From Kühtai, AUT
(January 18, 2025) – The racing on the new track in Kühtai was as close as one could ask for, and after the two-run men’s doubles 2025 World Championship, it was an Italian duo winning their first gold medal ahead of the local heroes.
In a form of luge where often races are settled by tenths of seconds, after one heat it was only .01 between Italy’s Matthias and Peter Lambacher and the Austrian duo of Maxmilian Pichler and Nico Edlinger, the latter of whom came into the race undefeated in the 2024/2025 World Cup season.
In the second heat, the Austrian duo took the lead over Italy’s Tobias Paur and Andreas Hofer despite a major mistake midway down the 750-meter course.
That mistake left the door wide open for Lambacher and Lambacher. The duo set the quick start time of the competition, and slid to a heat-quickest 1:00.71, enough to win by .26 over the Austrians, with Paur and Hofer third.
It was the first title for the Lambachers, who had been played second fiddle behind Italians Patrick Pigneter and Florian Clara in past championships.
Afterward, Matthias Lambacher was so excited he couldn’t contain himself.
“The competition was fierce,” Lambacher told FIL media after the race. “”We knew it would be close. Standing here with Peter now is simply fantastic!””
Pichler and Edlinger’s silver medal was a career-best in either a World or European Championship, while Paur and Hofer took bronze.
Gabriel and Samuel Halcin were fourth, and Peter and Dominik Neupauer fifth for Slovakia.
The men’s and women’s luge championships will be decided on Sunday with the third fun for women’s luge and the second and third runs for men’s luge.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Lambacher / Lambacher | ITA | 6 | 8.23 | 8.12 | 60.63 | 60.71 | 2:01.34 |
| 2 | Pichler / Edlinger | AUT | 8 | 8.19 | 8.24 | 60.64 | 60.96 | 2:01.60 |
| 3 | Paur / Hofer | ITA | 3 | 8.29 | 8.31 | 61.46 | 61.36 | 2:02.82 |
| 4 | Halcin / Halcin | SVK | 5 | 8.28 | 8.34 | 62.22 | 63.00 | 2:05.22 |
| 5 | Neupauer / Neupauer | SVK | 7 | 8.11 | 8.16 | 64.15 | 63.96 | 2:08.11 |
| 6 | Deac / Coca | ROU | 2 | 8.48 | 8.24 | 65.89 | 63.53 | 2:09.42 |
| 7 | Kwiecinski / Hudy | POL | 4 | 8.46 | 8.20 | 66.50 | 65.37 | 2:11.87 |
| 8 | Plonka / Dawidowski | POL | 1 | 8.45 | 8.45 | 67.11 | 66.26 | 2:13.37 |