2024-01-20 09:08:00
On January 20, 2018, Thomas Dreßen caused a sensation for German alpine skiers. The then 24-year-old won the legendary downhill run on the Streif in Kitzbühel. It was the first success of a German in the Kitzbühel downhill run since Josef “Sepp” Ferstl, exactly 39 years earlier to the day.
The success didn’t come out of nowhere. Dreßen previously came third on the Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek and fifth on the Lauberhorn downhill run in Wengen. And yet it was unexpected that he won his first World Cup victory on the Streif, of all places.
Starting with number 19, he took advantage of the opportunity in good visibility conditions and relegated the Swiss world champion Beat Feuz to second place with a lead of 0.20 seconds. He managed the tricky parts like the exit from the upper steep slope and the traverse in front of the finish slope with almost no errors.
“It was a childhood dream to cross the finish line in Kitzbühel and lead. There is nothing to compare with Kitzbühel,” said Dreßen, overwhelmed by emotion. “At the finish I couldn’t believe it, I thought they were kidding me.”
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