From Winterberg, GER
(December 6, 2025) – Austrians Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schöpf slid to gold as part of a strong Austrian showing in Winterberg.
Gatt and Schöpf had an early draw and slid to the lead in the first heat, with only Germans Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt and Austrians Yannic Müller and Armin Frauscher without shouting distance of the lead.
Latvians Martins Bots and Roberts Plume were the first contenders to make a move, jumping up past Germany’s Toni Eggert and Florian Müller to hang onto the lead with the top three still to go.
Müller and Frauscher had a small mistake late on their run that was still enough to grab the lead by the Latvians by just .016 to guarantee Austria at least one medal.
Wendl and Arlt were next. All the way through Curve 12 their run was nearly flawless as they pulled away from the Austrians. However an early entrance into Curve 13 sent them slightly airborne, and while the duo crossed as the leaders, both Wendl and Arlt were caught chuckling at the finish, knowing they got away with one.
That mistake left the door wide open for Gatt and Schöpf. The duo were consistent off the top and had just a clean run throughout the 11 curves of the doubles course on the way to a .1 second victory over Wendl and Arlt, with Müller and Frauscher in third.
“Today was really interesting,” Gatt said after the race. “We had some problems staying on line and not skid, and I think we did okay and made it exciting for our fans!”
For Wendl and Arlt, that big mistake in Curve 13 that may have cost them a win was still
“We are super happy that we’re in second place,” Wendl said, reflecting on their incident in Curve 13. “We had a big mistake in the second run. The Austrians were way better, over the last three years we’ve been really good in the Labryinth. We’re human, it happens, and it’s positive that the speed is there. We’ll build on it!”
Müller and Frauscher were happy with a medal despite a couple of issues over the course of the race.
“I think we had some problems in the start curve in both runs,” Müller said. “That cost us a little bit of speed. WE were good at the bottom, I think we’re really happy with a podium to start the season.”
Bots and Plume were fourth, Orlamünder and Gubitz fifth, and Eggert and Müller rounded out the top six.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Gatt / Schöpf | AUT | 5 | 3.040 | 3.043 | 42.723 | 42.886 | 1:25.609 |
| 2 | Wendl / Arlt | GER | 11 | 3.002 | 3.004 | 42.783 | 42.934 | 1:25.717 |
| 3 | Mueller / Frauscher | AUT | 15 | 3.060 | 3.073 | 42.811 | 42.990 | 1:25.801 |
| 4 | Bots / Plume | LAT | 13 | 3.046 | 3.043 | 42.868 | 42.949 | 1:25.817 |
| 5 | Orlamünder / Gubitz | GER | 12 | 3.080 | 3.074 | 42.931 | 42.905 | 1:25.836 |
| 6 | Eggert / Müller | GER | 14 | 3.036 | 3.065 | 42.853 | 43.015 | 1:25.868 |
| 7 | Sevics-Mikelsevics / Krasts | LAT | 7 | 3.036 | 3.040 | 43.012 | 43.019 | 1:26.031 |
| 8 | Steu / Kindl | AUT | 10 | 3.057 | 3.039 | 43.015 | 43.137 | 1:26.152 |
| 9 | Chmielewski / Gancarczyk | POL | 3 | 3.027 | 3.008 | 42.986 | 43.291 | 1:26.227 |
| 10 | Brunner / Weissensteiner | ITA | 1 | 3.077 | 3.082 | 43.168 | 43.296 | 1:26.464 |
| 11 | Bosman / Mick | SVK | 2 | 3.084 | 3.095 | 43.339 | 43.243 | 1:26.582 |
| 12 | Handaric / Motzca | ROU | 8 | 3.134 | 3.114 | 43.576 | 43.488 | 1:27.061 |
| 13 | Baltgalvis / Jakseboga | LAT | 18 | 3.127 | 3.130 | 43.547 | 43.542 | 1:27.089 |
| 14 | Hoi / Kachmar | UKR | 4 | 3.118 | 3.100 | 43.595 | 43.679 | 1:27.274 |
| 15 | Gitlan / Serban | ROU | 9 | 3.101 | 3.084 | 43.737 | 43.615 | 1:27.352 |
| 16 | Martsinovskyi / Babura | UKR | 16 | 3.086 | 3.069 | 43.590 | 44.027 | 1:27.617 |
| 17 | Panchuk / Muts | UKR | 17 | 3.054 | 3.092 | 43.768 | 43.925 | 1:27.693 |
| DNS | Vavercak / Zmij | SVK | 6 | DNS |