Streak

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Streak
Starthaus Streiff Departure.jpg
View from the start house of the Hahnenkamm run
Place: Kitzbuhel , AustriaAustriaAustria 
Mountain: Cockscomb
Departure
Begin: 1665  m above sea level A.
Target: 805  m above sea level A.
Height difference: 860 meters
Route length: 3312 meters
Maximum gradient: 85%
Lowest gradient: 2%
Average gradient: 27%
Target area of ​​the Streif
Hahnekamm race2011.jpg
Hausbergkante, traverse and target jump
on the Hahnenkamm descent 2011

The Streif is a ski race track above Kitzbühel in Austria and has hosted the international Hahnenkamm races since 1937 .

It is considered to be one of the most difficult and dangerous racing slopes in the world. Both downhill and super-G are among the most demanding ski races.

When there is no ski race, the Streif is open to all winter sports enthusiasts in the Kitzbühel ski area. The Streif family run, marked as a red (medium-difficulty) piste, bypasses the three most difficult sections; these are marked as an extreme ski route .

Routing

The old swath in summer

The start of the descent is at an altitude of 1665  m above sea level. A. on the Hahnenkamm . With a gradient of 50% (26.6 °), the Streif has the steepest starting gun in the Ski World Cup . A racer is usually in less than three seconds to 60 km / h.

With the first jump you fall into the mousetrap . It is the steepest part of the route and has a gradient of 85% (40.4 °). There the racers jump up to 60 meters depending on the preparation . In the 1970s, some runners reached 80 meters. This is followed by compression in the mousetrap, where the runners are briefly exposed to forces around ten times their body weight.

The racer enters the technically demanding steep slope via a 180 ° right turn - the carousel - and a left curve. At the end of this, the steep slope exit is one of the key points where a preliminary decision on victory or defeat is often made. Here it is important to take as much speed as possible into the long and relatively flat bridge section. The sliding piece continues with the Gschöss and then jumps into the old aisle . This leads to the Seidlalm and to the Seidlalm jump . This is followed by the Lärchenschuss and the Oberhausberg . The local mountain with the local mountain edge is already visible from the destination .

When jumping over the Hausbergkante , the runners need to make direction in order to gain as much height as possible for the traverse in the long left turn. In this way, the runner can prevent him from being carried too far down the traverse by its numerous waves and impacts. The spectacular traverse joins the long target shot with a strikingly set right turn, where speeds of up to 140 km / h can be achieved in target shot compression. This is followed by the target jump with jumps of up to 80 meters. The Streif ends at a height of 805 m above sea level. A. near the city center of Kitzbühel.

The length of the descent is 3312 meters, the average gradient 27% (15.1 °).

A Super-G has been held annually since the 1999/2000 season. In 2000 the start was at the entrance to the old aisle . In the following years, the race was started from the Streifalm , which gives the course its name to this day. This is not located on the downhill run, but with this start variant the run only ends at the Streif at the Seidlalm jump . In the period from 2008 to 2010, the Super-G was started again from the old aisle . At the 2011 event, the Super-G was given a new starting place at the newly created Seidlalmsee 2 reservoir , which is located a little below the old Streifalm start. In 2018, due to the protection of the traverse, a new route was chosen for the descent on the following day. For the first time in the history of the Hahnenkamm races, the Super-G started just above the mousetrap and ran over the classic downhill run to Oberhausberg , where the finish line, or more precisely the end of the time measurement, was.

The track length of the Super-G is 2150 meters, the average gradient 24%.

history

Ferdl Friedensbacher won the first Hahnenkamm descent in 1931 . The Streif was first driven in 1937, the winner was Thaddäus Schwabl with a racing time of 3: 53.1 minutes. The track record that is still valid today was achieved in 1997 by the Austrian Fritz Strobl with a running time of 1: 51.58 minutes (average speed: 107 km / h).

The Hahnenkamm descent had to be canceled several times due to weather conditions (1938, 1964, 1988, 1993, 2005, 2007) or shortened (1995, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016). 1972, 1998 and 2014, the races were held on modified slopes: Instead on the mountain was the Upper Ganslern down and the slalom slope. In 2016, due to the poor visibility, the start house was moved a little closer to the mousetrap .

On the other hand, there were also a few winters in which a departure that was canceled elsewhere on the Streif was made up for; Such runs are not counted as Hahnenkamm runs in the statistics, but as "additional races", just like the sprint runs in two runs that took place from 1997 to 1999 on the day before the Hahnenkamm run. The Super-G, which was driven regularly on the Streif for the first time in 1995 and since 2000, is also considered an additional race. In some years the additional race was also a giant slalom or a second slalom.

There are therefore some runners who were able to win two downhill runs on the Streif on one race weekend - both the Hahnenkamm downhill and the additional race: Christian Pravda (1951), Karl Schranz (1972), Josef Walcher (1978), Pirmin Zurbriggen (1985) ), Peter Wirnsberger (1986), Franz Heinzer (1992) and Luc Alphand (1995).

The Hahnenkamm descent is followed by between 40,000 and 50,000 spectators on the finish slope and in the finish stadium, which is what creates the famous crowd. Several thousand spectators come to the award ceremony on the evening of the departure day every year to celebrate the six best downhillers.

With a tackle on the go in the target shot, the Italian Kristian Ghedina delivered a special insert in 2004. Also spectacular, but not intended, was the fall of the Italian Pietro Vitalini from the traverse to the Hausbergkante in 1995 , which he survived unharmed thanks to a lot of fresh snow; In the second downhill run on the same day, he finally came in fifth.

The Streif Vertical Up has been taking place since 2011 . At this event, the original World Cup downhill run must be mastered from bottom to top with pure muscle power. The free choice of materials (e.g. spike shoes, crampons, touring skis, etc.) combined with holding the race in the dark make this run unique at the moment. The course record is 30: 29.1 minutes, held by Christian Hoffmann .

winner

Departure

5 times
  • SwitzerlandSwitzerland Didier Cuche (1998, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012) - 4 × Hahnenkamm downhill, 1 additional race (1998)
4 times
  • AustriaAustria Franz Klammer (1975, 1976, 1977, 1984) - 4 × Hahnenkamm descent
  • AustriaAustria Karl Schranz (1966, 1969, 1972 × 2) - 3 × Hahnenkamm descent, 1 additional race (1972)
3 times
  • AustriaAustria Christian Pravda (1951 × 2, 1954) - 2 × Hahnenkamm downhill, 1 additional race (1951)
  • SwitzerlandSwitzerland Pirmin Zurbriggen (1985 × 2, 1987) - 2 × Hahnenkamm descent, 1 additional race (1985)
  • SwitzerlandSwitzerland Franz Heinzer (1991, 1992 × 2) - 2 × Hahnenkamm downhill, 1 additional race (1992)
  • FranceFrance Luc Alphand (1995 × 2, 1997) - 1 × Hahnenkamm run, 2 additional races (1995, 1997)
  • ItalyItaly Dominik Paris (2013, 2017, 2019)
2 times
1 time

Super G

5 times
  • AustriaAustria Hermann Maier (Maier finished in the top two in seven starts: Wins: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006; 2nd place: 2004, 2008)
3 times
1 time

Heavy falls

The Streif is one of the most dangerous downhill racing tracks in the world. Numerous serious falls prove this:

  • January 11, 1985: The German downhill skier Klaus Gattermann lost control while jumping over the Hausbergkante and fell badly. He broke his nose and suffered a severe concussion. This fall - despite an attempt at comeback - ultimately heralded the end of his career.
  • January 23, 1987: The Canadian Todd Brooker fell when entering the finish slope. The 1983 Kitzbühel winner suffered a concussion, a broken nose, facial injuries and a knee injury. At the end of the season, he ended his career.
  • January 14, 1989: Brooke's compatriot Brian Stemmle crashed into the net while exiting the steep slope and was then in mortal danger. Among other things, he suffered from pelvic destruction and spent days in the intensive care unit in Innsbruck. Stemmle complained and won against the ski club and returned years later to the Streif , but had to end his career after another Kitzbühel fall in 1999.
  • January 9, 1991: The American Bill Hudson was killed in a mousetrap . He suffered a shoulder blade fracture, a fracture of the fourth thoracic vertebra, a broken spoke on the left and lung injuries.
  • January 14, 1995: The Italian Pietro Vitalini lost control on the traverse and was thrown over the safety net and fell down the slope, overturning several times. Also due to the days of snowfall, he was uninjured and finished fifth in the second descent.
  • January 10, 1996: Several runners like Andreas Schifferer , Pepi Strobl or Lasse Kjus had a serious fall during training . Schifferer suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell on the target jump and was in a coma for three days.
  • January 23, 1998: The Austrian Roland Assinger crashed into a barrier in the second sprint downhill and was taken to hospital with injuries to his shoulder and ribs.
  • January 21, 1999: Patrick Ortlieb suffered, among other things, a fracture in his right thigh when he fell on the edge of the Hausberg . He also injured his hip and knee. The Olympic champion's career ended prematurely.
  • January 20, 2005: The Austrian Thomas Graggaber suffered serial broken ribs and serious injuries to his shoulder and lungs during a training fall, which marked the end of his career.
  • January 16, 2008: Andreas Buder suffered a fracture of the head of his right tibia during a training fall on the Streif and had to pause for six months. The Lower Austrian never really recovered from this and ended his career in January 2011.
  • January 19, 2008: Scott Macartney fell in the target shot at 141.2 km / h and suffered a traumatic brain injury. However, after he was placed in an artificial coma, he recovered quickly and was able to leave the hospital three days later. He survived the fall without injuring his bones, but suffered numerous abrasions. In November 2008 he made his comeback in the Downhill in Lake Louise, but has since resigned.
  • January 22nd, 2009: During the final training, Daniel Albrecht fell badly on the target jump and remained unconscious. After the first aid, he was flown to the nearest hospital in St. Johann and finally transferred to the Innsbruck University Hospital. He suffered severe traumatic brain injury and contusions in the lungs. After more than three and a half weeks, he awoke from the coma on February 12 and was transferred to the Inselspital Bern for rehabilitation . 22 months later he will return to the World Cup in December 2010.
  • January 20, 2011: Hans Grugger lost control during the training run in the mousetrap , fell with his back hard on the slope and remained motionless. He suffered severe head and chest injuries. He was immediately flown to the university clinic in Innsbruck for emergency surgery and put into an artificial coma. There was an acute danger to life.
  • January 22, 2011: The South Tyrolean Siegmar Klotz fell hard after the Hausbergkante and suffered a broken wrist and a concussion.
  • January 26, 2013: Peter Fill from South Tyrol got caught in the tarpaulin after the steep slope and rolled over. However, he was not seriously injured in the process.
  • January 23, 2016: Three serious falls ( Aksel Lund Svindal , Hannes Reichelt and Georg Streitberger ) overshadowed the race. The men's downhill race was canceled after the 30th runner due to the increasingly poor visibility of the ground.

See also

Web links

Commons : Streif  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Overview of the Hahnenkamm Races from 1931 (PDF; 28 kB) ( Memento from June 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Hahnenkamm Race 2018: A Review. Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
  3. ↑ 40,000 came down to Kitzbühel on sport.orf.at . (Last accessed on January 24, 2009)
  4. ↑ : Kristian Ghedina on the target jump in Kitzbühel - show at 140km / h ... Youtube-Video (German)
  5. ↑ : Kristian Ghedina - Spaccata at 140 km / h (c'est maquifique!) ... Youtube video (French)
  6. ↑ Il volo di Pietro Vitalini Kitzbuhel 1995 ... Youtube video, original comment overlaid.
  7. ^ Streif Vertical Up
  8. ↑ newsticker.sueddeutsche.de ( Memento from January 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ Klammer's strange seconds and Gattermann's anxious minutes. In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 12, 1985, p. 17 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  10. ↑ focus.de
  11. ↑ a b spiegel.de
  12. ↑ sport.t-online.de
  13. ↑ de.eurosport.yahoo.com

Coordinates: 47 ° 25 ′ 27 "  N , 12 ° 21 ′ 55"  E