Triesenberg (ck) “After so many years I am more than happy to be able to enjoy this feeling” said Marcus Grausam (GER) at the end of a long competition day, in which nobody ever had had a realistic chance to beat him. Even runner-up Gernot Schwab (AUT) had to admit: “Marcus Grausam was the best on this track, there was no chance to beat him.” With his victory, Marcus Grausam set a milestone in Germanys luge history: he was the first athlete ever to win a World Cup on natural Track. And he knows pretty well why he finished on top of the podium: “I have always been very fast in certain passages. This track in Liechtenstein only consists of such passages. It is like it was built for me. I have always had my problems on tracks like Olang or Hüttau, but here I can show my best techniques.” It was not a victory out of the blue. Marcus Grausam had had some good performances in the last races already: “But it was one run here and one run there, never a whole race. Maybe it is also the head-to-head mode which was an extra motivation”, said the 27-year-old sled builder from Tegernsee in Bavaria.

Gernot Schwab, who would have been looking forward to his first World Cup victory, too, was satisfied with his second place: “Considering how close I won some runs and I even had a crash in the race against Gerald Kallan, I have to be satisfied.” When he crashed, he already considered himself among the losers, but in the rerun (one the blue rsp. red track) Kallan had a fall and according to the rule that in case of a tie the last run counts, Schwab moved on to the next round.

In the women´s competition it looked like a race between Ekatharina Lavrentjev (RUS) and Renate Kasslatter (ITA) who are the only ones who still can win the Overall World Cup. But both lost their head-to-head runs and so the winner was a new face in this season: Sandra Mariner from Austria. “I went into this race without any pressure and I became better from run to run. At the end the track was a bit bumpy and I admit that I got some respect when I saw that even the routined racers crashed, but I thought: one more time full speed and I am happy that it worked out for me”, Mariner said. She celebrated her fourth career victory. Barbara Abart (ITA) continued her podium streak with a second place. So it was her third podium finish within three weekends (second in the World Junior Championships, third in the European Championships) and she was happy about that result: “I bumped into the walls more again and again during the training runs and I did not expect anything for the race, so I am more than happy that I am second now.”, she said. Ekatharina Lavrentjeva finished third and has won the Overall World Cup already before the World Cup goes into its final next week in Aurach (AUT) near Kitzbuehl.

Results of Saturday:

Final Results Women (19):
1. Sandra Mariner (AUT)
2. Barbara Abart (ITA)
3. Ekatharina Lavrentjeva (RUS)
4. Renate Gietl (ITA)
5. Renate Kasslatter (ITA)
6. Julia Vetlova (RUS)
7. Ewelina Zurek (POL)
8. Anna Braun (AUT)
9. Karolina Waniczek (POL)
10. Tina Unterberger (AUT)
11. Michaela Maurer (GER)
12. Christa Gietl (ITA)
13. Mateja Kralj (SLO)
14. Melissa Jones (CAN)
15. Ursina Schneider (SUI)
16. Belma Karmenias (BIH)

Final Results Men (30):
1. Marcus Grausam (GER)
2. Gernot Schwab (AUT)
3. Robert Batkowski (AUT)
4. Gerald Kallan (AUT)
5. Anton Blasbichler (ITA)
6. Florian Breitenberger (ITA)
7. Andreas Gruber (ITA)
8. Andreas Castiglioni (ITA)
9. Gerhard Pilz (AUT)
10. Gerald Kammerlander (AUT)
11. Roland Kallan (AUT)
12. Martin Psenner (ITA)
13. Borut Kralj (SLO)
14. Daniel Quitta (ITA)
15. Björn Kierspel (GER)
16. Gaspar Benedik (SLO)
17. Ivan Lazarev (RUS)
18. Jure Potocnik (SLO)
19. Damian Waniczek (POL)
20. John Gibson (CAN)
21. Corey Pusey (CAN)
22. Mario Gortnar (SLO)

World Cup Standings (5/6):
Men:
1. Anton Blasbichler (ITA) 455 points
2. Gernot Schwab (AUT) 375
3. Gerald Kallan (AUT) 307
4. Robert Batkowski (AUT) 272
5. Marcus Grausam (GER) 246
6. Andreas Castiglioni (ITA) 238
7. Gerhard Pilz (AUT) 219
8. Gerald Kammerlander (AUT) 212
9. Florian Breitenberger (ITA) 198
10. Roland Kallan (AUT) 185
16. Corey Pusey (CAN) 91
23. John Gibson (CAN) 67
29. Kaj Johnson (CAN) ..37

Women:
1. Ekatharina Lavrentjeva (RUS) 416
2. Renate Kasslatter (ITA) 367
3. Sandra Mariner (AUT) 285
4. Christa Gietl (ITA) 284
5. Renate Gietl (ITA) 265
6. Julia Vetlova (RUS) 221
7. Marlies Wagner (AUT) 189
8. Ewelina Zurek (POL) 165
9. Michaela Maurer (GER) 154
10. Barbara Abart (ITA) 135
11. Ursina Schneider (SUI) 120
12. Irene Mitterstieler (ITA) 115
15. Melissa Jones (CAN) 93