It is an enormous, state-of-the-art building featuring a series of pools, hot tubs, submerged massage jet beds, saunas and steam and infrared rooms. The Pulverer has its own spa area saunas and steam rooms but I was impressed by the public spa facility called the Romerbad, directly at the end of the Franz Klammer run.
Water is a big thing in BKK, the natural thermal waters bringing tourists from all over the world for their relaxation and curative properties. 'We have the best water in the world,' he declared. Over dinner at the rustic Loystuben restaurant in the splendid five-star Hotel Thermenwelt Pulverer, we enjoyed local beef and some fine Austrian wine.īut when it came to water, Franz announced we should not order bottles but jugs of tap water. The most striking thing about Franz, however, is that despite being such a megastar in Austria and followed constantly by autograph-hunters, he is charming and totally unaffected by his fame.įranz loves the great outdoors - he still gets thrills from his skiing, he cycles more than 100 miles each week to stay fit, plays golf off a very respectable seven handicap and enjoys family life amid the thermal waters of Carinthia and BKK whenever he can. When we drew to a halt I was panting and exhilarated, while Franz was calm and collected, but I was pleased to have eaten the Kaiser's powder dust. He kept glancing back, increasing his speed to test my nerve. With Ingrid annoyingly hogging the right to ski on the Kaiser's tails, I took it upon myself to shake her off on one long stretch of slope, zipping in right behind Franz and glueing myself to his tracks. Professional: Franz Klammer on his beloved K70 run in the beautiful Austrian resort of Bad Kleinkirchheim When I was in BKK two weeks ago, her bright orange ski pants were always right behind Franz when he took off for another run. For one or two days every year, he allows members of the public to ski alongside him - and they have to be on their toes, with skis waxed and edges sharp.Ī regular on these Klammer Days is a ski instructor called Ingrid, from Vienna, where Franz lives with his wife and two children. By the way, the cake is very good, a highly calorific mix of hazelnuts, raspberries and marzipan.Īt the age of 56, Franz is still in great shape and skis at lightning speed. He has god-like status here, with a new World Cup downhill course, a mountain restaurant and even his favourite cake from the local pastry-maker named after him. Franz won 25 individual World Cup downhill races, five World Cup championships and a gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck.Īnd if Franz is grateful to BKK, the resort's residents are, in turn, grateful to him. Suddenly people were asking, "Who is this guy?" and really this win on K70 was my launch into the World Cup circuit.'Īnd what a career it proved to be. He says: 'I was a nobody in skiing until I grabbed this opportunity, so BKK has been very good to me. But with that victory, the 18-year-old achieved a major breakthrough. He won his first downhill race here when Bad Kleinkirchheim - known as BKK - secured the right to host the inaugural European Cup competition in December 1971.Īt the time, Franz, a poor farmer's son from Mooswald in the Austrian province of Carinthia, was struggling for recognition in the skiing world. The King and I: Olympic gold medallist Franz Klammer and Neil English (right) K70 is very close to Franz's heart. The snow conditions were excellent everywhere during my trip but I felt they were somehow even better on K70 - the snow remained firm enough to hold a true and consistent line without straining any muscles. His compliment may have prompted raucous laughter and applause from a group of Austrian and British skiers standing beside the great man, but for me they meant the world. Then, as I drew to a neat stop as casually as I could, he uttered those modest, though to me, immortal words.
I would normally treat the compliment of 'not bad for an Englishman' with disdain, but this time it lifted my spirits up and over the beautiful Nockberge mountains of Austria.Īfter all, it's not every day your skills on the slopes are praised by Franz Klammer, one of the greatest downhill skiers of all time.įranz, known to everyone in Austria as Kaiser, was waiting at the bottom of K70, my favourite run in the resort of Bad Kleinkirchheim.Īs I skied down the exhilarating run towards him, trying desperately to carve my most precise and dynamic turns, Franz watched my technique intently.
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