Austrians train in Sochi – Felix Loch in La Plagne

Innsbruck (RWH): As soon as the season ends, pre-season training begins. While Austria’s luge team have headed to the 2014 Olympic track in Sochi (RUS) for a training camp just two weeks after their most successful Winter Olympic Games since 1992, overall World Cup winner Felix Loch (GER) is back testing equipment in the French town of La Plagne, host of the 1992 Winter Games.

Led by Olympic Champion David Gleirscher, a total of seven Austrian sleds are training on the artificial ice track at Sochi’s Sanki Sliding Centre, which will host the International Luge Federation’s (FIL) 49th World Championships in 2020. Head coach René Friedl primarily selected up-and-coming talent for the trip. The group includes 19-year-old Madeleine Egle, who helped the Austrian squad to win bronze in the team relay in PyeongChang. Wolfgang Kindl, the 2017 World Champion from Innsbruck-Igls, is taking the time to fully recover from his neck problems while Peter Penz/Georg Fischler, the doubles silver medallists, are also missing out on the training camp.