Preview 1st EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup, Innsbruck (AUT): Season opening at Olympic ice track Igls

Wolfgang KIndl, Innsbruck

Innsbruck (FIL/29.Nov. 2022) This weekend, December 3 and 4, 2022, the international luge elite will start into the new season in Innsbruck-Igls (AUT). 38 women, 38 men, 11 women’s doubles and 21 men’s doubles from 20 nations have registered for the 1st EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup of the 2022/23 season. For the first time, the same number of men and women will compete, i.e. 30 men and 30 women (12 seeded, 18 qualified via the Nations Cup) are entitled to start as well as 24 men's and women's doubles (12 seeded, 12 qualified via the Nations Cup). A maximum of four singles and three doubles may start per nation.

Nine stops of the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup are scheduled on the FIL artificial track calendar in six countries and on two continents. In addition, three Sprint World Cups and six EBERSPÄCHER Team Relay World Cups presented by BMW will be held. The season's highlight will be the 51st FIL World Championships, held in Oberhof (GER) at the end of January.

The new season traditionally kicks off with the World Cup on the Olympic ice track below the Patscherkofel in Igls. In addition to the classic EBERSPÄCHER World Cup in the disciplines women's and men's singles as well as women's and men's doubles, the first Sprint World Cup of the season will also take place. Austria's top lugers are especially looking forward to presenting themselves in front of their home crowd, friends and family for the first time in two years. Besides the exciting races, an extensive supporting program with show acts for the spectators at the track can be expected.

Premiere in women's doubles

Previously held in the Juniors World Cup series, the women's doubles will compete in the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup for the first time in Igls. Eleven duos from eight nations have registered for the premiere, among them the reigning World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal from Germany, the World Champs bronze medalists from Winterberg, the US-Americans Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby, as well as Viktorija Ziedina and Selina Zvilna from Latvia, last year's Overall World Cup bronze medalists. The first appearance of Summer Britcher and Emily Sweeney (USA), who will both compete not only in the singles but also in the women's doubles, is much anticipated.

Felix Loch, Sigulda 2022

Felix Loch ahead of 50th World Cup victory

Germany's most successful luger Felix Loch is about to celebrate a special anniversary. The three-time Olympic and seven-time overall World Cup winner is about to celebrate his 50th World Cup victory. The Beijing Olympic fourth-placed luger has claimed nine of his 49 victories to date in Igls. With 57 World Cup victories and 10 overall wins, Italy's team manager Armin Zöggeler leads the eternal ranking.

Team Ukraine in the World Cup

Despite the Russian invasion war in Ukraine, the team of national coach Taras Hartsula will compete in the World Cup with seven athletes. The goal is to demonstrate sportive strength against the banned Russians and to fight for what has been built up in the sport of luge in the last years. While the team was still training at home during the summer, it went to the tracks in Sigulda, Lillehammer and Altenberg for the season's immediate preparation. The team had to cancel the overseas races, as they would not have been financially or visa-wise feasible. In addition, according to Taras Hartsula, the team did not want to lose the closeness to their own families, who all continue to live in Ukraine.

Update FIL season calendar 2022/2023:

Unlike planned, the 5th EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup and the 54th FIL European Championships will not be held in Lillehammer (NOR) from January 13 to 15, 2023, but in Sigulda (LAT). The corrected season calendar looks as follows:

Madeleine Egle

EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Innsbruck (AUT), 02. - 04. December 2022
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Whistler (CAN), 09. - 11. December 2022
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Park City (USA), 15. - 17. December 2022
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Sigulda (LAT), 06 – 08. January 2023
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup & 54. FIL ECH Sigulda (LAT), 13 – 15. January 2023
51st World Championships 2023 Oberhof (GER), 27 – 29. January 2023
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Altenberg (GER), 03. - 05. February 2023
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Winterberg (GER), 10 – 12. February 2023
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup St. Moritz (SUI), 17 – 19. February 2023
EBERSPÄCHER World Cup Winterberg (GER), 24 – 26. February 2023

Quotes on the World Cup start:

Madeleine Egle (AUT): “The anticipation for the World Cup is huge. It is always the case at the beginning that you absolutely don't know where you stand. That's why the first World Cup is special, because it's only then that you see where you stand and whether all the hard work over the summer has paid off. The excitement is also especially high there, because you only see after the first competition whether you're in it or not.”

“Anyone who has time should definitely visit the Christkindl market. It is very special in Innsbruck and is part of our Christmas tradition. I also recommend a trip with the Nordkette cable railways, which takes you right out of the city centre in just a few minutes up to 2300m, where you can enjoy a fascinating 360-degree view of the Karwendel national park and the city of Innsbruck.”

Hannah Prock (AUT): “Last season and, above all, the fifth place at the Olympic Games gave me a lot of self-confidence and provided additional motivation. I trained well throughout the summer; I am in top shape and really looking forward to the new season. The set-up of the sleds requires a lot of fine-tuning and patience, but the first impressions are promising. However, there is still a lot to do.”

Wolfgang Kindl (AUT): “I am in good shape and ready for the coming season. My primary goal is the Overall World Cup. I have been close to victory so many times now, and I'm still missing this one.”

Thomas Steu (AUT): “We are coping well with the new material. The sled is now more stable and secure. Everyone is currently testing his stuff; there is a lot of experimenting, especially with the runners, so it's difficult to make comparisons. Schorsch (Georg Hackl) is providing new directions with his experience and ideas when it comes to our set-up. He has very interesting approaches, compliments well with Peter (Penz) and fits our team perfectly.”

Taras Hartsula (UKR): “Due to the war, our World Cup team has to manage with 30 percent of the planned budget. That's one reason why we will only compete in the European races. We will train in Oberhof and Sigulda instead. Our families all live in Ukraine. If they need help, we can always go home in 10 to 12 hours by car. It is important for us to keep the luge sport going, so we also continue to invest in our juniors and give them the chance to train and compete. Good results at the European and World Championships are very important for us, as the budgets for 2023/24 are based on that.”

Anna Berreiter (GER): “I fell during training in Oberhof and damaged my left hand a bit. Being seeded for the German World Cup team made my way easier. I didn't have a very good preparation and I have to bring more consistency into my runs. However, I do have my own standards. That's why I also wanted to compete with the other girls, because where we are is usually the lead, and that's why I didn't sit back and relax, but on the contrary put a lot of pressure on myself again.”

Julia Taubitz (GER): „I didn't get going so well in the preparation. I'm really looking forward to the World Cups now. It will be exciting. The Austrian girls have all been very strong recently, but the Italians are also making progress and one should never underestimate the Latvians and US-girls anyway.“

Felix Loch (GER): „The pre-season preparation in the summer went very well. I was able to train athletically well and I am leaner than ever. However, we will only see where we stand at the World Cup competitions. I am really looking forward to the season and I'm very happy to be able to race in Whistler and Salt Lake City again after two years. I'm really looking forward to Park City because it's gone this or that way for me there before. It's definitely going to be very interesting."

Tobias Wendl (GER): “We have never started the season as well as we did in this preparation, we feel good and we are glad that we were able to take the Olympic pot when we rebuilt our sled. We only had to change the blocks. The rebuilt sled feels good. It sits lower and wider and has more stable tipping on the corner exits, which has already saved us from tipping twice during the training runs.”

Andrea Vötter (ITA): “Marion Oberhofer and I will also be competing in doubles for the first time this winter. We are currently getting to know all the tracks in doubles. It was important for me to race both disciplines this season, because in doubles we don't know yet how well it works. We don't know if Marion and I fit together, understand each other and if the results fit as well. “

Emily Sweeney (USA): „I am looking forward to the new challenge of competing in women's doubles as well as singles. It has been a lot of fun teaming up with Summer (Britcher) in a completely new way. We've been teammates for years, but being on the same sled solidifies our teammate relationship even more. Training together brings a whole new level of motivation and encouragement, and while it feels completely new at times, I've already seen our experience from singles transfer over to doubles, which is really encouraging.”

Summer Britcher (USA): “I lost a little weight over the summer, but I feel athletically very fit. I'm looking forward to the new season and I'm curious to see how I will cope with the multiple workload with starts in singles and women's doubles together with Emily (Sweeny). Igls is a track I love and I always do well on it.”

Jonathan Gustafson (USA): “It's incredibly difficult to be fast in Igls. That's always a big challenge for me. The build-up of ice doesn't look so easy, but I'm looking forward to training and hope that I can be really fast. Because then sliding here will be really fun.“

Schedule & TV coverage, Local start time (=CET/MEZ)

Forgan and Kirkby, USA Luge Women's Doubles

Friday, 02. 12. 2022
09:00 FIL Nationscup
14:30 Training seeded group

Saturday, 03. 12. 2022
09:05 Women’s doubles, 1st run
09:55 Women’s doubles, 2nd run
10:45 Women, 1st run
12:20 Women, 2nd run
13:45 Men’s doubles, 1st run
15:00 Men’s doubles, 2nd run

Sunday, 04. 12. 2022
09:30 Men, 1st run
11:05 Men, 2nd run
12:30 Sprint World Cup Men’s doubles
12:55 Sprint World Cup Women’s doubles
13:30 Sprint World Cup Women
14:15 Sprint World Cup Men

Subject to change without notice!

Live TV coverage: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8B0YVf_mLDyUHoS4EgGMvryYA05zz9l1

FIL-Media Guide – information to all athletes: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/multimedia/media-guide