Men's Downhill in Kitzbühel (AUT) 2008

Ski2b-Redaktion 19.01.2008 13:49 Uhr

09:43:

Welcome to the legendary Streif-Downhill in Kitzbühel! The race is scheduled for 11.30 am. It will be an exciting race! Be a part of it!



11:14:

Hello and welcome out of Kitzbühel. It will be a hard work for the athletes today!



11:17:

The temperature is a bit above 0 degrees today. So the slope is a bit soft. That's the reason why the start is 100 metres lower today, right above the mousetrap.



11:20 - Defago, Didier (SUI):

Didier Defago, the winner of the second training session, says that's a bit soft at the upper part of the track. But the sight is very good, so that he counts with no problems.



11:22 - Cuche, Didier (SUI):

The other training was won by Didier Cuche. So the Swiss seem to be well prepared for the Streif-Downhill.



11:25 - Miller, Bode (USA):

The best downhill-racer today is the american Bode Miller. He won the races in Bormio and Wengen. But he's not sure about the ripples on the track during the training sessions. Maybe a tactic of Miller?



11:27 - Walchhofer, Michael (AUT):

The Austrian fans count on Michael Walchhofer. He's very strong at the moment and is definitely one of the favorites.



11:29 - Maier, Hermann (AUT):

Since yesterdays Super G the myth of Hermann Maier is back in everybodies minds. The fans hope for a repeat of the place on the podium. But Maier itself doesn't seem to be sure about it. We will see what he can do today.



11:31 - Keppler, Stephan (GER):

The first german starts with number 48: Stephan Keppler. Stehle with 50. Both try to get some worldcup-points.



11:32 - Kucera, John (CAN):

Start! John Kucera is on the track!



11:35 - Kucera, John (CAN):

Kucera races a wide line at the Hausberg. It`s loud at the finish. Kucera sets the first time with 1:54,30.



11:37 - Macartney, Scott (USA):

Macartney is as fast as Kucera at the first part of the track. But in the Lärchenschuss he`s slower and loses time. At the final jump is he in big trouble and crashes.



11:40:

It`s very silent at the finish line. That was a terrible crash with more than 140 Kilometres. Let´s hope the best that nothing bad happened!



11:42:

Maybe the helicopter comes into action. So we have to wait and hope the best!



11:46:

A terrible beginning of the race today. Macartney gets medical attention. It seems that the helmet is broken. That shows how hard he crashed.



11:49:

There's still a spooky silence in the stadium. What a terrible birthday for the american athlete.



11:56 - Macartney, Scott (USA):

Macartney is now on his way to the hospital. He seems to be that he's by awareness again.



11:59 - Raich, Benjamin (AUT):

Benni Raich will be the next starter and it will be a hard challenge after this break.



12:02 - Raich, Benjamin (AUT):

Benni Raich is started. The fans are getting louder again. Raich got the best time at first part, but then he`s a bit behind at the Hausbergkante. After the final jump it`s a good second place at the moment.



12:04 - Scheiber, Mario (AUT):

Scheiber, the second from yesterday, is next. He got an excellent line, no visible mistakes and sets a clear new best-time.



12:06 - Bottollier-Lasquin, Marc (FRA):

The French ha to use his edges very hard. Thats costs time and even the Hausberg isn`t optimal. The final jump is no problem, but he`s with 2 seconds far behind.



12:08 - Staudacher, Patrick (ITA):

Staudacher got some bigger problems and loses more and more time. That's no place at the top.



12:10 - Heel, Werner (ITA):

Heel is as good as Scheiber at the intermediates. Also he got big problems with the final jump, but stays on his skis - just the second rank at the moment.



12:13 - Sulzenbacher, Kurt (ITA):

The third Italian is Kurt Sulzenbacher. He also got big problems at the first part. He hits a ripple and got problems to reach the next gate. That's the last place for him.



12:16 - Gruber, Christoph (AUT):

Also Gruber is no danger for the record-time. The Austrian isn't on the ideally line and has to give to much pressure on the edges. He needs one second more to reach the finish and is second at the moment.



12:17 - Osborne-Paradis, Manuel (CAN):

Osborne isn't fast enough today and reaches the 6th best time.



12:19 - Maier, Hermann (AUT):

Hermann Maier, the second from yesterdays SuperG, is next. He chooses a good line and got no bigger problems with the track. That's a good second rank!



12:21 - Nyman, Steven (USA):

Nyman got some problems in the upper part. At the traverse it's getting more and more foggy. That's the 7th place - not what he expected.



12:23 - Hoffmann, Ambrosi (SUI):

Hoffmann fights. The sight isn't very good at the moment. The Swiss loses more and more time and just reaches the 7th place.



12:25 - Defago, Didier (SUI):

Defago can't repaet his excellent performance in yesterdays training, but with just 0,44 seconds he reaches the 3rd rank currently.



12:27 - Sullivan, Marco (USA):

The American got problems in the Lärchenschuss and loses time. At the finish he is 0,01 second faster than Hoffmann and 3rd.



12:31 - Miller, Bode (USA):

"Come on, Bode!" The best downhiller of this season is on the track. At the Hausbergkante he`s 0,5 seconds behind, but he`s speeding up again. The best line at the traverse, very high and reaches the finish with the same time like Scheiber. We got a split first place now!



12:33 - Büchel, Marco (LIE):

Büchel is in front aber one minute of the race, but loses time at the Hausberg. He also drops time at the traverse and the final jump and reaches just the 6th rank today



12:35 - Fill, Peter (ITA):

Peter Fill is still on the search for his form out of the last season. He's 7th at the finish.



12:37 - Cuche, Didier (SUI):

Now the man with the red jersey. An excellent performance at the first part. Some small problems in the traverse. Will that be enough? New besttime! Cuche is in front!!



12:39 - Walchhofer, Michael (AUT):

Will Walchhofer be able to fight back? He's fast at the first part, aslo faster than Cuche. But some problems afterwards. He misses the podium. Just the 4th rank at the moment.



12:41 - Guay, Erik (CAN):

Guay can't stay in touch to todays fastest athletes and reaches the 9th place.



12:42 - Jerman, Andrej (SLO):

With number 22 Jerman is the next on the track. Very good intermediates, but then a mistake. He loses a lot of time - just the 15th place at the finish.



12:46 - Theaux, Adrien (FRA):

Theaux shows a good erformance at the first part, but has big problems afterwards. That`s just the splitted last place together with Sulzenbacher.



12:48 - Grünenfelder, Tobias (SUI):

A bad run by Grünenfelder. He gets a big margin in the middle part. That`s just the last place.



12:49 - Kröll, Klaus (AUT):

The next Austrian racer: Klaus Kröll comes home 16th and is clearly not satisfied.



12:57:

News from the hospital: Scott Macartney is said to have suffered a severe concussion, but no other injuries. Get well soon, Scott!



13:01 - Streitberger, Georg (AUT):

Georg Streitberger (AUT) shows much respect for the run. He makes a couple of mistakes in the mid-section and finished 24th.



13:07 - Albrecht, Daniel (SUI):

Daniel Albrecht is the last skier of the top 30 riders. The Swiss racer could play a role in the special combination results here...




13:08 - Albrecht, Daniel (SUI):

...but he takes a fall and is out! Luckily he didn't hurt himself.



13:10:

And that concludes our coverage for today. Congratulations to Didier Cuche for this fabulous win on the fabled Streif run.



13:11:

Bode Miller and Mario Scheiber share a combined second place.



13:12:

Thanks for joining us today, and stay tuned for more. We'll be back from Kitzbühel tomorrow morning at 10.00 a.m. reporting live from the Men's Slalom.