Thrilling Team Relay race: Germany just ahead of Austria

Winterberg (FIL/07 Jan 2024) Second race of the EBERSPAECHER Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW, second victory for the German team. It was a very narrow victory over the Austrian team, however. The four German sleds took 3:11.425 minutes to complete their runs, the Austrians 3:11.468 minutes.

The German doubles team of Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal managed to turn things around with a strong finish, after their team was slightly behind after the women's singles, men's doubles and men's singles. "We just saw how difficult the Team Relay is. There are four sleds and something can always happen," said German head coach Norbert Loch. The US team came in third, 1.251 seconds behind. Thus, the result was the same as in last season's final.

Only six of the nine competing teams made it into the rankings. Romania's Valentin Cretu missed the finish touch pad, while the men's singles from Italy and Latvia both crashed. Just earlier, Dominik Fischnaller and Kristers Aparjods had been on the podium in men's singles. However, starting from a lower gate reduces the speed, so the steering points have to be chosen differently. Austria’s Jonas Müller was understanding: "Usually they say it's easier when it's slower. But it's still a huge challenge."