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Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel

 
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Hahnenkamm

Hahnenkamm above Kitzbühel
Hahnenkamm is located in Austria Topo
Hahnenkamm
Hahnenkamm
Location within Austria
Elevation 1,712 m (5,617 ft)[1]
Location Austria
Range Kitzbühel Alps
Coordinates 47°25′27″N 12°21′55″E / 47.42417°N 12.36528°E / 47.42417; 12.36528Coordinates: 47°25′27″N 12°21′55″E / 47.42417°N 12.36528°E / 47.42417; 12.36528

The Hahnenkamm is a mountain in Austria, directly south of Kitzbühel, in the Kitzbühel Alps. Its summit reaches an elevation of 5617 feet (1712 m) above sea level.

The Hahnenkamm (German: rooster's comb) is part of the ski resort of Kitzbühel, and hosts the annual World Cup alpine ski races, the Hahnenkammrennen. The most famous slope on the Hahnenkamm is the classic downhill course, the Streif (streak, or stripe), which is regarded as the most demanding race course on the World Cup circuit. The course features highly technical, "fall-away" turns (reverse bank), many with limited visibility. It also contains several flat gliding sections, immediately preceded by difficult turns, placing a premium on both technical and gliding skills. Run on the mountain's north face, the Streif course is mostly in the shade in January, if skies are clear. Usually overcast and often coupled with fog, the result is "flat" lighting, compounding the course's difficulty.

Contents

Hahnenkamm race

The Hahnenkammrennen are the annual races, held since 1931 and a fixture of the men's World Cup since its inception in the 1967 season. The races were originally held in March, and sometimes in early February (1949 & 1951). Beginning in 1953, the races at Kitzbühel have been held in mid to late January, often the week following the Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland, another classic downhill.

Since 1959, the race has been broadcast on Austrian television.[2] The 69th Hahnenkamm races took place on January 23-25, 2009; the 2010 races are scheduled for January 22-24.

In 2009, as well as in 2008, the total prize money was 550,000 Euro.[3]

The Hahnenkamm races are currently held in the following disciplines:[4]

  • Super-G on the Streifalm, on Friday
  • Downhill on the Streif, on Saturday
  • Slalom on the Ganslernhang, on Sunday

Traditionally, the winner of the Hahnenkamm race was determined by the combined results of the downhill and slalom competitions; during the World Cup era, the man most likely to be referred to as Hahnenkammsieger (champion) is the winner of the prestigious downhill race.

The Super-G made its debut at Kitzbühel in 1995, and returned as a regular event in 2000, scheduled the day before the downhill.

Because of challenging weather conditions in January at the top of the mountain, the downhill course is often not run in its entirety. In the decade of 2000-09, the Streif full course was run in only four of the ten years (2001, 2002, 2004, & 2009). Unfortunately, this often eliminates one of the most exciting jumps in ski racing, the Mausefalle (mousetrap), seconds from the top of the course. The competitors reach high speeds quickly out of the starting gate on the Startschuss and fly up to 80 m (262 ft) off the steep jump. Upon landing the racers experience a severe compression immediately followed by a sharp left turn, often negotiated unsuccessfully. Speeds entering the turn are 75-80 mph (120-130 km/h).

In 2006, morning fog at the top of the course forced race organizers to lower the start 115 m (377 ft) to the middle of the Karusell, below the Mausefalle. This shortened the length of the course by 347 m (1,138 ft). [5] The downhill race was cancelled in 2005 and 2007.

In 2008, strong upwinds at the Mausefalle caused race officials to lower the start 50 m (164 ft), shortening the course by 100 m (328 ft). This eliminated most of the Startschuss and its instantaneous speed; the Mausefalle was accordingly altered to a speed-inducing pitch, rather than a formidable jump & compression. Though Didier Cuche won the race, the 2008 edition is likely best remembered for the high-speed crash of Scott Macartney on the Zielsprung, seconds before the finish.

The full course returned in 2009, for the first time in five years, with Didier Défago of Switzerland winning the race. In addition to having the fastest time, he also had the highest speed on the Zielschuss at 88.4 mph (142.3 km/h). It was the second consecutive downhill victory for Défago; he won the Lauberhorn downhill the previous week at Wengen to join a handful of skiers to win both classic races in consecutive weeks.[6] It was last accomplished by Stephan Eberharter of Austria in 2002 and had been 17 years since a Swiss racer won both (1992 - Franz Heinzer).

Course sections

Alte Schneise section of the Streif

Sections of the Streif downhill course include:[7]

  • - Startschuss
  • - Mausefalle (mousetrap) - jump & compression
  • - Karusell (carousel) - S turns
  • - Steilhang - (steep slope) - technical entrance to the flats
  • - Brückenschuss & Gschöss - gliding flats
  • - Alte Schneise (old glade)
  • - Seidlalmsprung (jump at Seidlalm) - introduced in 1994
  • - Lärchenschuss - gliding
  • - Hausberg (mountain house) - jump & sharp corner
  • – Querfahrt (traverse) - on glaring ice
  • - Zielschuss (with compression & jump) - speeds over 140 km/h (87 mph)
  • - Rasmusleitn to the finish (Ziel).

Facts and figures

  • The Streif course is 3.312 km (2.058 mi) in length.[7]
  • The starting gate is at an elevation of 1,665 m (5,463 ft) above sea level; the Streif vertically descends 860 m (2,822 ft) to the finish at 805 m (2,641 ft).[7]
  • The average grade of the run is 27 percent (15.1 degrees).
  • The maximum grade is 85 percent (40.4 degrees); minimum is 2% (1.1°) [8]
  • The record for the full 3.3 km course was set in 1997 by Fritz Strobl of Austria at 1:51.58, [9] an average speed of 106.9 km/h (66.4 mph)
  • The first non-European to win a downhill race at Kitzbühel in the World Cup era was Ken Read of Canada in 1980, although it was technically an "extra" race, held on Friday. Previously, the only non-European champion was Buddy Werner of the U.S., who won in 1959 at age 22. Canadians won races four consecutive years from 1980-83; the only non-European winner since 1983 is Daron Rahlves of the U.S., prevailing on an abbreviated course of 2.0 km (1.2 mi) due to fog in 2003.
  • Three victories have gone to Scandinavians, all from Norway. Atle Skårdal was the first in 1990 and Lasse Kjus won twice, in 1999 and 2004. Both of Kjus' victories were "extra" races, held on Fridays.
  • The Streif course was one of several featured in the 1969 movie Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford and Gene Hackman. It was shown as itself and later as the Olympic course.
  • The Streif course was first used in 1937; eight years without Hahnenkamm races followed (1938-45) until the return in 1946.[10]
  • Since returning in 1946, the downhill races have been run in all but eight years: 1952, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1988, 1993, 2005, & 2007.

Downhill champions

The following is a list of Hahnenkamm downhill winners, with their winning times: [11]

pre-World Cup era

Each downhill champion's name is affixed to a gondola car on the Hahnenkammbahn lift, which extends from the Kitzbühel base to the top of the Hahnenkamm mountain.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel in the Aeiou Encyclopedia (German)
  2. ^ "Heuer zum 50. Mal: Kitzbühel total im ORF" (in German). ORF. http://programm.orf.at/?story=1879. Retrieved on 2009-01-24. 
  3. ^ "550.000 Euro Preisgeld für Kitz-Sieger" (in German). Tiroler Tageszeitung. 2009-01-21. http://tt.com/tt/sport/story.csp?cid=2479713&sid=54&fid=21. Retrieved on 2009-01-24. 
  4. ^ "Hahnenkamm racing courses". Kitzbüheler Ski Club. http://www.hahnenkamm.com/cms/en/winners_courses/race_slopes/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-01. 
  5. ^ "Results Kitzbühel Downhill 2006". International Ski Federation. http://www.fis-ski.com/pdf/2006/AL/0116/2006AL0116RLR0.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-01-27. 
  6. ^ a b "Defago wins World Cup downhill on Streif". Associated Press. USA Today. 2009-01-24. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-01-24-3805128334_x.htm. Retrieved on 2009-01-31. 
  7. ^ a b c "Racing courses overview diagram". Kitzbüheler Ski Club. http://www.hahnenkamm.com/cms/en/winners_courses/course_segments_graphics/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-01. 
  8. ^ "Downhill "Streif"". Kitzbüheler Ski Club. http://www.hahnenkamm.com/cms/en/winners_courses/race_slopes/downhill_streif/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-01. 
  9. ^ "Course records - Downhill "Streif"". Kitzbüheler Ski Club. http://www.hahnenkamm.com/cms/en/winners_courses/race_records/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-01. 
  10. ^ "Überblick alle Hahnenkamm-Rennen ab 1931" (in German). Kitzbüheler Ski Club. http://www.hahnenkamm.com/cms/fileadmin/downloads/sieger1931.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-01-20. 
  11. ^ "honor roll - the champions, men, downhill". Kitzbüheler Ski Club. http://www.hahnenkamm.com/cms/en/winners_courses/honor_roll_the_champions/men/downhill/index.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-20. 
  12. ^ "Results Kitzbühel Downhill 2008". International Ski Federation. http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=11795&raceid=49906. Retrieved on 2008-12-01. 
  13. ^ "Like it or not, men prep for Kitz slalom-fest". skiracing.com. 2007-01-26. http://www.skiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4708&Itemid=34. Retrieved on 2009-01-20. 
  14. ^ "Kitzbuehel: Walchhofer wins downhill; Rahlves, Miller check in at 3-4". skiracing.com. 2006-01-21. http://www.skiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3149&Itemid=34. Retrieved on 2009-01-27. 
  15. ^ "KITZBUEHEL 2005: Hahnenkamm downhill cancelled for safety reasons". skiracing.com. 2005-01-22. http://www.skiracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2165&Itemid=34. Retrieved on 2009-01-20. 
  16. ^ "Results Kitzbühel Downhill 2003". International Ski Federation. http://www.fis-ski.com/pdf/2003/AL/0721/0721RLR0.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-01-27. 
  17. ^ "Athlete information BROOKER Todd". International Ski Federation. http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?sector=AL&competitorid=7318&type=result. Retrieved on 2008-12-01. 

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