KITZBUEHEL, Austria — Bode Miller is aiming for his first downhill win on the Streif course, while Didier Cuche tries for a record fifth.
Miller would become the second American to win after Daron Rahlves in 2003.
“Kitzbuehel is pretty much the pinnacle; it’s the top of the downhill,” Miller said Friday.
Today, he’ll have to outrace Cuche. The 37-year-old Swiss standout announced this week he’ll retire at the end of the season. Cuche won the season-long World Cup downhill title in four of the past five seasons.
Miller said he’s not sure why he hasn’t won here.
“Maybe it’s because I haven’t put the focus on this race as much as some other guys,” Miller said. “I have never won the downhill. It’s one of the things that I feel like is kind of missing from my career results.”
Cuche could overtake Austrian Franz Klammer, who won it four times in the 1970s and 80s.
“I don’t feel like I have to win. I may get another win, and I may set that record,” Cuche said. “Even if it remains four wins, I will be very proud and I will be waiting with Franz until someone gets to five.”
He also would help Switzerland become the first nation with five straight Hahnenkamm victories since the introduction of the World Cup in 1967 — Cuche won in 2008, 2010 and 2011, and Didier Defago in 2009.
“The special pressure of racing in Kitzbuehel makes me even stronger,” said Cuche, who had the fastest training run Wednesday. “On this course, I am more alert, I am able to get everything out of myself.”
After four of 11 World Cup downhill races, Switzerland’s Beat Feuz leads with 260 points, followed by Miller with 219. Cuche is fifth with 177.
Overnight rain and wet snow forced organizers Friday to cancel the men’s super-G, but conditions were expected to improve for today’s race.
The Associated Press
