Gardener and Bot / Plum crew third place in the first Nations Cup of the season | The news

Innsbruck (Austria), Nov. 27, LETA. Latvian toboggan rider Artūrs Dārznieks and two Mārtiņš Bots / Roberts Plūme won third place in the first Nations Cup of the season in Austria on Friday.

The victory was celebrated by the host Niko Gleiršer, who finished with a time of 50,076 seconds. He was 0.365 seconds ahead of his compatriot Wolfgang Kindl, but Gardener lost 0.439 seconds to an Austrian.

Another Latvian representative Riks Kristens Rozītis was 0.529 seconds behind the winner, winning the sixth place.

Gints Bērziņš, on the other hand, lost almost three seconds to the leader and showed the 27th best time among 29 riders.

“The Cup of Nations is also a competition, so it is a pleasure to have a small medal before the competition,” Darznieks said in a conversation with the Latvian Luge Sports Federation. “This was the best ride this week, there were, of course, small nuances. Here a little too fast or too late, but I didn’t make any big and gross mistakes. The ride was good overall. You always need a faster start.

Meanwhile, Latvia was represented by Mārtiņš Bots / Roberts Plūme in the doubles competition.

The victory was won by Thomas Steiss, an Austrian who recently healed a fracture of the femur, and his partner Lorenz Koller. The winners ran the track in 39,641 seconds, overtaking their compatriots Janik Miller / Armin Frausser by 0.144 seconds.

The Latvian two lost 0.316 seconds to the winners and took the third place.

In the ladies’ competition, Latvia was represented only by Sigita Bērziņa.

Among the ladies, the fastest was the German representative Natalia Gaizenberger, who returned to the competition after the child was born. She finished with a time of 39,916 seconds, but compatriots Šienen Rozentāle and Dajana Eitbergere conceded by 0.119 and 0.166 seconds, respectively.

The leader of Bērziņš lost 0.427 seconds and ranked ninth among 28 riders.

Last season, five women representing three different nations climbed the top of the podium, including Elīza Tīruma from Latvia.

In the competition for both women and men, the fastest athletes of the 18 Nations Cup qualify for the main competition, while in the competition for two-seater crews, all crews are allowed for the main competition if the race is completed by sleigh.

Taking into account the results of the last three stages of the World Cup, the other Latvian athletes qualified for the main competition automatically.

The World Cup stage will take place in Innsbruck on Saturday and Sunday. 22 nations have registered for the first stage of the World Cup. Athletes from Australia, Argentina and South Korea, as well as Russia, will participate in the World Cup, while the United States and Canada will not participate in the World Cup until January 2021 due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic.

Sled riders from the USA and Canada will not participate in the stages planned for 2020.

Due to the pandemic, the World Cup season will take place in Europe, but the last competition is scheduled for China.

The next competition will take place in three German cities – Altenberg, Oberhof and Winterberg. The year 2021 will also start in Germany, where matches will take place on the Königsee track, but then the athletes will go to Sigulda, where they will fight for the European Championship medals.

The stages will continue in Oberhof and Innsbruck in January, but the end of the season is scheduled for the second half of February, but the venue is not yet known, as the Beijing Olympic track was canceled this week. The calendar of the season may change.

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