Preview 8th EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup, St. Moritz (SUI)

Luge elite to compete on the world's only natural ice track

St. Moritz (FIL/25 Feb 2026) For the first time, there are still two stops on the EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup 2025/26 scheduled after the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. From February 27 to March 1, 2026, the world's best luge athletes will return to the world's only natural ice track, the Olympia Bob Run St. Moritz-Celerina (SUI) for the first time in three years.

21 women, 28 men, 11 women's doubles and 16 men's doubles have registered. With the exception of Ashley Farquharson from the USA, all Olympic champions and medalists from Cortina will be competing in the World Cup again, with some of them still fighting for the overall World Cup title.

The world's only natural ice track has been a fixture in the Luge World Cup since 2021, most recently in February 2023. The 1,722-meter-long track is rebuilt from scratch every year. Although every curve in the terrain is precisely leveled, there are minimal changes in the layout every year. Construction always begins in the last week of November at Sunny Corner, and then the track team works its way toward the finish line or run-out. The section from the start to Sunny Corner is built last. Within three weeks, 15,000 cubic meters of snow and 10,000 cubic meters of water are used to build the world's largest snow sculpture in the magnificent natural arena of the Upper Engadin. As no chemical substances are used at all, the Olympic Bob Run in the Engadin is also the most ecological bobsleigh and luge track in the world.

Unlike usual, a launch ramp will not only be built at the top (bobsleigh start) for the men's singles, but also for the first time at Monti's Bolt for the women's singles and the men's and women's doubles. In previous years, the start at Monti's Bolt was used flat – mainly for the paddle start. This year, a starting ramp will be built to achieve more speed and, as usual, to enable a special luge start.

End of season for numerous teams

An Olympic season is long and involves significantly greater financial expenditure for all nations. That is why numerous teams ended their season immediately after the Winter Olympics in Cortina. In addition to Canada, China, Japan, and Georgia, the teams from Korea and the USA are also no longer competing. Summer Britcher is the only member of the US team still competing in the World Cup. At the press conference at the start of the season, she hinted that this could be her last season and that she wanted to enjoy every single race. After two victories in Park City and Sigulda and a third place in Lake Placid, she currently still has a good chance of finishing high in the overall standings.

Jonas Müller und Lisa Schulte, EBERSPÄCHER Mixed Weltcup presented by SKECHERS

Overall World Cup decisions still open in all disciplines

After seven of nine World Cups, the excitement continues. Lisa Schulte (AUT), Felix Loch (GER), the Women's Doubles Selina Egle/Lara Kipp (AUT), and the German Doubles Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt currently lead the World Cup standings. While Egle/Kipp and Wendl/Arlt have built up a comfortable lead in the overall World Cup standings with 132 and 112 points respectively, the competition is much closer in the women's, men's and team relay events.

Olympic champion Julia Taubitz (GER) has every chance of defending her title from last year and securing the JOSKA trophy for the EBERSPAECHER Overall World Cup for the fifth time in a row. The 29-year-old from Saxony, who celebrates her 30th birthday on Sunday, March 1, in St. Moritz, is only 15 points behind the leader, Austria's Lisa Schulte (464 points), with 449 points. Just four points behind is her teammate Merle Fräbel (445 points), who recently won both races in Oberhof. Hannah Prock (AUT, 419 points) and Summer Britcher (USA, 394 points) are also still in contention for a top 3 finish. The American did not want to miss out on this opportunity and is therefore the only one from the team still competing in the World Cup.

The men are engaged in a real neck-and-neck race: Felix Loch (GER) leads with 616 points, just ahead of Olympic silver medalist Jonas Müller (AUT, 615 points) and Olympic champion Max Langenhan (GER, 505 points). While Loch has already secured four wins and two second places, Müller has finished first and second three times each. For Felix Loch, it would be his eighth overall World Cup victory of his career, and for Müller, his first.

In the overall World Cup standings for women's doubles, Selina Egle and Lara Kipp (AUT) have a good chance of defending their title from last year. The Austrians lead with 640 points, well ahead of Eitberger/Matschina (GER, 508 points) and Degenhardt/Rosenthal (GER, 490 points).

In the men's doubles, Olympic bronze medalists Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt also appear set to successfully defend their title after three consecutive World Cup victories. For Germany's most successful winter sports athletes at the Olympic Games, it would be the seventh overall World Cup title of their long career. They lead with 566 points ahead of Gatt/Schöpf (AUT, 454 points) and their teammates Eggert/Müller (409 points), closely followed by Bots/Plume (LAT, 408 points), Steu/Kindl (AUT, 405 points) and Müller/Frauscher (AUT, 367 points).

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=33

Julia Taubitz und Max Langenhan Mixed Singles Oberhof 2026

Quotes:

Julia Taubitz (GER): „Everything is still very close in the World Cup. The Olympics have motivated me even more to give my all in the remaining two World Cups and defend my overall World Cup victory. I still haven't realized my successes at the Olympic Games in Cortina. I find it fascinating and immediately get tears in my eyes when someone greets me as an Olympic champion because it still feels so unreal. The best moments are when I'm alone, which doesn't happen often at the moment because I'm always on the road and surrounded by people. That's why I'm looking forward to the end of the season when I can look back on everything on my own.

But I still enjoyed the Olympics to the fullest. After the team relay, I went with Lisa [Schulte] and Natalie [Maag] to Predazzo for the ski jumping and then on to Milan for the figure skating and ice hockey. That was really great. Afterwards, Natalie and I went to St. Moritz, where I was allowed to sit in the back and brake during a guest bobsleigh ride. I also went to Livigno for the freestyle skiing and was a guest on ZDF's Aktuelles Sportstudio.

I'm really looking forward to the race in St. Moritz. I love luge there because we usually have nice weather and the ice is different, but simply fantastic. The difficulties for us are initially the start, because it's very flat. Elina Bota, the little starting rocket, will really give us a run for our money there. In the Horse Shoe, you have to try not to slide too much because we don't have much pressure there since we unfortunately have to start from the bottom. I think that's a shame; I really thought we would be able to start from the top. I'm going into the race feeling happy and highly motivated. I really like Lisa, but we give each other no quarter on the track. With Merle, Hannah, and Summer also close behind, it will remain exciting until the end, but I'm going to enjoy every single race and have fun.“

Summer Britcher (USA): „I’ve had some time to recharge at home, and I’m excited and ready to race in the final two world cups.“

Natalie Maag (SUI): „The Olympics were a huge disappointment for me. In Switzerland, finishing in the top eight and earning an Olympic diploma means a lot. It's bitter; four years ago, I was happy with my ninth place, but now that ninth place still hurts a lot. It will certainly take some time for me to get over it. Of course, I'm now looking forward to the World Cup at home in St. Moritz. It's a shame that we have to start from the bottom again, even though it was discussed in the summer that we would be allowed to start from the top. I love the track, but from the bottom it's just not World Cup standard. I'm looking forward to being home for a week. St. Moritz is the track that keeps me in the World Cup; otherwise I would have quit eight years ago. I'm trying to enjoy it. The Horse Shoe is always difficult because you simply don't have enough pressure in the curves. Let's see what the weather says. Snow is forecast, and that will make it difficult because the track is not covered. So let's hope it doesn't turn into a weather race.“

Felix Loch (GER): „After the Olympics, I'm fully focused on the overall World Cup. Before the Olympics, I spent three days training in St. Moritz to prepare for the World Cup and, of course, the Olympic Games. It would be great if I could win the overall World Cup. I really enjoy racing on both tracks, but right now St. Moritz is the priority. It's always very special there, and the track is just awesome. It's so nice to race there, so peaceful. The scenery is sensational, I always love being there and enjoy it. After this season, I would be thrilled to win the overall World Cup. I'm going for it, because the overall World Cup is always something special!“

Vötter / Oberhofer, Nationencup, Oberhof 2026

Andrea Vötter (ITA): „It's really nice to see how many people followed our races and how thrilled they were for us. We've already had lots of receptions and enjoyed them very much. Despite our media commitments, we still had time to relax at home and recharge our batteries. The hardest part of the season is now behind us. The Olympic race is over, and we did a great job. It's a little difficult to motivate ourselves for the two World Cups now, because the Olympic Games were our biggest goal from the start of the season, and we skipped two World Cup races so we could train in Cortina. Since we no longer have a chance in the overall World Cup, it's even harder to stay motivated, but I think we'll still enjoy it and give it our best. We want to do well two more times in St. Moritz and Altenberg, be among the leaders, and carry the good spirit from Cortina with us.“

Lara Kipp (AUT): „After the Olympic race, I just wanted to lie down and sleep. The pressure was really intense. The race format is the same as in the World Cup, but everything else is completely different. Immediately after the race, so much pressure was lifted that I felt completely drained and exhausted. But I quickly recovered and was able to switch into enjoyment mode. The memories of what I experienced in Cortina will stay with me for the rest of my life. Dealing with pressure situations was also an important experience.“

Roberts Plume (LAT): „Now that we’ve had a little time to catch our breath after the Olympic Games, we feel recharged and highly motivated to show what we are capable of in the remainder of the season. Our goal is to finish in the Top 3 of the overall World Cup standings. The final two tracks suit us well — historically, we have delivered strong performances there. St. Moritz is a true masterpiece. It’s a natural track with its own unique character, and we really appreciate that. Latvian sleds have traditionally been fast there, but you still need a very strong start to take full advantage of the speed. Altenberg is always demanding. Curve nine, in particular, can create challenges and requires precision and confidence. If the track crew prepares the ice well, it’s up to us to execute our job cleanly. Even though the main event of the season is behind us, we still feel that we have plenty left in the tank for these final two World Cup races.“

Rieder / Kainzwaldner - Luge Italy Men's Doubles

Emmanuel Rieder (ITA): „I always like St. Moritz, but Altenberg not so much because the double start isn't that interesting there. You have that stupid start corner and curve nine, and then it's just a leisurely ride. The start is difficult for us on both tracks because I injured my lower arm in Sigulda a month and a half ago and haven't been able to train properly since. In Cortina, we were able to make up for it on the track and were fast enough to compensate the start. It will certainly be more difficult on these two tracks because we can't keep up at the start at all. But I don't really care about that right now. We have achieved our goal and are now taking on the two World Cups. I like the setting and everything around it in St. Moritz. It's just a beautiful track and we're looking forward to it.“

Simon Kainzwaldner (ITA): „Sure, now that the highlight of the season, the Winter Olympics in Cortina, is over, the momentum has slowed down a bit, but I think that's fine for now, so we can finish the season comfortably and then set new goals.”

UPDATED SCHEDULE:

Schedule & TV broadcasts 8th EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup, St. Moritz (SUI)