For the second consecutive time, under fantastic weather and piste conditions and in front of 45,000 spectators, Cyprien Sarrazin triumphed again on the Streif course repeating his victory from yesterday in a more dominant way. He put in a storming run and clocked the quickest time on the full-length 3.312-km Streif course, with his 1:52.96 seconds the fastest anyone has skied down the full course since Fritz Strobl did it in 1:51.58 seconds in 1997. The Frenchman beats Marco Odermatt by 0.91 seconds. Dominik Paris finished in third place +1.44 seconds behind.
Cyprien Sarrazin is the 7th skier to achieve a double victory on the Streif in the same year. Previously Karl Schranz (1972), Pirmin Zurbriggen (1985), Peter Wirnsberger (1986), Franz Heinzer (1992), Luc Alphand (1995), and Beat Feuz (2021) had back-to-back wins on the Streif.
Sarrazin confirmed today in Kitzbühel what he showed in Bormio, Wengen, and yesterday in Kitzbühel and achieved his third victory in the Downhill this season. For the 29-year-old French skier, it was his fifth podium in five races at Wengen and Kitzbühel in 2024. He also won the Super-G in Wengen.
Now he was crowned Kitzbühel King in his 14th World Cup Downhill race.
Sarrazin became the first Frenchman to win multiple Downhill World Cup races in a single season since Antoine Dénériaz won two in 2002-2003. He became the third French winner of the Downhill in the Streif, after Jean-Claude Killy in 1967, and Luc Alphand in 1995 (2) and 1997.
"I can't believe it. It was a crazy run. I skied with my heart. Almost perfect, because there is no such thing as perfection. The run was incredible. I enjoyed it from top to bottom. I felt the speed. I crossed the finish line, looked around, and saw the explosion of joy. It was like in Bormio, I felt like I did something crazy. It might be the best day of my life", Sarrazin said.
Marco Odermatt celebrated in Kitzbühel his 13th World Cup podium this season. Of the 14 races he competed this winter, he won 7 and finished on the podium in 6 more. A seventh place in the Val Gardena Downhill was his worst result.
"The weather was perfect, the excitement at the start was right, everything was perfect. I was eager for victory. In the end, I was a bit disappointed because I lost over a second to the leader. Today I am clearly the loser compared to Sarrazin. But you shouldn't forget that I only won my first World Cup Downhill last week, so a win today would probably be too much to expect. Logically, it was still the goal. It wasn't quite enough, but I'm still satisfied. Cyprien was unbeatable today, even with a perfect run from myself, it wouldn't be enough", Odermatt said.
Dominik Paris rounded up the podium in the Austrian ski mecca, his third podium in the Downhill this season.
"You have to push yourself to the limit, as Sarrazin showed. He hit the steep slope optimally and made the difference. I’m not very happy with my run. I just screwed up at the top part. I started well, I had a good feeling but I was too far in the Mausefalle. The jump and some other parts were not so good, but I was pushing hard and did my best", Paris said.
The speed specialists will be back for two Super-G races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on January 27-28.