Three teams the top favourites – all with a victory in Cesana
Cesana (pps) The three favorites in the doubles‘ are from Germany, Austria and Italy. Their names are Tobias Wendl-Tobias Arlt (GER), Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger (AUT) and Christian Oberstolz-Patrick Gruber (ITA). And they all have celebrated a victory on the demanding track of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. Wendl-Arlt, 2008 World runners-up and 2010 European silver medallists, were successful at the World Championship “rehearsal” last year. Linger-Linger celebrated their first Olympic gold medal five years ago and Oberstolz-Gruber have earned their so far only career title at the 2008 Europeans in Cesana.
Three teams as the top favorites in the doubles‘, the rather unusual World Championship modus with runs on two days (first run on January 29, 2011/19:00 hrs local time and second run on January 30, 2011/09:00 hrs) have given shape to the post-Olympic season. Wendl-Arlt have turned out to be Germany’s No. 1 and have thus become worthy successors to the formerly very successful Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch (2002 Olympic and four-time World champions) as well as André Florschuetz-Torsten Wustlich (2006 Olympic silver medallists and three-time World champions).
The team from Bavaria (“we want a podium finish at the Worlds”) has won as many as four Viessmann Luge World Cup events this season (Winterberg, Calgary, Koenigssee and Oberhof). “We’re older and more mature now”, said Tobias Wendl with regard to the new-found consistency.
Two-time Olympic champions Linger-Linger won the season’s opener in Innsbruck-Igls, were tied with compatriots Peter Penz-Georg Fischler for the top-spot on the podium in Park City and finally successful last weekend in Altenberg. And Oberstolz-Gruber have diligently collected five second-place finishes. Despite a total of 15 individual Viessmann Luge World Cup victories to their credit the two lugers from South Tyrol, have failed, as yet, to earn a medal at Olympic Games (5th place in 2006 and 4th rank in 2010) or at Worlds. This is why the two are dying to finally earn a medal.
But for all that, Austria’s Olympic “heroes“ Linger-Linger count their compatriots Penz-Fischler among the title favourites, just as the two Sics brothers Andris and Juris of Latvia, the 2010 Olympic silver medallists in Vancouver. Andreas Linger: “They really know how to handle the track in Cesana. I believe them among the top medal contenders at the Worlds.”
As the 29-year old Linger mentioned, he is especially curious to see how the Russian and US lugers will perform at the Worlds. The US team with Christian Niccum-Jayson Terdiman has created quite some interest with their third place finish at the World Cup in Winterberg. Meanwhile, Russia’s doubles’ with Vladislav Yushakov-Vladimir Makhnutin (5th in Oberhof and 4th in Altenberg) as well as Ivan Nevmerzhitskiy-Vladimir Prokhorov (6th in Oberhof) who are now being coached by Wolfgang Schaedler of Liechtenstein might well create a surprise. “Of course they still need to adapt to the new material. But there’s no doubt - they’re making progress”, said Schaedler.
