A victory for Cauce sees Tatyana Ivanova extend her lead in the overall standings

Winterberg (RWH) Following an inaugural win by Eliza Cauce of Latvia, Tatyana Ivanova has moved further towards an overall victory in the Viessmann World Cup. The Russian, who was left all but empty-handed after her home World Championships in Sochi apart from a silver medal in the Sprint, finished the Viessmann World Cup race in Winterberg (GER) in second place, extending her lead in the overall standings to 27 points. Julia Taubitz, who finished second at the World Championships in Sochi, finished the first run in third place after an artistic stunt in the Labyrinth section. For Eliza Cauce, who messed up her second run at the World Championships in Sochi and therefore missed out on a medal, the win marked her first ever Viessmann World Cup victory.

Ahead of the final of the Viessmann World Cup on the artificial sliding track in Königssee (29 February / 1 March 2020), Tatyana Ivanova is on 907 points, while Julia Taubitz has 880.

For safety reasons, the women tackled the race from the starting point for the doubles. “The safety of our athletes is our number one priority,” said Christian Eigentler, Technical Director at the International Luge Federation (FIL). Like the rest of Team USA, Summer Britcher, sixth in the overall standings, forewent her place in the race in the Hochsauerland region of Germany due to concerns about safety. Austria’s female athletes also decided not to compete.

Quotes

Eliza Cauce (LAT/ bronze in the team relay at the 2020 World Championships, bronze in the team relay at the 2014 Olympics, silver in the 2016 European Championships)

“After my mistake at the World Championships, I told myself that that would never happen to me again. Now I am really happy. The Labyrinth in Winterberg has never been easy to tackle, no matter what the conditions are like. If you make a mistake there, then you crash. It is what it is.”

Tatyana Ivanova (RUS / silver at the 2015 World Championships, four-time European Champion)

“I want to get in two good runs in Königssee. Then we’ll see how everything turns out. But my main aim is to win the overall World Cup.”

Julia Taubitz (GER / silver at the 2020 World Championships, silver at the 2019 World Championships, U23 World Champion 2019)

“After my stunt during heat one, I thought to myself: Oh, my goodness, that could have easily gone wrong. I am not giving up my fight for the overall title just yet. Tatyana is now a few points ahead. Königssee is one of my favourite tracks, I’m looking forward to it. And to the final battle for overall victory.”