Preview 7th FIL EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup Oberhof (GER):
Luge elite competes again in Thuringia / second of three Mixed Events on Sunday
Oberhof (FIL/22 Jan 2025) For the second time this season, luge athletes will be chasing World Cup points in the Oberhof ice track at the 7th EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup this weekend from January 24 to 26, 2025. A total of 116 sleds from 19 nations will start at the second World Cup of the season in Oberhof (Germany). 154 female and male athletes have registered, including 34 women and 44 men in the singles, and 14 women and 24 men in the doubles. In addition to the World Cup races, the second EBERSPAECHER Mixed Event presented by SKECHERS will be held on Sunday. In the new Mixed Event World Cup in the singles and doubles disciplines, one man and one woman race as singles and one men’s and one women’s double will race as a team in a mixed relay. Each discipline uses its usual starting height. Unlike in the team relay, international teams can also be formed here. 20 mixed singles and 13 mixed doubles have registered for Oberhof.
The World Cup weekend in Oberhof is the last before the 53rd FIL World Championships, which will take place in Whistler, Canada, from February 6 to 8, 2025.
Lots of encouragement for the new mixed format after its premiere in Lillehammer
At the premiere of the EBERSPAECHER mixed event presented by SKECHERS in Lillehammer, the lugers were enthusiastic: it was something new and fresh and a necessary further development of the sport. The first race in the new mixed doubles discipline was won by Wendl/Arlt and Eitberger/Matschina as Germany 2 ahead of Team Latvia with Bots/Plume and Robezniece/Bogdanova as well as Team USA with Mueller/Haugsjaa and Forgan/Kirkby.
In the mixed singles, Germany's Julia Taubitz and Max Langenhan, who had both previously won their respective individual World Cups in Lillehammer, triumphed. The US duo of Emily Sweeney and Jonathan Gustafson took second place ahead of Germany 2 with Merle Fräbel and Felix Loch. The best mixed nations teams were Switzerland's Natalie Maag and Australia's Alexander Ferlazzo in ninth place and Veronica Ravenna (Argentina) and Jozef Ninis (Slovakia) in 13th place.
The second World Cup of the EBERSPAECHER Mixed event presented by SKECHERS in Oberhof is the dress rehearsal for the upcoming FIL World Championships in Whistler (CAN), where the new competition will celebrate its World Championship premiere.
Egle, Langenhan, Gleirscher, Egle/Kipp and Wendl/Arlt lead the overall World Cup standings
After the World Cup in Winterberg, which was also held as the European Championships, the last World Cup before the World Championships is now scheduled for Oberhof. With six of nine World Cups completed, it remains exciting. Madeleine Egle, Max Langenhan (GER) and Nico Gleirscher as well as the women's doubles Selina Egle / Lara Kipp (all Austria) and the German doubles Tobias Wendl / Tobias Arlt are currently leading the World Cup rankings.
Selina Egle and Lara Kipp in particular are unstoppable in the women's doubles. The Austrians secured their first European Championship gold in Winterberg and their fifth World Cup victory in a row. The reigning world champions also took gold in the U23 classification. Their lead over Degenhardt/Rosenthal was just fourteen thousandths of a second. The German women's doubles finished in second place for the fifth time. They lie behind Egle/Kipp (550 points) and ahead of the US duo Forgan/Kirkby (426 points) in the overall standings with 475 points. In the men's doubles, Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER) won their 55th World Cup race and their fifth European Championship title with a track record. They took the lead in the overall World Cup with 475 points ahead of Bots/Plume (LAT, 466 p.) and their teammates Eggert/Müller (396 p.).
The women are in an exciting race for the big crystal globe this season. Last year's winner Julia Taubitz (GER) has moved up to second place after her European Championship victory and, with 430 points, is now only 14 points behind the current leader Madeleine Egle (AUT, 444 points) and 15 points ahead of Lisa Schulte (AUT, 415 points). There is also a real head-to-head race in the men's event: Nico Gleirscher (AUT) and Max Langenhan (GER) are tied at the top with 456 points. This means that Langenhan can choose his starting bib before his home race in Oberhof. He can either take the yellow jersey of the World Cup leader or the jersey of the World Champion. Felix Loch (GER) follows in third place with 370 points and European champion Jonas Müller (AUT, 359 points) in fourth place.
An overview of the overall World Cup standings and the individual disciplines can be found here fil-luge.org/en/overall-scores?event_season_id=32
Quotes:
Selina Egle (AUT): “European Championship gold, plus five World Cup victories in a row, that's amazing. We never thought it would turn out like this. Everything just fits together, we're in a great flow.”
Magdalena Matschina (GER): “We've already shown some good runs in Oberhof. Unfortunately, it didn't work out so well in the second run at the first World Cup, so our goal is to show two good, solid runs. Then it should be fine.”
Tobias Arlt (GER): “Winterberg was great. Oberhof is a new race and new luck, it's a completely different track, which we also like very much. We hope that the weather will cooperate to some extent. At the moment it looks like it's going to rain a bit, but that can't be helped.”
Paul Gubitz (GER): “We hope that we can shake off all the crap from the last World Cups, as it hasn't been the season we imagined so far. I think it's important now to take a good feeling with us to Whistler for the World Championships. We were the fastest at the last World Cup in Oberhof, but the others know that too. Let's see where the journey takes us this time.”
Juri Gatt (AUT): “It feels incredibly good! We've had a difficult few weeks, but we got into sliding well in training in Winterberg and have regained our confidence. It's not easy on the fast track, it's incredible that we made it onto the podium. We want to continue like this in Oberhof.”
Julia Taubitz (GER): “I hope that I can take the great feeling from Winterberg with me and that the upward trend continues in Oberhof. There are always ups and downs in a career, but it's good to know that you can get out of them and how. That's why I'm now going fully motivated to Oberhof.”
Anna Berreiter (GER): “ It's all about testing for the World Championships in Oberhof. I will continue to do my best. Fortunately, I can do well at the start again, and I hope that works in Oberhof, too.”
Nico Gleirscher (AUT): “There were one or two minor issues in the second run in Winterberg. We are currently racing at a very high level, one tenth after two runs is not much. I'm happy to be up there at the front and mega happy with the result. The last three races will be interesting. We've already shown this season in Oberhof that we're really fast, and we haven't been to Asia for a long time.”
Max Langenhan (GER): “Winterberg was not the race I had hoped for. I raced badly twice. Once in the lower part, once at the top with an immediate mistake. I have to admit that I was lucky to finish second. You normally get punished more severely. Now it's back to my home track in Oberhof. The track will be perfect. My expectations are very high there and they are always fulfilled. I hope the weather is just as good as it was last time in Winterberg, and then we'll see if we can keep the Austrians in check this time after the first disaster in Oberhof.”
Christian Eigentler (Head Coach Austria): “We were able to fully live up to our expectations in Winterberg and are absolutely satisfied with the performances and results. There is a very productive and positive atmosphere within the team and I'm very pleased that we can continue to reward ourselves for our hard work. Everyone was allowed to take a short break on Monday before the cards are reshuffled in Oberhof on Tuesday.”
Patric Leitner (Head Coach Germany): “I hope that we sell ourselves better in Oberhof than last time in December, especially in the men's event, and that we continue to work in such a way that we improve step by step in all disciplines. Apart from that, I can only say: Oberhof is always great. Of course, with two World Cups it's a bit difficult for the organizers in terms of spectators. If there's only one World Cup in Oberhof, the place is even more packed. However, it's always great fun. That's why we're really looking forward to the second World Cup here.”
Schedule 7th EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup, Oberhof 2 (GER)
Local start time (CET/MEZ)
Friday, January 24, 2025
11:00 Nations Cup
14:30 Training Seeded group
Saturday, January 25, 2025
09:30 Women’s Doubles, 1st run
10:25 Women’s Doubles, 2nd run
11:20 Women’s Singles, 1st run
12:45 Women’s Singles, 2nd run
13:50 Men’s Doubles, 1st run
14:55 Men’s Doubles, 2nd run
Sunday, January 26, 2025
10:30 Men’s Singles, 1st run
11:55 Men’s Singles, 2nd run
13:10 Mixed Doubles
14:20 Mixed Singles
Subject to change without notice!
