Zelezniki (ck) - Her 24th career win and the fourth in this season secured Ekatharina Lavrentjeva the win of the GERMANPIPE overall ranking one race before the end of the season. In Zelezniki she won a race under conditions she normally does not like at all: “I am not so fond of soft and smooth conditions, but I know this track from the 2003 World Championships and I like the track. So it did not matter that I did not have that many training runs here. I had a good first run and in the second I only tried not to lose too much time.” But Renate Gietl (ITA), ranked second and also an expert for icy and fast tracks, had difficulties herself and finished fourth in the second run, so the two of them kept the places one and two in the final result. “I am happy that I could stay ahead of Melanie Batkowski and I am glad to be runner up. These were important points for the World Cup”, said Gietl. And in fact, Batkowski had come close. In the final ranking she was only five hunderedths behind the Italian. “Even though I had some crazy bumps in my run, I achieved a pretty good time. Now I will concentrate on staying third in the overall ranking,” said the 19-year-old Austrian. She will have to watch out for Renate Kasslatter (ITA) who apparently liked the smooth conditions best. She achieved the fastest time in the second run.

When serial winner Patrick Pigneter (ITA) says „I never would have thought that I can win here“, it sounds like a huge understatement, but he also explains why: „I had really good runs during the training, but my times were so bad and I had no idea why. I do not know either what I did today to be so fast again, but I am happy that now both World Cups are mine.” Pigneter has shown in the past that he can push his limits with increasing pressure. “In Olang last weekend it looked like I had lost my nerves, but in the finish I saw that my runners were totally destroyed. Normally I really show my best when it gets tough,” said Pigneter who as the first athlete ever managed to win the single and the double seater World Cup within one season.
With an excellent second run Austrian Gerald Kammerlander tied his so far best career result and became second. ”I tried to find a very smooth line, sometimes I even left the ideal line and looked for my own course. I like this track very much and I can also handle the soft track conditions very well”, he said.
His first podium finish achieved Austria´s Michael Scheikl. “This is only my third participation in the World Cup and I am on the podium already, I am more than happy. Of course I was nervous, but I thought that I have nothing to lose, I have all the time ahead of me and so I could go into the second run with a more or less free mind”, said the 18-year-old. His recent good performances suit his future plans very well. “I am serving in the military right now and it would be fantastic if I could stay there a little longer.”


Results:

Women singles (13):

1. Ekatharina LAVRENTJEVA (RUS), 1:01,26(1), 1:02,88(2), 2:04,14
2. Renate GIETL (ITA), 1:02,04(2), 1:03,03(4), 2:05,07
3. Melanie BATKOWSKI (AUT), 1:02,17(3), 1:02,95(3), 2:05,12
4. Renate KASSLATTER (ITA), 1:02,80(5), 1:02,78(1), 2:05,58
5. Julia VETLOVA (RUS), 1:02,66(4), 1:03,95(7), 2:06,61
6. Evelin LANTHALER (ITA), 1:03,11(7), 1:03,85(5), 2:06,96
7. Marlies WAGNER (AUT), 1:03,34(8), 1:04,29(8), 2:07,63
8. Tamara SCHWARZ (ITA), 1:03,79(9), 1:03,88(6), 2:07,67
9. Tina UNTERBERGER (AUT), 2:07,73
10. Katrin MLADEK (AUT), 2:11,09
11. Nina BUCINEL (SLO), 2:11,96

Men singles (32):

1. Patrick PIGNETER (ITA), 1:01,61(1),1:02,71(1), 2:04,32
2. Gerald KAMMERLANDER (AUT), 1:01,81(4), 1:02,79(2), 2:04,60
3. Michael SCHEIKL (AUT), 1:01,69(2), 1:03,15(4), 2:04,84
4. Anton BLASBICHLER (ITA), 1:01,79(3), 1:03,15(4), 2:04,94
5. Robert BATKOWSKI (AUT), 1:02,13(7), 1:03,00(3), 2:05,13
6. Rudi RESCH (ITA), 1:01,81(4), 1:03,74(11), 2:05,55
7. Mathias RAINER (ITA), 1:01,99(6), 1:03,59(9), 2:05,58
8. Florian BREITENBERGER (ITA), 1:02,41(8), 1:03,28(6), 2:05,69
9. Gernot SCHWAB (AUT), 1:02,44(10), 1:03,38(7), 2:05,82
10. Hannes CLARA (ITA), 1:02,43(9), 1:03,58(8), 2:06,01
13. Marcus GRAUSAM (GER), 2:07,75
14. Björn KIERSPEL (GER), 2:07,90
15. Georg MAURER (GER), 2:08,35
18. Kaj JOHNSON (CAN), 2:08,44
20. Ziga PAGON (SLO), 2:08,82


World Cup Rankings (5/6):

Women:

1. Ekatharina LAVRENTJEVA (RUS) 485
2. Renate GIETL (ITA) 415
3. Melanie BATKOWSKI (AUT) 345
4. Renate KASSLATTER (ITA) 300
5. Julia VETLOVA (RUS) 263
6. Marlies WAGNER (AUT) 249
7. Tina UNTERBERGER (AUT) 213
8. Katrin MLADEK (AUT) 168
9. Kinga GAWLAS (POL) 164
10. Veronika NACHMANN (GER) 150

Men:

1. Patrick PIGNETER (ITA) 470
2. Florian BREITENBERGER (ITA) 318
3. Gernot SCHWAB (AUT) 314
4. Gerald KAMMERLANDER (AUT) 289
5. Robert BATKOWSKI (AUT) 277
6. Hannes CLARA (ITA) 242
7. Anton BLASBICHLER (ITA) 237
8. Florian BATKOWSKI (AUT) 191
9. Mathias RAINER (ITA) 189
10. Georg MAURER (GER) 156
11. Michael SCHEIKL (AUT) 148
12. Marcus GRAUSAM (GER) 142
13. Björn KIERSPEL (GER) 138
18. Kaj JOHNSON (CAN) 112
20. Christian WICHAN (GER) 105
27. John GIBSON (CAN) 63
28. Markus WICHAN (GER) 62


Chris Karl
FIL Media Service