The Streif is bathed in sunshine: Kitzbühel is good to go
Intensive preparations are almost complete and the racecourse is ready. The first downhill training run will take place on Tuesday at 11:30 hrs.
A January day in Kitzbühel could hardly be more beautiful than this Monday, around 24 hours before the first Downhill training run. The sun is shining, the sky is a picturesque blue and the temperature is just above freezing. Herbert Hauser’s delight is written all over his face as he surveys the magnificent job his Piste Team has done, together with local cableway operator Bergbahn Kitzbühel, Tom Voithofer's Safety Team and many other tireless helpers. Both the Downhill and Super-G racecourses are ready, with only the finishing touches to be completed.
Herbert Hauser, however, remains characteristically modest: "You can have the best course in the world, but in the end, it all comes down to the weather. As long as the forecast stays as it is, which currently predicts fine, cold weather, there’s no need to worry," says the Streif Chief of Piste, while also reminding us that a weather forecast can change within 24 hours.
On the first day of the race week, the final advertising banners were erected and the very last safety fences were installed. The team of painters - comprising ten members and affectionately called the ‘Picassos of the Streif’ - also clocked on for duty. Their task is to draw the boundary lines along the course, a highly demanding job, as the paint canister on their backs can weigh up to 30 kilograms. Keeping those lines straight on the steepest sections requires truly excellent skiing skills.
Meanwhile, the Super-G start, framed by an elegant black arched tent, is also taking shape and will be ready by the middle of the week. This morning, Guido Hechenberger, who is in charge of the Super-G start, is also working on a wooden and snow platform for an ORF TV camera, which will provide powerful images of the athletes before the start. ‘There are three of us in the team here and we work together really well. The teams from Seidlalm and Alte Schneise help us, and we help them,’ says Hechenberger. And what does he like most about the Super-G? ‘There are more turns than in the downhill, yet still a huge amount of speed.’
Herbert Hauser and FIS Race Director Hannes Trinkl finished inspecting the Streif at around 11 hrs, and both were beaming almost as brightly as the sun overhead.
The first downhill training session starts on Tuesday at 11:30 hrs, with the second following at the same time the next day. Admission is free, as it is for the Juniors Race on Wednesday at 10:15 hrs and 13:30 hrs. Tickets for the Super-G on Friday and the Slalom on Sunday are available from the web shop; the Downhill Race on Saturday is already sold out.
Photo © K.S.C./alpinguin
