Skiing
The three big winners of Kitzbühel – and one heartbroken hero
Three races, three winners and three compelling stories. From Odermatt’s brilliance to Franzoni’s emotional downhill and Feller’s home-snow slalom, Kitzbühel delivered pure drama once again.
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When the Hahnenkammrennen lands in Kitzbühel, Austria, the world of alpine skiing stops to watch. One of the most prestigious and perilous events on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup circuit, the Hahnenkamm tests speed, skill and nerve across three disciplines – Super-G, Downhill and Slalom – on snow so steep and unforgiving that winning here writes your name into ski racing legend.
Set against the iconic Streif downhill – widely regarded as the most dangerous racing piste in the world – and played out in front of tens of thousands of spectators and millions more tuning in on broadcast screens across Europe, this isn’t just sport. It’s spectacle.
This year’s Hahnenkamm delivered three very different champions – and one runner-up whose weekend will be remembered for its raw emotion.
01
Marco Odermatt sets the Super-G benchmark
Marco Odermatt began the weekend in typically dominant fashion
© EXPA/Johann Groder/Red Bull Content Pool
Right from the start, Marco Odermatt set the tone. Down the fearsome Streif in Super-G, the Swiss star delivered a performance that reminded the skiing world of his elite status and championship pedigree. His run became the benchmark for the weekend – fast, composed and brimming with intent. Odermatt wasn’t just winning races; he was staking a claim to greatness.
Super-G podium:
- Marco Odermatt (SUI) - 1m 08.41s
- Franjo von Allmen(SUI) - +0.03s
- Stefan Babinsky (AUT) - +0.25s
02
Giovanni Franzoni’s downhill triumph, and a hero left in tears
There were big emotions as Giovanni Franzoni took his second World Cup win
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
In the classic downhill, two competing narratives collided on the Streif. Giovanni Franzoni, the Italian rising star, skied with courage and focus to take his first downhill victory at Kitzbühel – and only the second of his World Cup career, coming just eight days after his first at Wengen's Super-G.
What made this win unforgettable wasn’t just the speed, or Franzoni's youth and potential reaching fruition – it was the story behind it. He's raced with the memory of close friend Matteo Franzoso, lost in a skiing accident late last year, driving him onward. One by one, rivals tried to unseat him – including Odermatt himself – but no one could deny the Italian.
Bittersweet: Marco Odermatt must keep waiting for Streif glory
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
For Odermatt, the moment cut deep. The Swiss alpine giant has won it all - except an elusive first-ever Kitzbühel downhill win - and this time around he came up just short again, finishing second. At the finish, the usually cool, composed and collected speed star was left in tears – an emotional image of a champion confronting disappointment on one of his sport’s biggest stages.
“I feel stupid that I can be so disappointed about second place here in Kitzbühel, but we all knew that today, victory was my big goal, my big dream - and I didn’t make it,” he commented afterwards.
Downhill podium:
- Giovanni Franzoni (ITA) - 1m 52.21s
- Marco Odermatt (SUI) - +0.07s
- Maxence Muzaton (FRA) - +0.39s
03
Manuel Feller delivers the home-snow slalom dream
Manuel Feller took the first home win since Marcel Hirscher a decade ago
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Sunday belonged to Manuel Feller. On the Ganslernhang slalom course, the Austrian finally delivered the victory that had eluded him for years.
Feller had raced in Kitzbühel countless times without ever standing on the top step of the podium. This time, in front of a roaring home crowd, he held his nerve in a race defined by razor-thin margins – a reflection of a season in which many athletes are operating at peak levels.
His win ended a long wait for Austrian fans. The last home slalom victory in Kitzbühel came nearly a decade ago, when Marcel Hirscher dominated the discipline. For Feller, this was more than a win – it was a moment of national pride.
Downhill podium:
- Manuel Feller (AUT) - 1m 40.60s
- Loïc Meillard (FRA) - +0.35s
- Linus Strasser (GER) - +0.53s
04
Marco Odermatt – the hero of the weekend, without the downhill crown
Odermatt was Mr Consistent over the weekend
© Samo Vidic ed Bull Content Pool
Despite missing out on the sport’s most coveted prize, Odermatt still leaves Kitzbühel as the most successful athlete of the weekend.
He won the Super-G, finished second in the downhill and earned the highest total prize money across the three days – a shade over €150,000. More than any single result, it was his consistency across disciplines that set him apart.
Emotionally, he may not have claimed the centrepiece victory on which his heart was set, but on paper – and in performance – Odermatt was the weekend’s true winner.
A race preview like no other
2 min
Jason Paul turns the Streif into a parkour run
Jason Paul runs the Streif on foot. Ice, speed, no second chances.
Before the weekend's action got started in earnest, German freerunner Jason Paul put a year of planning into action as he executed a dramatic drop from a helicopter before reinterpreting the Streif as only an experienced parkour athlete could. Paul turns the infamous slope into his personal playground, covering its icy slopes, grandstands and infamous jumps with a series of precise, high-risk moves that serve to highlight the beauty of the World Cup venue.
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