The 2014-2015 Luge World Cup Season kicks off in Tirol
Last updated on 01.10.2018
This year’s Luge World Cup racing season is a home game for Austria’s top lugers. The race is the first event in the nine-event series, which begins November 29-30, 2014 when the world’s best athletes in the sport of luge will be sliding into Igls, Tirol, for one action-packed weekend of World Cup competition, including women’s and men’s singles competitions, doubles, and sprint. On this occasion, the Austrian Luge Association will bid farewell to the Linger brothers, a team of two Austrian brothers who competed together in men’s doubles luge and have announced their retirement after winning the silver medal in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
World class athletes need a world class training center, which is precisely what the luge world elite finds in Tirol, Austria. Many medals won by lugers at the Winter Olympics and World Championships went to athletes who trained here on the Olympic Bobsleigh Run in Igls that was built for the 1976 Olympic Winter Games at Innsbruck. The Tirol Tourist Board recognized that the race for sports excellence has no finish line. Thus, together with the Austrian Luge Association (Österreichischer Rodelverband,ÖRV) and the Austrian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, they have been building on the legacies of the 1976 Olympic Winter Games to become a training center of the luge sport. Moreover, the Austrian Luge World Cup Team and the Tirol Tourist Board have partnered for successful testimonial sponsoring for many years.
The top luge competitors in the world make their way to Tirol on the last weekend in November for the Luge World Cup at the Olympic Bobsleigh Run in Igls near Innsbruck – home to the luge events for the 1976 Olympic Winter Games. Tirol loves speed and adrenaline and there will be plenty of both on hand this November 29-30, 2014, as the fastest show on ice slides into Igls for the first event in the nine-event Luge World Cup racing series season. As the Olympic Bobsleigh Run in Igls is the major training site of the Austrian Luge Team, they have had more runs here than the other nations. Competing in front of friends and family is a great motivator and they will strive to have their best results at their home game in Tirol. While there is no place like home, World Cup competition is very tight and the high speed action will be amazing.
The women’s singles competitions take place on Saturday morning, while the men’s doubles are held in the afternoon. The Austria women’s Luge World Cup team consists of Miriam-Stefanie Kastlunger, Mona Wabnigg and Birgit Platzer; with the first two having a double home advantage as they live in Innsbruck. After the retirement of double Olympic gold medal winners and three-time World Champions, Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, Peter Penz and Georg Fischler will represent the Austrian doubles World Cup team.
The men’s singles competitions and the Sprint World Cup events are held Sunday, November 30, 2014. Peter Penz and Georg Fischler, European Champion in 2012 and bronze medal winner at the European Championships in 2013, will go for glory on the fast and icy track. The Austria men’s team further consists of Reinhard Egger, Wolfgang Kindl and Armin Frauscher. The first event in the nine-event Luge World Cup racing series season is decisive for Austrian coaches Rene Friedl and Markus Prock who have to reorganise the Austrian luge team after the retirement of the tremendously successful Linger brothers.
The Austrian Luge Association will throw a farewell party to the Linger brothers at the World Cup event in Igls. Andreas and Wolfgang Linger are two Tirolean brothers who competed together in men’s doubles luge, winning gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They have announced their retirement after winning the silver medal in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. Great off ice action is as well guaranteed with a stunning aerial show by the Flying Bulls Aerobatics Team.
Tirol Tourist Board is a Long-Term Partner of Luge Sport
When the world’s best athletes in the sport of luge will reach speeds up around 100 KM/hour while rocketing down the icy track at the Olympic Bobsleigh Run in Igls on November 29, 2014, the Tirol Tourist Board will be on-site as well, cheering for the athletes. A long-term partner and sponsor of the sport, the Tourist Board has worked hard for Tirol to become a home and heart of luge sport. By means of year-round testimonial sponsoring, the Tirol Tourist Board has supported luging in the “Heart of the Alps” for many years, confirming its reputation as number one winter sports destination in the Alps. Tirol’s lugers are not only among the fastest on icy tracks, they are also world class on natural tracks. Clear your schedule for the weekend of December 12-13, 2014 and get ready for some high speed action at the Luge Natural Track World Cup in Hochfügen, Tirol. Plus, the Styrian resort of Mariazell plays host to the World Luge Natural Track Championships in 2015.
Lugers are Medal Hopefuls
The 2014-2015 winter season sees an exciting range of luge, bobsleigh and skeleton events, including the Luge World Championships in Sigulda, Latvia, the World Luge Natural Track Championships in Mariazell, Styria, Austria, and the Junior European Luge Natural Track Championships in Oberperfuss, Tirol, Austria. As long-term partner of the Austrian Luge Association, the Tirol Tourist Board is eagerly waiting in anticipation for the upcoming events. We will see how many medals will be won by Austrian lugers on both the icy and the natural track in the 2014-2015 racing season.
For more details please refer to: www.tyrol.com/e-luge-world-cup-in-innsbruck-igls