Tina Stuffer, Nina Castiglioni and Lotte Mulser.

Juniors: Nina Castiglioni is a class apart

At the third Junior World Cup Alpine Luge event of the 2025/2026 season in Umhausen (AUT), five lugers battled it out in a nail-biting finish, with only hundredths of a second separating them from the rest of the podium. In the end, Ziga Kralj (SLO) emerged victorious once again.

11 January 2026

From: pm

The Grantau track is considered a technically demanding natural toboggan run and a guarantee for exciting races. The young lugers gave it their all on Sunday on the 944-meter track. After the first run, Ziga Kralj (SLO) led ahead of local favorite Simon Saurer (AUT) and Vid Kralj (SLO). In the final, 15-year-old Alexander Staffler (South Tyrol) rose to the occasion from seventh place and took the lead with the fastest run time.

It wasn't until Michael Noah Tinzl (South Tyrol), who was fourth at the halfway point, that Staffler temporarily took the lead by 0,02 seconds. Vid Kralj couldn't catch the two Italians and slotted into second place behind Tinzl, 0,04 seconds back. Simon Saurer put in a solid run and moved into the lead, while Ziga Kralj, who had been leading at the halfway point, was chasing his third Junior World Cup victory until the final split. With a blistering finish, the 17-year-old managed to salvage a mere 0,06-second lead with a total time of 2:28.07.

Triple victory for South Tyrolean women in the women's singles

Nina Castiglioni (South Tyrol) led an Italian sweep of the podium with her second victory of the season. With the fastest time in both runs and a total time of 2:29.55 minutes, the 16-year-old was the only luger to break the magical 2:30-minute barrier, followed by Tina Stuffer (South Tyrol, +0,51 seconds) and Lotte Mulser (South Tyrol, +0,58 seconds).

In the overall standings, Castiglioni leads with 285 points going into the final, ahead of Stuffer (210) and Mulser (200). The Junior World Cup concludes in mid-February with the final in Latsch.

Junior World Cup Umhausen, 11.01.2026

Top 3 single-seater men
1. Ziga Kralj (SLO), 2:28.07 minutes
2. Simon Saurer (AUT), +0,06 seconds
3. Michael Noah Tinzl (ITA), +0,08

Top 3 single-seater women
1. Nina Castiglioni (ITA), 2:29.55 minutes
2. Tina Stuffer (ITA), +0,51 seconds
3. Lotte Mulser (ITA), +0,58