At the Juniors World Cup in natural track luge in Ulten/Ultimo (ITA) there were two favorite victories and a premiere winner. The first carreer-victory for Ziga Kralj (SLO) in the men's singles was by no means a surprise.

Podium men (from left): Hannes Unterholzner (ITA), Ziga Kralj (SLO), Alex Oberhofer (ITA), Anton Gruber Genetti (ITA) and Vid Kralj (SLO)

Ulten (FIL/05.01.2023) On January 4th and 5th, the second stage of the FIL Juniors World Cup was on the program on the “Moscha” natural track in Ulten. The double-seater race was scheduled on Thursday afternoon. The local heroes Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA) celebrated their second win of the season in 1.24,79 minutes, followed by Jakub Mercak/Jan Janosek from Czech Republic. Tschechien. In the overall ranking, Paur/Hofer lead with a maximum of 200 points, ahead of Mercak/Janosek (145).

The racing continued on Frieday with the single-seaters. Riccarda Ruetz (AUT) comfirmed her leadership and set the best time in both runs in 2:34.07 minutes, followed by the „Azzurre“ Tina Stuffer (+2.15 seconds) and Jenny Castiglioni (+2.44). What was remarkable was Stuffer's comeback as she was only  rankedin sixth place after the first run. After the opening victory in Winterleiten on New Year's Eve, Ruetz (200 points) extended her lead in the overall standings, followed by Castiglioni and Stuffer with 155 points each.

Podium women (from left): Tina Stuffer (ITA), Riccarda Ruetz (AUT), Jenny Castiglioni (ITA), Sarah Schiller (GER) and Ivonne Müller (ITA)

The Slovenian Ziga Kralj, however, celebrated his first victory in the Junior World Cup. The 15-year-old was in third place after the first run, and with an outstanding best time in the second run he took the lead with a total time of 2:31.14 minutes. Both, the opening winner Alex Oberhofer (ITA) and the half-time leader Hannes Unterholzner (ITA), did not come close to Kralj's best time. In the end, Unterholzner (+0.29 seconds) and Oberhofer (+1.05) took second and third place. In the overall standings, an exciting duel is looming between Kralj (185 points) and Oberhofer (170).

The Juniors World Cup in natural track luge remains in South Tyrol with the next races scheduled on January 13th/14th in Latsch/Laces.