Sigulda (pps) The Viessmann Luge World Cup series concludes with a double event in Sigulda. Prior to the last two events of the season there are four lugers who still have a chance to claim overall victory: Germany’s two-time World champion Tatjana Huefner and Silke Kraushaar-Pielach in the women’s singles and two-time Olympic champion Armin Zoeggeler of Italy as well as two-time World champion David Moeller of Germany in the men’s singles. Huefner and Kraushaar-Pielach are separated by just 14 points, the gap between Zoeggler and Moeller amounts to a mere 15 points.

In the double-seater Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch of Germany are almost there, leading by a comfortable 105 points. But there are not considered to be true specialists to tackle the demanding track in Latvia. A third place is their best result ever in Sigulda, achieved at the 2003 World Championships. “It’s true that we like this track as much as a combination of measles and hay fever, but at this point we’ll remain at the helm to grab the overall victory. And that’s a promise!” announced Leitner-Resch on their homepage after their 31st career victory in Altenberg.

On the other hand, the eventual outcome in the women’s singles is much more exciting. Tatjana Huefner – lately she claimed five successive victories – achieved a fifth place at her so far only race in Sigulda last year. On the contrary, Silke Kraushaar-Pielach not only celebrated her first World Cup victory in Latvia on November 30, 1996 but she also grabbed another seven World Cup successes in Sigulda.

Should Silke Kraushaar-Pielach really manage to claim another two victories, Tatjana Huefner would need two second places in order to win the overall World Cup for the first time. Should Huefner only manage two third places – provided that Silke Kraushaar-Pielach will celebrate two victories – the new overall World Cup champion would be Silke Kraushaar-Pielach for the then sixth time. The artificially-iced track in Sigulda thus seems the be the perfect place to compete in the last two World Cup events in the career of the 37-year-old German athlete. Perhaps Silke Kraushaar-Pielach – with 36 individual World Cup victories – is still trying to at least attack the record of her long-time competitor and compatriot Sylke Otto who achieved 37 World Cup victories in her career.

Furthermore, the winning streak of Germany’s women’s athletes that started on December 5, 1997 with a victory of Barbara Niedernhuber in Innsbruck-Igls and still unbroken for the past 79 races, might be put to the test. Numerous strong competitors will be trying to take advantage of any little mistake of Germany’s women’s lugers - such as for instance Ukraine’s Natalia Yakushenko, Latvia’s Maija Tiruma and Anna Orlova, or Austria’s Nina Reithmayer. “It’s about time…” said Nina Reithmayer, who won the SUZUKI Challenge Cup in Altenberg. Apart from Yakushenko, who celebrated two victories, the 23-year-old luger from Tyrol is thus the only non-German Challenge Cup winner.

The gap between World Cup leader and five-time World champion Armin Zoeggeler and runner-up David Moeller of Germany is even closer than in the women’s singles – barely 15 points. “Actually, I’ll have no chance to win but I’ll try to make use of it” said 26-year-old Moeller who disclosed that the track in Sigulda is not among the favourite tracks of Germany’s men’s lugers. “Armin can lose it all whereas I can win it all”, commented Moeller.

However, Zoeggeler’s altogether seven victories in Sigulda speak for themselves, David Moeller’s best results on the demanding track so far were two fourth places (2006-07 and 2003-04). “I’m quite sure that in the end I’ll be the one to grab the overall victory”, said Armin Zoeggeler who can look back upon six overall World Cup victories.