Preview doubles: Latest round of ongoing German battle
Berchtesgaden (RWH) It doesn’t take a prophet to forecast yet another instalment of the ongoing German battle in the doubles at the Viessmann World Cup. Once again, the main protagonists in winter 2015-2016 are likely to be Olympic Champions and three-time World Champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt and overall World Cup winners Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken. The two pairs were separated by just 16 points in the final standings at the end of last season.
Although both pairs claimed six individual victories, Wendl/Arlt were always marginally ahead with their gold medals at the World Championships and European Championships. Eggert/Benecken looked particularly impressive during the internal qualification events, defeating Wendl/Arlt by eight tenths of a second on the Königssee track that is set to host the forthcoming World Championships. In their defense, however, Wendl/Arlt have a free pass to the World Championships as reigning World Champions.
Head coach Norbert Loch believes that the German dominance of the doubles event is rooted in a long-standing tradition. “The doubles has really developed over time for us,” said Loch. It is worth noting that the list of record-holders in the Viessmann World Cup is headed by three German duos. Leading the way at the top of the table are Patric Leitner/Alexander Resch, Olympic Champions in 2002, with 34 individual victories, followed in second place by Wendl/Arlt (29 victories) ahead of Stefan Krauße/Jan Behrendt (27 victories), who took Olympic gold in 1992 and 1998.
It is also notable that there was a seamless transition as soon as one pair retired. Leitner/Resch succeeded Krauße/Behrendt, becoming World Champions in their debut season in the winter of 1998-1999. And Leitner/Resch had barely packed away their sled after taking Olympic bronze in Vancouver in 2010 than Wendl/Arlt stepped up to the plate. “We have always emphasized the importance of doubles to our up-and-coming lugers,” explained Loch.
However, the former Olympian notes that, even in a luge powerhouse like Germany, the current young athletes are increasingly focusing their attention on the singles. Loch muses that it might be a good idea to bring back higher start heights for young athletes.
Behind the German leaders, the Sics brothers of Latvia, Andris and Juris, Olympic silver medallists in Vancouver and bronze medallists in Sochi, Russia, battled it out for the remaining World Cup points during the 2014-2015 season against Austria’s current World Championship silver medallists Peter Penz/Georg Fischler, and Italian “grand masters” Christian Oberstolz/Patrick Gruber, who finished third in the World Championships in Sigulda. Oberstolz/Gruber are set to start their 17th World Cup winter season, which will earn them the title of longest-serving World Cup competitors.
