Altenberg (FIL) After the 52nd FIL Luge World Championships is before the EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup. The team led by OC head Jens Morgenstern welcomes the luge elite once again to the 5th EBERSPAECHER World Cup this weekend on the SachsenEnergie Eiskanal in Altenberg. From February 2 to 4, 2024, World Cup points will be at stake on the challenging artificial ice track in Altenberg’s Kohlgrund.
95 sleds from 18 nations will compete in Altenberg. There are 29 women’s and 32 men’s singles as well as 13 women’s and 21 men’s doubles.
In addition to the World Cup races, the fourth of six team relays as part of the EBERSPAECHER Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW is on the agenda on Sunday.
„Having an EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup directly after the World Championships is not a problem for us from an organizational point of view, because the infrastructure is in place and we can build on it,“ Jens Morgenstern, Head of OC and Managing Director of Wintersport Altenberg (Osterzgebirge) GmbH, explains. „Two years ago, we were in a situation where we first organized a Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Cup, then the Luge World Cup and then another Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Cup the week after. That was awful, and we as well as the international federations have learned from it. We have a team of around 150 people, including many volunteers who have been supporting us at the events for many years. Whether it’s the World Championships or the World Cup – it makes no difference to the motivation and commitment of our volunteers, and I’m very grateful for that.“ Together with his team, he has organized three World Championships in the last five years.
In order to gain some distance after two weeks in Altenberg, many teams used the two training-free days for excursions. Some explored the Saxon capital of Dresden, while others such as Team Ukraine, Sweden, Argentina, Italy, USA and some Austrians spent their free time in the Czech capital of Prague.
Austria most successful World Championship nation
More than 160 athletes from 21 nations competed at the 52nd FIL Luge World Championships in Altenberg. Nine World Championship titles were awarded, as well as four U23 World Championship titles. Six nations won precious metal at the World Championships. The most successful nation was Austria with four gold, three silver and two bronze medals, their best ever World Championship result. The German team won a total of seven World Championship medals: three gold, two silver and two bronze. Latvia and Italy each won another World Championship title. Athletes from the USA also won one silver and one bronze medal and Switzerland won a silver medal in the Women’s Sprint with Natalie Maag.
In the U23 classification, most of the medals went to Germany – two out of four possible World Championship titles and one bronze medal were won by Norbert Loch’s team. He was responsible for the luge world championships as German head coach the last time.
Taubitz, Langenhan, Degenhardt/Rosenthal and Steu/Kindl lead the overall World Cup standings
The upcoming races mark the halfway point in this year’s FIL EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup. After the races in Altenberg, there are still two World Cups in Oberhof (GER) and Sigulda (LAT) each on the season calendar. The World Cup races so far, as well as the World Championships, have shown that the international world elite has moved closer together and that the season remains exciting. After five of twelve World Cup races in the World Championship winter, it is worth taking a look at the overall World Cup standings. Julia Taubitz, Max Langenhan and the women’s doubles Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal (all Germany) as well as the doubles Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl are currently leading the World Cup standings.
Julia Taubitz, sprint and team World Champion and Vice World Champion in singles 2024, is the most consistent female luge athlete in singles in this World Cup season, with two victories and three second places. After the successful home World Championships, the 27-year-old from Saxony is concentrating on winning her third overall World Cup in a row. Team-mate Max Langenhan, World Champion in men’s singles and with the team as well as Vice World Champion in the sprint, is this season’s top performer and is aiming for his first overall World Cup victory. The 24- year-old from Thuringia is the only one who has finished on the podium in all races, four of them at the top. The men’s doubles are particularly exciting, with five different winners in five World Cup races. In addition to World Championship bronze medalists Wendl/Arlt, who have finished on the podium four times so far, Vice World Champions Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl (AUT) have also impressed with one World Cup victory and three second places. After the disappointing World Championships, Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER) want to show that they can do better in the World Cup on Jessica’s home track. They have won the last three World Cups, each time ahead of sprint World Champion Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer (ITA).
World Cup standings short:
Women’s Singles:
1) Julia Taubitz (GER), 455
2) Madeleine Egle (AUT), 415
3) Ashley Farquharson (USA), 301
Men’s Singles:
1) Max Langenhan (GER), 470
2) Jonas Mueller (AUT), 380
3) Nico Gleirscher (AUT), 331
Women’s Doubles:
1) Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER), 410
2) Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer (ITA), 370
3) Selina Egle/Lara Kipp (AUT), 364
Men’s Doubles:
1) Thomas Steu/ Wolfgang Kindl (AUT), 401
2) Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt (GER), 380
3) Martins Bots/Roberts Plume (LAT), 350
Team-Relay
1) Team Germany, 285
2) Team Austria, 270
3) Team USA, 200
Quotes:
Andrea Vötter (ITA): „We went to Prague for a day after the World Championships to come down and refocus. When you see that we now have still so many World Cups but only three tracks left, it’s honestly pretty boring. It’s a shame because there are so many tracks that aren’t used for the World Cup. Of course, the double World Cups in Oberhof and Sigulda theoretically eliminate the hassle of traveling, but many nations still go home in between, when it is not so far away. You can’t speak of a real World Cup calendar. If you look at the IBSF calendar for bobsleigh and skeleton, who are using tracks all over the world this year, it’s a real shame that we don’t have that. The first two weeks in Altenberg with the ITW and World Championships went by pretty quickly, but after the World Championships we were exhausted for a short while and it’s more difficult to get motivated for the next World Cup.“
Natalie Maag (SUI): „Silver medal in the sprint at the World Championships. It’s unbelievable and is only slowly sinking in. It was a tough week for me at the World Championships. I knew I could race fast here, as I would have won with my time at the German Championships in December. Last week was really tough with the weather and I almost crashed in the sprint qualifying. That’s why I thought I’d just go for it and take the run for Sunday. Ending up with a medal is just mega. The race calendar after the World Championships is rather boring for us, but for me there are only cool tracks left. I’m looking forward to it. I was in Oberhof after the ITW until the World Championships to briefly escape. After the World Championships I went to Prague with the Austrians. That won’t give rise to cabin fever. Two weeks in Oberhof is good for me, as I have my own room there, and I’m really looking forward to it.“
Kristers Aparjods (LAT): „In my head I’m always going for gold, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way I want it to. I had a pretty good run in the World Championship sprint despite some minor mistakes in the upper part of the track, but that’s the sport of luge. You have to be very stable, consistent and clean in every run to get a perfect run and be at the top. It wasn’t a perfect run in the team relay, but I’m happy with the
third place and the World Championship medal. Altenberg and I have a special relationship. I competed in one of my first World Cup races here. I love this track. It’s long, difficult and you have to stay focused in every turn and yet relaxed all the way to the finish line. The weather at the World Championships wasn’t so good, but I’m looking forward to the World Cup and hope to finish on the podium again.“
Zane Kaluma (LAT): „The World Championships were great for us. We’re a completely new team, we’ve only been competing together since December. It’s just crazy. Now we’re here and we’ve won two World Championship silver medals in doubles! However, we won’t take part in the World Cup in Altenberg because I’m going to the Junior World Championships in Lillehammer (NOR) to compete there in the singles. That means Anda now has three weeks off, because we won’t be competing again until the home World Cup in Sigulda.“
David Gleirscher (AUT): „I seem to be the man for the big races. My team-mates told me in the lead-up to the World Championships that things weren’t going so well for me in the World Cup, but that I would be back at the World Championships. It worked out really well in the sprint. I really like the track in Altenberg, I was celebrating my first and so far only World Cup victory here. I always feel extremely comfortable here on the sled. Three weeks in Altenberg is quite a long time on the same track, but generally I wouldn’t mind doing another race here.“
Thomas Steu (AUT): „Losing to a team-mate hurts less. It hardly hurts at all. I always get a bit upset when I make mistakes which don’t happen in training. But that’s competitive sport. We’ve won silver at the World Championships twice, and when team-mates win, it’s just awesome. We went home after the World Championships and are now motivated for the weekend – after all, the overall World Cup is at stake for us.“
Wolfgang Kindl (AUT): „My foot is feeling better, I was able to block out the pain quite well in the doubles race. We could have done better, but the lower part of the second run was very uneven, which hurts a bit, but a double victory for Austria in
Altenberg on a German track – that’s brilliant. It’s of course a bit of a shame that the World Cup is almost only held on German tracks and is less international. We’ll take it as it is. Oberhof is a track on which we can perform well, we’ll see about Sigulda, but we’ve got our sled set-up so well under control that we’ll manage it this time. We are currently leading the overall World Cup and that is obviously our next goal.“
Sam Edney, High Performance Director Luge Canada: „We are competing in the World Cup with a very young team and have decided to skip the World Cup in Altenberg. We’re going to Oberhof instead to complete a few more training runs there. Some of my athletes don’t even know the Oberhof track yet, so it’s important for us to gain experience there in an unhurried manner and gain competition hardness for the two World Cups in Oberhof. We will then take part in the first World Cup in Sigulda before flying back to Canada.“
Lubomir Mick, Head coach Team USA: „The World Championships were a success for us. We are very happy about the medals in the team relay, the women’s doubles and the two doubles competitions at the U23 World Championships. Being in Altenberg for three weeks is quite a long time, but we are looking forward to the World Cup because this track is always good for surprises. As we saw at the World Championships, the track is very demanding. While some coaches went home for a short time, we sent our athletes to Prague on the two days off so that they could clear their heads and start the next few weeks with renewed energy.“
Schedule & TV coverage
- EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup, Altenberg (GER)
Local start time (CET/MEZ)
Friday, February 02, 2024
09:00 Nations Cup
14:30 Training seeded group
Saturday, February 03, 2024
08:40 Men’s Doubles, 1st run
09:55 Men’s Doubles, 2nd run
11:15 Men’s Singles, 1st run
12:55 Men’s Singles, 2nd run
14:30 Women’s Doubles, 1st run
15:30 Women’s Doubles, 2nd run
Sunday, February 04, 2024
08:25 Uhr Women’s Singles, 1st run
09:50 Uhr Women’s Singles, 2nd run
12:00 Uhr Team Relay
Subject to change without notice!
Live TV-Broadcast: fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/eberspaecher-weltcup-31
