From Laas, ITA
Feb. 9, 2020 – Michael Scheikl won his second race of the 2019/2020 FIL World Cup season, coming from behind to strike gold.
Scheikl came into the second heat in Laas in third, behind Thomas Kammerlander and Alex Gruber. On the second run, Scheikl was the only medal contender to improve on his first heat’s time as he moved into the lead with the fastest run of the race, ahead of Patrick Pigneter with only Gruber and Kammerlander to go after him.
Gruber’s second run was only good enough for third with Kammerlander still to go. Kammerlander’s second run was the third fastest of the heat, good enough for a tie for second place with Pigneter, handing Scheikl the victory.
Kammerlander and Pigneter tied for silver, a relative rarity in natural track luge. Gruber finished fourth, ahead of Grigory Bukin and Stefan Federer, who rounded out the top six.
With their tie for silver, Kammerlander and Pigneter remain separated by 20 points going into the season finale in Umhausen. Scheikl’s win moved him up to third, 20 points ahead of Gruber. Any of the four have a shot at the World Cup title.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Michael Scheikl | AUT | 39 | 16.26 | 16.25 | 1:03.29 | 1:03.16 | 2:06.45 |
| 2 | Patrick Pigneter | ITA | 41 | 16.44 | 16.52 | 1:03.33 | 1:03.37 | 2:06.70 |
| 2 | Thomas Kammerlander | AUT | 42 | 16.33 | 16.44 | 1:03.10 | 1:03.60 | 2:06.70 |
| 4 | Alex Gruber | ITA | 40 | 16.26 | 16.31 | 1:03.22 | 1:03.60 | 2:06.82 |
| 5 | Grigory Bukin | RUS | 38 | 16.31 | 16.45 | 1:03.57 | 1:04.08 | 2:07.65 |
| 6 | Stefan Federer | ITA | 28 | 16.55 | 16.49 | 1:04.09 | 1:04.17 | 2:08.26 |
| 7 | Aleksandr Egorov | RUS | 36 | 16.53 | 16.54 | 1:03.72 | 1:04.61 | 2:08.33 |
| 8 | Christian Schopf | AUT | 34 | 16.50 | 16.41 | 1:04.28 | 1:04.19 | 2:08.47 |
| 9 | Stanislav Kovshik | RUS | 33 | 16.60 | 16.75 | 1:04.26 | 1:04.45 | 2:08.71 |
| 10 | Aleksandr Zyrianov | RUS | 10 | 16.97 | 16.91 | 1:05.03 | 1:05.35 | 2:10.38 |
| 11 | Florian Markt | AUT | 14 | 17.07 | 16.75 | 1:04.87 | 1:05.70 | 2:10.57 |
| 12 | Oliver Schiller | GER | 32 | 16.98 | 16.91 | 1:06.01 | 1:05.90 | 2:11.91 |
| 13 | Josef Limmer | GER | 31 | 17.02 | 17.08 | 1:06.16 | 1:05.91 | 2:12.07 |
| 14 | Adam Jedrzejko | POL | 30 | 17.18 | 17.18 | 1:06.08 | 1:06.09 | 2:12.17 |
| 15 | Renzo Atance Conde | ARG | 17 | 17.27 | 17.36 | 1:05.89 | 1:06.38 | 2:12.27 |
| 16 | Isa Guzeloglu | TUR | 29 | 17.07 | 17.03 | 1:06.65 | 1:07.04 | 2:13.69 |
| 17 | Matevz Vertelj | SLO | 1 | 17.15 | 17.38 | 1:07.44 | 1:06.99 | 2:14.43 |
| 18 | Bine Mekina | SLO | 3 | 17.36 | 17.41 | 1:07.76 | 1:07.47 | 2:15.23 |
| 19 | Leonardo de Oliveira Silva | BRA | 25 | 17.19 | 17.34 | 1:08.14 | 1:07.13 | 2:15.27 |
| 20 | Blaz Mekina | SLO | 2 | 17.14 | 17.25 | 1:07.29 | 1:08.39 | 2:15.68 |
| 21 | Ivan Lenko | UKR | 15 | 17.97 | 17.69 | 1:09.61 | 1:08.05 | 2:17.66 |
| 22 | Aleksandr Milkov | KAZ | 21 | 17.62 | 17.67 | 1:08.84 | 1:09.18 | 2:18.02 |
| 23 | David Rydl | CZE | 19 | 18.31 | 17.88 | 1:09.18 | 1:08.89 | 2:18.07 |
| 24 | Yusuf Ozcan | TUR | 23 | 18.37 | 18.37 | 1:09.33 | 1:09.55 | 2:18.88 |
| 25 | Myroslav Lenko | UKR | 16 | 17.27 | 17.25 | 1:33.30 | 1:07.27 | 2:40.57 |
| DNS | Florian Clara | ITA | 37 | DNS |
