PARK CITY (dpa) – Doubles world champions Tony Eggert and Sasha Benneken celebrated their second win of the season and took the series lead at the Loose World Cup opener in Park City, USA.

The pairing of Ilsenberg and Suhl won the 2002 Olympics on the track ahead of Austrian Juri Gat and Ricardo Schoff. Olympic champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (Berchtesgaden/Königssee) finished third.

Eggert/Benneken, who had won the week before in Whistler, Canada, finished the first race in second place, but were then able to pass the Austrians who were up to that point in a better second place. The third German pair Hannes Orlamunder and Paul Gubitz (Zella–Mehlis) were seventh at half-time, but then, apparently affected by a crash from an Italian sled earlier, dropped to ninth after a poor start in the second.

Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (Altenberg/Winterberg) moved up to second place as the sole German representative in the women’s victory over Italians Andrea Vötter and Marian Oberhofer. Big problems from Austrians Selina Eigl and Lara Kip benefited the two Germans who were ahead of them after the first run, who in the decision derailed with their sleds, touched the edges of the ice channel several times and fell back. Sixth place This left the third spot vacant for two Canadians, Caitlin Nash and Natalie Corless.