Sigulda (FIL) When this weekend the luge elite will compete for the second time in a row on the ice track in Sigulda, Latvia, it will not only be for World Cup points. In addition to the 5th EBERSPÄCHER World Cup, the 54th FIL European Championships are also held on January 14th and 15th in the so-called race-in-race mode. Non-European nations will participate in the World Cup but will not be ranked for the European title races. The races are also the last showdown of all before the FIL World Championships in Oberhof (GER) starting two weeks later on January 26, 2023.
116 athletes from 19 nations will start in Latvia. 29 women and 30 men in singles as well as eight women’s and 18 men’s doubles have registered. In addition to the World Cup races, the third of six team relays as part of the EBERSPÄCHER Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW is on the program on Sunday. Ten team relays will start.
At last year’s European Championships in St. Moritz, Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger (GER) won the women’s event ahead of Madeleine Egle (AUT) and Elina Ieva Vitola (LAT). In the men’s event, Austria’s Wolfgang Kindl will have a hard time defending his title. He won in Switzerland ahead of Kristers Aparjods (LAT) and Nico Gleirscher (AUT), but didn’t get along at all on the track last weekend. In men’s doubles Eggert/Benecken (GER) won the European Championship race ahead of their teammates Wendl/Arlt and Latvia’s Bots/Plume. Team Latvia won the Team Relay in the end ahead of Germany and Russia.
Host Latvia played its home advantage last weekend and won four out of five World Cup races. After the double successes by Anda Upite and Sanija Ozolina as well as Martins Bots and Roberts Plume, Kristers Aparjods celebrated in the men’s single and then with Team Latvia in the team relay. Elina Ieva Vitola rounded off Latvia’s best World Cup result so far with second place in the women’s race.
Farewell run of the Sics brothers – ex-European champions and 3-time Olympic medal winners say goodbye to the ice track
On Saturday before the European Doubles Championships, local heroes Andris and Juris Sics will show the farewell run of their successful career as forerunners. In the doubles, Latvian Andris Sics, now 37, together with his brother Juris, won the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the bronze medal in Sochi in 2014, as well as bronze with the team relay. At the 2018 European Luge Championships on their home track in Sigulda, Latvia, the Sics brothers finished second in the doubles and at the 41st European Championships in Cesana, ITA, in 2008, they were European champions with the Latvian team. Andris Sics has been working for the International Federation FIL as Technical Director since this season. His older brother Juris works as a coach for the Italian federation.
Geisenberger, Pavlichenko and Eggert/Benecken European Championship’s leaders
Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger (GER), who is expecting her second child these days, leads with five European championship titles and three bronze medals in the all-time European Championship statistics ahead of Tatyana Ivanova (RUS), who is not eligible to start this season, with five European Championship titles and two silver medals and bronze medals each. Of the currently active athletes, Dajana Eitberger follows in 15th place with one title and two bronze medals.
In the men’s category, the leader of the European Championship is Semen Pavlichenko from Russia. The former world champion has won four times and won a silver medal at the European Championships. Felix Loch (GER) won three times, won one silver and two bronze medals, and Dominik Fischnaller (ITA) has one European title and two bronze medals to his credit.
In the European Championship ranking in men’s doubles, Eggert/Benecken lead with four titles and two silver and one bronze medal. Their German teammates Wendl/Arlt have won the European Championship three times, six silver medals and one bronze medal. In women’s doubles, only junior European championships took place so far, which the young Latvians Ziedina/Zvilna won last year in Bludenz.
The current overall World Cup standings can be found at the following link: https://www.fil-luge.org/en/overall-scores?event_season_id=30
Schedule & TV coverage 5th EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup and 54th FIL European Championships in Sigulda (LAT):
Local start time (CET/MEZ)
Friday, 13. 01. 2023
09:00 (08:00) FIL Nations Cup 14:30 (13:30) Training seeded group
Saturday, 14. 01. 2023
10:00 (09:00) Men’s doubles, 1st run 10:45 (09:45) Women’s doubles, 1st run
11:30 (10:30) Men’s doubles, 2nd run
12:15 (11:15) Women’s doubles, 2nd run
13:10 (12:10) Men, 1st run 14:35 (13:35) Men, 2nd run
Sunday, 15. 01. 2023
10:15 (09:15) Women, 1st run 11:45 (10:45) Women, 2nd run
13:45 (12:45) Team-Relay
Subject to change without notice!
Link for Live TV coverage and FIL-Media Guide – information to all athletes:
https://www.fil-luge.org/de/multimedia
FIL-Studio: From 30 minutes before and after all races you will always find live interviews with the winners and background information about the races live in the FIL-Studio on our YouTube channel: FIL Luge – YouTube
Quotes:
Klavs Vasks, President Latvian Luge Federation: “We have successfully completed the fourth round of the Eberspach World Cup both from a sporting and organizational point of view and are looking forward to the upcoming European Championships. All in all, the result of the last weekend makes us of course more pressure for the next weekend, as such good results are a potential emotional burden. I must say that the athletes have already proven that they are psychologically well prepared. In addition, everyone ran their best race. Several track records were set, which do not happen so often. I wish the Latvian team the best results this weekend, and we look forward to seeing as many fans as possible. DJ Maija Rozīte will perform on January 14, and the band “Citi zēni” will entertain the audience on January 15.”
Inars Kivlenieks, coach and mechanic of the Latvian national luge team: “I would say that we are better prepared for the weather in this European Championship week than for the weather last weekend. In Sigulda we don’t often have the opportunity to prepare for sub-zero temperatures. I hope we will do even better knowing what kind of weather we will have and how to prepare our equipment.”
