Taubitz from 22nd place to 1st
Tobogganers succeed in crazy catch-ups on the “water slide”
February 4, 2024, 1:23 p.m
These are World Cup victories of a special kind: Julia Taubitz does the same as her toboggan teammate Max Langenhan and moves to the top after a lousy first run. The weather has a hand in the World Cup in Altenberg.
They did dry swimming, danced the Macarena and entertained the audience: Luger Julia Taubitz and her competitors in the leader box made the most of the incredible Luge World Cup in Altenberg. The race was heavily influenced by the weather; large puddles had formed on the ice rink, which at times was more reminiscent of a water slide.
And so there were crazy results with historic comebacks by the German lugers: After world champion Max Langenhan from BRC 05 Friedrichroda raced to victory from 21st place after the first round on Saturday, Taubitz, second in the World Championships, topped this result again. The woman from Oberwiesenthal managed the unique feat of moving from 22nd place to the top. She relegated the Latvian Elina Ieva Vitola to second place with a lead of 0.149 seconds. World champion Lisa Schulte from Austria came third, 0.297 seconds behind Taubitz.
More of a water slide than an ice slide.
(Photo: dpa)
“The plan was actually to be in the front midfield after the first run, but that didn’t quite work out. I made a few mistakes that came in handy in the end,” said Taubitz, who won her 24th World Cup extended his lead in the overall standings. “It was just a weather race. You’re not quite as happy about a victory as you are in imperious weather.” Anna Berreiter came fourth, Melina Fischer in sixth and Merle Fraebel in seventh also managed top ten places.
Langenhan “was just lucky”
Due to the temperatures of around six degrees, the track deteriorated as the competition continued. Rear starting numbers initially had a disadvantage in the first run. Taubitz was third last to enter the ice chute, but was then at the start early in the decisive second run because the best riders in the first run started last, as usual.
The day before, Langenhan had triumphed similarly to Taubitz. Neither had good first runs with start number 27. “I was just lucky. Mistakes like that actually deserve a defeat. You wouldn’t wish that on any other athlete that I hit a second run like that and the track then fades like that. I’m sorry about that too,” said Langenhan. The three-time Olympic champion Felix Loch from RC Berchtesgaden missed his 51st World Cup victory in fourth place after he was still in a promising second place at halftime.
Colleague Loch had already achieved a similar feat to Taubitz and Langenhan: In December 2020, the Berchtesgadener also drove to victory on the Altenberg track from 17th place. The German lugers will continue next weekend with the next home World Cup in Oberhof.