“Everybody wants to win here,” he added.
Battling fog and fresh snow, the 2021 downhill and super-G world champion was in a class of his own. Balanced and in-control he flew through the Mausefalle, the 85% incline overjump, and down the Karusell, the 180-degree turn through which skiers have to endure as much g-force as Formula1 drivers.
And still Kriechmayr had the power to record the fastest final sector time as he finished 0.23 seconds clear of Schieder.
“I tried everything. I pushed more than 100%,” said the winner, whose previous best finish in his country’s blue ribband event came in 2020 when he ended second behind the great Matthias Mayer.
That was the last time an Austrian had triumphed in Kitzbühel and after Mayer’s surprising retirement earlier this season, Kriechmayr knew all eyes were on him, including those of the man who has won here a record-breaking five times.
“Very stable, very good technique. He was very solid, no big mistake(s), pushing hard on the top and keeping the speed until the finish,” the great Didier Cuche said of Kriechmayr.
For Schieder, a man with just 10 previous top-30 World Cup results in his entire career, it is also a day he will never forget.
