1975 is the year in which the Vietnam War comes to an end and Spain's dictator Francisco Franco dies. It is the year in which Muhamed Ali wins the "Thrilla in Manila" against Joe Frazier, in which Michael Walchhofer, Renate Götschl and Daniela Ceccarelli are born and in which the rock band Queen releases "Bohemian Rhapsody", their first number one hit. It is the International Year of Women - and the year of the legendary World Cup final on the Ronc slope in Ortisei.

It’s 23 March, 1975 and the three best skiers in the world are tied for first place with 240 points each before the final race—the parallel slalom, which is held for the first time in the history of the World Cup. They were the Austrian Franz Klammer, 21 years old at the time, Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden, 19 years old, and Gustav Thöni, 24 years old from the small mountain village of Trafoi at the foot of the Ortler. Klammer was immediately eliminated in this epic final by Helmuth Schmalzl, a racer from Val Gardena/Gröden who later became FIS race director.

This leaves Stenmak and Thöni, who, round by round, make it all the way to the final and then meet in a duel between the giants. 40,000 spectators attend the heart-stopping match-up. They transform the Ronc slope and the finish area into a veritable cauldron, the likes of which are otherwise only seen in soccer. The tension is almost unbearable.

Stenmark's threader seals Thöni's victory
Gustav Thöni and Ingemar Stenmark are in the starting blocks for the all-important final run. A murmur goes through the rows of spectators as the two exceptional skiers take up the fight for the big crystal globe. Both outstanding skiers have already won one run each. Now, in the decisive third run, it's all or nothing for the Scandinavian and the "Azzurro". And then it happened: Stenmark straddles the third last gate and it was clear: Gustav Thöni wins the overall World Cup for the fourth time.

The home crowd and millions of viewers in front of the TV screens are ecstatic. Indescribable scenes of joy take place along the course and in the finish area, strangers lie in each other's arms in jubilation. Gustav Thöni has further extended his legendary status, gracing the front pages of local and national newspapers over the next few days.

For Gustav Thöni, it is a late satisfaction, a kind of redemption. Because in the 1970 World Cup slalom on the same slope, the man from Val Venosta had "only" come fourth and missed out on his first World Cup medal by a hair's breadth, which was to follow two years later. This World Cup final in Ortisei is also historic because it was the first time in the history of the Ski World Cup that a new type of sports advertising had been introduced. In the run-up to the event, the milk producer "Parmalat" had bought the rights to the race for 25 million lire (approx. 13,000 euros).