FIL aqotec World Cup Natural Track Luge - Garmisch (GER) - Final Results

 

FIL aqotec WORLD CUP

NATURAL TRACK LUGE

 

Press Information

Saturday, February 27^th, 2010

 

26^th – 28^th February 2010

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)

 

World Cup Finale in a shortened version

Pigneter (ITA), Lavrentjeva (RUS) and Pigneter/Clara (ITA) win overall World Cup

 

One run for each category on a shortened track was all that could be held on a severely damaged track after rain and warm weather had played their foul game. The difficult conditions were a challenge for each athlete, but eventually the top favourites were winning again.

Only Patrick Pigneter could keep Germany's Marcus Grausam from winning his second career World Cup race. Pigneter succeeded for the 18^th time and tied Gerhard Pilz's 18 wins in the eternal winning lists, but the hero of the moment was definitely Marcus Grausam. "I am always fast here in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, also when we had the German Championships here. I am glad that I could exhibit the good performance in the World Cup, too. Of course it was an advantage to have a lower starting number as the track became worse over the time", said Grausam, who celebrated his first win in Triesenberg (LIE) in the winter of 2003/04. "I do not know why it took me so long to get back on the podium. But now I know that I still have it in me and I know what the hard work in summer is for." Even serial winner Pigneter was happy for the German: "I am glad for him and it is good for the sport when more nations can win. I personally had a great run today. I could feel it on the track already that I was fast. The people here in Garmisch did an awesome job preparing the track and I was sure that the track would be ok, so I attacked fully."

Italy's shooting start Alex Gruber finished third: "I could gain a lot of experience in the European Cup, this has helped me today. I also watch the experienced athletes in my team and they help me. My goal is to perform constantly on a high level and one day I want to become World Champion, but I know that next year is too soon for me."

In the overall ranking, where people were basically fighting for the spots behind Pigneter, Thomas Schopf (AUT) secured second place. Gernot Schwab (AUT) was the luckier in the fight for the third place.  Even though Anton Blasbichler (ITA) finished the final race two positions ahead of Schwab,  he finished the season one point behind.

 

In the Women's event Reate Gietl (ITA) still had a tiny chance to win the overall World Cup, but to do so she would have needed to beat her eternal rival Ekatharina Lavrentjeva (RUS). The Russian defended her leading position and managed to win the World Cup Series for the seventh time in her career. "I did not know that Renate had such an excellent run. I just started my own run and focused on myself. I made a mistake in the middle part, but overall it was a good run. My tough competition with Renate throughout the season was really exciting but also very exhausting", said Lavrentjeva and already knows her next goal: "The World Championships in Austria next year is my big goal and I will work hard for that."

Runner up Renate Gietl has different goals: "I am reigning World Champion, so this is not my number one goal. I have been second in the overall world cup so many times, next year I want to move up one step," said Gietl, and: "I am not disappointed about the second place, just a little bit sad, because it was so close. The race between us was always a matter of hundredths, this time I have lost. My chances were small to begin with as it would have needed someone ranked between us. I tried my best and the result was a second place, this is not bad. I think I already lost the world cup in Russia where I finished third in both races. This is a track which I really do not like."

Back on the podium was Melanie Batkowski(AUT): "In the overall ranking my third place was pretty much secured and I had no chance to become any better. So I am satisfied with my result. I had small minor flaws, but altogether it was ok. I was too slow in the finish part, I lost all my speed. But it was a good ending of the season."

 

In a perfect mix of sliding skills and right choice of equipment, the brothers Christian and Andreas Schopf (AUT) achieved their first and long overdue World Cup win: "We knew that we could be fast under these weather conditions and so we did not try a lot of different things.  We just relied on our equipment and skills. The track is steep with narrow turns and this is what we like. So the season found its perfect ending even though the run was not perfect", said Christian, the younger brother whose name can be found in the eternal result books, too. Andreas already won three world cups when he was racing with his cousin Wolfgang. "When we saw our time we actually did not think that this would be good enough to beat Pigneter. That eventually it was good enough is of course fantastic! The Russians were also dangerous, but after Pigneter/Clara were behind us we really speculated with winning. We have been racing together for four years and this is our first win."

Runner up for a change were Patrick Pigneter/Florian Clara (ITA) who had no troubles winning the overall ranking: "It was very difficult today because we had to finish top five to beat the Russians. So we had to attack but without too much risk. We did well, we could not win the race, but that's ok. It was very difficult for me today to switch mentally from single seater to double and build up concentration again. I am very tired now and happy that the season is over, but tonight it is time to party."

With their first season podium finish achieved, Christian Schatz/Gerhard Mühlbacher (AUT) would have been happy with some more races: "We started using a new sled this season. Until now all we did was test and adjust equipment. Now we have everything perfect and the season is over, but at least it is a happy end."

 

 

Final Results Women (15):

 

1. Ekatharina LAVRENTJEVA (RUS), 0:49,01

2. Renate GIETL (ITA), 0:49,07

3. Melanie BATKOWSKI (AUT), 0:49,47

4. Evelin LANTHALER (ITA), 0:49,51

5. Alexandra OBRIST (ITA), 0:49,83

6. Melanie SCHWARZ (ITA), 0:50,22

7. Marlies WAGNER (AUT), 0.50,62

8. Michaela MAURER (GER), 0:50,73

9. Katrin MLADEK (AUT), 0:50,73

10. Ludmila ASTRAMOVISH (RUS), 0:51,33

11. Veronika NACHMANN (GER), 0:51,71

12. Nina BUCINEL (SLO), 0:52,07

 

 

Final Results Men (30):

 

1. Patrick PIGNETER (ITA), 0:47,78

2. Marcus GRAUSAM (GER), 0:48,31

3. Alex GRUBER (ITA), 0:48,56

4. Anton BLASBICHLER (ITA), 0:48,63

5. Stefan GRUBER (ITA), 0:48,82

6. Gernot SCHWAB (AUT), 0:48,87

7. Florian BREITENBERGER (ITA), 0:48,90

8. Robert BATKOWSKI (AUT), 0:48,91

9. Michael SCHEIKL (AUT), 0:48,95

10. Georg MAURER (GER), 0:49,05

10. Thomas KAMMERLANDER (AUT), 0:49,05

12. Björn KIERSPEL (GER), 0:49,25

 

 

Final Results Doubles (11):

 

1. Christian SCHOPF/Thomas SCHOPF (AUT), 0:52,07

2. Patrick PIGNETER/Florian CLARA (ITA), 0:52,18

3. Christian SCHATZ/Gerhard MÜHLBACHER (AUT), 0:52,38

4. Pavel PORSHNEV/Ivan LAZAREV (RUS), 0:52,72

5. Andrzej LASZCZAK/Damian WANICZEK (POL), 0:53,07

6. Bjoern KIERSPEL/Christian WICHAN (GER), 0:53,10

7. Florian BREITENBERGER/David MAIR (ITA), 0:53,74

8. Thomas SCHOPF/Andreas SCHOEPF (AUT), 0:53,78

 

 

 

 

aqotec World Cup Final Ranking (after deduction of drop result)

 

 

Women:

 

1. Ekatharina LAVRENTJEVA (RUS)      470

2. Renate GIETL (ITA)                                440

3. Melanie BATKOWSKI (AUT)                385

4. Evelin LANTHALER (ITA)                       315

5. Marlies WAGNER (AUT)                        271

6. Melanie SCHWARZ (ITA)                       205

7. Alexandra OBRIST (ITA)                         202

8. Ludmila ASTRAMOVISH (RUS)             184

9. Veronika NACHMANN (GER)                180

10. Tina UNTERBERGER (AUT)               175

11.Olga SIDOROVA (RUS)                        170

12. Michaela MAURER (GER)                   169

 

 

 

Men:

 

1. Patrick PIGNETER (ITA)                       470

2. Thomas SCHOPF (AUT)                      321

3. Gernot SCHWAB (AUT)                       296

4. Anton BLASBICHLER (ITA)                   295

5. Thomas KAMMERLANDER (AUT)        291

6. Rudi RESCH (ITA)                                  288

7. Stefan GRUBER (ITA)                            239

8. Hannes CLARA (ITA)                             224

9. Alex GRUBER (ITA)                                217

10. Robert BATKOWSKI (AUT)                 207

11. Michael SCHEIKL (AUT)                      183

12. Gerald KAMMERLANDER (AUT)        168

13. Ziga PAGON (SLO)                              156

14. Georg MAURER (GER)                       135

14. Marcus GRAUSAM (GER)                   135

16. Kaj JOHNSON (CAN)                           130

36. John GIBSON (CAN)                              40

 

 

Doubles:

 

1. Patrick PIGNETER/Florian CLARA (ITA)                                                485

2. Pavel PORSHNEV/Ivan LAZAREV (RUS)                                                415

3. Christian SCHOPF/Andreas SCHOPF (AUT)                                        375

4. Andrzej LASZCZAK/Damian WANICZEK (POL)                                        305

5. Christian SCHATZ/Gerhard MÜHLBACHER (AUT)                                  290

6. Aleksandr EGEROV/Petr POPOV (RUS)                                                   286

7. Björn KIERSPEL/Christian WICHAN (GER)                                               212

8. Thomas KAMMERLANDER/Christoph REGENSBURGER (AUT)          197

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Karl

FIL Media Service

---

Windows® phone-your Windows stuff, on the go. See more.

FIL aqotec Natural Track World Cup - Garmisch (GER) - Program Change

Press Information, Friday, Feb 27,2010

New Schedule for Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)

Due to weather conditions the program for the aqotec World Cup final on Natural Track had to be changed.

As discussed in the team captain's meeting following the singles training runs.   The doubles' training had to be cancelled due to track conditions and the singles race will be started tomorrow, Saturday, at 8am with one run for women and men. After that the Technical Delegate and the chief of track will decide whether and when a second run for the singles will be held.

The doubles will in any case conclude the event as due to their heavier weight the track will not allow any further runs after their race. Because of last night's rain and the warm temperatures the track has become very soft and subject to damage from sleds.

Kind regards
ck

FIL Media Service

---

Not using Hotmail on your phone? Why not? Get it now.

FIL aqotec World Cup Natural Track Luge - Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)

 

FIL aqotec WORLD CUP

NATURAL TRACK LUGE

 

Press Information

Wednesday, February 24^th, 2010

 

26^th – 28^th February 2010

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)

 

World Cup show-down in host city of 1936 Olympic Games

 

It seems like most decisions have already been made before the aqotec World Cup has its final race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER). Each athlete can drop their result with the least points for the calculation of the points total, but the final race cannot be dropped – this rule might lead to some surprises in the final ranking.

Regardless, Patrick Pigneter (ITA) will likely win the overall World Cup for the fifth consecutive time as Thomas Schopf (AUT) who started so well this winter, would have to catch up more than 100 points in one race.  In theory this is possible only if Schopf wins and Pigneter does not score at all, but this is not very likely considering Pineter's performance in the past.  Except for one crash last year, Pigneter has never been finished worse than third,  The real fight will be for the second and third places between Thomas Schopf, Rudi Resch (ITA), Thomas Kammerlander (AUT), Anton Blasbichler (ITA) and last but not least Gernot Schwab (AUT).   There are five athletes who can reach the podium.  Due to his injury, Gernot Schwab missed one race, so he will score full points in the final (the missed race being his drop result).

In the doubles event Russia's Pavel Porshnev/Ivan Lazarev are in the lead, but this does not really mean much as Patrick Pigneter/Florian Clara (ITA) could win four races so far. They crashed in one race, so this will be their drop result. If they win again in Garmisch-Partenkirchen they can even win the aqotec World Cup with the maximum of 500 points. Porshnev/Lazarev will loose 70 points in the final count and will most likely fall behind the Italians.

The women's race will reveal whether Ekatharina Lavrentjeva (RUS) will win the overall world cup for the seventh total and and fifth consecutive time, or  if Renate Gietl (ITA) will win it for the second time in their careers.  Lavrentjeva won the last world cup race held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the 2003/2004 season.  Rookie Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) has become better and better in each race since she won her silver medal in the European Championships and she might play an important role in the distribution of the final points. Currently she is ranked fourth in the World Cup, behind Melanie Batkowski (AUT) who could also claim a spot on the podium.  She has the track in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in good memory as she was the Junior World Champion for the first time in the host city of the 1936 Winter Olympic Games.

The aqotec World Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen will be started with training runs on Friday, followed by the competitions runs in the doubles' race and one women's competition run on Saturday. It will be completed on Sunday with the singles' decisions.

 

 

 

Track Info:

 

Length: 1100 m

Start Elevation: 890m

Finish Elevation: 737m

Difference: 153m

Average Descent: 14,7%

 

Program in Garmisch-Partenkirchen:

 

Friday, Feb 26, 2010:

09.00am: 1st Training run men and women

01.30pm: 1st Training run doubles

02.30pm: 2nd Training run doubles

06.00pm: Opening Ceremony

 

Saturday, Feb 27, 2010:

10.00am: 2nd Training run women

afterwards: 1st competition run doubles

12.30pm: 2nd competition run doubles

afterwards: 1st competition run women

02.00pm: 2nd Training run men

 

Sunday, Feb 28, 2010

10.00am: 1st competition run men

afterwards: 2nd competition run women

12:00pm: 2nd competition run men

02.00pm: Medal Ceremonies

 

Chris Karl

FIL Media Service

---

Tell the whole story with photos, right from your Messenger window. Learn how!

Canadian Update From the Grosser Preis Von Europa im Sportrodeln in Olang, Italy

Two clinics were held this weekend at the "Grosser Preis von Europa im
Sportrodeln" (aka. Sport Sled European Championships in English). The
first was in kicking butt; Kaj and John's butts that is. They were
taught a lessen in shame, and the recreational sliders (some as old as
sixty) were their professors. Kaj and John prefer not to mention
their placings, but needless to say, they were schooled. They gained
a new found respect for the sliders who are able to drive such out of
control sleds up to times of within six to seven seconds off the best
racing sled times. Simply astounding.

The second clinic was much less humbling for the boys. During the
opening ceremonies celebrations, they found that they fit in nicely
with the laid-back sport sliding culture. They enjoyed a "spirited"
evening with their newfound sport sliding friends.

We'll be home soon,

Kaj and John

Canadian Update From the 5th World Cup in Latzfons, Italy

Hey everyone! Kaj and John again reporting from Sunny Süd Tirol on
last weekend's World Cup race in Latzfons. This was the duo's final
World Cup race of the season and it was a dandy finish. The Latzfons
organizing team did a fantastic job advertising the race and the
public turnout was nothing short of astonishing.

Now to the nitty-gritty. John found himself struggling with his
nemesis track during training and was determined to finally conquer it
for race day. The first race run left him feeling hopeful about his
result. It was his best run yet on the track this season.
Unfortunately, the track was not finished with its torment on poor
John. He fought hard on the second run, but the track fought just a
little harder. In the final corner the track made a tactical move and
narrowed by three millimeters to tap John on his "would be" speedy
exit. He unfortunately lost two places by seven hundredths due to
this cheap shot. He would finish in 24th position.

Kaj's race was pretty good. However, he was again plagued by a
mediocre first run and had to really up his game to move into a better
position. Kaj had a slight mistake on his first run in the flat
middle section of the track that cost him a considerable amount of
time. He did, however, pick it up for the bottom section to salvage
the run from total disaster. He started the second run in 16th
position. This time things went much better. The track conditions
had dropped significantly and almost the entire field had trouble
coping. This was Kaj's chance. He posted a faster time on his second
run while everyone else got slower and was able to move into 14th
position to claim his fifth top 15 finish of the season. This marks
the first year Kaj has placed in the top 15 for all his races.

Kaj and John have now packed up their racing sleds and have switched
over to some sport sleds which they will use to race with in the
"Grosse Preis (Big Prize)" Sport Cup race to be held in Olang this
coming weekend. Sport sleds are the more recreational version of the
race sleds with much shallower angles and higher bridges. They will
have to hone in on their "drifting" skills in order to master this
discipline of the sport. Look for another update on the Grosse Preis
after the weekend.

All for now!

Kaj and John

FIL aqotec World Cup Natural Track Luge - Latzfons (ITA) - Day 2

 

FIL aqotec WORLD CUP

NATURAL TRACK LUGE

 

Press Information

Sunday, February 6^th, 2010

 

6^th – 8^th February 2010

Latzfons (ITA)

 

Renate Gietl (ITA) wins home race, Patrick Pigneter (ITA) once again in his own league

 

Renate Gietl (ITA) took revenge on her home track in Latzfons and is fully at ease now. Five years ago she came to Latzfons as the World Cup leader and had just won four consecutive races and yet was denied her home triumph. Ekatharina Lavrentjeva (RUS) won the race, Renate Gietl finished fourth. "With my win today a lot of pressure was taken from me. Winning is always more difficult at home and I am so happy that I could accomplish this today." But there had been a fraction of insecurity for her when she crossed the finish line: "I heard the speaker say 'second' and I saw the two on the board, but then eventually my name came up first." The 'two' had just indicated the run time and in fact, Lavrentjeva had been faster in the second run: exactly one hundredth of a second.

In the final ranking Lavrentjeva came second and she is already analysing the result: "My first run was not good. But my teammates also noticed that my start times were really bad.  I have to look into that and work at it. There is one race left this winter." Everything promises a breathtaking show-down in three weeks in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) as Renate Gietl has not given up the fight yet: "I still do have a tiny idea of a chance."

Within no time Junior World Champion Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) has established herself as a serious contender for podium finishes. She finished third once again and seems to handle the pressure in the "adult world" really well.  "It seems that after my medal in the European Championships everything is going by itself. I know that I can perform well, I do not put too much pressure on myself and I am fully motivated.  I am quite nervous now and then, but I know that I am mentally strong.  My goal today was to defend my third place which I had in yesterday's first run."

 

In the Men's race, Patrick Pigneter (ITA) once again dominated his opponents.  And he almost became the victim of his own superiority: "This is one of my favourite tracks and I was so incredibly fast in the training runs that I almost slowed down a little too much in the first run.  I was really surprised to see that I was only 12 hundredths ahead." For the second run Pigneter relied on his training equipment and won without difficulties. He even had time enough to enjoy the cheers of the spectators at the finish: "There were really a lot of people along the track today.  We should have more races like this one, it is fantastic to have such an audience. This is a sign that our sport is on a good path."

The only athlete who could challenge Pigneter – at least in the first run – was fellow Italian Rudi Resch.  Resch was runner up the second time in Latsch two weeks ago. "I was a bit worried about the second run as I personally prefer a cold a hard track and because of the sunshine it had become soft." But he managed well and held onto second place.

The real battle was behind the two Italians for the third spot on the podium. Eventually Austria's Gernot Schwab – tied with Anton Blasbichler in fifth  place after the first run - was the lucky one. "This success means a lot to me. One month ago I was down on my belly here in Latzfons, today I am standing on the podium." In a training accident Schwab had injured his knee which had caused him to miss the European Championships. "I have never been so afraid as I was today. My knee is not stable yet, and with all the holes in the track due to the sunshine, I was afraid I would catch my foot in one of them. Really, all I wanted was to reach the finish without an injury. But then I heard the times of Robert Batkowski and Anton Blasbichler and I knew that I had to attack. I took full risk and I have succeeded ."

 

 

 

Final Result Women (17):

 

1. Renate GIETL (ITA), 1:03,64(1), 1:03,43(2), 2.07,07

2. Ekatharina LAVRENTJEVA (RUS), 1:03,69(2), 1:03,42(1), 2:07,11

3. Evelin LANTHALER (ITA), 1:03,87(3), 1:03,57(3), 2:07,44

4. Melanie BATKOWSKI (AUT), 1:04,63(4), 1:04,48(4), 2:09,11

5. Melanie SCHWARZ (ITA), 1:04,84(5), 1:04,85(5), 2:09,69

6. Marlies WAGNER (AUT), 1:05,33(7), 1:04,86(6), 2:10,19

7. Alexandra OBRIST (ITA), 1:05,31(6), 1:04,95(7), 2:10,26

8. Olga SIDOROVA (RUS), 1:06,02(8), 1:05,31(9), 2:11,33

9. Michaela MAURER (GER), 1:06,34(10), 1:05,12(8), 2:11,46

10. Tina UNTERBERGER (AUT), 1:06,39(11), 1:05,94(10), 2:12,33

 

Final Result Men (40):

 

1. Patrick PIGNETER (ITA), 1:02,36(1), 1:01,99(1), 2:04,35

2. Rudi RESCH (ITA), 1:02,48(2), 1:02,85(2), 2:05,33

3. Gernot SCHWAB (AUT), 1:02,89(5), 1:02,94(3), 2:05,83

4. Thomas KAMMERLANDER (AUT), 1:02,79(4), 1:03,20(6), 2:05,99

4. Anton BLASBICHLER (ITA), 1:02,89(5), 1:03,10(5), 2:05,99

6. Gerald KAMMERLANDER (AUT), 1:02,94(7), 1:03,07(4), 2:06,01

7. Alex GRUBER (ITA), 1:02,70(3), 1:03,75(11), 2:06,45

8. Robert BATKOWSKI (AUT), 1:03,28(10), 1:03,24(7), 2:06,52

9. Hannes CLARA (ITA), 2:06,67

10. Thomas SCHOPF (AUT), 2:06,79

11. Stefan GRUBER (ITA), 2.07,11

12. Georg MAURER (GER), 2:07,13

12. Michael SCHEIKL (AUT), 2:07,13

14. Kaj JOHNSON (CAN), 2:07,67

14. Jury TALYKH (RUS), 2:07,67

24. John GIBSON (CAN), 2.10,70

 

 

World Cup Standings (5/6):

 

Women:

 

1. Ekatharina LAVRENTJEVA (RUS)        455

2. Renate GIETL (ITA)                                425

3. Melanie BATKOWSKI (AUT)                  375

4. Evelin LANTHALER (ITA)                       310

5. Marlies WAGNER (AUT)                        267

6. Olga SIDOROVA (RUS)                         200

7. Tina UNTERBERGER (AUT)                 179

8. Veronika NACHMANN (GER)                178

9. Melanie SCHWARZ (ITA)                       155

10. Ludmila ASTRAMOVISH (RUS)           148

13. Michaela MAURER (GER)                   127

 

Men:

 

1. Patrick PIGNETER (ITA)                         440

2. Thomas SCHOPF (AUT)                         332

3. Rudi RESCH (ITA)                                   313

4. Thomas KAMMERLANDER (AUT)        294

5. Anton BLASBICHLER (ITA)                    271

6. Gernot SCHWAB (AUT)                          246

7. Hannes CLARA (ITA)                              224

8. Stefan GRUBER (ITA)                             214

9. Gerald KAMMERLANDER (AUT)           202

10. Robert BATKOWSKI (AUT)                  165

11. Michael SCHEIKL (AUT)                       159

12. Kaj JOHNSON (CAN)                            156

34. John GIBSON (CAN)                               40

 

 

Complete result lists can be found at www.fil-luge.org under results or events

 

 

 

Chris Karl

FIL Media Service

---

Live connected with Hotmail on your phone. Learn more.