Didier Cuche

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Didier Cuche Alpine skiing
Didier Cuche in February 2011
Didier Cuche in February 2011
nation SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
birthday 16th August 1974 (age 46)
place of birth Le Pâquier , Switzerland
size 174 cm
Weight 89 kg
Career
discipline Downhill , Super-G ,
giant slalom , combination
society SC Chasseral-Dombresson
status resigned
End of career March 17, 2012
Medal table
Olympic games 0 × gold 1 × silver 0 × bronze
World championships 1 × gold 2 × silver 1 × bronze
Olympic rings winter Olympics
silver Nagano 1998 Super G
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
bronze Are 2007 Giant slalom
gold Val d'Isère 2009 Super G
silver Val d'Isère 2009 Departure
silver Garmisch-Partenk. 2011 Departure
Placements in the Alpine Ski World Cup
 Individual World Cup debut December 29, 1993
 Individual world cup victories 21st
 Overall World Cup 2. ( 2010/11 )
 Downhill World Cup 1. ( 2006/07 , 2007/08 ,
2009/10 , 2010/11)
 Super G World Cup 1. (2010/11)
 Giant Slalom World Cup 1. ( 2008/09 )
 Combination World Cup 4. ( 1998/99 )
 Podium placements 1. 2. 3.
 Departure 12 16 4th
 Super G 6th 5 12
 Giant slalom 3 5 4th
 team 0 0 1
 

Didier Cuche (born August 16, 1974 in Le Pâquier ) is a former Swiss ski racer . He specialized in downhill , super-G and giant slalom and was among the world's best in these disciplines for several years. After advancing to the top of the world in 1998 and winning a silver medal at the Olympic Games, significant successes in the following years were sparse despite consistently good performances, which earned him the image of the "eternal runner-up". It was only when he was over 30 that he really began to tap into his great potential. He won four medals at world championships and won six world cup discipline rankings. Cuche holds the records as the oldest winner of a World Cup race in the disciplines of downhill, super-G and giant slalom, and he is also the oldest world cup winner.

biography

Rise to the top of the world

Cuche grew up as the youngest of three children in the hamlet of Les Bugnenets, which belongs to the municipality of Le Pâquier in the Val de Ruz and is located on the northwest flank of the Chasseral . He learned to ski in the Bugnenets-Savagnières ski area, one of the ski lifts starts right next to the Bonne Auberge restaurant run by his parents . In addition, the father ran a small cattle trade. After finishing school, Cuche did an apprenticeship as a butcher . He rose to the top of the Swiss-Ski squad and was initially promoted as a slalom driver until the coaches discovered his talent for the fast disciplines.

At the beginning of his professional career, little seemed to indicate later successes. Cuche took part in the Junior World Championship in 1993 , but did not get past twelfth place. He made his debut in the Ski World Cup on December 29, 1993 in Bormio , and finished the descent on the Pista Stelvio second last. Then he was mainly used in European Cup races, but without achieving a podium. He contested his second World Cup race almost two years later on December 16, 1995 in Val Gardena , where he won World Cup points for the first time as 21st on the Saslong downhill run. The entire 1996/97 season had to miss Cuche after he broke the shin and fibula on the left side in training camp in Australia .

Cuche's rise in the 1997/98 season was nothing short of spectacular. After he was among the top ten in a World Cup race for the first time in December, he surprisingly won the sprint downhill run on the Streif in Kitzbühel on January 23, 1998 ; on the following day he only had to admit defeat to Kristian Ghedina in the “classic” Hahnenkamm descent . Cuche qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and won the silver medal there in the Super-G, behind Hermann Maier and at the same time as Hans Knauß . The first Swiss championship title followed at the end of the season .

Inconsistency

In the winter of 1998/99, Cuche could not meet the high expectations. A podium was not achieved, the best result was a fourth place towards the end of the season at the Super-G in Kvitfjell . The 1999/2000 season brought a noticeable increase in performance with three podium places, but he still had to wait for a victory. After he had stood out above all in the fast disciplines, he has now also made it close to the top of the world in the giant slalom. In the 2000/01 season, Cuche drove only once on the podium. There was certainly potential for victory, but he put himself under unnecessary pressure, which kept making small mistakes during the drives.

Cuche celebrated his first World Cup victory in the 2001/02 season in the giant slalom and Super-G disciplines. In particular, his victory on January 5, 2002 at the Chuenisbärgli in Adelboden , probably the most difficult giant slalom course in the world, caused enthusiasm in Switzerland. At the finish he wanted to kick the ski out of the binding, but it inadvertently did a somersault. Cuche perfected this original way of unbuckling skis, which has become his trademark, and showed the trick after particularly good performances. The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were disappointing for him : He finished tenth in the downhill and missed the last goal after the best intermediate time in the Super-G.

In the 2002/03 season Cuche was able to drive out a podium four times, including a victory in a Super-G. On January 30, 2004, the victory on the Kandahar downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen stood out, otherwise his performance in the 2003/04 season was rather mediocre compared to previous years. The 2004/05 season got off to a promising start with two podium places in the giant slalom. During training in Adelboden in January 2005 he tore a cruciate ligament in his right knee and had to end the season early. During the break from injury, the documentary Le Doute ("The Doubt") was made, which shows Cuche's arduous journey back to the top and was broadcast in March 2007 on Swiss television. The 2005/06 season was largely devoted to regaining the previous form, the best result was eighth place.

«Second spring»

Cuche was considered an excellent skier, but often lacked the necessary portion of luck at the crucial moment to be able to place himself at the front. He had not yet won a medal in three world championship appearances, and due to numerous narrowly missed victories, he had the reputation of "eternal second". He was able to slowly break away from this image in the 2006/07 season. Although he finished second four times in a row, he also won a race and was able to win a discipline classification for the first time. At the 2007 World Ski Championships in Åre , he won the bronze medal in the giant slalom after finishing fourth in Super-G (1/100 second behind bronze) and sixth in downhill (4/100 seconds behind bronze).

The 2007/08 season went even better, with Cuche on the podium twelve times. Although there were only two victories (Super-G in Val Gardena and Downhill in Kitzbühel), the results were enough to win the downhill discipline again. Before the decisive downhill in Bormio, Cuche was only five points ahead of Bode Miller , but then the last race of the season had to be canceled because no training drive could be carried out. In the Super G World Cup, Cuche had to admit defeat to Hannes Reichelt by just one point after his team mate Daniel Albrecht had pushed him out of the points. In the overall standings, he came third for the second time in a row.

The planning for the 2008/09 season focused on the 2009 World Cup in Val-d'Isère , where he was able to celebrate the most important success of his career. On the demanding Face de Bellevarde slope , he won the Super-G by a large margin (making it the oldest world champion of all time in alpine skiing) and took the silver medal on the descent. In the World Cup he was on the top of the podium only once that winter, but with a bit of luck he won the giant slalom discipline; in the overall World Cup he finished third for the fourth time.

At the start of the 2009/10 season, Cuche won the giant slalom on the Rettenbachferner in Sölden at the age of 35 years and three months . Since then, he has been the oldest World Cup winner in this discipline, beating his own record by eight months. Another age record, this time in the downhill discipline, he set on November 28, 2009 with his victory in Lake Louise . Two weeks later he was voted Swiss Sportsman of the Year 2009, where he was able to prevail against the favored tennis player Roger Federer .

In January 2010, Cuche won both the Super-G and the Downhill on the Streif in Kitzbühel despite a broken rib. After Hermann Maier and Stephan Eberharter, he was only the third driver to do this. At the same time, he increased his own record as the oldest winner in the downhill. By contrast, the 2010 Winter Olympics were disappointing . Despite a broken thumb, he was one of the most popular favorites, especially in the downhill, but didn't get past sixth place. By winning the penultimate downhill of the season in Kvitfjell, he secured the Downhill World Cup for the third time and again improved his age record, which lasted until Michael Walchhofer won the Lake Louise downhill on November 27, 2010. In the overall standings he came third for the fourth time in a row and for the fifth time.

More age records and retirement

On January 22nd, 2011, Cuche won back the title of oldest downhill World Cup winner from Walchhofer with his downhill victory on the Streif in Kitzbühel and also replaced Marco Büchel as the oldest World Cup winner ever. With his fourth downhill win in Kitzbühel, he drew level with Franz Klammer and Karl Schranz , but at that time Klammer was the only one who had won all four victories in the classic Hahnenkamm downhill . A week later, Cuche also won Chamonix . At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen , he won the silver medal in the downhill and only had to admit defeat to the Canadian Erik Guay . Cuche won the Kvitfjell Super-G on March 13, 2011 and has since been the oldest winner of a World Cup race in this discipline as well. With a fourth place at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide , he secured victory in the downhill discipline for the fourth time; After the Super-G was canceled due to the weather, he was also the winner of this discipline.

At the beginning of the 2011/12 season, Cuche won the Downhill in Lake Louise, but was then increasingly overshadowed by Beat Feuz . A few days after being voted “ Swiss of the Year ” on January 19, 2012, at a press conference in Kitzbühel, he announced his upcoming resignation in March. Two days later he won the classic Hahnenkamm run for the fifth time in total and for the third time in a row; thus he also set these two records previously held by Franz Klammer. Cuche is considered the first five-time downhill winner on the Streif , as he also won an additional sprint downhill run in 1998. Two more victories followed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Crans-Montana . He screwed the age records he held to 37 years and 7 months in the Super-G and to 37 years and 6 months in the downhill. At the World Cup final in Schladming , Cuche drove his last race on March 17, 2012. As a farewell, he contested the second round of this giant slalom on wooden skis and in nostalgic ski clothing.

Engagements since the resignation

In the summer of 2012 Didier Cuche supported his former downhill colleague Beat Feuz in Chile in his switch to a new ski make. He also demonstrates his unbroken passion for high speeds in automobile racing, for example as a pilot of racing taxis on the occasion of the international hill climb Arosa ClassicCar 2012 and 2013. Since December 2012, Cuche has been working as a consultant for Swiss-Ski. In this role, he is supposed to support the young drivers with his experience in selected World and European Cup races.

successes

winter Olympics

World championships

World Cup ratings

season total Departure Super G Giant slalom combination City event
space Points space Points space Points space Points space Points space Points
1995/96 92. 41 40. 31 47. 10 - - - - - -
1997/98 8th. 627 4th 424 6th 163 - - 11. 40 - -
1998/99 15th 436 13. 196 13. 123 30th 36 4th 81 - -
1999/00 12. 696 11. 270 9. 214 12. 196 17th 16 - -
2000/01 10. 473 13. 181 6th 177 20th 115 - - - -
2001/02 3. 1064 14th 218 2. 426 4th 420 - - - -
2002/03 5. 709 9. 333 3. 270 20th 106 - - - -
2003/04 13. 647 9. 316 10. 211 24. 82 10. 38 - -
2004/05 17th 404 21st 154 27. 52 11. 198 - - - -
2005/06 34. 240 18th 126 28. 44 24. 70 - - - -
2006/07 3. 1098 1. 652 2. 208 7th 223 34. 15th - -
2007/08 3. 1263 1. 584 2. 340 4th 293 23. 46 - -
2008/09 3. 919 7th 275 7th 152 1. 474 30th 18th - -
2009/10 3. 952 1. 528 8th. 184 9. 207 27. 33 - -
2010/11 2. 956 1. 510 1. 291 9. 140 - - 9. 15th
2011/12 6th 982 3. 521 2. 400 30th 61 - - - -

World Cup victories

  • 21 World Cup victories in individual races (12 × downhill, 6 × Super-G, 3 × giant slalom)
  • 67 podium places in individual races (32 × downhill, 23 × Super-G, 12 × giant slalom)
  • 1 podium in team competitions

Departure

date place country
January 23, 1998 Kitzbühel Austria
January 30, 2004 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany
March 10, 2007 Kvitfjell Norway
January 19, 2008 Kitzbühel Austria
November 28, 2009 Lake Louise Canada
January 23, 2010 Kitzbühel Austria
March 6, 2010 Kvitfjell Norway
January 22, 2011 Kitzbühel Austria
January 29, 2011 Chamonix France
November 26, 2011 Lake Louise Canada
January 21, 2012 Kitzbühel Austria
January 28, 2012 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany

Super G

date place country
March 7, 2002 Altenmarkt-Zauchensee Austria
December 8, 2002 Beaver Creek United States
December 14, 2007 Val Gardena Italy
January 22, 2010 Kitzbühel Austria
March 13, 2011 Kvitfjell Norway
February 24, 2012 Crans-Montana Switzerland

Giant slalom

date place country
January 5, 2002 Adelboden Switzerland
February 21, 2009 Sestriere Italy
October 25, 2009 Soelden Austria

More Achievements

Awards

literature

Web links

Commons : Didier Cuche  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ski-db.com: Age statistics Ski World Cup men. 2011, accessed January 30, 2011 .
  2. ↑ Cuche is about to make a big splash. Blick =, January 7, 2010, accessed July 12, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Le Doute (The Doubt). Maho Pictures, 2006, accessed February 11, 2010 .
  4. ↑ Cuche again in second place. Jungfrau Zeitung , February 9, 2008, accessed on February 11, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Didier Cuche finds happiness. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , March 13, 2009, accessed on March 25, 2015 .
  6. ↑ It all takes time. Der Standard , October 26, 2009, accessed February 11, 2010 .
  7. ↑ Didier Cuche and Ariella Kaeslin Sportsman of the Year. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, December 12, 2009, accessed on February 11, 2010 .
  8. ↑ Didier Cuche creates a Kitz double. Der Standard, January 23, 2010, accessed February 11, 2010 .
  9. ↑ Triumph in Kitzbühel: Cuche humiliates the competition. Die Presse , January 22, 2011, accessed January 22, 2011 .
  10. ↑ Didier Cuche also wins Super-G-Kugel. skionline.ch, March 17, 2011, accessed on March 17, 2011 .
  11. ↑ The adieu of the most popular Swiss. Tages-Anzeiger, January 19, 2011, accessed January 19, 2011 .
  12. ↑ Didier Cuche, the Emperor of Kitzbühel. Der Standard, January 21, 2011, accessed January 21, 2011 .
  13. ↑ "Speediers" great farewell show. 20 Minuten, March 17, 2012, accessed March 17, 2012 .
  14. ↑ Die Südostschweiz, September 4, 2012, p. 9.
  15. ↑ With Didier Cuche as a taxi driver in the Arosa Classic Car , accessed on September 4, 2012.
  16. ^ Alpine skiing: the retired athlete becomes a consultant. (No longer available online.) Swiss-Ski, December 6, 2012, archived from the original on December 13, 2012 ; Retrieved December 18, 2012 .
  17. ↑ Swiss Ski hires Didier Cuche. skionline.ch, December 6, 2012, accessed on December 18, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Cuche, Didier
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss ski racer
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Le Pâquier , Switzerland