Hahnenkamm Defines Ski Racing Legend
The legendary Hahnenkamm is on tap to run this weekend in Kitzbuehel, Austria. With cold temps and some fresh snow moving in, it looks like this race is a likely bet to happen. SNEWS gets the update from the U.S. team before the race begins.
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It’s quiet in the Kitzbuehel start. The stark white walls wash away sound and blend into the glassy snow beyond the start wand. Ski tips slide toward the storied abyss below. The next two minutes are the most frightening and exhilarating in all of ski racing. This is the Hahnenkamm.
“You’re in the start and you are amped at Kitzbuehel,” says Steven Nyman. “You’ve got to get amped for this race because you just stare straight down and in three seconds you’re going 60 mph and then the earth drops out from underneath you.”
For 70 years, legendary names have crashed and conquered in Kitzbuehel. Champions such as Erich Sailer, Jean-Claude Killy, Franz Klammer, Hermann Maier and Daron Rahlves have been hoisted on shoulders and celebrated for swallowing nerves and staring down the Streif. Only the euphoria of victory can drown the roar of 60,000.
“Growing up, this is what you hear about. If you’re a downhiller, you know what Kitzbuehel is,” says Erik Fisher.
The U.S. Ski Team arrived last Sunday. Already, miles of wire are strung above the cobbled medieval streets. Hundreds of speakers are set to roll the pulsating crowd from the race hill flanks into a town-wide three-day party. Many fans and racers will head to the infamous Londoner, a local pub where athletes will man the bar – a tradition that started with the Canadians in the 1980s when they won the Hahnenkamm for three straight years.
Even before the first downhill training run, athletes feel the energy.
“Kitzbuehel is an unbelievable place,” says Head Coach Sasha Rearick. “It doesn’t take much to get the guys fired up. They come in here and are excited about it from the first day.”
Bode Miller first felt it in 1998, but didn’t attempt the downhill for three more seasons. Now, he and his skis are etched into Hahnenkamm legend, despite not yet winning the notorious downhill.
A 2008 skis on the A-Net ride to second place was in some minds, as good as victory. This season, warm air, rain and a night of snow has molded the Streif into a twisting washboard of ice similar to the track that sent him sailing toward the fence in 2008.
He was fourth in Thursday’s training run, racing after Austrian Hans Gruger was helicoptered off the slope.
“Sure, it’s dangerous, but that’s the Hahnenkamm, it’s dangerous either way,” he says. “That’s a big part of what makes this race so cool.”
Miller, Nyman, Fisher, Ted Ligety and Kitz rookie Travis Ganong will race the downhill Sunday. NorAm super G champion Chris Frank will join them Friday for the opening super G.
On Oct. 6, 2010, veteran journalist Peter Kray joined the SNEWS team and is now editor of the new SNEWS WinterSports channel. We trust you are enjoying the full offering of WinterSports news. Be sure to email your friends and let them know the best WinterSports news has arrived — just in time for the winter season. Got WinterSports news? Send your WinterSports news to Kray at pkray@snewsnet.com. Subscribers can also post WinterSports news releases directly to the SNEWS website. Email us at snewsbox@snewsnet.com to learn about posting your own news releases, or for any other questions or comments. We love to hear from our readers!
