Altenberg (pps) The Viessmann Luge World Cup will be opening the new luging season as extensive, lucrative and eventful as never before. Nine races are on the calendar in the pre-Olympic winter – as many as ten years ago. The overall prize money amounts to more than €230,000, more than ever before in the previous 27 years of the World Cup. Further novelties such as the “traffic-light” start as practised in Formula 1 races, or the first ever relay competition in the history of luge which will be tested during the World Cup in Calgary, Canada, on December 10, will make the new season even more eventful than before.

In spite of all the changes passed unanimously by the FIL Congress last summer, the favourites have remained the same for the new season: The World Cup title holders, Germany’s Sylke Otto, Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler, and Germany’s three-time World champions Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch. Germany’s reigning World champions, David Moeller (men) and Silke Kraushaar (women) as well as World silver medallist Barbara Niedernhuber want to prevent the title holders from defending their gold medals successfully. In the doubles event, there are half-a-dozen medal contenders: Mark Grimmette- Brian Martin (USA), the two former Austrian World champion doubles, Tobias Schiegl-Markus Schiegl and Wolfgang Linger-Andreas Linger, Italy’s Christian Oberstolz- Patrick Gruber and Germany’s World silver medallists, André Florschuetz-Torsten Wustlich.

In spite of all efforts made in Austria by Sonja Manzenreiter and Veronika Halder and the United States with their trio Ashley Hayden, Margol Brenna and Courtney Zablocki, the German winning series in the women’s event seems not to be threatened. The German team of national coach Thomas Schwab have not lost a single race in the World and Challenge Cup, World and European Championships for almost seven years; in fact since November 23, 1997. The fact that European runner-up Tatjana Huefner failed to qualify for the World Cup team is proof of the strength of the German squad. Besides the seeded trio of Otto, Kraushaar and Niedernhuber the fourth German starters will be Anke Wischnewski at Altenberg, Germany, and former World champion Sonja Wiedemann at Sigulda, Latvia.

In the men’s singles, Germany’s Georg Hackl must still be reckoned with. The three-time World champion’s last great goal is his sixth Olympic competition in Torino 2006. The development in Austria should be exciting, where World Cup record champion Markus Prock has been engaged as sports co-ordinator. Former World Cup champion Markus Kleinheinz, who “inherited” Prock’s equipment, could be benefiting from Prock’s expertise. The US team put their hope in the pre-Olympic winter first of all on Tony Benshoof.