Matthias Mayer roars to downhill victory at Kitzbühel
For the second time in two days at the 80th Hahnenkamm races, Matthias Mayer spread his arms and bent over backward in celebration.
While his leading time in Friday’s World Cup super-G didn’t hold up, his gutsy run on the Streif course on Saturday earned him the victory in the classic downhill, becoming the first Austrian winner of the event in six years.
In cloudy conditions but on a perfect track in Kitzbühel, Mayer crowned a gutsy run by finishing 0.22 ahead of Austrian teammate Vincent Kriechmayr and Switzerland’s Beat Feuz, who tied for second.
WATCH | Mayer wins downhill in Kitzbühel:
«There is nothing better than crossing the finish in front of those thousands of people. It’s really incredible,» said Mayer, who won the super-G here three years ago.
«In Kitzbühel there is always tension but I was just looking forward to this race, I wanted to enjoy it,» he added.
It was the eighth career World Cup win for the two-time Olympic champion and third of the season, after triumphing in a super-G in Lake Louise, Alberta, in December and an Alpine combined in Wengen, Switzerland, last week.
No Austrian had won the prestigious race, which is usually attended by tens of thousands of spectators, since Hannes Reichelt in 2014.
«It’s very important, simply cool,» Mayer said about winning one of the marquee events of the season.
World Cup downhill champion Feuz was denied victory in the circuit’s most challenging race once again, as he finished runner-up for the fourth time in the last five years.
Overall lead widened
«Again I was not fast enough,» Feuz said. «But second place on the most difficult course in Kitzbühel, you have to be satisfied. In Wengen luck has been on my side three times, here in Kitzbühel it has not been on my side.»
Feuz, however, extended his lead in the discipline standings. He is currently 96 points clear of Dominik Paris, who won the downhill here last season, while Mayer climbed to third, trailing Feuz by 180 points.
«It’s a shame what happened to Dominik. That was a super battle,» Feuz said. «The gap is a bit bigger now. But Mayer has also been top five all the time so I cannot allow myself to make mistakes.»
Alexander top Canadian
Feuz led the race until Kriechmayr clocked the same time. It was already the sixth race this season with a tie for a podium place, which also happened in Friday’s super-G.
France duo Johan Clarey and Maxence Muzaton placed fourth and fifth, respectively, while Kjetil Jansrud, who won a super-G here Friday, finished sixth.
The top Canadian was Cameron Alexander, who finished 27th in a time of 1:57.60.
Fill hangs up skis after 17 years
Peter Fill, who won the race in 2016 for one of his three career victories, failed to finish before announcing his retirement at the end of the season after 17 years on the circuit.
The 37-year-old Italian won the World Cup downhill title in back-to-back seasons in 2016 and 2017, and the Alpine combined rankings the following year. Fill also won super-G silver at the 2009 world championships.
The Hahnenkamm races traditionally end with a slalom on Sunday.
For more alpine skiing coverage, tune into Road to the Olympic Games on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
