Strong start: Gruber leads South Tyrolean triple victory

On Saturday, the starting signal was given for the FIL Alpine Luge World Cup 2025/2026 in Winterleiten, Austria. The name for the natural track luge World Cup is new, but at least in the men's competition, there was a familiar sight: jubilant South Tyroleans.

20 December 2025

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Daniel Gruber from Schleis started a comeback in the second run and secured his only second World Cup victory in 2:01.84 minutes, ahead of the half-time leader Hannes Unterholzner (Völlan/+0,04 seconds) and Mathias Troger (Tisens/+0,34).

“I hope I can put in two good runs tomorrow, Sunday, because my first run today wasn’t entirely flawless. Nevertheless, I’m absolutely thrilled to be standing here on the podium with my teammates,” said Gruber. “I’m not bothered about those four hundredths of a second; I’m extremely happy with second place,” beamed Unterholzner, who was competing in the second run of a World Cup for the first time. Troger, who started the second run in fifth place, was also satisfied: “The final corner in the second run was divine; I’ve never been able to hold the line so well.”

Riccarda Ruetz's first World Cup victory

There was a first-time winner in the women's singles: Vice World Champion Riccarda Ruetz had a fantastic day, securing her first World Cup victory with the fastest time in both runs and a total time of 2:04.51 minutes. "I'm overjoyed because I didn't have the best feeling after training on Friday. But today I put in two strong runs, I'm speechless," said the 21-year-old after Austria's first World Cup victory in the women's singles since Tina Unterberger in Kühtai in 2016.

Nina and Jenny Castiglioni from Partschins completed the podium, with Nina Castiglioni's second place being particularly noteworthy in her World Cup debut. When the two sisters stood together on the podium for the first time, they both fought back tears. "My goal was to qualify for the second run, so to be on the podium now is simply wonderful," said the 16-year-old from ASV Latsch.

The women's podium with (from left) Nina Castiglioni, Riccarda Ruetz and Jenny Castiglioni. © Ulrich Wilhelm

In the doubles, local favorites Maximilian Pichler and Nico Edlinger underlined their ambitions, with last year's overall winners celebrating their fifth World Cup victory with a time of 1:06.08 minutes. "That's a perfect start. There were a few small mistakes, but to start the new season with a win like last year is simply fantastic," analyzed Pichler. Tobias Paur from Völs and Andreas Hofer from Passeier (+0,31 seconds) finished in second place. Brothers Gabriel Halcin and Samuel Halcin (+1,06) completed the podium. For the junior world champions from Slovakia, it was their first World Cup podium finish.

The results

Top 3 double seaters

1. Maximilian Pichler/Nico Edlinger (AUT), 1:06.08 minutes

2. Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA/Völs/Platt in Passeier), +0,31 seconds

3. Gabriel Halcin/Samuel Halcin (SVK), +1,06 seconds

Top 3 single-seater women

1. Riccarda Ruetz (AUT), 2:04.51 minutes

2. Nina Castiglioni (ITA/Partschins), +0,87 seconds

3. Jenny Castiglioni (ITA/Partschins), +0,95 seconds

Top 3 single-seater men

1. Daniel Gruber (ITA/Schleis), 2:01.84 minutes

2. Hannes Unterholzner (ITA/Völlan), +0,04 seconds

3. Mathias Troger (ITA/Tisens), +0,34 seconds

The second Alpine Luge World Cup will take place on Winterleiten on Sunday.

Keywords Winter sports Natural track tobogganing Alpine toboggan