Tobogganing: dampers ahead of the Olympics: hole in Lillehammer fifth only

Three weeks before the start of the winter games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the German tobogganing team headed by Olympic champion Felix Loch took the next shock absorber. The 28-year-old rider from Berchtesgaden only finished fifth at the penultimate World Cup station in Lillehammer, Norway, winning the South Tyrolean Dominik Fischnaller.

The two other Olympic starters Johannes Ludwig and Andi Langenhan finished fourth and 19th. Former vice world champion Ralf Palik finished 22nd, Chris Eißler was 32nd. It has to get a little better. All in all, the men need stability,”said national coach Norbert Loch on ARD television, criticising his protégés:” This is something that stinks to me.

Already on Saturday, the women around Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger had to let the competition take the lead. The US-American Summer Britcher won surprisingly ahead of the German trio with Geisenberger, who was not nominated for the Olympics, Julia Taubitz and World Champion Tatjana Huefner. Oberhof winner Dajana Eitberger crashed at the end of the second run on the 1994 Olympic track.

On Sunday, Geisenberger finished third in Britcher’s sprint victory and prematurely won the overall World Cup for the sixth time in a row. This makes her a record winner there as well. Previously, it had been on a par with its permanent rivals Hüfner (2008 to 2012) and Silke Kraushaar-Pielach (1999,2001,2001,2001,2006 and 2007) with five successes. Taubitz finished fourth in the sprint, Huefner eleventh.

Among the two-seaters, world champions Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken confirmed their favourite position. The Thuringian duo won ahead of the Austrians Peter Penz/Georg Fischler and the Olympic champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt.