Koenigssee (pps) The comeback of World champion Felix Loch in the men’s singles seems to be a sure thing and yet another jubilee of Germany’s victorious women more than likely. However, the situation in the doubles’ is everything but predictable. This is in short the “state of affairs” in the three luge disciplines prior to the fourth stop of the Viessmann Luge World Cup on the artificial track in Koenigssee next weekend (January 3-4, 2009).
Felix Loch (19), youngest World champion in the history of the International Luge Federation, FIL, hopes to show a convincing performance at his first competition of the season after having overcome a shoulder injury. Preferably, Loch would like to climb the rostrum at his home track for the first time in his career. A fourth place last year is his best result so far in the Viessmann Luge World Cup. Italy’s two-time Olympic champion Armin Zoeggeler is currently heading the overall rankings. The five-time World champion is chased by Germany’s men with two-time World champion David Moeller leading the “pack”.
The 85th consecutive success in the Viessmann Luge World Cup since December 5, 1997 should be a foregone conclusion for Germany’s women with two-time World champion Tatjana Huefner and European champion Natalie Geisenberger. Should Huefner indeed celebrate her then 13th individual World Cup victory, the Olympic bronze medallist could then make it to third place – together with Italy’s Gerda Weissensteiner and Germany’s Gabriele Kohlisch – on the list of record winners in the Viessmann Luge World Cup. Natalie Geisenberger won her first World Cup race in Winterberg, thereby ending Huefner’s nine-race winning streak, and she hopes to earn her second career-victory on her home track in Koenigssee.
In the doubles’ event European champions Christian Oberstolz-Patrick Gruber of Italy currently hold the top spot on the overall rankings. So far, Austria’s team has left a strong impression. Peter Penz-Georg Fischler earned a position among the top three for the first time in Sigulda, their experienced compatriots Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger (second in Innsbruck-Igls and Sigulda) as well as Tobias Schiegl-Markus Schiegl (second in Winterberg and third in Innsbruck-Igls), two-time World champions and current World Championship bronze medallists, regularly achieved top performances.
And what about Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch? Well, the 2002 Olympic and four-time World champions would clearly like to defend their reputation as being invincible on their home track – since 2001 the two lugers from Bavaria have not lost a single race in Koenigssee.
