Innsbruck-Igls (pps) At the première in Calgary/Canada, the new rules of the SUZUKI Challenge Cup have been successfully tested. Three weeks ago, the winners at the Canada Olympic Park (COP) were Silke Kraushaar-Pielach (Germany), Armin Zoeggeler (Italy) and Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch (Germany).

At the second leg of the series to be carried out on Saturday (as of 09:15 hrs), two lugers per nation are eligible in compliance with the current seeded list. The draw of the two groups will be carried out without a list of seeded athletes. The two second-placed of each group will then fight for rank three in the so-called “small final”. The respective winners of each group will advance to the “final”. The SUZUKI Challenge Cup series boasts a total prize money of Euro 60,000. A victory in a Challenge Cup event is honoured by Euro 2.000 (Euro 2.400 for the double-seater).

Innsbruck-Igls carried out its last SUZUKI Challenge Cup event in the 2005-2006 season when the winners were the two-time Olympic champions Sylke Otto of Germany and Armin Zoeggeler of Italy. In the double-seater Christian Oberstolz-Patrick Gruber (Italy), European silver medallists in 2006 and bronze medallists in 2004, stood atop the podium.