Oberhof to host World Championship warm-up and sprint race dress rehearsal

Role reversal in doubles – Summer Britcher and Wolfgang Kindl continue to lead singles

Oberhof (RWH)  The historic luge track in Oberhof will host a World Cup just two weeks ahead of the main event of the season: the 46th International Luge Federation (FIL) World Championships on the artificial track in Königssee. The Oberhof event will put athletes to the test in the Olympic disciplines of men’s luge, women’s luge, doubles and the team relay. It will also act as a dress rehearsal for the World Championship sprint race. The new FIL format will be used at the World Championships in Königssee for the first time.

USA slider Summer Britcher and Wolfgang Kindl from Austria head into the Thuringian Forest leading the Viessmann Luge World Cup standings. By contrast, the roles have been reversed in the doubles. The previous hunters, Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt from Germany, have now become the hunted.

The Olympic gold medallists and two-time World Champions currently have a seven point lead over defending champions Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken. Eggert/Benecken had a huge 70-point advantage going into Sigulda, the fifth round of the Viessmann Luge World Cup. “It’s pretty devastating that a near-crash when we were setting the fastest split times has turned our 70-point advantage into a 7-point deficit,” Benecken said. Eggert/Benecken still managed to salvage 20 points by finishing in 21st place – 20 points which could prove vital in the final standings. Eggert/Benecken finished just 16 points ahead of Wendl/Arlt last year.

The situation is equally exciting in the women’s and men’s events. In the women’s luge, Natalie Geisenberger is just 34 points behind Summer Britcher, while Felix Loch has only a 21-point deficit to Wolfgang Kindl in the men’s event. Both Geisenberger and Loch won last year in Oberhof. Felix Loch, who was born in nearby Sonneberg, has fond memories of the track in the Thuringian Forest. Aged 17, he became the youngest athlete to win the World Championship when he clinched his maiden title in Oberhof in 2008.

Tatjana Hüfner, who was narrowly beaten by Tatiana Ivanova (RUS) in Sigulda, is also something of a specialist around the Oberhof track, having claimed four of her 33 World Cup victories here. Her last World Cup win to date came at Oberhof in winter 2013/2014. And it is also worth remembering that the most successful World Championship athlete of all time won her second title in Oberhof in 2008.