It was the winter of 1977/78 when the International Luge Federation turned an idea into reality that would give the sport a very particular character: a World Cup. A racing series that would not crown a single winner on a single day, but identify the best across an entire season – on multiple tracks, in multiple countries, in front of audiences across Europe first, and the world later. The first men’s overall World Cup winner was Anton Winkler from Berchtesgaden. He won none of the four races, finished second twice and third twice – and still took the title. That is how the World Cup works to this day: consistency beats brilliance.
Fifty winters later, the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup is the centerpiece of the international luge calendar. What began as a modest series on a handful of tracks is today the premium product of a global sport.
The History in Numbers and Names
Armin Zöggeler won the men’s overall World Cup ten times – a record he shares with Markus Prock. Natalie Geisenberger claimed the women’s crystal globe eight times before retiring in 2022 after seven Olympic medals. But the history of the women’s World Cup is bigger than any single athlete. From Margit Schumann, who dominated the women’s standings in the 1970s, through Susi Erdmann and Sylke Otto to Tatjana Hüfner and Julia Taubitz – the women’s World Cup has always written its own chapters.
In men’s doubles, Italy’s Hansjörg Raffl and Norbert Huber set the standard with eight overall World Cup titles; virtually unbeatable since then has been the German pairing of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. The women’s doubles World Cup has existed since the 2021/22 season – Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer, as well as Selina Egle and Lara Kipp, are the names that define this discipline.
Tracks That Make History
Tracks came and went. Cortina, built in eleven months, delivered five medal events at the 2026 Olympics and television ratings that other sports can only dream of. The Pista Olimpica Eugenio Monti now joins the World Cup calendar. The Olympic venues of Pyeongchang and Yanqing, along with La Plagne, return as World Cup stops, bringing the sport closer to the Olympic Winter Games of 2030 and 2034. Sigulda and Winterberg, Altenberg and Oberhof are the classics. And then there is Königssee.
Nestled between the Watzmann massif and the lake that bears its name, the world’s oldest artificial ice track shines again after a dramatic storm and years of reconstruction. For the luge family, Königssee is more than a track. It is the Alpine Cathedral. The first World Championship on artificial ice was held there in 1969. Josef Fendt, who would go on to serve as FIL President for 26 years, won his first world title there. And on the first weekend of March 2027, Königssee will host the grand finale of the 50th World Cup season – just as the very first World Cup season of 1977/78 concluded there. A circle closes.
New this season is the Super Slide Mode in Oberhof – an innovative competition format in which there is no separate Nations Cup or seeding training; all athletes start together in a single qualification run, sleds remain in a parc fermé between runs and may only be worked on with standardized sandpaper. More equal opportunity, more tension, more sport.
Four Strong Partners
The FIL partner family enters the 50th season stronger than ever. EBERSPÄCHER, the family-owned company from Esslingen, has been an active FIL partner since 2001 and title sponsor of the World Cup since 2020. Precision and reliability under extreme conditions – that is what has connected EBERSPÄCHER with luge for a quarter of a century.
New to the FIL family is AXA Deutschland, one of Germany’s leading insurance groups. Speed Needs Security. AXA and the FIL share the conviction that the best insurance claim is the one that never needs to be filed. Prevention over reaction – that applies on the luge track as much as in life.
Hargassner, the Austrian heating technology specialist, continues as an FIL partner through 2030 – a renewal that reflects the mutual trust built over the years. And Skechers, the global footwear partner, accompanies the athletes on and off the track.
