Kitzbühel 2009, a retrospective

From January 23 to 25 yet another chapter of skiing history came to a close in Kitzbühel. The Hahnenkamm weekend from A to Z.

A for Air Race pilot: Hannes Arch checked out the finish line area of the Streif as early as Thursday for his Kitz Charity Trophy race by flying a few rounds over Kitzbühel in his plane.

B for Buemi, Sébastien: The new Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was also in Kitzbühel, not only as a spectator but also as a skier – at the Kitz Charity Trophy.

C for Charity Trophy: The proceeds of this charity skiing race in which well-known Kitzbühel visitors take part every year will go to especially needy mountain farming families in Tyrol.

D for Defago, Didier: Nobody was faster at the downhill than the 31-year-old Swiss national. His winning time: 1:56:09.

E for end: The race by Slovenian Andrej Jerman in the second heat of the slalom on Sunday also represented the end of the Hahnenkamm Races 2009.

F for French: Following the slalom, the preferred language on the podium, with Julien Lizeroux winning ahead of his compatriot Jean-Baptiste Grange.

G for gold medal: A few days prior, Benjamin Karl had won gold at the Snowboard World Championships in Gangwon, Korea. In Kitzbühel the Austrian was congratulated by Bernie Ecclestone and Niki Lauda, among others.

H for hands: With David Coulthard preferring not to wear gloves at the Kitz Charity Trophy, he sustained small cuts on his hands during a fall.

I for Iran: This country was also represented at the Hahnenkamm Races 2009. Kalhor Hossein competed in the slalom wearing number 85, but didn’t qualify for the second heat with his time of 1:01:72.

J for January: Kitzbühel wasn’t the only highlight in the Men’s World Cup this month. One week beforehand in Wengen, Switzerland, the Lauberhorn Downhill took place, which was also won by Didier Defago.

K for Klaus, Kröll: With his victory in the Super G, the 28-year-old Austrian celebrated his first World Cup win.

L for length: Racers covered 3.312 kilometers in the downhill at an altitude difference of 860 meters.

M for masses: This year Kitzbühel drew the masses – 43,000 spectators collected to watch the downhill race on Saturday.

N for next year: In 2010 the 70th International Hahnenkamm Races will be held from January 22 to 24.

O for Olympic champions: Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, double Olympic champions in tornado sailing, came second in the Kitz Charity Trophy together with Luc Alphand (FRA) behind the winning team consisting of Günther Mader, Matthias Lanzinger and Fritz Strobl.

P for Pischl, Werner: Has been the start adjudicator of the Hahnenkamm Races for many years.

Q for qualification: For the downhill there are only training runs and no qualifyings.

R for Rally Dakar: KTM rider Cyril Després, second in the Dakar 2009, was also seen among the spectators.

S for Sailer, Toni: ‘The Black Blitz from Kitz’ is a living Kitzbühel skiing legend. The three-time Olympic champion won the Hahnenkamm Downhill in the years 1956 and 1957.

T for tradition: Each Hahnenkamm winner has a gondola dedicated to them in Kitzbühel.

U for unbelievable acceleration: After the start, the downhill skiers accelerated from 0 to 70 km/h within 3.5 seconds.

V for Vickers, Brian: The American NASCAR driver came 15th in the Kitz Charity Trophy together with Dr. Helmut Marko and Sébastien Buemi.

W for Wings for Life: David Coulthard’s fall cost the Wings for Life team with Hannes Arch a top-ten placing at the Kitz Charity Trophy.

X for X Games: The former Kitzbühel winner Daron Rahlves competed in the Skier Cross contest at the X Games in Aspen during the Hahnenkamm weekend and came fourth.

Y for Y.M.C.A.: This song by the Village People was probably played more than once in various Kitzbühel pubs in the last few days.