In the focus: “Duel Zoeggeler – Loch” or “old hand versus shooting star”
Cesana (pps) While the one has never lost a single race on his home track, the other has clinched all the important titles lately. 2006 Olympic gold medal, 2008 European Championship title and four victories in the Viessmann Luge World Cup – this is how Armin Zoeggeler’s Cesana track record reads. Germany’s Felix Loch, on the other hand, celebrated the 2008 and 2009 World Championship title and took the 2010 Olympic gold medal in Vancouver. “These two will battle it out to win”, predicts David Moeller, two-time World champion and Olympic runner-up. But at the upcoming 42nd World Championships of the International Luge Federation, FIL, on January 29-30, 2011, he is considered an outsider for the title.
The duel “Zoeggeler against Loch” or, in other words “old hand versus shooting star”, will be in the focus at the second championships in Italy since Olang in 1971. Despite his winning streak in the Piedmont, local hero Zoeggeler refutes the idea of a “foregone conclusion” as far as the World Championship title is concerned. “I’m one year older and the competition has become more challenging”, said the 37-year old. Thanks to four victories in seven of altogether nine races he is currently leading the overall Viessmann Luge World Cup rankings by a clear margin. “Of course I’ve had a great season so far and I hope that I’ll be able to continue the good streak until the Worlds. However, I’m well aware of the fact that the German lugers will do their utmost to put me under pressure”.
First and foremost by Felix Loch, who celebrated his World Cup victories No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in Innsbruck-Igls, Oberhof and Altenberg. “We’re well on our way with regard to the Worlds“, said Loch after Germany’s quadruple success at the World Cup in Thuringia. “We’re going to do our very best”. And when the Olympic champion says “we”, he refers to his fellow team-mates – 2007 World bronze medallist Jan Eichhorn, Andi Langenhan, who had to stomach an accident on the World Championship track during the training week in autumn, and David Moeller, who earned a bronze medal at the Europeans in Cesana two years ago.
Apart from the phalanx of German lugers, Armin Zoeggeler reckons with Russia’s Viktor Kneyb and Albert Demchenko, the 2006 Olympic silver medallist and the 2008 European runner-up respectively. “Albert has been improving lately and especially in Cesana he is always a force to be reckoned with”, explained Zoeggeler with an eye on his long-time rival.
Another long-time companion of Zoeggeler will be saying farewell to the sport of luge in Cesana. Reinhold Rainer, Zoeggeler’s roommate for many years and winner of the 2003-2004 Viessmann Luge World Cup in Park City, who surprisingly earned a third-place finish at the World Cup in Koenigssee in January, will compete in his last Worlds before ending his active career at the end of the season.
So far however, Austria’s lugers have failed to live up to expectations. The best results of the protogés of head coach René Friedl were a fourth rank (Reinhard Egger / Innsbruck-Igls), a fifth place (Wolfgang Kindl / Park City and Manuel Pfister / Calgary) as well as a sixth position (Daniel Pfister / Park City).
