Kitzbuehel Hahnenkamm Races Mark 75th Anniversary

(ATR) The Austrian ski town of Kitzbuehel celebrated the 75th anniversary Hahnenkamm races. However, uncooperative weather caused multiple delays and ultimately shortened Saturday’s signature downhill.

Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud – a YOG ambassador for Lillehammer 2016 – won the classic race following a two-hour delay of the start due to thick fog and poor visibility along the famed Streif course.

International Ski Federation (FIS) race directors had no choice but to lower the start halfway down the mountain to salvage the 75th anniversary race.

Despite it being the shortest downhill race in Kitzbuehel’s history with Jansrud’s winning time at 58.16 seconds, it was still a career-defining moment for the 29-year-old Norwegian.

"To win here at the legendary Kitzbuehel has been a big goal for many years and to make it happen is extraordinary," said Jansrud, the Sochi 2014 super-G gold medalaist.

The weather delays and shortened race were the only blemishes on what was a festive weekend with near record attendance figures.

Forty-five thousand spectators came out for Saturday’s downhill, 19,000 fans for Friday’s super-G and night combined slalom, while 22,000 attended Sunday’s closing slalom.

Founded in 1902, the Kitzbuehel Ski Club has been the official host and organizer of the renowned Hahnenkamm races since 1931.

"I do not think that anyone could believe how important this is for us," said Kitzbuehel Ski Club & Organizing Committee president Michael Huber.

"For us, it’s daily work all year long – the most important things is the experience that our people have and this make it more than easy," Huber told Around the Rings during an interview in Kitzbuehel.

"We are very proud to organize the whole event and we also finance it, taking financial risk as a ski club," Huber said.

According to Huber, costs to organize the races are estimated at between 7.1 and 7.2 million Euros with monies generated from outside the region at approximately 34 million Euros.

The Hahnenkamm race revenue breaks down as follows: 35-40% television, 35-40% sponsors, 20-25% spectators, 5% miscellaneous.

Along with running the race carnival weekend, the Kitzbuehel Ski Club also focuses on and supports the development of junior athletes in alpine skiing, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined and snowboarding.

"Our goal is on one-side to have this race done properly every year and on the other side it is to provide the education work for kids and juniors to bring them up to world class and Olympic level in all winter sports," Huber said.

Kitzbuehel Ski Club members have won 53 Olympic and World Cup medals in alpine and Nordic skiing.

"It started in 1952 with alpine skier Christian Pravda and our last gold medal at the Olympics was David Kreiner in 2010 in Nordic combined," Huber noted.

"In this long range, we have a lot of very well-known competitors, but the most well-known for sure is Toni Sailer, the triple Olympic gold medal winner from 1956."

FIS Logistics at the Hahnenkamm

Mike Kertesz, the technical operations manager for FIS men’s races, says Hahnenkamm weekend provides a greater challenge than all other races on tour due to the sheer size and scope of everything.

"It’s definitely logistically challenging because we’re talking about managing so many more people, more teams, way more media and more public," Kertesz said.

"We’re up to the challenge being the adrenaline junkies that we are," he said.

"Last Sunday night, we have a late drive from Wengen to arrive here and Monday morning at 9am, we’re into building, building, building," Kertesz said, referring to the massive finish area in Kitzbuehel.

On Tuesday morning, the first training run was already held ahead of the weekend races.

"This is Kitzbuehel, we know it’s coming, so we plan, plan, plan," said Kertesz, a Canadian native. "The organizing committee is a good partner of ours and together we put in together."

"They are very focused on keeping tradition here in Kitzbuehel and we appreciate that, but they and us, need to progress forward into the future and keep ski racing interesting and alive," Kertesz said.

"We’re doing our best to find the balance between tradition and what our sport needs to continue growing."

Next up for Kertesz and his FIS colleagues are the World Alpine Ski Championships, in Vail/Beaver Creek, Colo., Feb. 1-17.

Media Coverage in Austria and Worldwide

The annual Hahnenkamm races have been a guarantee of a strong worldwide media presence for many years.

Austrian ORF TV produces the host broadcast, as on average, some 450,000 million viewers watch live coverage of the races in 16 languages.

Nearly 600 media accreditations were provided to journalists from 30 countries, in press, photography, television and radio. Forty-five ENG camera crews 45 ENG camera crews were accredited.

Markus Aichner is the press chief for the Austrian Ski Team.

"Look at all the journalists here. It’s totally different than all of the other races," Aichner said, gazing around the finish area. "It’s like this only in Kitzbuehel and at the Olympic Games."

Aichner advised that for the Austrian Ski team, there are more sponsor obligations in Kitzbuehel than at any other World Cup race venue.

"It’s a really tight schedule with all of the athletes, and that’s really tough for me to do," Aichner said.

"As a PR guy, this is such a busy week for me," the Austrian press chief said. "At 6am, we’re coming up to the mountain and I’m going back to the hotel after 11pm.

"After one week in Kitzbuehel, I’m completely done."

Written by Brian Pinelli in Kitzbuehel, Austria

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