Kitzbühel Streif finish area: Photo credit GEPA

Who is racing, when, and how to watch the Kitzbühel Streif downhill.

Notably, tomorrow will be Beat Feuz’s second-to-last World Cup downhill. The Kugelblitz has announced he will retire from competition after Kitzbühel. Feuz is a four-time downhill globe winner, 16-time World Cup winner, 2017 downhill FIS World Champion, and reigning Olympic downhill champion. He has entertained ski racing fans at the World Cup since the 2006-07 season. Impressively, he scored in his second race, his first downhill, and never looked back.

The course is terrifying

The Kitzbühel Streif is legendary. The top and bottom are petrifying.  Immediately after launching from the start, the racers instantly hit top speed on the Startschuss and take flight into the near vertical Mausefalle. After you land, you head to the left foot Karussell turn, which drops you into the steep, icy Steilhang, and if you avoid the fence at the bottom, you then drop into a tuck for the long, flat road. 

Once on the road, if snow conditions are pleasant and jumps are shaved, you could safely host a Masters downhill through the middle of the course. However, after skiing in a tuck and loading your legs with lactate, you are suddenly faced with the Hausbergkante and Traverse. From there to the bottom, it is simply terrifying. After descending the Zielschuss with recorded speeds as high as 95 mph, you launch the fastest jump in the sport, the Zielsprung, and once safely back on the ground, racers find themselves glad to be alive in the finish. Unfortunately, the Zielsprung has provided terrible life-threatening moments; jumping is one thing but jumping at 90 mph is another. 

The reality is if a racer isn’t willing to push beyond reasonable limits, they will be slow. The top and bottom of the course are intimidating, and racers will face fear. However, this is the ultimate show, the Super Bowl of downhill racing; you must bring your best. Certainly, anyone who has pushed out of the Kitzbühel downhill start house with the intent to race deserves massive respect. Because of its obvious danger, it is the quietest start area of the World Cup. 

Nations success on the Streif

The first North American winner of the Kitzbühel downhill was USA’s Buddy Werner in 1959. Canada’s Ken Read was the first to do it in the World Cup era. Notably, he was the first of four consecutive Canadian winners. In the seasons Immediately following Read’s victory, Steve Podborski won twice and Todd Brooker was victorious once. The amazing Daron Rahlves is the only US athlete to win on the Streif in the World Cup era. However, Rahvles won on a weather-shortened course with a winning time of 1:09.63. Racing from the top start, the winning times are around 1:56.00. Only skiers representing Austria (24), Switzerland (19) and Italy (5) have claimed as many World Cup downhill wins on the Streif as Norway (5). Kilde won one of the two downhill races last year and will be a favorite again this year.

North Americans entered in Friday’s Kitzbühel Streif downhill

• Bib 1, Travis Ganong, USST, Team Palisades Tahoe, Atomic
• Bib 8, James Crawford, ACA, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, HEAD
• Bib 10, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, USST, Mt Mansfield Ski Club, Cochran’s Ski Club, HEAD, SWIX, ASP
• Bib 19, Bryce Bennett, USST, Team Palisades Tahoe, Fischer, ASP
• Bib 28, Jared Goldberg, USST, Snowbird Sports Educational Foundation, Rossignol, LOOK
• Bib 30, Cameron Alexander, ACA, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, Rossignol, LOOK
• Bib 32, Sam Morse, Sugarloaf Ski Club, Carrabassett Valley Academy, Fischer, Swix, ASP, TOKO
• Bib 34, Brodie Seger, ACA, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, Atomic
• Bib 38, Jeffrey Read, ACA, Banff Alpine Racers, Atomic, UVEX
• Bib 39, Broderick Thompson, ACA, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, HEAD, Oakley
• Bib 51, Kyle Negomir, USST, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, Atomic
• Bib 52, Erik Arvidsson, USST, Team Palisades Tahoe, Middlebury College, HEAD
• Bib 56, Kyle Alexander, ACA, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, Rossignol, Look

The race will begin at 5:30 am Eastern Time and 2:30 am on the West Coast. 

In the USA, Kitzbühel’s downhill can be viewed live and replayed on Peacock TV. Kitzbühel is in Austria and its content rights are controlled by IMG which has sold alpine skiing for US viewers to Peacock TV. Peacock TV requires a subscription.

In Canada, CBC sports offers World Cup racing content

January 20th start list and daily program for the Kitzühel Streif downhill

The daily program for the January 20th Kitzbühel Streif downhill