The lexicon on the most important skiing race of the season: 26 facts about a racing weekend on which also Erik Guay and Jens Byggmark compete with a few more butterflies than usual.
A for Alexander Prokofief: The Russian is seen as the slowest skier of the ‘new era’: In 1969 it took him 2:48:84 minutes to complete the Streif, almost a whole minute longer than today’s course record.
B for blue: The blue course-marker is made from a combination of food dye and alcohol and is supposed to warn the skiers of an unintentional turn into the surrounding spruce fauna.
C for champion: Most of the downhill victories on the Streif belong to Austrian Franz Klammer: that’s to say, four (1975, 1976, 1977, 1984). Hermann Maier, his compatriot, holds the record in the Super G with five victories.
D for downhill race: The film of the same name with Robert Redford in the main role was shot on the Streif in 1969. Redford had two locals as his doubles.
E for Erik Guay: In 2008 the 27-year-old Canadian finished in ninth place. This year he’s one of the favorites in Kitzbühel.
F for Ferdl Friedensbacher: Won the first race on the Streif in 1931. His winning time: 4:34.2 minutes.
G for Ganslernhang: The starting line of the Kitzbühel slalom.
H for Hausbergkante: The crux point of the course is marked by a Red Bull archway.
I for Ingemar Stenmark: The Swede won the slalom in 1982, when only 18 from 110 made it across the finish line.
J for Jens Byggmark: Won both slaloms in Kitzbühel in 2007, and also wants a good spot on the podium this year.
K for Kitzbühel: Central European Mekka for skiers, situated just under the finishing stretch.
L for length: On the downhill the skiers have to cover 3312 meters at an altitude of 860.
M for Mausefalle (Engl.: mousetrap): Just after the starting straight (the second steepest of the World Cup) one of the crux points begins. This is where jumps of up to 80 meters are realized.
N for Norwegian snow shoe: This Scandinavian innovation was brought to Kitzbühel at the end of the 19th century by the grandfather of today’s owner of Streif’s finishing stretch, Klaus Reisch. Later, however, the somewhat less complicated appellation ‘ski’ asserted itself.
O for orthographic mistake: The resident farmer after whom the Streif is named, was actually called Straiff.
P for percent: At the Streif steepest point the gradient is 86 percent – even more than the drinks in the après ski watering holes in the town.
Q for quantity: According to official racing statistics 3575 skiers competed between 1955 and 2003 in the downhill race. Only in five races did all the participants finish the race.
R for record: The circuit record, achieved in 1997, is held by the Austrian Fritz Strobl. The race took him 1:51:58.
S for Seidlalm: This jump that comes just after the first half of the race was made less dangerous through excavations following numerous serious accidents.
T for toilet: One-hundred-and-fifty heated toilet cubicles line the course. They’re connected to the Kitzbühel canal network.
U for U-turn: At this place, also known as the ‘carousel curve’ shortly after the Mausefalle, those lacking in the technical department can lose a lot of time.
V for Vonn, Lindsey: Isn’t in action: For reasons of safety only a men’s race but no women’s race is run in Kitzbühel.
W for weather: In the racing history to date the maximum temperature was 12, the minimum temperature -14 degrees Celsius. Due to the weather the race had to be cancelled six times.
X for Feli-x Baumgartner: He compared the Kitzbühel men’s downhill with a BASE jump.
Y for Yankee: Daron Rahlves, 2003 winner, changed to Skier X following his alpine career. He’ll also have his season highlight on this weekend: he’s competing in the Winter X Games.
Z for zeal: With which skiers race for the finish line, their pulse-rate averaging 180.
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