A mixed field of winners at the 78th Inferno downhill race

Saturday, 22 January 2022 was all about the Inferno Downhill. A total of 1482 racers once again ventured onto a perfect race piste with the finish on Winteregg. Victory was not in the hands of the Swiss for the first time in 21 years.

The racers had to struggle with hazy visibility and overcast skies on Saturday morning. So it was no coincidence that the field of favourites was thoroughly shaken up: Ruedi Brawand, winner of 2020, as well as the highly rated Austrian Josef Pepi Strobl could not live up to their role as favourites. The winner of the 78th Inferno Downhill is Alexander Zöschg. The South Tyrolean has competed in every Inferno race since 2011 and has never made it past second place. With a time of 7.13,01 and the best split times on all sections of the course, he was able to outshine his competitors this year. And not only that: it is the first time in 21 years that a Swiss has not won the downhill. Second and third place are again in the hands Bernese Oberlanders. Adrian Feuz from Gsteigwil finished just ahead of Mathias Reber from Diemtigen.

Strong women at the finish – a fifth victory for Nicole Eiholzer-Bärtschi!

Nicole Eiholzer-Bärtschi from Buttisholz crossed the finish line on Winteregg in 08.15,96, about one minute slower than the winner of the men's race. She was closely followed by Tanja and Nathalie Hauswirth from Gstaad. As in Thursday's giant slalom, the sisters showed a strong performance. For Eiholzer-Bärtschi, it is already her fifth victory in the downhill.

The devil was merciful

All in all, the Organising committee of the Inferno races is very satisfied with the 78th edition. There were no incidents worth mentioning from an organisational or a competitive point of view. The devil was merciful despite, or maybe because of, a year of interruption. As in the cross-country and giant slalom races, there were no serious injuries requiring specialist treatment in the downhill race. 1482 participants started this year’s downhill and only five were not classified.