Weather capers in Sochi: Berreiter wins ahead of Aparjode

Sochi (FIL) Those who had bet on this outcome of the women's race at the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup in Sochi had good odds: Anna Berreiter (Germany) won ahead of Kendija Aparjode (Latvia) and Viktoriia Demchenko (Russia). The result on the podium was the birthday present for her father, as Albert Demchenko celebrated his 50th birthday on Saturday. Beijing winner Madeleine Egle (Austria) finished seventh ahead of Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger (Germany) and double World champion Julia Taubitz.  

Especially in the first run, the starters with the high starting numbers were at a disadvantage. Their tracks were clearly visible in the ice, because of the warm weather and rain, frost had fallen on the cold ice and made the track slow. Without making any big mistakes, Egle could only finish 21st and Taubitz 19th. That is why winner Berreiter admitted after her victory, which she herself described as surprising: "Maybe the weather played into my cards a bit. Nevertheless, you first have to get two runs to the finish. I managed to do that." With the second best time in the first run and run time four in the final. Aparjode was happy about her best World Cup result: "The second run was incredible. Although I made a small mistake, I am very happy."  

On the other hand, the situation was unusual for Ekatarina Katnikova. The 27-year-old Russian, who was the fastest in the Nations Cup on Friday and who will be World Champion at the same track in 2020, made a fatal mistake in the second run after setting the best time in run one. As a result, she dropped back to sixth place.  

Detailed results and further information on the 2nd EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup of the 2021/22 season in Sochi (RUS) can be found under the following link: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/eberspaecher-weltcup-10