Kilde about Kitzbühel:

“I said at the finish that I’d never do it again”

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde remembers his first run on the Streif.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

In a "Sport und Talk Special" on Monday evening, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde recalled his first start in Kitzbühel - which demanded a lot of respect from him. "At the finish line, I said I'd never do it again," said the speed elk.

In 2014, the young Kilde tackled the Hahnenkamm downhill for the first time, but it took some time before he was actually allowed to push himself out of the starting gate. "During the first training session, when I had bib number 57, the air was warm and the snow and conditions were brutal. At the finish I said that I would never do that again. Nevertheless, I was back at the start the next day. That was a very special feeling," the 32-year-old described in the ServusTV program.

The whole surrounding area is also incomparable to any other World Cup station. "Kitzbühel isn't just great because of the course, but also because of everything that's going on. For a downhill racer, it's the race to win." Kilde celebrated his first Hahnenkamm victory eight years after his Kitzbühel debut, the Norwegian won in 2022 ahead of the two Frenchmen Johan Clarey and Blaise Giezendanner. 2023 he was able to repeat his triumph directly.

Kilde won his first golden chamois in 2022.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"That's what I'm fighting for"
Next weekend, the veteran will be condemned to watch, as Kilde is still battling with the injury he sustained in Wengen last year. "The sixth operation on my shoulder is the last. That's the plan. The calf and leg look okay and normal skiing is going quite well. Racing again next year is definitely the plan. That's what I'm fighting for," says the overall World Cup winner from 2019/20, looking ahead.