Introduction | Great start for Austrian skiers in Lake Placid

The Austrian ski team got off to a great start in its new World Cup season in Lake Placid on Friday. With the victory of Selina Eagle/Lara Kipp in the women’s doubles and the second and third places of Thomas Stew/Wolfgang Kindl and Juri Gatt/Ricardo Schopf in the men’s doubles, ÖRV was able to celebrate the first to third places. Lake Placid is hosting the World Cup Finals for the first time in four years.

Eagle/Kip is initially impressed. The Tyrol team, which finished second overall last season, achieved the best time in both rounds and was delighted with its fifth World Cup win of its career. Germany’s Dagana Ettberger, who switched from the single seater to the double seater and is running the season with Saskia Schirmer, had a strong showing with a second place finish. The previous season’s World Cup winners, Andrea Futter/Marion Oberhofer (ITA), finished third.

Steu/Kindl’s long-awaited World Cup debut was also impressive. Following the retirement of Steus’ long-term partner Lorenz Kohler, the pair got off to a great start with a best time in the first round and second place overall. They had no choice but to bow to the Americans Zachary DiGregorio/Sean Hollander, who celebrated their first World Cup victory. Tyroleans Gatt and Schöpf seamlessly continued their strong performance from the previous season with a third place finish.