Natalie Geisenberger masters the challenge of Lake Placid

 Lake Placid (RWH) Olympic Champion Natalie Geisenberger of Germany mastered the challenge of Lake Placid to claim her fourth win of the Olympic winter. The 29-year-old clinched her 42nd singles victory in the Viessmann World Cup on the demanding artificial ice rink at Mount Van Hoevenberg, NY. Canada’s Alex Gough finished second, with her compatriot Kimberley McRae in third.

 Erin Hamlin had to settle for sixth behind the two Germans Tatjana Hüfner and Dajana Eitberger in the final race of her career on her home track. The most successful female US luger of all time, who won World Championship gold in 2009, World Championship silver in 2017, and bronze at the 2014 Olympics, is set to retire from the sport after the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Friends and family gave the 31-year-old luger an emotional send-off in the finishing zone.

 Sandra Robatscher from Italy caused an upset. The South Tyrolean athlete took a brilliant fourth place on her first run, even finishing ahead of record-breaking World Champion Tatjana Hüfner (GER). Robatscher, who is the niece of Italian head coach Armin Zöggeler, six-time medallist at the Winter Olympics and record-breaking luge World Champion, ultimately finished in seventh place.

 Geisenberger leads the overall standings of the Viessmann World Cup on 540 points ahead of record-breaking World Champion Tatjana Hüfner (460) and Alex Gough (368).

 After the BMW Sprint World Cup on Saturday afternoon, the Viessmann World Cup takes a break before resuming on 6-7 January 2018 on the artificial ice track in Königssee (GER).

 Quotes

 Natalie Geisenberger (GER / 2014 Olympic Champion, three-time World Champion):

“I had a tough time in practice, especially on my penultimate run when I experienced some real issues. But maybe it was a good thing, because I then focused on those areas. It certainly won’t have done any harm. It’s fantastic to win on such a difficult track.”

 Alex Gough (CAN / World Championship bronze medallist 2011 and 2013, Olympic fourth in 2014):

“I got two good, clean runs. I think I lost a little bit of time at the start. I’m still working hard to make improvements, but I can build on my result in Calgary and here.”

 Kimberley McRae (CAN / World Championship bronze in 2017): “I’ve done a lot of thinking. I came into this event with a really open frame of mind. I love the track. It’s always so much fun because it’s completely different to any other track.”