“Mentally I would not have faced a cancellation”

Eleven years after its premiere, Beat Feuz achieves the long-awaited victory at the Streif, thanks to the willingness to take risks, as he says later.

Yes, Beat Feuz was willing to take a chance for this win, when he went all-in. This was evident in his statements after the victory. If the race had been stopped after 23 drivers due to the wind and therefore not counted, “no one would have seen me in Kitzbühel in the next few days,” he said. He doesn’t think he could have risked being ready this time again. The second downhill on Saturday and the Super-G on Sunday would have been done without him.

Beat Feuz, you had escaped victory at the Streif several times in recent years. Were you also worried in the leader box this time?

A little. Suddenly, the wind also became a factor. When after 23 pilots there was even a rejection of the discussion, I was quite worried. I don’t think the next day I could have taken the risk that I was willing to take this time.

Now that the gap has been closed at the Palmarès, the question becomes again: How upsetting has this lost Kitzbühel victory been in recent years?

The thing that bothered me the most was after 2017, when I landed on the net with a clear better time on the crossing before the arrival slope. He had a feeling that he should have won it and missed this great opportunity. He didn’t know how many more chances he would have. But over time my perspective changed again and I was mostly happy for the many second places here. This way I managed to get rid of the pressure. From then on, I didn’t waste a second thinking about victory, but instead focused on skiing clean, well and beautifully and doing what I can, like this time.

Is victory a relief anyway? Is something falling off of you?

Relief may be the wrong word. Above all, it is wonderful that it has now worked. Anyone who knows me knows that I definitely want to win a classic like Kitzbühel. If you’ve finished second four times, you also know you’re close. But I still prefer five wins somewhere to one here.

What was going through your head in the leaderboard when the race was interrupted for 40 minutes?

That was pretty clear. I said that I would not be at the start on Saturday and that no one would see me in Kitzbühel for the next few days if the race stopped after 23 or 24 drivers. I couldn’t have done it mentally. Everything would have turned out fine: my risky trip, the fall of Urs (Kryenbühl – the publisher), the cancellation. It would have been too dangerous for me on Saturday.