What a great week it was in Kitzbühel. It goes without saying that I followed the invitation of the Kitzbühel Ski Club to the Hahnenkamm race. It was my first time there as a spectator. And what I experienced in the days here, I would never have dared to imagine before!
Immediately after my arrival, I was given such a warm welcome by Rainer Lienher and his entire team from the Kitzbühel Ski Club, simply unbelievable. After we watched two jumps on the Schattbergschanze, we went straight on to the start house tour. It's impressive how steep it is! And the look behind the scenes was more than interesting. I am incredibly grateful for this experience.
The races started the very next day. I am still overwhelmed by the atmosphere. I have been to many major events, but what goes on here in Kitzbühel is hard to top. We went to the race two hours before so as not to miss it. I think we were the first ones on the grand stand, which wasn't too bad. But the wait was a real pleasure and we were well entertained. Skydivers, celebrities (thanks Ernst Hinterseer for the nice chat) and a lot of fans who created a great atmosphere.
The Salettl Stammtisch in the Rasmushof and the awards ceremony in the evening were the topping on the cake of day 2.
The next day the show continued with all the celebrities from politics, sport and society. After thinking that yesterday would be hard to top, I was proven wrong today. In addition to the sporting events, the focus today was above all on many nice encounters. It started at breakfast with a nice chat with ÖSV sports director Mario Stecher and alpine boss Herbert Mandl.
We then headed to the VIP stand, where I couldn't believe my eyes. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bernie Ecclestone and all the others were walking around, with my wife and me right in the middle. What great experiences! I am especially grateful for one encounter today. KSC President Michael Huber came up to me, greeted me and thanked me again for our great cooperation. It is something very special when you are valued so much by certain people. That definitely made my day - along with an extremely exciting race and many other impressions.
The last day was the end of a wonderful week full of action, adrenaline and nice encounters. Even though the weather wasn't so great - every minute that we stood in the rain and cheered along was worth it!
It's unbelievable how smooth the athletes went down the „Ganslern Hang“. It was like being at the ice rink, only on skis.
In addition to top sporting performances, I also had extremely good conversations with nice people on the last day. ÖSV Secretary General Christian Scherer, for example, with whom I was able to have a super far-sighted conversation. Or KSC President Michael Huber, with whom we sat at the „Stammtisch" again. After such eventful days, you only realize how happy you are at the end, when things calm down again and the stress subsides. We started the journey home with physically empty batteries, but a head full of impressions, pictures and memories.
Aside from all the glitz and glamour, Kitzbühel is mainly about one thing for me. The nice encounters with a wide variety of people who come together peacefully, enjoy sport at the highest level and celebrate together. It is precisely these encounters that will stay in your memory for a long time and are so valuable to me.
Thank you Kitzbühel for an unforgettable racing weekend! And THANK YOU to the KSC, who made all this possible!
Yours sincerely, Peter Riedel
