Semen Pavlichenko repeats previous year’s victory

Sigulda (RWH) The Russian Semen Pavlichenko is a hard man to beat in Sigulda. The 27-year-old won the 2015 World Championship title on the artificial ice track in Latvia. Last year he won European gold for the third time, and now Pavlichenko has won the Viessmann Luge World Cup at the same venue. Two weeks before the 48th World Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) in Winterberg (25 to 27 January 2019), Pavlichenko, who finished fifth at the 2014 Olympics, came home ahead of compatriot Aleksandr Gorbatcevich whose previous best result was a second place in the BMW Sprint World Cup in Innsbruck. In 2017 Gorbatcevich had finished fourth in the “U23” World Championship in Innsbruck.

Third place went to Olympic Champion David Gleirscher (AUT). This was the young athlete’s second podium finish in the Viessmann Luge World Cup. The Tyrolean was previously on the podium in third place in Calgary.

Roman Repilov from Russia, who was lying in third place after the first heat, was disqualified for excess additional weight before the second run. The overall World Cup winner also had not competed in Whistler because he was unable to travel to Canada in time due to visa problems.

After eight of twelve races, Johannes Ludwig (GER) continues to lead the overall standings on 473 points, having finished twelfth in Sigulda. Second is Austria’s Wolfgang Kindl (440), who finished tenth in Sigulda. Felix Loch, the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Champion, came home ninth in Sigulda and has just 437 points in the overall classification.

Quotes

Semen Pavlichenko (RUS / World Champion 2015, European Champion 2015, 2017 and 2018):

“I’m very happy with a one-two finish today. But I’m also sad that Roman Repilov was disqualified. The win was also important because it means I remain in the seeded group, which is particularly important for the World Championships in two weeks.”

Aleksandr Gorbatcevich (RUS / Fourth in the “U23” World Champion in 2017)

“I’m really happy. Semen is incredibly fast on this track.”

David Gleirscher (AUT / Olympic Champion 2018)

“I always feel good in Sigulda, and I love sliding here. The runs weren’t quite perfect, otherwise I might have had a different result. But Semen Pavlichenko is incredibly good here. I told him he’s the “Champion of Sigulda”. He drives very well and seems to push the sled blindly through the turns.”