The Viking strikes in Kitzbühel

Today's downhill in Kitzbühel (AUT) on the famed Streif, did not disappoint. Heading into the race, only 14 points was the split between the top four racers in the Audi FIS World Cup downhill standings.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), who is having a tremendous season, claimed his first victory in Kitzbühel. It was the Norwegian’s third downhill victory of the season after winning in Beaver Creek (USA) and Wengen (SUI). The win gave Kilde the top spot in the downhill standings, putting him 52 points ahead of Matthias Mayer (AUT), and 68 points ahead of Beat Feuz (SUI).

Finishing behind Kilde were two unexpected faces on the podium, both hailing from France.  Veteran Johan Clarey (FRA) showed he still has what it takes to top te younger generation. The 41-year-old finished just 0.42 seconds behind Kilde to stun the top stars.

But the surprises did not stop there. Starting with bib 43, Clarey's teammate Blaise Giezendanner (FRA), upended the podium, kncking Mayer out of the top-three by 0.05 seconds. The Frenchman’s  previous best downhill result was ninth in Chamonix (FRA) in 2016. Claiming his first downhill World Cup podium Kitzbühel left Giezendanner lost for words, “Kitzbühel is such a special place for everyone, it’s the holy grail of alpine skiing. I’m speechless.”

Due to the weather forecast in the upcoming days, ithe second downhill race was moved to Sunday, bringing forward the slalom to Saturday. Racing is scheduled to start with the first run at 10:15 CET and the second run at 13:45 CET.