From left to right: Daniel Gruber (ITA), Peter Lambacher (ITA), Daniela Mittermair (ITA), Matthias Pichler (AUT), Nico Edlinger (AUT) and Riccarda Ruetz (AUT). © FIL

New name and new era

The FIL Alpine Luge World Cup kicks off in just over a week. The International Luge Federation (FIL) officially presented the new World Cup season on Wednesday at the Medien Campus Tirol in Innsbruck, Austria.

10 December 2025

From: pm

A new era is beginning in the FIL Alpine Luge World Cup, following the retirements of the biggest names in the sport, such as Evelin Lanthaler (ITA), Tina Unterberger (AUT), Patrick Pigneter (ITA), Michael Scheikl (AUT) and Florian Clara (ITA) at the end of last season in February 2025.

There will therefore be new overall winners in the women's and men's singles events, while only in the doubles will the defending champions, Maximilian Pichler and Nico Edlinger (AUT), be competing again. As usual, the race calendar includes six World Cups and one eliminator, for a total of seven races across the women's, men's, and doubles singles categories.

Seven races in five locations

The season kicks off just before Christmas in Winterleiten (AUT) with a double World Cup event from December 19th to 21st. "Whoever delivers a perfect performance on the first World Cup weekend will clearly have an advantage. After all, there are two races on two days. Last year we didn't do our homework properly with the equipment, but this time we're ready," explained Matthias Lambacher (ITA), who, along with his brother Peter, is the reigning world champion in doubles.

The new year begins with a return to familiar territory: on January 3rd and 4th, 2026, the World Cup will be held in Val Passiria (ITA). The Bergkristall track last hosted a World Cup event for the senior category in the 2020/2021 season. In mid-January, the classic event in Nova Ponente (ITA) follows on January 17th and 18th. This will be a home World Cup for Daniela Mittermair (ITA): "A home race is always something special. Family, friends, and acquaintances are there and waiting at the finish line. Of course, you want to show what you can do; that's always a special motivation." An intense race weekend is scheduled for early February on the Grantau track in Umhausen (AUT). The "regular" World Cup with two runs will take place on February 6th and 7th, followed on Sunday, February 8th, by the World Cup's only eliminator (a knockout-format elimination race).

“Anything can happen in the Eliminator; one bad run and you’re out. Everyone always goes all out, and because everything is so close at the top, you can never predict how it will end. It’s always a very long competition, both physically and mentally,” explains World Cup winner Daniel Gruber (ITA), highlighting the unique aspects of this format. The Alpine Luge World Cup concludes with the final on February 20th/21st in Jaufental/Val di Giovo (ITA), with the Tonnerboden track hosting the final for the first time.

Highlight of the 2026 European Championship

The highlight of this winter's season is in Laas/Lasa (ITA), where the 31st Alpine Luge European Championships will be held from Friday, January 23rd to Sunday, January 25th. Laas/Lasa previously hosted the championships four years ago (2022), and the last European Championships took place in Jaufental/Val di Giovo in 2024. Reigning European champions Evelin Lanthaler and Patrick Pigneter have retired, but only Maximilian Pichler and Nico Edlinger can defend their title in the doubles on the Gafair track on the edge of the Stelvio National Park. "We are the defending champions in the overall World Cup and the defending champions at the European Championships. We want to win both titles again," Edlinger declared confidently.

Riccarda Ruetz (AUT), vice world champion and vice European champion, also has high goals for the new season: “Of course, every one of us goes to the starting line to win. The track in Laas suits me very well, but the competition is strong. Now I'm focusing on the World Cup opener to get the season off to a good start, then I'll concentrate on the European Championships.”

Junior World Championships in Mariazell

The Junior World Cup begins shortly after Christmas in Winterleiten. After Passeier Valley and Umhausen at the beginning of the new year, there is a break of several weeks until the final in mid-February 2026 in Latsch/Laces (ITA). The highlight is the Junior World Championships at the end of January/beginning of February in Mariazell (AUT).

Andreas Castiglioni, Director of Sport and Technology for Alpine Luge and Recreational Sports, defended the World Cup calendar against criticism that races are currently only held in two countries – Austria and Italy: “World Cup doesn’t mean that the races are held all over the world, but rather that athletes from all over the world participate. The Alps are now the core region for luge; here we have the infrastructure, the clubs, and so on. However, with the new luge starting in the 2027/28 season, organizing a World Cup will be easier, and hopefully we will then be able to find hosts in several countries again, including some in Scandinavia.”

Christof Schwaiger (Executive Director FIL): “Our fundamental goal is to further promote luge worldwide; this is stipulated in the 2030-2034 strategy plan. In the medium term, we also want to bring new countries into the race calendar, for example by holding luge races on ski slopes, also through the Alpine Luge Future Workshop.”

The race calendars at a glance

World Cup 2025/2026
December 19-21: Winterleiten (Double World Cup), AUT
3th/4th January: Passeiertal/Val Passiria, ITA
January 17/18: Deutschnofen/Nova Ponente, ITA
February 6th/8th: Umhausen (World Cup and Eliminator), AUT
20/21 February: Jaufental/Val di Giovo, ITA

31st Alpine Luge European Championships
23rd/25th January: Lasa/Lasa, ITA

Junior World Cup 2025/2026
December 27th/28nd: Winterleiten, AUT
5th/6th January: Passeiertal/Val Passiria, ITA
January 10th/11th: Umhausen, AUT
14th/15th February: Lasa/Lasa, ITA

Junior World Championships
January 30 – February 1: Mariazell, Austria