Aleksander Aamodt Kilde denies 42-year-old Johan Clarey in Hahnenkamm downhill at Kitzbühel
Kilde claims his first victory in the classic ahead of French veteran Clarey and USA's Travis Ganong, with Swiss hero Beat Feuz 16th in his final race.
Alpine Skiing
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was in a league of his own at Kitzbühel on Saturday (21 January), taking his first victory in the classic Hahnenkamm downhill.
The Norwegian took the first downhill at the Austria resort last year - not the Hahnenkamm - and looked on course to repeat the feat on Friday before making a big mistake on the bottom section.
He had no such problems this time, flying down the Streif over half a second quicker than anyone else in front of his mentor, PyeongChang 2018 downhill champion Aksel Lund Svindal, who never won a downhill at Kitzbühel.
Svindal was part of a star-studded crowd including Lindsey Vonn, four-time Kitzbühel winner Franz Klammer and Austrian-born Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Frenchman Johan Clarey, 42, held the lead before Kilde's winning run and finished in second place (+0.67) ahead of 34-year-old Travis Ganong (+0.95) from the United States.
In his last race, reigning Olympic downhill champion Beat Feuz was 2.01 seconds off the pace in 16th.
The 35-year-old Swiss announced his retirement last month and said the Streif, where he had three career wins, would be the site of his swansong.
Wearing a special bib bearing the number 217 - his tally of World Cup races - instead of his start position of nine, the four-time World Cup downhill champion was ahead on the clock at the first two checkpoints but soon lost that advantage.
Watched by his wife and two daughters, he was greeted first by teammate Niels Hintermann in the finish area before taking the acclaim of the crowd.
Feuz ends his career with 16 World Cup wins and 59 podium finishes as well as three medals at the Olympic Winter Games and three at the World Championships including gold at St. Moritz in 2017.
With Marco Odermatt skipping the race after sustaining a minor leg injury on Friday, Kilde closed the gap to the Swiss in the overall World Cup standings to 225 points.
Kilde now leads the World Cup downhill series from Kriechmayr by 156 points.
Results from World Cup downhill at Kitzbühel, Saturday 21 January (top 10):
1. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) 1:56.90
2. Johan Clarey (FRA) +0.67
3. Travis Ganong (USA) +0.95
4. Mattia Casse (ITA) +0.99
5. Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) +1.30
6= Otmar Striedinger (AUT), Cameron Alexander (CAN) +1.50
8. Romed Baumann (GER), Daniel Hemetsberger (AUT) +1.52
10. Niels Hintermann (SUI) +1.53