Vötter/Oberhofer in the lead, but Anda Upite thrilled

Altenberg (FIL/03. Feb.2024) It would have been a very special story. But even if it wasn't enough for Anda Upite to win the doubles' race at the EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup in Altenberg, Germany, the Latvian's second place deserves a lot of respect. In the first race with her new partner Kirija Bogdanova, the Latvian finished second. Just like a week ago at the World Championships with Zane Kaluma. However, the duo Upite/Bogdanova finished 0.201 seconds behind the Italians Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer. They needed 1:25.337 minutes for the two runs. Vötter said with a wink: "Now we've done enough training runs, we've learned how to race on this demanding track. It's a pity that we didn't manage it earlier". Marion Oberhofer is happy and says: "Thanks to our coaches for the super fast sled today!”  At the World Championships a week ago, Vötter/Oberhofer finished fourth, just missing a medal.

But back to Anda Upite. The 23-year-old Latvian is already running with the third woman behind her. Co-rider number one, Sanija Ozolina, suffered a concussion in a crash in Whistler and will be out for the rest of the season. Zane Kaluma stepped in. The 19-year-old will compete in the singles at the Junior European Championships in St. Moritz this weekend. Since Marta Robezniece, the frontwomen of Kirija Bogdanova, dislocated her shoulder last weekend, the Latvians put together a new double: Upite/Bogdanova. This pairing impressed not only with second place, but also with a new start record of 5.910 seconds. "I always have a good luger as a partner," said Upite, "otherwise it wouldn't work so well.

It was the first victory of the season for Vötter/Oberhofer. But that was not the only thing Vötter was happy about: "We collected valuable points for the overall World Cup ranking". What's more: with 470 points, the Italian duo has taken over the lead from Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (465). The German duo is fifth, 0.268 seconds behind.

Dajana Eitberger and Saskia Schirmer completed the podium. The two Germans were 0.211 seconds slower than the winners. The US duo of Cevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby were just four thousandths of a second behind. Selina Egle and Lara Kipp, who were celebrated as World Champions a week ago, made too many small mistakes. As a result, they finished sixth this time (0.277 seconds behind).