Ski world cup: Hahnenkamm races Kitzbühel

In one of the most adrenaline fueled starts on the World Cup Circuit, the racers leave the Starthaus at 1665m, straight onto the 51 percent steep Starthang, followed by quick turns to the right then left, before reaching the first jump at the Mausefalle in just 8.5 seconds.

This famous jump has had many victims over the years. Flying up to 80 metres through the air, down a 85% gradient slope, at 110 to 120 km/h, it is a true test of the racers skill and nerve. As the slope flattens out, the compression forces test the skiers leg strength before leading into the Karussell.

The Karussel is a challenging 180 degree turn that leads into steep Steilhang. At the bottom of the Steilhang is a hair raising turn to the right across the steep gradient, with the racers often struggling to make it around without hitting the fence. Skiing a clean and efficient line through the Karussel and Steilhang is really important for the racers, as any mistakes can cost a lot of speed and time. The Steilhang has been the location of many big crashes, but it’s most famous moment was in 2008 when Bode Miller narrowly avoided a wipe out by skiing on the fence.

The Büchenschuss and Gschöss are the first flatter sections of the race course after the Steilhang, where the racers get a slight break. It is however an important section, as the speed racers are able to take out of the Steilhang and onto the flat here, can make a big difference to their overall time, and can easily be the difference between winning, or finishing several places back in the standings.

At the end of the Brüchenschuss and Gschöss is a jump onto the Alte Schneise, a steep, somewhat off camber slope, with a dip at the bottom, taking the racers to the Seidlalmsprung.

A blind jump exactly half way along the course, next to the Seidlalm Restaurant, where the Skiing World Cup was founded in 1966. The Seidlalmsprung leads into right, left, right turns, and onto the Lärchenschuss. When the weather is good, the racers use the position of Kitzbüheler Horn across the valley, to line up their jump for the best line.

The last chance for racers to build up their strength before the challenging end section. After going down a somewhat more gentle slope (red piste), the racers reach a flatter section with a couple of turns at the end to stop them from taking too much speed into the Hausbergkante.

This jump and traverse in view of the finish area has been the achilies heel for many racers. With the ski racers legs getting tired, they reach a blind jump onto a steep slope followed quickly by and aggressive turn to the left, to traverse across the icy slope. Skiing a good line here is critical for the racers, as once their angle of travel is set, they bounce across the ice, constantly being thrown into the air, with little chance to make any changes to the direction they are going in. Generally speaking the higher the skier manages to stay on the slope across the traverse, the quicker they can ski to finish line. Many races have been decided by how the ski racers tackle the traverse, with several race leaders also not even making it around the bend, and ending up in the nets at the bottom.

In full view of the crowd, the ski racers come down the last steep straight, and the fastest part of the course, traveling at up to 150 km/h, and making their way to the Zielsprung.

Just before the finish line, is one last jump, the Zielsprung. How far and high the racers jump varies year to year, and while it should be a formality, this last jump has also taken many victims over the years, with the exhaused racers falling at the final hurdle, just metres away from the finish line.

For the heros that make it across the finish line, a crowd of 80,000 or more, cheers them on while waiting in suspense to see what their final time is. The atmosphere is one of a kind, with the top racers making it down the course in less than 2 minutes.

Friday, starting at 11:30 - Huge powerful turns down the race course.

Starting just below the Seidlalmsee, the Super-G start, joins onto the Streif race course, with the racers skiing huge turns down the course, all the way to the finish area. A spectacle to watch, and the perfect warm up for the long weekend of races.

Saturday, starting at 11:30 - The fastest, steepest, and most exhilarating of the races.

The most famous of the races, the Hahnenkamm downhill, takes place on Saturday. The racers power out of the Starthaus at 1665 metres up, and test themselves to the fullest as they make it towards the finish area, where over 80,000 spectators are waiting to see them across the finish line. The Hahnenkamm downhill has a reputation for being the most difficult downhill race on the Ski World Cup, and winning it makes you a legend.

Sunday, starting at 10:15 and 13:30 - Short technical turns in a race that is great for spectators.

The slalom race is held on the renouned Ganslernhang, just across from the finish area of the Downhill and Super-G races. The Salom race is a favourite for spectators as you can see almost the whole course from the viewing areas, and for the second run, the fastest 30 racers go in reverse order, with the suspense increasing all the way until the final racer crosses the line.