Team Relay Event celebrates première - Fourth discipline in the Viessmann Luge World Cup
Innsbruck-Igls (pps) The new luge season will take off with a première: At the first Viessmann Luge World Cup event in Innsbruck-Igls, the Team Relay Event of the International Luge Federation, FIL, will make its debut as fourth World Cup discipline. On Sunday (November 28, 2010 / start at 14:40 hrs) the first relay World Cup winner will be proclaimed. The men’s singles event will already start at 10:15 hrs. On Saturday (November 27, 2010) the first season’s winners in the women’s singles (start at 10:10 hrs) and in the doubles’ will be determined.
Already since 2008 the Team Relay Event has been an integral part of FIL Luge World Championships; the President of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, Jacques Rogge of Belgium, will have the personal mandate to make a final ruling in spring 2011 as to its inclusion within the programme of Olympic Winter Games. At the 42nd FIL Luge World Championships in Cesana, Italy, at the end of January, the team relay title will be awarded for the third time already. A total of six Team Relay Events are scheduled for the 2010-2011 Viessmann Luge World Cup series – apart from Innsbruck-Igls the venues are Winterberg, Koenigssee, Oberhof, Altenberg and Sigulda.
A Team Relay Event consists of a women’s and a men’s single as well as a doubles, the respective starting order is determined beforehand. After the first starter strikes a touch pad at the finish the start gate for the next luger is released. This procedure is repeated for the next “handover”. The racing time for the whole team is recorded from the first start until the third sled of the relay team has crossed the finish line. Winner is the team with the fastest time.
While there will be an overall winner in the Team Relay Event in the Viessmann Luge World Cup, Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler seems to be in a position to celebrate his tenth success – he could thus well catch up with record winner Markus Prock of Austria. In the women’s singles Olympic champion Tatjana Huefner (Germany) hopes to collect her fourth successive victory. The defending champions in the doubles – André Florschuetz-Torsten Wustlich of Germany – have ended their active career after the 2010 Olympic Games.
