The countdown to the World Cup in Latzfons is on

The 908 meter long Lahnwiesen cable car with a 116 meter difference in altitude is ready. The race track will now remain closed during the World Cup week until Thursday, when the doubles will do their first training run from 13 p.m. “The race track is in good condition. Now it is being prepared again with a view to the World Championships. Here we can rely on an ice machine from our partner WM ice technics, which of course makes our work much easier,” says OK boss Sepp Oberrauch.

The tobogganers are also looking forward to the title fights with excitement and enthusiasm. “You always look forward to a home World Cup, but beforehand the tension is a little greater than if the title fights were taking place in another country. In any case, I feel good and will give everything in Latzfons,” says Patrick Pigneter. Last year's winner of the World Cup race in Latzfons is showing an upward trend. After three fourth places in a row, the 31-year-old from Völs was recently on the podium twice in the men's single-seater. The first win of the season would come just in time at the peak of winter.

Gruber highly motivated before the home World Cup The reigning world champion Alex Gruber from Villanders and the North Tyrolean Thomas Kammerlander want to prevent Pigneter's first individual success in the 2018/19 season. Gruber won three of five races this season, while Kammerlander triumphed in the other two competitions. “Of course I want to defend my title, that’s out of the question. I see Patrick (Pigneter) as my strongest competitor, but Thomas (Kammerlander) should never be underestimated. In Latzfons, one of the most demanding tracks in the entire circus, the tobogganer with the best overall package wins. Will the home World Cup motivate me more or put me under additional pressure? Clearly motivated because I'm riding in my neighboring village and therefore on my home track and I've been looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces for weeks. “In addition, the World Cup doesn’t count as part of the overall World Cup, so I can easily go for it,” explains Gruber.

There was only one winner among female tobogganers this winter: Evelin Lanthaler currently seems to be in a different league and won all five races this winter. No wonder that the 27-year-old from Passiria is the absolute top favorite for the World Cup title. “At the moment the role of the hunted suits me. I've gotten a lot of routine over the past few years and can handle pressure. Besides, everything is going smoothly at the moment, I'm relaxed and that's probably the reason why everything is working out. Of course, I count my teammate Greta (Pinggera) as my strongest competitor. But one should never forget Ekaterina Lavrenteva either. “We’ve seen in the last few races that she has brutal ambition and wants to be at the front,” says Lanthaler. Pinggera believes in the possibility of defending his title The defending champion among women is Greta Pinggera, who was mentioned by Lanthaler. The woman from Lasa, who has two second and two third places to her name this season, doesn't want to give in without a fight. “I changed my service man in the summer and that's why it wasn't easy at the beginning. But the track in Latzfons suits me and if we get the material problems under control, then I can certainly be quick. In any case, in the training sessions I had a neck-and-neck race with Evelin (Lanthaler), who is the absolute top favorite for me. The World Cup in Latzfons will certainly be great because the club is very committed and will put on a nice event,” says Pinggera. We'll see at the weekend whether it's enough for the 24-year-old to win the gold medal again.

Greta Pinggera is the defending champion. © Gruber

In the doubles, Rupert Brüggler/Tobias Angerer want to defend their World Cup gold. The two Austrians also won the World Cup opener in Kühtai this winter. Patrick Pigneter/Florian Clara won three World Cup victories, including in the last stage in Nova Ponente. No wonder that the two current vice world champions have now also set their sights on World Cup gold. The team competition was won two years ago by the Austrian team consisting of Tina Unterberber - Thomas Kammerlander - Rupert Brüggler/Tobias Angerer. Program 22nd FIL World Championships in Natural Track Tobogganing Thursday: 13.00:1 p.m.: XNUMXst training double seater 14.00:2 p.m.: XNUMXst training double seater

Friday: 09.00:1 a.m.: XNUMXst single-seater training run for women/men 11.00:2 a.m.: XNUMXst single-seater training run for women/men

Saturday: 09.30 a.m.: 1st women's race 10.15 a.m.: 1st race for men 11.45 a.m.: 2st women's race 12.30 p.m.: 1st double-seater race 13.30 p.m.: Doubles final run

Sunday: 09.30 a.m.: 2st race for men 10.50 a.m.: Women's final run 11.30 a.m.: Men's final run 13.00 p.m.: Team competition

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The countdown to the World Cup in Latzfons is on

This weekend the 22nd Natural Track Luge World Championships will be held in Latzfons. The anticipation is correspondingly great – not just among the organizers, but primarily among the local tobogganers.

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