World Champions Eggert/Benecken secure the 25th individual victory of their careers

Altenberg 2017 Doppel

 Altenberg (RWH): The World Champions remain the pair to beat in the doubles event. At the season finale of the Viessmann World Cup in Altenberg (GER), Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken, who had already been named as overall winners prior to the final race, secured their ninth win of the season and the 25th individual victory of their career. Second and third place at the race in Saxony were awarded to Matt Mortensen/Jayson Terdiman (USA) and Robin Geueke/David Gamm (GER).

 Including their victory in Altenberg, the German duo remained unbeaten in all twelve World Cup events in the final season before the Olympics. Measured across the seasons, this race was the 20th win in succession for the German athletes. The last time the German pair failed to secure first place was on 12 December 2015, when former Champions Christian Oberstolz/Patrick Gruber won at the BMW Sprint World Cup in Park City, Italy.

 The Olympic Champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt (GER), who, with 38 wins, hold the record for the most individual wins in the doubles World Cup, messed up their start on the first run and had to make do with 13th place in the end.

 In the final rankings for the Viessmann World Cup, Eggert/Benecken finished first with 1140 points, followed by Wendl/Arlt (888). In third place, Mortensen/Terdiman (674) managed to squeeze past Geueke/Gamm with a three-point lead.

 Quotes

 Sascha Benecken (GER / 2017 World Champion, runner-up in the 2012, 2013 and 2016 World Championships, 2013 and 2016 European Champion):

 “The weather this week meant that conditions were really tough during training. Even now, the track is still very slippery. However, we managed to do a very good job. We proved that we were the deserved winners of the overall World Cup.”

 Matt Mortensen (USA / fifth place in the overall standings for the Viessmann World Cup 2015/2016):

“It was a huge surprise for us. We never expected to do so well on a German track, let alone manage to achieve third place in the overall standings.”

 Robin Geueke (GER / bronze medallist in the 2017 World Championships):

“We didn’t lose third place in the overall standings here in Altenberg; we lost it when we crashed in Sigulda. Just three points behind, it’s a real shame.”