Lake Placid (pps) New season – new format. In the upcoming 2007-2008 season, the FIL Team Relay will be an integral part of the schedule of the International Luge Federation, FIL. Thus, the relay event – successfully tested last season and supported by sponsor SUZUKI - will already be carried out at the World Cup opener on the artificially-iced track in Lake Placid on November 17.

The relay team consists of a double-seater, a women’s single and a men’s single while the clock is running right from the start. The innovative event will be staged at the 40th FIL World Championships in Oberhof/Germany (January 25-27, 2008) and at the 41st FIL European Championships in Cesana/Italy (January 12-13, 2008), at the Viessmann Luge World Cups in Winterberg/GER (December 9, 2007), Koenigssee/GER (January 6, 2008) as well as at the season’s last event in Sigulda/Latvia (February 17, 2008).

Lake Placid in the US state of New York will not only see the Viessmann Luge World Cup opener. It is already a rehearsal since the Olympic host city of 1932 and 1980 will organise the FIL World Championships in the 2008-2009 season. On this occasion the new start for the men’s events – a rather flat ramp running parallel to the bobsleigh and skeleton start – will be put to the test.

The defending 2007 World champions will have to face strong competition on the artificially-iced track at Mount van Hoevenberg. Germany’s Tatjana Huefner, for instance, had to make do with a third place at the national championships while David Moeller and Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch defended their titles. However, the competition among Germany’s women is extremely strong: World junior champion Natalie Geisenberger grabbed the national title while Silke Kraushaar-Pielach intends to crown her last season with a World Championship title.

There are of course other lugers, who want to give Germany’s athletes a hard time, notably two-time Olympic champion Armin Zoeggeler of Italy, defending Viessmann Luge World Cup champion, Olympic silver medallist Albert Demchenko of Russia, the rather unpredictable Martins Rubenis of Lativa as well as Stefan Hoehener (Switzerland) who greatly improved last season. After marrying Ashley Hayden, Sweden’s Bengt Walden competes for the US luge team with immediate effect.

Together with compatriot Erin Hamlin newly-wed Ashley Walden, who took a fourth place at the 2005 Worlds, will be trying to challenge the dominance of Germany’s women – just like Nina Reithmeyer and Veronika Halder (both of Austria) and Ukraine’s Natalia Yakushenko and Martina Kocher (Switzerland).

In the doubles’ event, World bronze medallists Mark Grimmette/Brian Martin (USA) are focussing on the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Italy’s two doubles’ teams with Gerhard Plankensteiner-Oswald Haselrieder and Christian Oberstolz-Patrick Gruber will certainly have a say next season, similarly to 2006 Olympic champions Wolfgang Linger-Andreas Linger (Austria) and their team-mates and 2007 World silver medallists Tobias Schiegl-Markus Schiegl.

The development within Canada’s luge team prior to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver promises excitement. Germany’s Wolfgang Staudinger, who worked as coach for the Federal Police and thus also for David Moeller, has signed a seven-year-contract as head coach of Canada’s luge team.