Lauberhorn ski races

The Lauberhorn ski races are among the highest-attended winter sports events in the world, attracting around 30,000 spectators each year. An established attraction is the airshow by the Patrouille Suisse, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Swiss Air Force. The 2016 races were held 15–17 January.
The races in Wengen in the Bernese Oberland are held in mid-January, usually the week prior to the Hahnenkamm, in Kitzbühel, Austria, another classic downhill race run since the early 1930s.
The Lauberhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland, located between Wengen and Grindelwald, north of the Kleine Scheidegg. Its summit is at an elevation of above sea level.
The downhill course is the longest in the world; its length of over results in run times of two and a half minutes ; top speeds approach on its Haneggschuss, the highest speeds on the World Cup circuit.
The Lauberhorn downhill run is surrounded by the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau above the Lauterbrunnen valley. It is known for run arrangements such as the Hundschopf, a signature jump over a rock nose, the Kernen-S.

Key sections

Many of the named portions of the course are due to historic falls or crashes by racers. The best known sections of the Lauberhorn downhill, or Lauberhornrennen, race are the following :

Russisprung, named after Swiss Olympic champion Bernhard Russi, in the upper treeless part of the course
Hundschopf, the Lauberhorn's signature jump over the rock nose, about a third of the way down the course
Minsch-Kante
Canadian Corner, a long fall-away right turn
Alpweg trail, very narrow and only in width
Kernen-S, which reduces speed considerably; exit speed very important as the slower Langentrejen flats are next.
Wasserstation, a small tunnel underpassing the local railroad Wengernalpbahn
Langentrejen where the slope becomes significantly flatter, now ends with Super-G turns
Haneggschuss, a pitch after the flats where top speeds approach
Silberhornsprung
Österreicherloch
Ziel-S which is endurance challenging and finally a finish jump
History

One of the first reports of skiing from the Lauberhorn to Wengen was in 1912 when the Roberts of Candahar Ski Challenge Cup was offered. By 1927 it was just known as the Lauberhorn Ski Cup.
It is one of the oldest continuously-held ski races. The Russisprung was originally built in the spring for a television show and was incorporated into the course by organizers the following year. The Minsch-Kante is where Josef Minsch fell in 1965 and was hospitalized for weeks. The Canadian Corner is named after two of the Crazy Canucks, Dave Irwin and Ken Read, who aggressively attacked this part of the course in 1976 and subsequently fell during the race. The Kernen-S was renamed for 2003 winner Bruno Kernen after his crash in 2006 at the former Brüggli-S. The Silberhornsprung was introduced in 2003 with the pyramid-shaped Silberhorn mountain in the background for television viewers. The Österreicherloch got its name in 1954 when almost all participating Austrian skiers fell there; 1960s Austrian great Karl Schranz later fell there as well.
In 1991, a tragic death occurred during training for the race at the Ziel-S. The young Austrian skier Gernot Reinstadler was not able to finish the S-curve properly and therefore jumped into the slope boundary, where he hooked one ski in the security net and suffered severe injuries to the lower body. He died shortly after the accident from internal bleeding. The race was not held that year. In reaction to this tragic event, the slope boundary at that place was also equipped with rejection canvas and the gates were moved upwards and more to the left.
Snowmaking was added in the mid-1990s, and the combined race has been a run as a "super combined" since the World Cup debut of the format at Wengen in 2005. The super-combi consists of a shortened downhill and with a slalom run, both on the same day, instead of three runs of the traditional combined. On the World Cup circuit, the traditional combined is usually not run as separate races, but determined "on paper" from the results of the primary downhill and slalom races, which are run on separate days. At the Winter Olympics, the super-combined format replaced the traditional combined at the 2010 Winter Games.

Facts and figures

Longest downhill race in the World Cup circuit, with a length of in 2019;

typical World Cup downhill courses for men are or less.

The course's starting elevation is above sea level;

it descends to the finish at in Wengen.

The course record of 2:24.23 was set by Kristian Ghedina of Italy in 1997, with an average speed of, an average vertical descent rate of.
Top speeds can exceed on the Haneggschuss, a straightaway 25–30 seconds from the finish. The highest speed ever measured in a World Cup race was reached at this section in 2013 by Johan Clarey of France at. Top speeds vary from year to year, depending upon snow conditions.
The average grade of the downhill race course is 25.3 percent.
The maximum grade is 87 percent at the Hundschopf jump, one-third of the way down the course.
The largest crowd was recorded in 2012, when 38,000 observed the Lauberhorn downhill race.
of security nets are set up at the border of the downhill run, surrounded by around of high security nets and of rejection canvas.
The course was one of several featured in the 1969 movie Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford and Gene Hackman.

Redford's character challenges his rival teammate to a dual race at the end of practice on the Lauberhorn downhill course.

The record holders for the most wins are Karl Molitor of Switzerland, who won six times between 1939 and 1947, and Ivica Kostelić of Croatia, who won the slalom race 4 times between 2002 and 2012, and the combined event twice, in 2011 and 2012. Unlike most of the other major ski races, the Lauberhorn in neutral Switzerland was held during World War II; all of the events were won by Swiss racers. In the post-war era, the most notable multiple winners are three Austrians: Toni Sailer with four straight, Karl Schranz with four, and Franz Klammer with three consecutive. Switzerland's Beat Feuz has also won three times
Austrians have won 31 times; Swiss racers have captured 29 victories.
The first non-European to win the race was Ken Read in 1980, the sole Canadian, followed by four other North Americans. Lasse Kjus of Norway was the first Scandinavian champion in 1999, joined by Aksel Lund Svindal in 2016, as Norway swept all three events.
The first American winner in the downhill was Bill Johnson, in 1984 on a shortened course; other U.S. winners include Kyle Rasmussen, Daron Rahlves, and Bode Miller. Miller and Marco Sullivan made the podium in 2009, taking second and third. Miller won the combined event in 2010, the second American to win the combined at Wengen and first in 52 years. Phil Mahre is the only U.S. racer to take the slalom event at Wengen, in 1982.
After heavy snowfall in 2016, the start was lowered to shortly before the Hundschopf jump. The course length was reduced and the vertical drop was , a reduction of ; Svindal's winning time was under 1:49, more than 47 seconds less than the previous year's. The start was similarly lowered in 2020, with a vertical drop of, a course length of, and Feuz's winning time was under 1:43.
Winners list

Year	Downhill	Slalom	Combined
2020	Beat Feuz	Clément Noël	Matthias Mayer
2019	Vincent Kriechmayr	Clément Noël	Marco Schwarz
2018	Beat Feuz	Marcel Hirscher	Victor Muffat-Jeandet
2017	——	Henrik Kristoffersen	Niels Hintermann
2016	Aksel Lund Svindal	Henrik Kristoffersen	Kjetil Jansrud
2015	Hannes Reichelt	Felix Neureuther	Carlo Janka
2014	Patrick Küng	Alexis Pinturault	Ted Ligety
2013	Christof Innerhofer	Felix Neureuther	Alexis Pinturault
2012	Beat Feuz	Ivica Kostelić	Ivica Kostelić
2011	Klaus Kröll	Ivica Kostelić	Ivica Kostelić
2010	Carlo Janka	Ivica Kostelić	Bode Miller
2009	Didier Défago	Manfred Pranger	Carlo Janka
2008	Bode Miller	Jean-Baptiste Grange	Jean-Baptiste Grange
2007	Bode Miller	——	Mario Matt
2006	Daron Rahlves	Giorgio Rocca	Benjamin Raich
2005	Michael Walchhofer	Alois Vogl	Benjamin Raich
2004	——	Benjamin Raich	——
2003	Bruno Kernen Stephan Eberharter	Giorgio Rocca	Kjetil André Aamodt
2002	Stephan Eberharter	Ivica Kostelić	Kjetil André Aamodt
2001	——	Benjamin Raich	——
2000	Josef Strobl	Kjetil André Aamodt	——
1999	Lasse Kjus	Benjamin Raich	Lasse Kjus
1998	Andreas Schifferer Hermann Maier	Thomas Stangassinger	Hermann Maier
1997	Kristian Ghedina	Thomas Sykora	——
1996	——	——	——
1995	Kyle Rasmussen Kristian Ghedina	Alberto Tomba	Marc Girardelli
1994	William Besse	Marc Girardelli	——
1993	——	——	——
1992	Franz Heinzer	Alberto Tomba	Paul Accola
1991	——	——	——
1990	——	——	——
1989	Marc Girardelli Marc Girardelli	Rudolf Nierlich	Marc Girardelli
1988	——	——	——
1987	Markus Wasmeier	Joel Gaspoz	Pirmin Zurbriggen
1986	——	Rok Petrovic	——
1985	Helmut Höflehner Peter Wirnsberger	Marc Girardelli	Michel Vion
1984	Bill Johnson	——	——
1983	——	——	——
1982	Harti Weirather	Phil Mahre	Pirmin Zurbriggen
1981	Toni Bürgler	Bojan Krizaj	Valery Tsyganof
1980	Peter Müller Ken Read	Bojan Krizaj	Michael Veith
1979	——	——	——
1978	——	Klaus Heidegger	——
1977	Franz Klammer	Ingemar Stenmark	Walter Tresch
1976	Franz Klammer Herbert Plank	Ingemar Stenmark	Franz Klammer
1975	Franz Klammer	Ingemar Stenmark	Gustav Thöni
1974	Roland Collombin	Christian Neureuther	David Zwilling
1973	——	Christian Neureuther	——
1972	——	Jean-Noel Augert	——
1971	——	——	——
1970	Henri Duvillard	Patrick Russel	Henri Duvillard
1969	Karl Schranz	Reinhard Tritscher	Heini Messner
1968	Gerhard Nenning	Dumeng Giovanoli	Gerhard Nenning
1967	Jean-Claude Killy	Jean-Claude Killy	Jean-Claude Killy
1966	Karl Schranz	Guy Périllat	Karl Schranz
1965	Stefan Sodat	Guy Périllat	Karl Schranz
1964	Egon Zimmermann	Ludwig Leitner	Gerhard Nenning
1963	Karl Schranz	Guy Périllat	Guy Périllat
1962	——	Adolf Mathis	——
1961	Guy Périllat	Pepi Stiegler	Guy Périllat
1960	Willy Bogner	Hias Leitner	Pepi Stiegler
1959	Karl Schranz	Ernst Oberaigner	Ernst Oberaigner
1958	Toni Sailer	Josl Rieder	Buddy Werner
1957	Toni Sailer	Anderl Molterer	Josl Rieder
1956	Toni Sailer	Anderl Molterer	Josl Rieder
1955	Toni Sailer	Martin Julen	Toni Sailer
1954	Christian Pravda	Toni Spiss	Christian Pravda
1953	Anderl Molterer	Anderl Molterer	Anderl Molterer
1952	Othmar Schneider	Stein Eriksen	Othmar Schneider
1951	Othmar Schneider	Stein Eriksen	Othmar Schneider
1950	Fredy Rubi	Zeno Colò	Fredy Rubi
1949	Rudolf Graf	Zeno Colò	Adolf Odermatt
1948	Zeno Colò	Karl Molitor	Karl Molitor
1947	Karl Molitor	Olle Dalman	Edy Rominger
1946	Jean Blanc	Otto von Allmen	Karl Molitor
1945	Karl Molitor	Otto von Allmen	Otto von Allmen
1944	Rudolf Graf	Marcel von Allmen	Marcel von Allmen
1943	Karl Molitor	Heinz von Allmen	Heinz von Allmen
1942	Karl Molitor	Heinz von Allmen	Heinz von Allmen
1941	Rudolf Graf	Marcel von Allmen	Marcel von Allmen
1940	Karl Molitor	Karl Molitor	Karl Molitor
1939	Karl Molitor	Josef Jennewein	Willi Walch
1938	Heinz von Allmen	Rudi Canz	Heinz von Allmen
1937	Heinz von Allmen	Willi Walch	Willi Walch
1936	Hans Schlunegger	Hermann Steuri	Émile Allais
1935	Richard Werle	Arnold Glatthard	Hans Steuri
1934	Adolf Rubi	Adolf Rubi	Adolf Rubi
1933	——	——	——
1932	Fritz Steuri	Fritz von Allmen	Fritz Steuri
1931	Fritz Steuri	Hans Schlunegger	Fritz Steuri
1930	Christian Rubi	Ernst Gertsch	Bill Bracken

Lauberhorn ski races

Key sections

History

Facts and figures

Winners list