The men's podium: Alex Oberhofer, Michael Scheikl and Florian Clara. © J. Zischg

After catching up: Double victory for Scheikl in Winterleiten

The second FIL World Cup in natural track luge in Winterleiten (AUT) ended on Sunday with a real thriller that was decided by a hundredth of a second. In the men's singles, local hero Michael Scheikl (AUT) celebrated his second victory of the season.

22 December 2024

From: pm

After the track record was broken several times the day before on the 940-meter-long natural toboggan run in the Styrian Zirbenland, the ice was a little slower on Sunday at the second World Cup - but the race still offered pure excitement.

After the first run, Michael Scheikl was in second place, 0,04 seconds behind Daniel Gruber, and 0,02 seconds ahead of Florian Clara. In the second run, Alex Oberhofer, who was fifth at halftime, put the competition under pressure with a fabulous time and took the lead with a total time of 2.01,10:2.00,82 minutes. Clara stayed just behind, while Scheikl beat Oberhofer's time and took the lead in XNUMX:XNUMX minutes. Gruber didn't have a good run and was ranked fifth in the final ranking.

"My routine definitely helped me today, I had nothing to lose in the second run. Starting the season with two wins is just fantastic. After the difficult last season, it feels like Christmas and Easter at the same time," said the 2020/2021 overall winner, who leads the World Cup rankings with 200 points, ahead of Oberhofer (170) and Fabian Brunner (130).

Lanthaler unbeatable

In the women's singles, serial winner Evelin Lanthaler followed suit, celebrating her 2.02,20rd World Cup victory with a best time in both runs of 53:1,18 minutes, ahead of her eternal rival Tina Unterberger (AUT/+1,62 seconds) and Tina Stuffer (+XNUMX).

The women's podium: Tina Unterberger, Evelin Lanthaler and Tina Stuffer. © Christian Staffler / J. Zischg

For Unterberger it was the 30th podium finish of her career, for Stuffer – who also competes in the Junior World Cup – it was the second podium finish in the FIL World Cup. "I felt a bit of pressure today, especially after the first run. I did much better in the second run and I was faster than in the first run," said Lanthaler. The top three will continue with the respective national championships over the turn of the year. With the maximum of 200 points, Lanthaler leads the overall World Cup, ahead of Unterberger (145) and Mittermair (140).

Double victory for Pichler/Edlinger

Maximilian Pichler/Nico Edlinger (AUT) are having a run in the doubles. After their victory on Saturday, the European champions started the race on Sunday with the start number of the World Cup leaders for the first time. With a time of 1.04,55:1,06 minutes, Pichler/Edlinger confidently took their third World Cup victory, ahead of the junior world champions Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (+1,31 seconds) and Matthias Lambacher/Peter Lambacher (+XNUMX).

"It was a great race, we were always on the move and the lead of over a second surprised us a little. The overall leader's jersey suits us well, we won't give it up," emphasized Pichler at the finish. In the overall World Cup, Pichler/Edlinger lead with 200 points, ahead of Paur/Hofer (170) and Lambacher/Lambacher (140).

On January 5/6, 2025, the third FIL World Cup in natural track luge will take place in Laas (South Tyrol).

The results

Top 3 Men's Singles (22.12.2024)
Michael Scheikl (AUT) 2.00,82:XNUMX minutes
Alex Oberhofer (ITA/South Tyrol) +0,28 seconds
Florian Clara (ITA/South Tyrol) +0,33

Top 3 singles women (22.12.2024)
Evelin Lanthaler (ITA/South Tyrol) 2.02,62 minutes
Tina Unterberger (AUT) +1,18 seconds
Tina Stuffer (ITA/South Tyrol) +1,62

Top 3 two-seaters (December 22.12.2024, XNUMX)
Maximilian Pichler/Nico Edlinger (AUT) 1.04,55 minutes
Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA/South Tyrol) +1,06 seconds
Matthias Lambacher/Peter Lambacher (ITA/South Tyrol) +1,31