Complete embarrassment: World Cup in Igls officially cancelled

The nearly €30 million debacle is now complete. Due to the high risk of injury, the luge World Cup in the recently renovated ice track in Igls has been officially cancelled.

15 November 2025

From: never

The second homologation attempt for the rebuilt Olympic ice track in Innsbruck-Igls was unsuccessful on Saturday. Despite intensive rework, the track did not fully meet the technical requirements of the International Luge Federation (FIL). This led to the cancellation of the World Cup event scheduled for early December. However, the season opener for the luge athletes will not be completely canceled: it will take place from December 5th to 7th, 2025, in Winterberg in the Sauerland region, which offered itself as an alternative venue at short notice.

FIL President Einars Fogelis praised the spontaneous support of the local organizing committee: "Winterberg's willingness to step in within just a few days is a strong sign of unity within our luge family," he emphasized. "This solidarity shows what our sport is all about."

World Cup on schedule – Olympic qualification changed

Despite the challenges, the international luge calendar remains on schedule. The FIL hopes that those responsible in Innsbruck-Igls will quickly push forward with the necessary technical adjustments. "We know how important Innsbruck-Igls is for our sport – historically, emotionally, and logistically for many teams. Our goal is clear: We want to return there as soon as possible, once the track meets all the requirements," emphasized Fogelis.

The railway in Igls is too dangerous. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

Due to Winterberg's additional role in January 2026 as the fifth World Cup and official Olympic Qualifier event, the December opening race will not count as a qualification race for Milano Cortina 2026. Instead, the focus shifts to the Olympic Test Event on November 29th/30th, 2025 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, which, following the cancellation of the Igls event, has been upgraded to the first official qualification race for the Olympic luge competitions.

Austria withdrew luger

The test runs in Igls had already caused a stir on Friday when the Austrian Luge Federation (ÖRV) decided to... to withdraw his athletes due to the excessive risk of injury“It’s a disaster for the sport and the region. A lot of money was invested to renovate the track, and now it’s unusable for us,” he summarized the debacle. The reconstruction of the Olympic ice channel had cost around 30 million euros; even additional wooden barriers, which narrowed curves 13 and 14, couldn’t significantly improve the track’s safety.