Alexander Aamodt Kilde was in his own league in Kitzbühel on Saturday (January 21), taking his first victory in the classic Hahnenkamm exit.
The Norwegian first went down at an Austrian resort last year – not the Hahnenkamm – and looked set to repeat the feat on Friday before making a big mistake in the bottom section.
He had no such problems this time, flying down the Streif more than half a second faster than anyone else before his mentor, the 2018 PyeongChang Downhill Champion Aksel Lund Svindalwho never won the downhill in Kitzbühel.
Svindal was part of a celebrity crowd including Lindsey Vonnfour-time winner of Kitzbühel Franz Klammer and an Austrian-born Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger.
French Johan Clarey42 years old, led before Kilde’s winning run and finished second (+0.67) ahead of the 34-year-old Travis Ganong (+0.95) from the United States.
In his last race, the reigning Olympic downhill champion Defeat Feuz he was 2.01 seconds off pace in 16th place.
The 35-year-old Swiss announced his retirement last month and said Streif, where he has won three career wins, will be the site of his swan song.
The four-time downhill world champion, four-time downhill world champion wore number 217 – his World Cup racing record – instead of ninth on the grid, he led the first two checkpoints, but soon lost that advantage.
Watched by his wife and two daughters, he was greeted first by a teammate Niels Hintermann at the finish before gaining the recognition of the audience.
Feuz ends his career with 16 World Cup wins and 59 podium finishes, as well as three medals at the Winter Olympics and three medals at the World Championships, including a gold in St. Moritz in 2017.
FROM Marco Odermatt missing the race after suffering a minor leg injury on Friday, Kilde reduced the gap to the Swiss in the overall World Cup standings to 225 points.
Kilde now leads the downhill World Cup series with Kriechmayr with a lead of 156 points.
Results of the Downhill World Cup in Kitzbühel, Saturday 21 January (Top 10):
1. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) 1:56.90
2. John Clarey (FRA) +0.67
3. Travis Ganong (US) +0.95
4. Mattia Casse (Italy) +0.99
5. Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) +1.30
6= Otmar Striedinger (AUT), Cameron Alexander (Canada) +1.50
8. Romed Baumann (GER), Daniel Hemetsberger (AUT) +1.52
10. Niels Hintermann (SUI) +1.53
