Wolfgang Kindl and Steu/Koller lead the pack en route to Whistler

Whistler (RWH) There is a slightly unusual look to the overall standings in the Viessmann World Cup following the opening race of the season. Austrian athletes are leading both the men’s and doubles events in the form of Wolfgang Kindl and the pairing of Thomas Steu/Lorenz Koller. “Our goal was to get two podium finishes. We ended up getting four, including three victories. You can’t be disappointed with results like that,” said René Friedl, sports director and head coach for the Austrian team following their home World Cup race in Innsbruck-Igls. The opening races saw the team continue their “winter miracle” from PyeongChang (KOR), where the Austrian Luge Federation (ÖRV) took home a full set of medals. 

The Austrian team are now heading to Whistler for the second stop in the Viessmann World Cup on Friday (November 30) and Saturday (December 1) after celebrating Wolfgang Kindl’s fifth World Cup win (he won gold in the BMW Sprint World Cup in Igls as well as bronze in the men’s singles), two wins by the pairing of Steu/Koller (who finished fourth at the Olympics), and some encouraging results by Olympic Champion David Gleirscher (fourth and fifth) and Birgit Platzer (fifth in the Sprint). René Friedl: “Our performance is good, we are running at full speed and we’re looking forward to continuing our success in North America.”

Natalie Geisenberger (GER) remains the athlete to beat in the women’s event. The 2014 and 2018 Olympic Champion won both the women’s event and the sprint, securing a perfect score of 200 points to take her to the top of the rankings. The women’s field is currently led by four German athletes, with a clear gap opening up between Germany and the rest of the world following the retirements of Erin Hamlin (USA), Alex Gough (CAN) and Martina Kocher (SUI), all of whom were their country’s most successful female luge athletes of all time.

Whistler Sliding Centre will also host the post-Olympic season’s first race in the Viessmann Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW. The German team are the current defending champions and have won every overall title since the event was introduced as a World Cup discipline in the winter of 2010/2011.