Alpine skiing: Alexander-Amodt Kelde with a double stroke on the Lauberhorn
After Friday’s Super G race, Norway’s Alexander Aamodt Kilde also won Wengen. The competition for return did not give Thomas Dressen a chance.
Norway’s Alexander Amodt Kelde won the downhill Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland, in impressive fashion. In his win on Saturday (January 14, 2023) he was nearly nine-tenths of a second ahead of second-placed local champion Marco Odermatt and just over a second ahead of Italy’s Mattia Kass.
Thomas Dresen was on his way back to the World Cup after almost a month out of injury due to a torn muscle as he finished 23rd, second best to the DSV rider behind Romed Baumann, who came in 16th. However, they were far from the top ten.
Kilda is unbeatable in the upper division
As in Super-G the day before, Kilde took his victory in the upper section of the course, where he had the best speed and swallowed punches in the corners better. “It was a really good race today. I went full speed from top to bottom.”said the winner. The all-around package is just right for him, Kildee says—the material, the balance when skating, and the dynamics are all there.
No other athlete can currently ride his streak in Wengen. Nor did his long-term rival Odermatt, who was particularly enthusiastic in his home race, but missed the jump to the top, as in the Super-G.
The German drivers had no chance of a podium finish. Baumann was the first to start on the legendary road with the world-famous sections Hundschopf, Kernen-S and Silberhornsprung, but his best time was only two riders outlived, then he was replaced by Casse in the leaderboard, who was almost a second faster than him.
Dreßen speaks very emotionally about his return
In the end, Dreßen was 2.22 seconds behind the winner, but was nonetheless satisfied with his comeback after a hamstring injury. “It’s amazing and so nice to be here again. I cried at first,” the 29-year-old said, visibly agitated at the sports show mic. The outcome was secondary to him, it was about enjoying the skiing: “The start in Lake Louise was great but after that I was too focused on results so now it’s just “have fun and immerse yourself in it all”.“
Josef Verstel (+2.30 seconds) dropped one place behind Dresen. Andreas Sander showed a largely flawless run, but didn’t really attack and was in a material deficit, he was 38th (+2.93). Dominik Schweiger lost a lot of time after slipping in Kernen-S and had to pick up 43rd (+3.63).