Eggert/Benecken are European Champions for the second time

Altenberg (RWH)  Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken have secured their second European Championship doubles title in luge, adding to their first victory back in 2013. The defending champions in the Viessmann Luge World Cup took their fourth victory of the season in Altenberg to ensure that the battle for the overall title will go down to the wire at the final round of the season.

Eggert/Benecken have closed the gap to leaders Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt, the 2014 Olympic Champions and Triple World Champions, and are now just 90 points in arrears ahead of the season finale in Winterberg (GER) next weekend. The Austrians Peter Penz/Georg Fischler finished third at the 8th Viessmann World Cup of the season, which also doubled as the 47th International Luge Federation (FIL) European Championships.

Eggert/Benecken, who failed to win a medal at the main event of the season, the 46th FIL World Championships in Königssee, set the benchmark for their 14th individual victory by setting a track record on their first run (41,502) in the Eastern Ore Mountains, and then going on to beat it on their second attempt (41,388).  The duo also set a new start record of 5.682 seconds.

The finale of the Viessmann Luge World Cup is set to take place next weekend in Winterberg (GER). The artificial ice track in Hochsauerland will host the 48th FIL World Championships in 2019. Next winter, Innsbruck (AUT) will host the 47th FIL World Championships.

Quotes

Toni Eggert (GER, 2013 and 2016 European Champions)

“Our quick starts were decisive in both races as we gained a crucial advantage. Our sled is sliding well and we didn’t drive too badly either.”

Tobias Wendl (GER, 2014 Olympic Champion and triple World Champion)

“You can’t really recover from losing so much time at the start. We hope nothing else puts a dent in our lead in the overall World Cup standings.”

Peter Penz (AUT / European Championship bronze medallist, European Champion in 2012 and World Championship runner-up in 2015)

“This is a nice way to finish, as the two German duos are just unbeatable. We haven’t had a bad season really, apart from the World Championship. Nobody can deny us third place in the overall World Cup now.”