Russia wins team relay with an advantage of 17 thousandths of a second 

Sigulda (RWH): Nail-biting finale in the Viessmann team relay World Cup presented by BMW in Sigulda: The Russian team beat the German quartet with an advantage of just 17 thousandths of a second. 

The Russian team, made up of Tatyana Ivanova, Semen Pavlichenko and Vladislav Yuzhakov/Iurii Prokhorov, celebrated their first win of the season in the team relay event just two weeks ahead of the season highlight, the International Luge Federation’s (FIL) 47th World Championships in Innsbruck (27 – 29 January 2017). The second-place German team of Natalie Geisenberger, Felix Loch and Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken were followed in third place by the host team of Eliza Cauce, Inars Kivlenieks and Oskars Gudramovics/Peteris Kalnins of Latvia. 

The German team now have 231 points and currently lead the overall standings after the third of six events. They are followed in second by the USA (215), who finished fourth in Sigulda. Third place is currently held by the Canadians (210), who came sixth in Latvia. 

The Viessmann team relay World Cup presented by BMW was rescheduled to be held in Sigulda after inclement weather forced the event in Whistler (CAN) to be cancelled.