Preview Doubles, season 2021/22: Duos from Germany, Austria, Latvia and Italy reach for precious metal

Yanqing (FIL) The Austrian doubles Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller took the first overall victory in the EBERSPÄCHER doubles World Cup in the pre-Olympic winter. In a total of twelve World Cup races Steu/Koller were only three times not on the podium, but they took four victories and all three World Cup globes. The two small crystal globes for the Sprint and the Doubles World Cup as well as the big JOSKA trophy for the overall World Cup of all twelve competitions.

The Germans Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken secured the 2021 World Cup title for the fourth time in a row. This means that the duo is now the most successful double at World Championships with four gold and three silver medals. Four-time Olympic champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER) took the title as sprint World champions in 2021. Third place at the World Championships went to the European champions, brothers Andris and Juris Sics. Latvia stood on the doubles' World Cup podium a total of seven times in the pre-Olympic winter and won two bronze medals at the 50th FIL World Championships. Two of the podium places, including even a victory at the final of the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup in St. Moritz (SUI), came from the "rookies of the year" Martins Bots and Roberts Plume. The Italians Ludwig Rieder and Patrick Rastner recently convinced in the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup with a victory in Innsbruck and three podium places, underlining their Olympic ambitions for Beijing 2022.

Olympic medals in doubles won the still active team Wendl/Arlt already two in gold, the Latvian brothers Sics/Sics one in silver and one in bronze as well as the World Champions Eggert/Benecken a bronze medal at the 2018 Olympics in Korea. But the other duos want to make it difficult for the experienced Olympic medalists to win, not only at the season's highlight in Beijing 2022, but also earlier in the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup.

Overall World Cup winner doubles:
World Cup overall leader in doubles Hansjörg Raffl (ITA) from South Tyrol will be the new permanent technical delegate of the FIL at all competitions of the General Class as well as at the XXIV Olympic Winter Games 2022 in Beijing in the Olympic season 2021/22. Raffl and his former doubles partner Norbert Huber are still the most successful doubles team with eight overall victories. In second place, with six titles, are Patric Leitner / Alexander Resch from Germany ranked. The duo ended their career in 2010. Hot on their heels with five overall victories are their compatriots Toni Eggert / Sacha Benecken.

In terms of individual World Cup victories, World champions Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken (GER) with three wins in the pre-Olympic winter have displaced Olympic champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER), who were on top of the World Cup podium only once, from the top as record winners. Eggert/Benecken have won the World Cup 46 times. Their teammates Wendl/Arlt, however, are close on their heels with 45 victories. The overall World Cup winners of the EBERSPÄCHER series 2020/21, the Austrians Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller, have fought their way up to 13th place in the best list thanks to their four victories in the pre-Olympic winter with 8 individual victories.