After the first race, the German sledge driver Natalia Geizenberger is in the lead, who completed the Sigulda track in 41,829 seconds. Tatiana Ivanova, a Russian, loses her thousandths of a second, but Victoria Demchenko is 0.053 seconds behind.
The best result among Latvians was shown by the youngest member of the team Elīna Ieva Vītola, who loses 0.176 seconds to the leader and is the fifth. Nine thousandths of a second behind her is Elīza Tīruma, the holder of the sixth position, but Ulla Zirne, who is in the eighth place, is 0.200 seconds behind the leader.
Aparjode fell in the middle of the track and did not reach the finish line, so he will not take part in the second race. The Latvian athlete left the track on his own.
The start of the second trip will be at 11.55. The competition will be broadcast live on the channel “Best4Sport TV”.
This season, one bronze medal is for both Tīruma and Aparjode. The third place in the field was won in Winterberg, and Aparjode – in Oberhof. The highest achievement for Peas this season is 13th place in the Sprint World Cup stage on the Egls track and the same place in Oberhof. Vītols will make his debut in the World Cup this season.
Last season, in the stage of the World Cup in Sigulda, the third place was taken by Tīruma, the ninth – Zirne, Aparjode ranked 11th, but Vītola – 12th.
In the Sprint World Cup stage, Aparjode was fourth, Zirne finished the first six, but Tīruma took 13th place.
Natalia Geizenberger from Germany leads the World Cup with 595 points and has never won second place in all seven races. Her compatriot Julia Taubica has 591 points, while the third place with 445 points is taken by another German representative Dajana Eitberger, while the best of the drivers from other countries with 397 points is the Austrian Madeleine Egle, taking the fourth position. Field with 338 points is fifth, but Aparjode has 303 points and eighth. Ulla Zirne takes the 19th place with 125 points in five races, and Sigita Bērziņa has 91 points and 23rd place in four races in the competition of 46 riders.
After the ladies’ competition, the team relay participants will also go on the track. This competition will start at 13.50. The competition will be broadcast live on the channel “Best4Sport TV”.
The Latvian relay team will start with the seventh number. In total, the national team will take part in the relay.
This season, four relay competitions took place in the World Cup before Sigulda. In the first stage, Aparjode, her brother Kristers, as well as the crew Mārtiņš Bots / Roberts Plūme took the fourth position, but in the second stage, Botu / Plūmi was replaced by the Šici brothers, winning bronze awards for the Latvian national team. Riks Kristens Rozītis started together in the Oberhof with Aparjodi and brothers Šicis, with the quartet in fifth place, but last weekend in Königsze, Latvia with Aparjodi, Gardener and brothers Šicis in fourth place.
Germany ranks first in the overall standings of the World Cup after four stages with 345 points. Austria has 20 points less, while Russia follows with 275 points. The Latvian national team with 245 points is immediately behind the top three, 30 points ahead of the Italians.
Last season, the team relay did not take place on the Sigulda track.
On Saturday, the gardener took fourth place in the individual competition, Rozītis – 11th place, but Gints Bērziņš, who won silver in the Nations Cup or qualifying competition on Friday, took 14th place in the World Cup and two places higher – in the European Championship rating, as well as won the European U-23. championship silver.
The Šici brothers won on Saturday, Mārtiņš Bots / Roberts Plūme took the third place, also winning the European U-23 Championship, but Oskars Gudramovičs / Pēteris Kalniņš took the sixth place.
Due to an injury, Latvia’s leading sleigh rider Kristers Aparjods is not currently starting, and his return to the track this season is under question.
Sigulda hosts the European Championship for the fifth time in history. 130 sleigh riders from 23 nations have applied to start the World Cup stage – 43 men, 37 women and 25 double crews.
The World Cup season takes place only in Europe. With the New Year, a strong US has joined the ranks, but Canadian luge riders could start the season in stages in Germany.
After the stage in Sigulda in January, stages are also planned in Oberhof and Innsbruck, but at the end of the month, the sleigh riders will return to Königsze, where the world championship will take place. The season finale is scheduled for early February in St. Moritz, where the World Cup has not taken place since January 2012.
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