30. Attendance was ~50,000, so it was best to stay back some with clear sight lines of the video screen and the lower part of the course. There was a grandstand much smaller than at the SLC Olympic events and requiring VIP tickets. Our general admission tickets were 30 Euros.
The top 30 seeded racers go first and I got some pics of eventual winner Dominik Paris of Italy, who also won in 2013. First zoomed on video screen:
Lower course with video in corner as Paris hits one of the bigger jumps.
Paris is just a speck at this resolution live on the final jump.
The Governator attends the Hahnenkamm nearly every year and is a fan favorite.
Just two of the top 30 seeds crashed. They replayed in slow motion. Here you can see one ski is off and pointed backwards, so the crash is imminent.
Beat Feuz of Switzerland, second last year, has a lead halfway through the course.
But here he is about to crash into the protective fences just before the final turn.
The fans are part of the show. One of them twice set off industrial size flares.
Authorities would freak out if someone did this at a US sporting event.
Here are some cowbells used by the hometown Austrian fans.
Some Swiss fans marched with theirs.
The final leaderboard with Austrian fan in foreground.
The podium:
Weather was ideal for the event, clear skies, cold and calm. 53 of the 61 racers finished vs. only 24 last year. The course is frequently plagued with wind on top, fog or flat light. The record time of 1:51:58 for the full course was set by Fritz Strobel in 1997. Dominik Paris’ time in 2017 was 1:55:01, only the eighth time the full course has been run since Strobel’s record. 10 races have been shortened and two cancelled.
