Athletes to watch at the Luge European Championships in Winterberg
Sitting atop the men’s singles standings in the World Cup, Austria’s Nico Gleirscher enters the Winterberg competition with the opportunity to earn vital World Cup points as well as a coveted European title.
However, the 27-year-old is taking nothing for granted as he aims to top the podium for the first time having won European silver in 2024 and bronze in 2022.
“At the beginning of the 2022/2023 season, I also led in the overall World Cup, but unfortunately the privilege was short-lived,” he told Olympics.com. “This time, I have resolved to savour this feeling for longer, and so far I have succeeded. Even if it’s just a snapshot – as we know, the final result is what counts – the yellow jersey gives you an extra boost.”
Gleirscher’s closest rivals in the men’s singles are two German sliders, Max Langenhan and three-time Olympic gold medallist Felix Loch, while Latvia’s Kristers Aparjods sits in fourth with hopes of moving up the World Cup standings as well as reaching the European Championships podium.
Aparjods won’t be the only Latvian with high hopes of victory this coming weekend with the doubles pairing of Martins Bots and Roberts Plume leading the World Cup rankings ahead of German powerhouses Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt.
For Germany’s Julia Taubitz, who despite winning five World Championships golds has never been victorious at the European Championships, chasing women’s singles gold in Winterberg is something she is relishing.
As she told the International Luge Federation: “I have to chase now, but it’s also fun being the hunter instead of the hunted.”
Taubitz will be hunting down not one but two Austrian sliders in the women’s singles as she aims to improve on her third place in the World Cup standings while wresting the European titles back to Germany.
Madeleine Egle, the reigning European singles and team relay champion, currently tops the overall World Cup ranking with fellow Austrian Lisa Schulte second, with the top three separated by only 29 points.
Austria and Germany are one-two in the current doubles World Cup standings, with Selina Egle (younger sister of Madeleine Egle) and Lara Kipp out in front and Germans Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal second.
