Königssee is the new favorite track of Tony Eggert and Sascha Benecken

Koenigssee (FIL): The ice track at Koenigssee is becoming more and more the favourite track for Tony Eggert and Sascha Benecken. At the first EBERSPÄCHER World Cup of the year 2021, the two men from Thuringia won the doubles' race - their third World Cup success in a row on the world's first artificial ice track. After the first run they were still 0.026 seconds behind local heroes Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. But with best run time of 50.166 seconds in run two they could still overtake the Olympic champions and distance them by 0.144 seconds. "There was still potential in both runs, especially in the first run," said front runner Eggert.

The reigning world champion considered the race mainly in view of the title fights (January 29-31st) on the same track. "It was a good test for the World Championships," said the 32-year-old, "if you've raced before, you go into the Championships with a little more confidence." Until then, strength training is the main priority. "We have some catching up to do, especially at the start," said co-driver Benecken, "overall the performance was already excellent, but it can always be better."    

The start is more decisive on the Königsee track than on other tracks, because it ends very flat. "The decision is made at the start," said Thomas Steu, "we want to add something there." The Austrian with partner Lorenz Koller still leads the overall World Cup standings with 20 points ahead of Eggert/Benecken after finishing third. "We knew it would be difficult with the flat start," Koller said.

Because the first run was not that clean, Wendl/Arlt changed their set-up during the break. "Unfortunately, that went in the wrong direction," revealed helmsman Wendl. Co-driver Arlt talked openly about the season highlight: "That was a test. The dress rehearsal went terribly, maybe it will go better at the World Championships."

Ludwig Rieder and Patrick Rastner are also hoping for this. The Italians were the best starters in both runs. In the second run, they made a mistake at the end of the snake pit and before entering the long, crooked straight. Rieder had to put his feet on the ice. That was the end of all hopes for a good finish. It ended finishing in tenth.

All results are available in detail under the following link: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/eberspaecher-weltcup-4

The World Cup standings can be found online here: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/gesamtstaende?event_season_id=28