Germany take World Cup podium clean sweep as Eggert and Benecken win luge doubles

Eggert and Benecken won the doubles event by 0.382 seconds from their compatriots Robin Johannes Geueke and David Gamm, with the Tobias', Wendl and Arlt, a further 0.139 behind in third.

Pairings from Latvia and Italy rounded out the top five, but it was Eggert and Benecken that set a track record of 42.943 seconds to take a 17th World Cup victory as a duo.

The winners' long-standing rivalry with Olympic and world champions Wendl and Arlt looks set to continue for another season, with the win moving Eggert – a double European champion and this year's World Championship silver medallist – and Benecken up to fifth in the all-time list of World Cup winners.

And Eggert said it was a case of consistency, and avoiding the pitfalls of differing conditions between training and racing, that gave them the win.

"The ice conditions in training were pretty average, which meant we were two seconds slower than in the race," he said.

"This isn't an easy track, especially in the doubles. I think we won because we made the fewest mistakes."

Runners up Geueke and Gamm had previously never finished on the podium at a World Cup event, and Gamm was delighted with their personal best – on home ice.

"We are over the moon with our first podium. And it's great to do it on our home track in front of all our relatives and friends," said the 21-year-old. Sportsbeat 2016