Kitzbuhel, Austria – Hahnenkamm Downhill race 1/23/2010

Posted by: Sting in Trip Reports

Feb

Off to the Hahnenkamm downhill race – what the Austrians refer to as the superbowl of races. Estimated 44k attended (with about 85k for all 3 races). Swiss skier, Didier Cuche took the gold with a time of 1:53.74. Top speed on the course was clocked at 140.6kph – that’s faster than our cabbie on the freeway. Bode finished 9th. Skiers auctioned off their starting bibs to benefit Haiti’s earthquake victims. Check out the pix including WA’s own Scott Macartney. Also, ran into Bode’s agent who was staying at our hotel and some old Austrian racer friends, Hans Knauss and Kilian Albrect. Hans who’s now a sports commentator for Austrian TV did a cool cam run of the course. Check it out…0-80mph in 3 sec. it’s in German but you’ll get the idea: “schnell” means “fast” – “sehr schnell” means “very fast” – and then he says “extreme schnell”.