World Cup victory number 58: Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt are record winners

5th EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup Winterberg

Winterberg (FIL/January 11, 2026) Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt had to wait a long time for their first victory of the season in the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup. In Winterberg, the time had finally come. They raced down the 945-meter ice track twice in 1:25.599 minutes. But it wasn't just any victory, it was their 58th. The two Germans have thus set a new World Cup record. Armin Zöggeler (Italy) had previously led the rankings with 57 victories. “It's wonderful – the weather, the atmosphere, the spectators. Our runs were also very solid, we are very satisfied,” said rear man Arlt, beaming as brightly as the sun. After finishing second in the first run, the World Cup leaders changed their setup once again. “We reacted to the conditions and played it safe,” explained front man Wendl, “the ice was already very crisp.” This setup change paid off. “Our plan to beat the Austrians again worked out,” said a delighted Wendl.

Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl, who were in the lead after the first run, missed out on their first victory of the season by 0.054 seconds. The two Austrians changed their runners again during the break between the two runs. “We didn't take the biggest risk,” said Kindl, explaining the change, “it was important for us to finally be back on the podium.” This is because three doubles are competing for two starting places at the Olympic Games in the Austrian team. One of them is the duo Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schöpf, who are in second place in the World Cup and finished third, 0.089 seconds behind.

The third doubles team in the group are Yannick Müller and Armin Frauscher. They finished fifth, 0.241 seconds behind. The two Italians Ivan Nagler and Fabian Malleier were six thousandths of a second faster. World champions Hannes Orlamünder and Paul Gubitz finished sixth (0.301 seconds behind). However, the two Germans will miss out on the Olympics, as they are currently only number three in the black, red, and gold team behind Wendl/Arlt and Toni Eggert/Florian Müller.

With their latest success behind them and with an eye on the decision in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Tobias Wendl made a fighting statement: “It was important today that we beat the Austrians.” His partner Tobias Arlt put this statement into perspective: "It's not just the Austrians, it's also the Latvians and the Italians. Anyone can be among the frontrunners. Competition stimulates business." But the two have already won six gold medals. Despite all their ambition, the World Cup record winners will approach the Olympic races with the necessary composure.