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— Bode Miller aims for his first downhill win on the Streif course, while Didier Cuche tries for a record fifth.
Miller would become the second American to win after Daron Rahlves in 2003.
"Kitzbuehel is pretty much the pinnacle, it's the top of the downhill," Miller said Friday.
On Saturday, he'll have to outrace Cuche. The 37-year-old Swiss standout announced this week he'll retire at the end of the season. Cuche won the season-long World Cup downhill title in four of the past five seasons.
Miller said he's not sure why he hasn't won here.
"Maybe it's because I haven't put the focus on this race as much as some other guys," Miller said. "I have never won the downhill. It's one of the things that I feel like is kind of missing from my career results."
Cuche could overtake Austrian great Franz Klammer, who won it four times in the 1970s and 80s.
"I don't feel like I have to win. I may get another win and I may set that record," Cuche said. "Even if it remains four wins, I will be very proud and I will be waiting with Franz until someone gets to five."
He also would help Switzerland to become the first nation with five straight Hahnenkamm victories since the introduction of the World Cup in 1967 — Cuche won in 2008, '10 and '11, and Didier Defago in '09.
"The special pressure of racing in Kitzbuehel makes me even stronger," said Cuche, who had the fastest training run Wednesday. "On this course, I am more alert, I am able to get everything out of myself."
After four of 11 World Cup downhill races, Switzerland's Beat Feuz leads with 260 points, followed by Miller with 219. Cuche is fifth with 177.
Cuche is the oldest racer to win a men's World Cup race after his victory at the 2011 Kitzbuehel downhill at 36, beating Liechtenstein great Marco Buechel's record by 85 days.
He became the oldest men's world champion in 2009 when taking gold in super-G at 34 in Val d'Isere, France. He won silver in super-G at the 1998 Nagano Games but never won an Olympic title.
