Junior World Cup: The South Tyroleans are at the forefront in Ulten

At the Junior World Cup in natural track tobogganing in Ulten there were two favorite victories and a premiere winner. The South Tyroleans showed strong performances in all categories and were pleased with numerous podium places.

05 January 2024

From: pm

The second stop of the FIL Junior World Cup was on the program on January 4th and 5th on the “Moscha” natural toboggan run in Ulten. The double-seater race was held at the start on Thursday afternoon. The local heroes Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer celebrated their second win of the season in 1.24,79:200 minutes ahead of Jakub Mercak/Jan Janosek from the Czech Republic. In the overall ranking, Paur/Hofer lead with a maximum of 145 points, ahead of Mercak/Janosek (XNUMX).

The racing in the single-seater continued on Friday. Among the juniors, Riccarda Ruetz (Austria), the big favorite with the best time in both runs of 2.34,07:2,15 minutes, clearly prevailed against the South Tyroleans Tina Stuffer (+2,44 seconds) and Jenny Castiglioni (+200). What was remarkable was Stuffer's comeback, which was only in sixth place after the first run. After the opening victory in Winterleiten on New Year's Eve, Ruetz (155 points) extended his lead in the overall standings, followed by Castiglioni and Stuffer with XNUMX points each.

Slovenian premiere victory

The Slovenian Ziga Kralj, however, celebrated his first victory in the Junior World Cup. The 15-year-old was in third place after the first run, and with an outstanding best time in the second run he took the lead with a total time of 2.31,14:0,29 minutes. Both opening winner Alex Oberhofer and half-time leader Hannes Unterholzner did not come close to Kralj's best time. In the end, Unterholzner (+1,05 seconds) and Oberhofer (+185) took second and third place. In the overall standings, an exciting duel is looming between Kralj (170 points) and Oberhofer (XNUMX).