“I hope that they place my Gondola next to my Dad’s,” exclaimed Felix Neureuther after winning the 2010 Kitzbuehel Slalom. Neureuther came from third after the first run to win his first World Cup slalom. With both the Slalom and the Combined being affected by the results of each racer coming down, the times from the downhill being added to the two runs of the slalom. After his seventh in the downhill, Ivica Kostelic added the Kitzbuehel Combined to his list of victories with seventh in the Slalom.

The Ganslern course is one of the Classic slopes. From the moment the racers start the Rolex timing it twists and turns down the hill, the course going over roads and even nearing the finish, the racers go up hill. This course is unique and very special in the history of the sport. For Neureuther, so often accused of skiing fast yet making catastrophic mistakes, this time he felt that he “skied smart through the difficult sections” to win. Neureuther was “all over the place,” when describing his emotions in winning his first world cup race. “I had a very good first run and was pushing hard in the second,” was how the German described his two runs.

For Julien Lizeroux, winner in 2009, this was a week where he accomplished his childhood dream of competing in the Hahnenkamm Downhill. “No one had big legs today,” reflected the popular and amiable Frenchman, in explaining how many of the big racers were lethargic in their racing. “Slalom is the big fight, after the first run I was a little disappointed as I skied too carefully and lost one second. In the second I had nothing to lose and went for it, I pushed very hard and I skied with my head and heart. When you do this you score a good race,” explained Lizeroux who also placed fourth in the Combined. “I was only two hundredths behind and I know where I lost them,” stated the smiling Frenchman!

For Giuliano Razzoli, third place was further proof that the Italian team is on the right track. “My first run was very good in the first part and the last part but not good in the middle. In the second run I made my best in the first part and the second part but had a little mistake near the finish,” was how the Italian explained his runs.

The first run was won by the Austrian Reinfried Herbst with Italian Manfred Moelgg four tenths behind him and Neureuther back in third. When Neureuther came down to take the lead from Lizeroux, no one could have expected the turn of events that were to follow. Moelgg was next down and he made an error that caused him to have to climb back up to a gate, costing him any chance of the win. With Neureuther safely in the finish, all eyes were then on Herbst. Herbst was the World Cup point’s leader at the start of the race and with a lead of over half a second on the German before the second run; this should have been a safe run. Sadly for Herbst a mistake in the middle section of the course saw him ski wide and then he had to climb up. While Herbst was gracious in defeat, for Neureuther and Kostelic the joy in victory was obvious.

Like Lizeroux in the slalom, Silvan Zurbriggen was the defending champion in the Combined and he also placed second in the Combined race. The Kitzbuehel Combined is unique in being the only Combined event that uses the classic formula of the times calculated by the Rolex timing from the full length Downhill and a two run slalom added together. “I was really tired after the Downhill,” explained Zurbriggen, “I am really happy with the second place,” he continued. Benni Raich from Austria took third place in the Combined along with fourth place in the Slalom.

With the winners of each of the races having a gondola named in their honour, the Hahnenkamm Bergbahn will now have to name two new Gondolas to honour Felix Neureuther and Ivica Kostelic for their wins in the Slalom and Combined respectively, for Didier Cuche they will have to add his two victories to his Gondola!

International Press Information
Anna Maria Gregorini
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Email: anna-maria@kpms.com

Sabrina Zumkehr
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+41 79 359 15 47
Email: sabrina@kpms.com

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