Schatz/Mühlbacher Win Race and World Cup
It would have been too perfect if Gerhard Pilz (AUT) would have won the very first World Cup race ever in Rautavaara (FIN) in December 1992 (which he did) and also his personally last World Cup race in Passeier in February 2007 (which he did not). However, he used Passeier 2007 to announce his retirement after this season. He has been dominating the scene for many years and it seems that somebody else is ready to take his place, even though he is only at the beginning of his career: Patrick Pigneter (ITA) won the overall World Cup the second time in a row and he did it with a maximum score of 500 points. No doubt that these days he is the one to beat. In Passeier nobody could beat him and like in the first Passeier race he won also the second one with the fastest times in both runs. He knows that his success is the result of many components: “I thank all my trainers and coaches who are providing a perfect environment for me and I also thank my father who is the one responsible for my equipment,” said the 20-year-old Italian. He already has his focus on his next goals: “In the World Championships I want medals in the single as well as in the doubleseater event.”
Just in time for the fight for medals the reigning European Champion Gernot Schwab found back on the winning track and finished second. “We did some analysing on my races and found out that I am losing time in the straight parts of the track. So we made some changes on my sled and today it was much better. It was really hard to get back on the podium, but I think I am on the right way for the World Championships”, said Schwab. Third became youngster Hannes Clara (ITA) who proved that his third place of Lungiaru was definitely not a coincidence and that he can have a great future.
The only American competitor, Julien Schultz from Michigan, finished 23rd and was quite satisfied with his season which he spent all alone competing far away from home. “Considering that natural track luge is happing in the shadow of artificial track back home I think I am doing alright.” He would enjoy to have a World Cup race in Michigan again. The last race in Negaunee, Michigan was held in the winter 1994/95. At least he will be able to participate in the World Championships on his home continent: “I am looking forward, I am sure it will be a nice event with hopefully a lot of media coverage. My personal goal is top 20 finish.”
After five second places and four third places in the last 13 races Renate Gietl (ITA) finally claimed the top spot on the podium again and celebrated her seventh career win. “It was very close with only two hundredths of a second, but I could not care less. When Renate Kasslatter beat Lavrentjeva it showed us all that it is possible and this really encouraged me. At the start I thought it is now or never. But it does not change much for the World Championships. I will try to stay calm and do my best”, she said. The beaten Russian was not very upset: “I already had won the overall World Cup, so maybe I was lacking a bit of concentration. I had some small mistakes in my second run. But I cannot win all the time, that´s ok and congratulations to Renate”, she said. Third became Melanie Batkowski, who had an excellent second run which put her from the 6th rank on the podium. “I did not expect too much any more in the second run, I just wanted to attack and I am happy it went so well”, she said one day before her 18th birthday.
In the doubleseater´s event the World Cup decision did not fall until the second run. In the end it was Austria´s Schatz/Mühlbacher who claimed their third season win and defended their overall title from last year: “I always thought the the first title in a career is the most meaningful, but I have to say that this year we had to work so hard for it, that it maybe even bigger. We spent whole nights just preparing our sleds after we had found out what to do in the middle of the winter,” said Schatz. “Today we did not speculate the win the race, we had the World Cup in the back of our minds, so maybe we did not take full risk and did not go with 120% but only 100%”, said Mühlbacher. Reinhard Beer/Haerbert Kögl had lost their chance in the first run already, non the less they impressed with an excellent second run which put them from the eighth to the fourth rank. But the podium places went to Patrick Pigneter/Florian Clara (ITA) and Pawel Porschnev/Ivan Lazarev (RUS) who were Schatz/Mühlbacher´s toughest competitors throughout the season.
Results 6th World Cup in Passeier:
Women Singles (19):
1. Renate GIETL (ITA) 56.56(1), 57,08(2) 1:53.64
2. Ekatharina LAVRENTJEVA (RUS) 56.65(2), 57,01(1) 1:53.66
3. Melanie BATKOWSKI (AUT) 57.61(6), 57,48(3) 1:55.09
4. Barbara ABART (ITA) 57.19(3), 58.00(5) 1:55.19
5. Michaela MAURER (GER) 57.57(4), 58.21(6) 1:55.78
6. Renate KASSLATTER (ITA) 57.86(8), 57,95(4) 1:55.81
7. Julia VETLOVA (RUS) 57.57(4), 58.30(7) 1:55.87
8. Kinga GAWLAS (POL) 57.62(7), 58.72(9) 1:56.34
9. Oxana ELESINA (RUS) 58.94(10), 58.70(8) 1:57.64
10. Katrin MLADEK (AUT) 59.20(11), 59.18(10) 1:58.38
Men Singles (37):
1. Patrick PIGNETER (ITA) 54.87(1), 55,66(1) 1:50.53
2. Gernot SCHWAB (AUT) 55.71(3), 55.70(2) 1:51.41
3. Hannes CLARA (ITA) 55.49(2), 55.98(3) 1:51.47
4. Martin PSENNER (ITA) 55.82(6), 56.16(6) 1:51.98
5. Anton BLASBICHLER (ITA) 55.79(4), 56.29(8) 1:52.08
6. Gerhard PILZ (AUT) 56.11(8), 56.08(4) 1:52.19
7. Florian BREITENBERGER (ITA) 55.80(5), 56.49(11) 1:52.29
8. Gerald KAMMERLANDER (AUT) 56.22(11), 56.08(4) 1:52.30
9. Mathis RAINER (ITA) 56.10(7), 56.22(7) 1:52.32
10. Thomas KAMMERLANDER (AUT) 56.16(9), 56.40(9) 1:52.56
11. Björn KIERSPEL (GER) 56.21(10), 56.41(10) 1:52.62
13. Georg MAURER (GER) 56.33(13), 56.70(13) 1:53.03
15. Marcus GRAUSAM (GER) 56.64(15), 57.28(15) 1:53.92
16. Christian WICHAN (GER) 57.01(16), 57.34(16) 1:54.35
23. Julien SCHULTZ (USA) 58.77(23), 58.26(21) 1:57.03
Doubles (15):
1. Christian SCHATZ/Gerhard MÜHLBACHER (AUT) 59.97(2), 59.83(1) 1:59.80
2. Patrick PIGNETER/Florian CLARA (ITA) 59.71(1), 1:00.19(2) 1:59.90
3. Pawel PORSCHNEV/Ivan LAZAREV (RUS) 1:00.45(3), 1:00.43(4) 2:00.88
4. Reinhard BEER/Herbert KÖGL (AUT) 1:00.83(8), 1:00.27(3) 2:01.10
5. Christian SCHOPF/Andreas SCHOPF (AUT) 1:00.59(4), 1:00.57(5) 2:01.16
6. Andrzej LASZCZAK/Damian WANICZEK (POL) 1:00.64(5), 1:00.82(6) 2:01.46
7. Denis ALIMOV/Roman MOLVISTOV (RUS) 1:00.64(5), 1:01.13(9) 2:01.77
8. Martin PSENNER/Johannes HOFER (ITA) 1:00.69(7), 1:01.12(8) 2:01.81
9. Thomas WEISS/Andreas LEITER (ITA) 1:01.11(10), 1:01.17(10) 2:02.28
10. Björn KIERSPEL/Christian WICHAN (GER) 1:02.12(11), 1:00.82(6) 2:02.94
