Eggert/Benecken make it a half dozen wins

Sigulda (RWH) Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken have taken their sixth victory in eight races to move clear of their nearest rivals. At the Viessmann Luge World Cup on the artificial ice track in Sigulda, Latvia, the three-time World Championship silver medallists clinched their 22nd individual victory ahead of Latvians Oskars Gudramovics/Peteris Kalnins in second and the Italians Ludwig Rieder/Patrick Rastner in third.

Eggert/Benecken bettered the track record, previously held by Austria’s two-time Olympic Champions Andreas Linger/Wolfgang Linger (41.692s), by setting a time of 41.628s on their first run, then following it up with 41.485 seconds on their second attempt.

After eight of twelve events, Eggert/Benecken have consolidated their led in the overall standings of the Viessmann World Cup. They are currently on 755 points, a comfortable 152 points ahead of their nearest rivals. The Olympic Champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt (GER) suffered a snapped starting belt on their second run. After this mishap, which Wendl attributed to a material fault, the duo had to settle for tenth place in the Baltic state. The three-time World Champions currently lie second in the overall World Cup rankings with 603 points.

Latvians Andris Sics/Juris Sics, Olympic silver medallists in 2010 and Olympic bronze medallists in 2014, were forced to relinquish all hopes of a top result on their first run, as were Germany’s Robin Geueke/David Gamm. Geueke/Gamm, who are currently third in the overall classification on 461 points, were eliminated following a crash, but the Sics brothers managed to cross the finish line 20th and last, over twelve seconds down.

The Viessmann World Cup will take a break next weekend ahead of the 47th World Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) on the Olympic ice track in Innsbruck from 27-29 January 2017.

Quotes

Toni Eggert (GER / World Championship silver medallist 2012, 2013 and 2016, European Champion 2013 and 2016)

“The conditions were completely different from training. Even strong doubles pairings like the local Sics brothers were caught out. Our hearts were really pounding at the start. We are mega happy to come away from Sigulda with a win.”

Oskars Gudramovics (LAT / seventh at 2015 World Championships, tenth at 2014 Olympics)

“We took second here in Sigulda last year as well. And now we’ve equalled our best result on our home track.”

Ludwig Rieder (ITA / fourth in European Championship Team Relay 2017)

“We felt really relaxed going into the race. We’ve been third before, but that was a while ago. It’s great that it worked out, and it gives us confidence going into the World Championships in two weeks.”