Kriechmayr unstoppable in Cortina
Feb 14, 2021·Alpine Skiing
Vincent Kriechmayr is officially the ‘King of Speed’ at the 'Queen of the Dolomites' World Championships as the Austrian added the downhill gold medal to his super-G gold at the FIS World Ski Championships in Cortina.
With the victory Kriechmayr joins a elite group of three men who have pulled off the double speed victory at the World Championship alongside Hermann Maier and Bode Miller. The win also ended an 18-year gold medal drought for the Austrians in the men’s downhill.
“I think it will take a few weeks to really process everything that’s happened in the last few days,” said Kriechmayr after the race. “I’m definitely happy, but it will need to sink in for me to believe it.”
The victory couldn’t have been any closer for the Austrian than edging German Andreas Sander by the slimmest of margins 0.01 seconds. The gold and silver medalists were also the first two racers down the course. It was the first career World Championship medal for the German, who was a relative surprise to make the podium. It also added to Germany’s unlikely tally of three medals at these World Championships thus far.
Third place was also hotly contested as Beat Feuz finished just 0.18 off the winning pace, picking up his third career downhill gold medal.
After the top-three the gap widened between the medalists and the rest of the field. For many, the main difference came at the hands of the Vertigine jump, which proved for many to be the difference between a top-ten finish or not.
Once again, Cortina offered up optimal conditions today, as the weather problems at the start of the week were long forgotten with blue, crisp skies providing the perfect backdrop for the downhill.
For most of the field today, the World Championship is finished as the technical racers move into today. Some will stay on for tomorrow’s Alpine Combined, with both the men’s and women’s races taking place on the same day due to the earlier weather conditions. The women will race at 9:45 and 14:10, while the men’s runs will be at 11:15 and 15:20.
