From Friday 19th until Sunday 21st, January 2024 Kitzbühel will host three events of the Men's FIS Alpine Ski World Cup: Two Downhills on the famous Streif and a Slalom in the Ganslernhang.
Kitzbühel is a medieval town and a ski resort located in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache, only 95 kilometers east of Innsbruck. Kitzbühel has always epitomized the perfect combination of sport and lifestyle.
The Kitzbühel / Kirchberg ski area, or Kitzski, nestles between the Kitzbüheler Horn and the Hahnenkamm, and also the Pengelstein and Resterhöhe, between 800 and 2000 meters altitude. From the legendary 'Streif' to pistes ideal for beginners, the ski area around Kitzbühel has 57 cable cars and lifts giving access to 234 km of slopes.
The Hahnenkamm Races is one of the highlights of the annual ski-racing calendar. Over 40 TV stations cover the race and it is a priceless event that captivates even those who do not usually follow ski racing. Only the best win on the hardest Downhill in the world. The names of past winners read like a who’s who of ski racing, from Killy, Sailer, Schranz, and Collombin, to Klammer, Read, Zurbriggen, Heinzer, Aamodt, Strobl, Maier, Eberharter, Walchhofer, Rahlves, Cuche, and Feuz.
The Downhill race is held on the Hahnenkamm mountain (the name translates to "Rooster’s Comb"). The Hahnenkamm racecourse, the Streif (or the "Stripe"), is considered one of the most demanding Downhill tracks of the Alpine Ski World Cup.
From the breathtaking start at 1665 meters (5465 feet) above sea level, racers plunge down the slope’s vertical drop of 860 m (2822 ft) at speeds up to 150 km/h (93mph), covering the 3312 meters (10,866 feet) of the course in less than two minutes before dramatically crossing the finish line in the spectator-packed finish area. Yet the Hahnenkamm-Races are more than simple statistics, and behind these numbers lies the greatest ski spectacle in the world. The Downhill on Kitzbühel’s almost impossibly difficult slope, the Streif, leaves one continually searching for superlatives that could adequately portray it. The simplest way to describe this drop down the most fearsome slope on the World Cup tour is simply: "The Race". What Wimbledon is for Tennis and Monaco is for Formula 1, "Kitz" is for ski racing.
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