Simon Jocher on the “Streif” in the points for the first time

Created: 2022-01-21Updated: 2022-01-21, 3:05 p.m

By: Paul Hopp

Traveling at more than 130 km/h: Simon Jocher (SC Garmisch) at the World Cup downhill on Friday in Kitzbühel.

© JOE KLAMAR / AFP

The "Streif" in Kitzbühel is a legend among skiers.

Simon Jocher has now scored World Cup points for the first time on the world's most famous descent - although not everything went smoothly for him at the start.

Kitzbühel – Immediately before it was Simon Jocher's turn with starting number 39, there was a commotion on the "Streif".

The American Erik Arvidsson (number 37) had fallen after the local mountain edge – as it turned out, he didn't suffer too much.

The following Canadian Jeffrey Read, who was already on the track due to the starting interval, was stopped.

The safety fences first had to be repaired, and the race had to be interrupted for this.

All things that really annoy a ski racer who is just standing in the starting gate.

Jocher was rather unimpressed.

He scored two points for the first time on the most famous descent in the World Cup (29th place).

Simon Jocher with excellent first intermediate times

The Schongauer got off to a brilliant start on the “Streif”, which was slightly shortened due to the weather. At the third of seven split times he was just 49 hundredths behind leader and eventual winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (Norway) – at this point that meant the seventh best split time. A top result was possible up to the local mountain. But then the man from Schongau gradually lost time, the target slope is tough. At the finish, the gap to the winner was 2.35 seconds, which meant 25th place.

After that, the 25-year-old trembled a bit because other drivers with lower numbers drove fast - above all the Frenchman Blaise Giezendanner, who started the race two positions behind Jocher and sensationally raced to third place.

He had also caught a window of opportunity when visibility was improving.

But in the end it was clear: Simon Jocher had finished in the top 30 in his second downhill race on the "Streif".

When he debuted in January 2021, he was 36th.

In the Super-G before that he was eliminated.

The athlete from SC Garmisch has another chance to score points in Kitzbühel this Sunday (11.30 a.m.).

Then there is a second downhill race.