Sigulda (pps) The artificially refrigerated track in Sigulda, Latvia, is not only venue of the Viessmann Luge World Cup final in the Olympic season. The demanding ice labyrinth will also see the 45th European Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) that will be carried out as a “race-in-race” competition. European Championship medals will be awarded in Sigulda for the third time after 1996 and 2010.

As the 2014 overall Viessmann Luge World Cup champions have already been crowned - Natalie Geisenberger, Felix Loch and Tobias Wendl-Tobias Arlt (all of Germany) - the focus of the luge circuit is directed onto the continental championships. Gold medal favorite in the women’s singles is Tatiana Ivanova of Russia. She claimed the 2010 and 2012 European titles and won the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Sigulda last year.

The men’s singles will probably see a duel between the two “veterans”: Over his career Italy’s 40-year-old Armin Zoeggeler has won nine World Cup events as well as the 2013 World Championship title in Sigulda. Albert Demchenko of Russia, two years Zoeggeler’s senior, claimed victories in five Viessmann Luge World Cup events as well as at the 2010 European Championships. In Sigulda German athletes have, by the way, rarely been successful in the men’s singles. Georg Hackl earned a top spot on the World Cup podium in 1989, Jens Mueller took the first European Championship title in 1996 and Felix Loch won the World Cup in Sigulda in 2011-2012.

The two brothers, Andreas and Wolfgang Linger of Austria, are the “doubles specialists” in Sigulda. They claimed the first of their now three World Championship titles in Latvia. Further medal candidates are teammates Peter Penz-Georg Fischler and, on their home track, Olympic silver medalists Andris Sics-Juris Sics.
Russia and host Latvia are the top contenders in the Team Relay event even though Italy and Austria might have a say when the medals are handed out. Due to the nominated “B squad”, defending champion Germany is the dark horse in the doubles event.

In the post-Olympic 2014-2015 season, Sigulda will also be host to the 45th World Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL).