Training for the 29th European Luge Championships on Natural Track took place on Friday on the "Gafair-track" in Laas/Lasa (ITA). The practice felt like a race, as at the end the medal contenders were separated by just a few hundredths of a second.

Track inspection for the European Championships 2022

Defending champion Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) was the fastest in both training runs in 1:03.35 minutes and 1:05.09 minutes. In the first run, the two women from Lasa, Greta Pinggera (ITA) and Nadine Staffler (ITA), followed in second and third place. In the second practice session, the top three Lanthaler, Tina Unterberger (AUT) and Staffler were separated by just 0.08 seconds.

In the men's singles, experienced Florian Clara (ITA) set the best time in the first practice session with a time of 1:02.54 minutes, ahead of his teammates Mattias Troger (ITA/+0.59 seconds) and Alex Gruber (ITA/+0.63 seconds). In the final practice session, the leader of the overall standings, Thomas Kammerlander (AUT), set the fastest time in 1:03.63 minutes, ahead of Clara (+0.07 seconds) and Troger (+0.33 seconds). Defending champion Michael Scheikl (AUT) finished fourth in both practice sessions.

The time intervals in the doubles are similarly short. World Cup dominators Patrick Pigneter/Florian Clara (ITA) narrowly beat defending champions Patrick Lambacher/Matthias Lambacher (ITA) in 1:08.97 minutes. Fabian Achenrainer/Simon Achenrainer (AUT) in third place also showed a strong performance. Because of the mild temperatures, the doubles only did one training run so as not to put too much strain on the ice on the natural track.

The title fights in Laas will be broadcast live on the website of the International Luge Federation at www.fil-luge.org/en/live-streaming-natural

The program of the 29th FIL European Luge Championships on Natural Track in Laas/Lasa (ITA)
Saturday, 02/12/2022
9.30 a.m.: 1st run singles women
10.30 a.m.: 1st run doubles
11.15 a.m.: Final run women’s singles, followed by flower ceremony and award ceremony
12.15 p.m.: Final run, doubles, followed by flower ceremony and award ceremony

Sunday, February 13, 2022
9.30 a.m.: 1st run men’s singles
11.30 a.m.: Final run single-seater men, followed by flower ceremony and award ceremony
1:00 p.m.: Team competition, followed by a flower ceremony and award ceremony