Swiss skier Didier Cuche has won his fourth World Cup downhill title after finishing fourth in the season’s final race at the Swiss resort of Lenzerheide.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch and agencies
The win comes a day after the 36-year-old speed specialist scotched rumours that he was ready to retire. In the season’s final women’s World Cup downhill, Switzerland’s Lara Gut came second, 0.81 seconds behind race winner Julia Mancuso.
Cuche scored enough race points to overtake Austria’s Michael Walchhofer, who placed 11th in his final downhill before retiring. The race was won by French skier Adrien Theaux.
Racing immediately after his rival, Cuche needed to finish at least sixth but his final time split with 15 seconds to run suggested he would fall short. But he made up 0.17 seconds in the steep bottom section to clinch the title.
Cuche looked up at the scoreboard and threw his head back, screamed with delight and punched the air with both fists as a partisan home crowd roared. Walchhofer, a three-time downhill champion, watched Cuche from the finish area and was the first to congratulate him.
Cuche then performed his trademark trick of flipping his right ski end over end before catching it, kissed the ski, then sank to his knees and kissed the snow.
In the overall competition, which combines five disciplines, Cuche is second, far behind Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic. Switzerland’s Carlo Janka is third.
Cuche’s fourth career downhill title lifted him to second in the World Cup’s 44-year history behind Franz Klammer. The Austrian great won five between 1975-83.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
How centuries of Swiss emigrants left their mark on the US
Bodycams: essential for good law enforcement, or a privacy risk?
Did you ever come across bodycams in your place of residence and if so, how do you think the use of bodycams alter the relationship between the public and (transport) police?
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Cuche fined for race jump threat
This content was published on
The International Ski Federation says Cuche telephoned chief race director Gunter Hujara on Thursday, telling him to remove the jump at the 3km Olympiabakken World Cup downhill course in Norway. “If you don’t take the jump down and anything happens, I will not hesitate to attack you in public,” he allegedly said. Hujara told the…
This content was published on
The disappointing result at the competition, which wrapped up on Sunday, was largely due to bad luck and injuries. The tally of just one medal is a long way from the six-medal success of Val d’Isère in France two years ago. Switzerland was at the top of the country rankings in that competition, but in…
This content was published on
They had to make the best of it. Their team had hoped to earn a fistful of medals at the 12-day event at the Bavarian venue, but with the contest ending on Sunday, the Swiss may walk away with just one. “It’s annoying,” Silvan Hancock, 23, told swissinfo.ch as he waited in a slushy field…
This content was published on
Cuche has thrilled fans since he first came to international prominence as a silver medal winner at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Excelling in downhill, super G and giant slalom, Cuche had his fair share of injuries over the years. He ends this season with a string of fresh victories to his credit.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.