The only eliminator of the season in the natural track calendar was held on Sunday on the 955 meter long Grantau track in Umhausen (AUT). Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) and Patrick Pigneter (ITA) won the elimination race in the knockout system.

Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) and Patrick Pigneter (ITA) won the Eliminator

Umhausen (FIL/02/21/2024) Italian Festival in the Eliminator in Umhausen: In the men's singles, the “Azzurri” with Florian Clara, Patrick Pigneter and Fabian Brunner made it to the finale with three athletes, the fourth in the group was Michael Scheikl (AUT). Scheikl opend the finale, who was immediately pushed out of the lead by Brunner. Pigneter took the lead with a time of 1:12.76 minutes, Clara finished on second place just ahead of Brunner in 1:13.02 minutes. For Pigneter it was the 52nd World Cup victory.

Podium Eliminator men (from left): Florian Clara (ITA), Patrick Pigneter (ITA) and Fabian Brunner (ITA)

“My focus today was clearly on the finale, I tried to save a little energy in the heats. This strategy worked because it was a physically demanding race day,” analyzed the 36-year-old, who extended his World Cup lead to 385 points with his 10th victory in Umhausen. Behind Pigneter are Clara (300), Daniel Gruber (ITA/265) and Scheikl (261).

In the women's eliminator, Evelin Lanthaler made it safely into the finale of the top four and cemented her supremacy with a fantastic time of 1:12.82 minutes, ahead of Riccarda Ruetz (AUT/+1.76 seconds) and Lisa Walch (GER/+1.86), who made it to the podium for the first time this season. Jenny Castiglioni (ITA) in fourth place achieved her career-best World Cup result so far. “The conditions on the track were a bit tricky today, but I was able to adapt well to the slightly softer ice and am very happy with my performance,” said Lanthaler after her 47th World Cup victory. After four out of seven races, Lanthaler leads the overall standings with a maximum of 400 points, ahead of Ruetz (315) and Walch (230).

Podium Eliminator women (from left): Riccarda Ruetz (AUT), Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) and Lisa Walch (GER)

Next stop from February 2nd to 4th in Jaufental/Val Giovo (ITA) with the next World Cup and the highlight of the season, the 30th FIL European Championships in natural track luge.

Eliminator Umhausen, finale men
1. Patrick Pigneter (ITA), 1:12.76 minutes
2. Florian Clara (ITA), 1.13.02
3. Fabian Brunner (ITA), 1.13.09
4. Michael Scheikl (AUT), 1.13.19

Eliminator Umhausen, finale women
1. Evelin Lanthaler (ITA), 1:12.82 minutes
2. Riccarda Ruetz (AUT), 1.14.58
3. Lisa Walch (GER), 1.14.68
4. Jenny Castiglioni (ITA), 1.16.30