With a parallel competition on Friday and Saturday, this years Red Bull Natural Track Luge World Cup starts in Völs am Schlern in Italy. The planned begin of the new season in Umhauen, Austria, one week ago was postponed because of weather conditions and the difficulty to prepare the track properly.
In Völs will be held Friday (start at 9 am) and Saturday (start at 10 am) a parallel competition, on which not only the local star Irene Mitterstieler will participate, but all the best in this discipline. One year ago, in Triesenberg, Liechtenstein, where the first World Cup Parallel event was held, the winners were Ferdinand Hirzegger ahead of Robert Batkowski (both AUT) and Toni Blasbichler (ITA), Sonja Steinacher (ITA) ahead of Sandra Mariner (AUT) and Ekaterina Lavrentjeva (RUS) and in the double seaters Mair/Mair (ITA) ahead of Kleinhofer/Mühlbacher (AUT) und Laszczak/Waniczek (POL). As demonstration event, a parallel competition was held the first time two years ago in Völs..
„TV, press and spectators like this races“, World Cup coordinator Herbert Wurzer says. „In fact, in the races athlete against athlete there are a lot of suspence. But the parallel events are not the ,real’ natural track luge competitions. It’s a little bit like a show. Racers also do not like completely this race format. They are stronger in the normal competitions, and they have a lot more stress, with ten races in one day.” .
For this reason, the number of parallel events in the Red Bull Natural Track Luge World Cup will not be more as one also in the winter 2003/04, when Triesenberg will host this race again. .
Normally, a track is long between 800 and 1500 meters, in a parallel event only between 250 and 350 meters. Wurzer sees some possibilities, to bring the Natural Track Luge to certain areas in Scandinavia, where it is not possible because of geographical topics to prepare a classical track, but maybe a track for parallel competitions..
Season will go on after its start in Völs in the New Year (3.-5.1.) in Unterammergau in Germany. The cancelled race in Umhausen will be held one week later, before the whole scene moves to Moscow..
FIL-Media service.
Egon Theiner.
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