The countdown is on: in just over a week, the FIL Alpine Luge World Cup will get started. The International Luge Federation (FIL) officially presented the new World Cup season on Wednesday at the Media Campus Tirol in Innsbruck (AUT). The 2025/2026 season will open on 19 December in Winterleiten (AUT).

They can't wait for the season to kick off: (from left) Daniel Gruber (ITA), Peter Lambacher (ITA), Daniela Mittermair (ITA), Matthias Pichler (AUT), Nico Edlinger (AUT), and Riccarda Ruetz (AUT)

Innsbruck (FIL/10.12.2025) A new era is beginning in the FIL Alpine Luge World Cup following the retirement of several greats of the sport at the end of the 2024/2025 season in February, including Evelin Lanthaler (ITA), Tina Unterberger (AUT), Patrick Pigneter (ITA), Michael Scheikl (AUT) and Florian Clara (ITA). As a result, there will be new overall champions in both the women’s and men’s singles. Only the doubles title holders, Maximilian Pichler/Nico Edlinger (AUT), return to defend their crown. As usual, the race calendar features six World Cups and one Eliminator event – seven races in total across women’s singles, men’s singles, and doubles.

Seven Races at Five Venues

The season opens just before Christmas in Winterleiten (AUT) with a double World Cup from 19–21 December. “Whoever delivers a flawless performance on the opening weekend will have a clear advantage. After all, there are two races on two consecutive days. Last year we didn’t get our equipment set-up quite right, but this time we’re ready,” explained Matthias Lambacher (ITA), the reigning doubles World Champion with his brother Peter.

The new year begins with a returning venue: on 3–4 January 2026, the World Cup will stop in Passeiertal/Val Passiria (ITA), where a World Cup for the senior categories was last held in the 2020/2021 season. Mid-January brings a classic: Deutschnofen/Nova Ponente (ITA) will host the event on 17–18 January, the home World Cup for Daniela Mittermair (ITA). “A home race is always something special. Having family, friends and familiar faces at the finish line gives you extra motivation to show what you can do,” said Mittermair.
A demanding race weekend awaits in early February on the Grantau-track in Umhausen (AUT). On 6–7 February the “regular” World Cup will take place over two runs, followed on Sunday, 8 February, by the season’s only Eliminator (a knockout-format race). “Anything can happen in an Eliminator – one bad run and you’re out. Everyone pushes to the limit, and with the margins so tight at the top, the outcome is never predictable. It’s always a long, tough competition, both physically and mentally,” explained World Cup winner Daniel Gruber (ITA).
The season will conclude on 20–21 February in Jaufental/Val di Giovo (ITA), where the Tonnerboden-track will host the World Cup finals for the first time.

Highlight: 2026 European Championships

The major event of the winter will be the 31st Alpine Luge European Championships, held in Laas/Lasa (ITA) from Friday 23 January to Sunday 25 January. Laas/Lasa previously hosted the Championships in 2022, while the most recent edition took place in 2024 in Jaufental/Val di Giovo. With reigning European champions Evelin Lanthaler and Patrick Pigneter retired, only the doubles pair Pichler/Edlinger will have the chance to defend a title on the Gafair-track at the edge of the Stelvio National Park. “We’re the defending champions in both the overall World Cup and the European Championships. We want to win both titles again,” stated Edlinger with determination.
Riccarda Ruetz (AUT), World and European silver medallist, also has ambitious goals for the new season: “Of course, all of us go to the start line to win. I really like the track in Laas, but the competition is strong. Right now I’m focusing on the World Cup opener. If the season starts well, I can turn my full attention to the Europeans.”

Junior World Championships in Mariazell

The Junior World Cup begins shortly after Christmas in Winterleiten. Following the stops in Passeiertal and Umhausen early in the new year, there will be a mid-season break before the final in mid-February 2026 in Latsch/Laces (ITA). The highlight will be the Junior World Championships at the end of January and beginning of February in Mariazell (AUT).
Andreas Castiglioni, FIL Director of Sport and Technology for Alpine Luge, defended the World Cup calendar against criticism that events currently take place only in Austria and Italy: “World Cup doesn’t mean the races must be held all over the world. It means athletes from around the world take part. The Alps are the core region of luge – this is where the infrastructure and clubs are. But with the new sled model coming in the 2027/28 season, organising a World Cup will become easier, and we hope to find hosts in more countries again, including Scandinavia.”
FIL Executive Director Christoph Schweiger added: “We fundamentally aim to spread luge further around the world, as set out in our 2030–2034 strategic plan. In the medium term, and through the Alpine Luge Future Lab, we want to bring new countries into the race calendar – for instance by staging luge competitions on ski slopes.”

Race Calendars at a Glance
World Cup 2025/2026
•    19–21 December: Winterleiten (Double World Cup), AUT
•    3–4 January: Passeiertal/Val Passiria, ITA
•    17–18 January: Deutschnofen/Nova Ponente, ITA
•    6–8 February: Umhausen (World Cup and Eliminator), AUT
•    20–21 February: Jaufental/Val di Giovo, ITA

31st Alpine Luge European Championships
•    23–25 January: Laas/Lasa, ITA

Junior World Cup 2025/2026
•    27–28 December: Winterleiten, AUT
•    5–6 January: Passeiertal/Val Passiria, ITA
•    10–11 January: Umhausen, AUT
•    14–15 February: Laas/Lasa, ITA

Junior World Championships
•    30 January – 1 February: Mariazell, AUT