Didier Cuche crowned king of Kitzbühel
Swiss skier Didier Cuche has won the downhill race at Kitzbühel, Austria, equalling Austrian legend Franz Klammer with four victories on the Hahnenkamm course.
Cuche finished nearly one second in front of second place finisher, American Bode Miller. France’s Adrien Theaux came third.
The 36-year-old Swiss star, who also won in 1998, 2008 and last year, skied a near perfect race. The Hahnenkamm is considered the most demanding downhill course on the World Cup circuit.
Cuche finished the 3.3-kilometre run in 1 minute, 57.72 seconds, beating Miller by 0.98.
The only other Swiss skier to come in the top ten was Ambrosi Hoffmann in eighth.
The course is also infamous for the skiers who have suffered serious injuries on it. On Thursday Austrian Hans Grugger crashed and needed surgery to remove blood from the brain. His crash was reminiscent of the fall of Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht in a training run for the downhill two years ago.
Albrecht was in a coma for several weeks. His recovery was slow and he has just returned to the World Cup circuit this season.
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