Max Langenhan and Felix Loch have ended the Austrians' run of success at their home World Cup in Altenberg. Luge World Champion Langenhan was 0.230 seconds faster than three-time Olympic champion Loch in second place after the two single-seater runs. Italy's Dominik Fischnaller (+0.399) finished third. It was Langenhan's 17th career World Cup victory and his second win of the season. Despite his second win of the season, Langenhan was not entirely satisfied with his runs. "I made quite a few mistakes at the top," said the 25-year-old. "But it's really nice to be up there with Felix." The 35-year-old Loch said: "We're super happy with the result. It's good for our self-confidence."
Before the Christmas break, the German lugers had suffered heavy defeats against the Austrians in Oberhof and Innsbruck-Igls. Langenhan and Loch were still able to impress at the start in Norway. "Started well and then slowed down a lot," said Langenhan, describing his previous performances before the race in Altenberg. He won his first World Championship title in Saxony last year.
Still on the upswing
In the overall standings, Langenhan (371 points) is only 15 points behind Austria's Nico Gleirscher (386). Felix Loch (315) is third overall. In Altenberg, the recently dominant Gleirscher had dropped back from second to fifth place after a serious mistake in the second run.
Second place for doubles
In the men's doubles, the record Olympic champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt finished second in Altenberg after their 55th World Cup victory a week ago in Sigulda. The Bavarians were 0.123 seconds behind the Latvians Martins Bots/Roberts Plume. Fifth place went to Hannes Orlamünder/Paul Constantin Gubitz; record World Champion Toni Eggert came seventh with his new partner Florian Müller.
In the women's doubles, two-time World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal finished second. The duo finished 0.397 seconds behind the overall leaders Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp. It was the fourth World Cup victory in a row for the two Austrians. Former World Champion Dajana Eitberger finished sixth with her partner Magdalena Matschina after making mistakes in the first run.
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