Felix Loch is in a league of his own / Sigulda is Britcher's new love

4th EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup Sigulda

Sigulda (FIL/04.01.2026) Felix Loch is currently the man to beat in the EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup. The 36-year-old German mastered the track in Sigulda twice with the fastest time. “What can I say when I win?” he asked, without waiting for an answer, “I had two really good, solid runs.” However, the perfectionist felt uncertain twice in the exit of curve 14. Nevertheless, he celebrated his 55th World Cup victory in 1:34.509 minutes. This brings him ever closer to record holder Armin Zöggeler and his 57 victories. In terms of podium finishes, the Italian and the German are tied with 103 appearances on the podium. And the seven-time overall World Cup winner promises: “Winning in Sigulda always makes me super happy. Let's keep it up. I'm already looking forward to the next races.”

Jonas Müller was just as consistent as Loch. With two third-fastest times, the Austrian finished second, 0.081 seconds behind. The fact that the race took place over two days helped him: “Usually, the first run is the better one. So I had a first run on each day.” Max Langenhan improved to third place (0.099 seconds behind), although the world champion was unhappy with his runs: “I was too stupid to sled twice. That's why I have to be satisfied with the podium.”

After only the fifth-fastest run, Nico Gleirscher (Austria) fell back from second to fourth place, 0.107 seconds behind. Directly behind him, his brother David is listed fifth (0.182) in the results. Gints Berzins is the best Latvian in sixth place (0.449), ahead of his compatriot Kristers Aparjods (0.500).

In the women's event, Julia Taubitz was frustrated with the two runs over two days. “I would have liked to have had two runs yesterday,” said the German. Overnight, she had been weakened by the flu, causing the world champion to drop from first to third place. Summer Britcher benefited from Taubitz's weakness. With a time of 41.902 seconds, the American achieved the fastest run of all her competitors. In the end, she finished with a time of 1:23.840 minutes. “Sigulda really wasn't one of my favorite tracks, I had so many ups and downs,” said the 31-year-old, “but I had so much fun this week, the track was really great.” With her seventh World Cup victory, she also took the lead in the overall World Cup standings with 270 points, even though she did not compete in the season opener in Winterberg.

Lisa Schulte finished second, 0.037 seconds behind. “I had a few minor problems in the first curve because I couldn't find the handles in the shell quickly enough with my hand,” said the Austrian. Taubitz was 91 thousandths of a second slower than Britcher. “I lacked the strength,” said the German. She just managed to make it onto the podium ahead of her teammate Merle Fräbel (0.096). There is already a small gap behind these four riders. Ashley Farquharson (USA) was fifth, 0.291 seconds behind the winner, while Elena Bota (Latvia) was 0.325 seconds behind.

Further schedule 4th EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup, Sigulda (LAT):
Local start time (CET/MEZ)

Sunday, January 4, 2026

2:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m.) EBERSPÄCHER Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW

All information is subject to change!

All results can be found at the following link: https://www.fil-luge.org/en/media/eberspaecher-world-cup-46