Fabian Achenrainer and Alex Oberhofer from South Tyrol beamed from the top. © All photos: Ulrich Wilhelm

There are two first-time winners at Winterleiten.

The still-young FIL Alpine Luge World Cup 2025/2026 is writing some special stories. The second day of racing took place on Sunday in Winterleiten, Austria. Alongside the beaming winners Maximilian Pichler/Nico Edlinger and Riccarda Ruetz, Fabian Achenrainer and Alex Oberhofer from Laas celebrated their first World Cup victories, finishing with a time tie.

21 December 2025

From: pm

Sunday's race was incredibly exciting: After the first run, Fabian Achenrainer held a narrow lead over Alex Oberhofer, who then took a clear lead with the fastest time in the second run. Achenrainer couldn't keep up with Oberhofer, especially in the upper section of the track, but thanks to the fastest time in the third sector, Achenrainer crossed the finish line in a dead heat with Oberhofer. Achenrainer and Oberhofer secured their first World Cup victories in the senior category with a time of 2:01.50, ahead of Saturday's winner, Daniel Gruber (+0,53 seconds).

“The first run was very good, but I made a few small mistakes at the top of the second run. Sharing the victory with Alex is really cool,” said the 25-year-old from Achenrain. “Nothing went right for me yesterday. My idol, Patrick Pigneter, called me and told me I should finally show what I can do. And that’s what I did, especially in the second run,” said the 20-year-old from Oberhof, who had shared a Kinder Surprise egg with Achenrainer at the start before the final. In the overall World Cup standings, Gruber (170 points) leads after two World Cups, followed by Achenrainer (160) and Oberhofer (155).

Riccarda Ruetz followed up on Sunday.

Riccarda Ruetz followed up her first World Cup victory on Saturday with another win on Sunday. The Tyrolean skier seems to have been buoyed by her maiden win, racing to her second World Cup victory with a time of 2:04.40 minutes. "It was really fun to ski today, the track was in perfect condition and the equipment was really fast. After being sick quite a bit recently, I hope to be in top physical shape for the next race," said the 21-year-old. Nina Castiglioni (+0,44 seconds) once again finished second, ahead of her teammate Daniela Mittermair (+1,27). As on Saturday, Lisa Walch (GER/+1,30) finished fourth. Ruetz leads the overall World Cup standings with 200 points, ahead of Nina Castiglioni (170) and Jenny Castiglioni (125).

The Lambachers' position swap proved to be a stroke of luck.

Maximilian Pichler and Nico Edlinger are undefeated in their last four races on the 940-meter-long natural luge track in the Styrian Zirbenland region. After their victory at the World Cup opener on Saturday, the reigning European champions followed up with another win on Sunday, celebrating their sixth World Cup victory in 1:05.44 minutes. Just like last year, Pichler and Edlinger have won the first two races of the winter. "Starting the new season with two wins is simply important; the equipment is working well, and we're in good form," Pichler explained in the winner's interview. "The next race is in the Passeier Valley. We've never raced on this track in doubles before, but we'll give it our all," Edlinger added.

In two-seater luge, the general rule is that the taller/heavier driver is in the front. Brothers Matthias and Peter Lambacher are roughly the same height and weight, so after their disappointing fourth-place finish on Saturday, the reigning world champions ventured an unusual experiment: Peter switched to the front position, while Matthias took on the role of the rear driver. With a time of 1:06.30 minutes (and the fastest time in the middle sector), Peter and Matthias Lambacher secured second place and a spot on the podium, ahead of their teammates Tobias Paur and Andreas Hofer (1:06.65 minutes). "Saturday was a disappointment, so we spontaneously decided to switch positions. We tried it a few times in training three years ago, and now we wanted to see how it worked in a race," Peter Lambacher explained after his first podium finish as the front driver.

Maximilian Pichler/Nico Edlinger secured the victory once again.

“Peter did a great job, even though he took the ‘single-seater line’ in the middle section, and I almost hit the barrier with my knee in some of the curves,” Matthias Lambacher laughed. The International Luge Regulations (IRO) only govern the replacement of a driver; therefore, if a doubles team were to start with a new driver, this would be considered a new pairing. A position swap like the one performed by Lambacher/Lambacher has no effect.
In the overall standings, Pichler/Edlinger lead with 200 points, ahead of Paur/Hofer (155), Lambacher/Lambacher (145) and the Slovakians Gabriel Halcin/Samuel Halcin (130).

For the Austrian Luge Federation (ÖRV), this is a historic result. The last time they achieved victories in all three categories was at the World Cup in Umhausen on January 3, 2001, when Sandra Mariner (women's singles), Gerhard Pilz (men's singles), and Reinhard Beer/Herbert Kögl (doubles) won. The FIL Alpine Luge World Cup continues on January 3 and 4, 2026, in the Passeier Valley.


Top 3 Men's Singles (December 21, 2025)
1. Fabian Achenrainer (AUT), 2:01.50 minutes
1. Alex Oberhofer (ITA/Laas), ex aequo
3. Daniel Gruber (ITA/Schleis), +0,53 seconds

Top 3 single-seater women
1.Riccarda Ruetz (AUT), 2.04,40:XNUMX minutes
2. Nina Castiglioni (ITA/Partschins), +0,44 seconds
3. Daniela Mittermair (ITA/Deutschnofen), +1,27 seconds

Top 3 double seaters
1. Maximilian Pichler/Nico Edlinger (AUT), 1:06.08 minutes
2. Peter Lambacher/Matthias Lambacher (ITA/Villnöß), +0,86
3. Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA/Völs/Platt in Passeier), +1,21