Cuche crowns his career in Kitzbühel classic

Cuche flew the flag for Switzerland in Kitzbühel Keystone

Swiss skier Didier Cuche put the icing on the cake on Saturday, winning the traditional Streif downhill in the Austrian resort of Kitzbühel.

Bode Miller of the United States and Austria’s Mario Scheiber were joint second, 0.27 of a second behind.

The 33-year-old Cuche raced down the 3,212-metre course in one minute, 52.75 seconds for his fourth World Cup downhill success.

Cuche’s win comes six days after his second place in the other Alpine classic downhill – the Lauberhorn – in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland.

It was the eighth World Cup victory for Cuche, who won his first exactly ten years ago, also in Kitzbühel. He now leads the downhill standings on the World Cup ski circuit, 21 points ahead of Miller.

“I was a bit cautious from the start, but after that, I can’t tell you. I was in a trance,” said Cuche, who was third in Friday’s Super-G event.

Dream

“It’s really fun to be right at the top here in Kitzbühel. It’s the crowning of a career. It’s a dream to be standing here,” he said.

He added that only a gold medal at the Olympics could mean more to him.

Austria’s Michael Walchhofer and Hermann Maier took fourth and fifth spots, while Marco Sullivan of the US was sixth.

The race was marred and interrupted for half an hour after a spectacular crash by American Scott McCartney, who lost his balance at the final jump before the finish and smashed his head on the snow.

He briefly lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital in nearby Innsbruck and received treatment for severe concussion.

As a result of high winds at the top of the course, organisers had lowered the start by about 100 metres.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

Kitzbühel downhill result

1. Didier Cuche (Switzerland) 1 minute 52.75 seconds
2. Mario Scheiber (Austria) and Bode Miller (US) – 0.27 of a second behind
4. Michael Walchhofer (Austria) – 0.28
5. Hermann Maier (Austria) – 0.61
6. Marco Sullivan (US) – 0.70
7. Didier Défago (Switzerland ) – 0.71
8. Marco Büchel (Liechtenstein) – 0.80
9. Erik Guay (Canada) – 1.14
10. Peter Fill (Italy) –1.15

World Cup

Downhill standings:

1) Didier Cuche (Switzerland) – 384 points
2) Bode Mille (US) – 363
3) Michael Walchhofer (Austria) – 330
Further:
8) Didier Défago (Switzerland) – 171
17) Ambrosi Hoffmann (Switzerland) – 108

Overall standings:

1)Didier Cuche – 765 points
2) Benjamin Raich (Austria) – 744
3) Bode Miller – 713
Further:
9) Didier Défago – 572