21 January 2004

Skiing on 4 this weekend features the big one, the race that every skier, the world over, dreams of winning, the Men's Downhill from the mighty Hahnennkamm, Kitzbuhel, Austria.

It is the fastest, most dangerous and most technically difficult race in the entire World Cup calendar. The top competitors will cross the line at speeds of 90mph. Each day over 100,000 spectators line the course, and they even keep the bars open for a straight 48 hours!

Since Jean Claude Killy won the first World Cup Downhill here in 1967, this has been Skiing's 'Theatre of Dreams'. The great Franz Klammer won here four times, while Herman Maier, his great rival Stefan Eberharter and American Daron Rahlves are the most recent winners.

If you were to ask most skiers if they would rather win here, or pick up Olympic Gold, the aura and prestige of Kitzbuhel guarantees that a majority would plump for victory on the Hahnennkamm.

Friday 23rd 01:25 - British Skiing at its best, as we check on Chemmy Alcott's superb run of form, as we take in her Downhill from Cortina, Italy. We are also This is one to watch. We also travel to Wengen to see how the fabulous Baxter boys got on, plus a full round up of the rest of the week's Alpine action.

Saturday 24th 07:00am - We take a close look at Kitzbuhel and see the first action of the weekend, Friday's Super G. We also catch up with Zoe Gillings, and see her latest race from Arosa, Switzerland. It was a double header in the Boardercross and we take in the action from both rounds. We also profile Chemmy Alcott, in an exclusive interview.

Sunday 25th 08:00am - 09:00 - Concentrates fully on Saturday's Downhill race, with all of the world's top racers competing. The programme is especially extended to an hour as Konrad Bartelski joins Nick in the commentary box. The Austrian duo of Hermann Maier and Stefan Eberharter will certainly be the one's that the crowd are shouting for, but watch out for last years' winner Daron Rahlves. However, if Maier were to win, it would crown one of the most miraculous comebacks in sporting history.

Wednesday 28th 02:25am - Again sees us catch up with Zoe Gillings for a more in-depth look at her. We also see her performance in Bad Gastein. We also take a look at the three way battle in the Women's Parallel Slalom between Swiss duo of Daniela Meuli, and Ursula Bruhin, and Austria's Doresia Krings. In the Men's Parallel, Ziggy Grabner is out on his own, but Mathieu Bozzetto is on the comeback trail.

Thursday 29th 01:05am - Tonight we see the second round competitions as the cross-country Skiers stay in Otepaa in Estonia while Jannne Ahonen again takes on the Ski Jumping challenge in Librec. Patrick Winterton is in the commentary box.

** BTW If you would like to see 'Skiing on 4' at reasonable times, why not email Channel 4 and tell them?

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