Adrien Theaux tops first training run in Kitzbuehel

KITZBUEHEL, Austria – Kitzbuehel was blessed by Mother Nature and offered amazing winter landscapes for the first men’s downhill training run on the legendary Streif.

The fastest time was clocked by Frenchman Adrien Theaux, at 1:57:68 seconds. The winner from Santa Caterina immediately made his mark on the Streif and loves everything Kitzbuehel has to offer.

“I like it when you need to battle to cross the finish line,” said Theaux. “I actually don’t like the road and the two flat turns right after, I’m always losing time there. Kitzbuehel is magic, the atmosphere is great and for us athletes it’s always a unique moment when we ski the Streif. We all try to have our name on one of the gondolas here. It’s something I’ve been chasing since I’m a kid, so I’m looking forward to the race days.”

Theaux was followed by 2014 Hahnenkamm winner Hannes Reichelt. Austria’s World Champion is not absolutely comfortable on this year’s slope and didn’t push too hard in this first training run.

“The upper part is great,” said Reichelt. “It becomes tough at the Steilhang, Hausbergkante and Traverse. You really need courage to go over these ones. Today I didn’t push the limits and I was already bounced around by the course. It’s part of the game. We don’t expect highways and that’s what makes it interesting, but I hope that some parts will be rounded off. “

This season’s King of Speed Aksel Lund Svindal shared third place with French young gun Maxence Muzaton, whose career best performance so far is a 11th–place finish in Kitzbuehel last year.

“The first training turned out well,” said Svindal. “As always in Kitzbuehel it’s not easy and not free of risks, so I didn’t give it all. Like for all the athletes, the first run on the Streif has to be well thought out. The line was OK, but I’ll definitively have to risk more and push hard on race day. But it was a good start for me.”

American Travis Ganong led the way for the Americans in sixth place, 0.84 seconds off of Theaux’s pace.

Austrian Max Franz, currently 10th in the downhill standings, tumbled out of control on the lower section of the course and will unfortunately miss the next eight weeks – effectively ending his season – after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury sustained during the fall. Franz also injured his left wrist in his tumble into the nets on the Streif.

A rest day is scheduled for tomorrow before the second and last training run on Thursday. The action-packed program includes the super G and alpine combined on Friday, the traditional Hahnenkamm downhill on Saturday, and the slalom on Sunday.

Official Results

Release courtesy of FIS