Preview men: Felix Loch is the perennial favourite

Königssee (RWH) Felix Loch endured an uncharacteristically slow start to the season. Disqualified in Innsbruck for a weight infringement, he then made a driving error on the Mount Van Hoevenberg track in Lake Placid. Chris Mazdzer simply outperformed the German at the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Park City, as did the Austrian Wolfgang Kindl in the BMW Sprint World Cup, and it was not until the fifth race of the season that Felix Loch rediscovered his winning form.

“I’m so relieved,” said the two-time Olympic Champion and quadruple World Champion following his first victory of the 2015/2016 winter season in Calgary, Canada. The 26-year-old then went on to enjoy four more victories and propelled himself into the role of hot favorite at the 46th International Luge Federation (FIL) World Championships on the artificial track in Königssee, as he has been every year since 2008, when he took World Championship gold for the first time at the tender age of 17.

However, the number one title contender does not always win the World Championship crown, as the high flying Loch has witnessed first-hand on no less than two occasions. Armin Zöggeler snatched gold from him at the World Championships in Cesana (ITA) in 2011. At least on that occasion it was a two-time Olympic Champion and six-time World Champion who got the better of him – last year’s defeat was to an athlete who was a completely unknown quantity. Semen Pavlichenko, who had never won a Viessmann Luge World Cup, became the first Russian World Champion in the history of the sport when he took gold in Sigulda.

Loch would prefer to avoid a recurrence of that kind of mishap on his home track, especially as he is all too familiar with the fate that befell his coach and friend Georg Hackl. Three-time Olympic Champion Hackl had his sights set on a fourth world title at the 33rd FIL Luge World Championships in 1999, but he opted for a risky sled setup and failed to finish in the points. “That’s enough of a warning for me,” said Loch, who is currently second behind Zöggeler (who has 6 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) on the all-time World Championship leaderboard with four gold and two silver medals.

Tyrolean luger Wolfgang Kindl won bronze in 2015, and this year became the first Austrian to lead the Viessmann Luge World Cup classification since Markus Kleinheinz 11 years ago. Although the 2008 Junior World Champion, who defeated the newly crowned World Champion Loch that year, has since relinquished his place at the head of the field, he remains a medal candidate. Another potential medallist is US slider Chris Mazdzer, who has played a part in the US team’s best ever season with his two victories in Lake Placid and Park City. Mazdzer, the athlete’s representative of the International Luge Federation (FIL), finished third in Königssee last year. And what about the surprise World Champion? Semen Pavlichenko currently lies 12th overall in the Viessmann Luge World Cup standings, with his only podium finish to date coming when he finished second in Sigulda. The situation is thus identical to last year, when Pavlichenko’s best result ahead of his World Championship victory in Latvia was second place in Lillehammer.