World Championship preview: Preview Men:A host of title contenders and one defending champion

Sochi (RWH) There are plenty of aspiring winners and one defending champion – the men’s competition (February 16, 2020) at the 49th World Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) in Sochi, Russia, is wide open.

There have been seven different winners in the 10 World Cup rounds this winter. The two Russian local heroes Roman Repilov and Semen Pavlichenko have at least one win to their names in the Viessmann World Cup, as do Sprint World Champion Jonas Müller, Olympic Champion David Gleirscher, Vice World Champion Reinhard Egger from Austria, Italy’s European Champion Dominik Fischnaller and catch-up specialist Johannes Ludwig (GER), who has twice surged to victory from the back of the field.

And then there is the defending champion Felix Loch, who, as last year, arrives at the season’s flagship event without a win. “The wide spread at the head of the field makes things interesting,” says the 30-year-old. “But I’m more confident this year than I was last year, as things weren’t going well until the World Championships in Winterberg.”

The two-time Olympic Champion in the men’s singles is optimistic following developments in recent weeks. “In terms of equipment, I made a few changes after the first half of the season. And we are very much on the right track in that respect, even if it hasn’t been reflected in the results.” The most dominant luger of recent times squandered his second run in Sigulda before being thwarted by the weather in Oberhof.

So his eagerness to let battle commence in Russia is completely understandable. Felix Loch: “I’d be happy if the weather at the World Championships is dry and slightly chilly and the conditions are the same for everyone.” Particularly as, with the exception of last year, the artificial ice track at the Sanki Sliding Center has always been a happy hunting ground for the Berchtesgaden native. “I have very fond memories of Sochi. I’ve often driven really well there.”

That is certainly true –  Loch won gold in the singles and the team relay at the 2014 Olympics, took victory in the Viessmann World Cup in winter 2015/2016, and back in 2015 he won European Championship bronze on the ice track situated above Krasnaya Polyana.