Winterberg will see the rehearsal for the Worlds in Whistler
Winterberg (pps) Right now, one luge highlight is chasing the next: The 44th European Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) in Oberhof are barely over and the upcoming 44th Luge World Championships in Whistler (Canada) on February 1-2, 2013 are already looming large on the horizon. Therefore, the seventh stop of the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Winterberg, Germany this weekend (January 19-20, 2013) might well be under the motto “after the Europeans = before the Worlds” on the artificially refrigerated track of the 2010 Olympic Games.
At the World Championship rehearsal in Winterberg, the current Viessmann Luge World Cup leaders might make final changes to set the course with regard to taking the respective overall World Cup crowns. In the women’s singles, the new European Champion Natalie Geisenberger (GER/570 points) already has an advantage of 130 points to European bronze medalist Anke Wischnewski (GER/440). Thus it is by all means possible that the upcoming World Cup in Winterberg could enable Geisenberger to put a stranglehold on the overall crown heading into last two events in Lake Placid (February 8-9, 2013) and the final in Sochi (Russia/February 23-24).
The same holds true for the overall doubles rankings. The European silver medalists Tobias Wendl-Tobias Arlt (585 points) of Germany have a comfortable 118 points lead to the new European Champions and teammates Toni Eggert-Sascha Benecken (467). The 2011 European Champions, Austria’s Peter Penz-Georg Fischler (440) in third place, are already 145 points behind the top position.
In the men’s singles Germany’s 23-year old Felix Loch, who just completed his impressive title collection (2010 Olympic victory and three World Championship titles in 2008, 2009 and 2012) winning the European Championship crown, holds the top position in the overall rankings with 515 points to his credit, 80 points ahead of European silver medalist Andi Langenhan (GER/435). Germany’s David Moeller currently holds third place (398).
