“It will be a terrific event” – “Neck-and-neck” race in the doubles
St. Moritz (pps) Lugers from all over the world are looking forward to the upcoming Viessmann Luge World Cup event in the Swiss winter resort of St. Moritz, this weekend (January 28-29, 2012). “I’m really excited,” said Olympic and World Champion Felix Loch of Germany. “It’s not widely known but I’ve tackled the track in St. Moritz a lot of times and it suits me.” The reason for his numerous runs on the natural ice track in the Upper Engadin is the joint training group of German and Swiss lugers that is based in St. Moritz.
Over the years, the renowned “Bobrun” hosted numerous events towards the end of the season. On these occasions, not only Swiss lugers such as Martina Kocher (seventh at the 2010 Olympics) and Gregory Carigiet competed but their German “neighbors” Loch, Tatjana Huefner and company as well.
By the way, the German doubles team of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt know the very famous ice canal by heart, too. “We have often competed in St. Moritz. It will be a terrific event,” promised Tobias Wendl. After six of nine stops in the series, Wendl-Arlt are currently on top of the Viessmann Luge World Cup rankings. Their leading margin, however, is wafer-thin. Only 15 points separate them from two-time Olympic and two-time World Champions Andreas and Wolfgang Linger of Austria.
The doubles team of brothers from the Austrian Tyrol already competed at the 2000 World Championships 12 years ago and they remember some quite “informative and painful” runs. “But we are absolutely looking forward to St. Moritz,” said Andreas Linger. But Tobias Wendl counters: “We know how to tackle the track, too.”
While Wendl-Arlt and Linger-Linger are engaged in a kind of “neck-and-neck” race for the overall victory in the doubles, Loch is taking great strides towards taking his first overall World Cup crown. Thanks to five victories in six competitions, the 22-year-old is 145 points ahead of compatriot David Moeller (440 points). “Let’s put it like this – the odds aren’t really stacked against me,” explained Loch with a twinkle in his eyes.
Contrary to past years, the only “constant” in the women’s singles right now is the changing name of the respective winner. After Germany’s Tatjana Huefner (winner in Igls and Koenigssee) and Natalie Geisenberger (Whistler and Oberhof) as well as Canadian Alex Gough (Calgary), it was “local hero” Corinna Martini who took the podium’s top spot in Winterberg, Germany, thus celebrating her first career victory in the World Cup series. At the same time, Martini earned a berth to the upcoming 43rd FIL Luge World Championships (February 10-12, 2012) in Altenberg, Germany.
