Mazdzer back on the World Cup luge podium with a bronze medal and remains third overall with one race left

ALTENBERG, Germany – Two-time Olympian Chris Mazdzer, of Saranac Lake, N.Y., returned to the Viessmann World Cup luge podium Saturday in Altenberg, Germany with a bronze medal in a race that saw second through sixth places separated by only 0.08 of a second.

It was the 27-year-old’s fourth medal of the year and added to the team’s record total of 17 World Cup medals in a season. After finishing fifth in the overall standings the past two seasons, Mazdzer is third with just one race remaining.

"I’ve always really enjoyed this track," said Mazdzer. "It’s all about precision, being on that perfect invisible line. I really get along with this track. It’s funny because when I was younger, Tony (Benshoof) was fantastic at this track and I thought he was crazy for liking it. But after so many years, this track has kind of grown on me.

Teammate Tucker West, of Ridgefield, Conn., with the third best start times in each heat, took 11th as the 20-year-old, with two World Cup medals this season, continues to gain experience on foreign tracks. West, a Sochi Olympian, is in seventh place on the campaign.

The lone United States doubles team, comprised of 2014 Olympians Matt Mortensen of Huntington Station, N.Y. and Jason Terdiman of Berwick, Pa., were eighth after one run, showing speed from top to bottom. Heading to the top 10, they encountered some issues closing the final heat and were sent back to 13th place. They remain fifth in the overall World Cup standings.

The weekend races, at this resort along the border of the Czech Republic, also doubled as the annual European Championships.

First place in the Altenberg men’s singles event was a foregone conclusion as Felix Loch of Germany, won his seventh straight tour event, and gave him the 2015-2016 trifecta: World Championship, European Championship and the overall World Cup overall title.

His first run of 53.780 seconds opened a margin of 0.14 of a second over Wolfgang Kindl of Austria. Loch punctuated the win with a track record 53.776 final attempt, for a combined 1 minute, 47.556 seconds.

Later, the victor said there is no secret to his success: he has a good start, drives well and has a very good sled.

Kindl began the season with six straight trips to the World Cup podium, and this race looked no different until an erratic second heat dropped him from second to fifth.

The surprising runner-up to Loch was Russian Roman Repilov, who won the junior world championship just a week ago in Winterberg. Repilov blasted out of seventh place at the break to grab the silver medal in 1:47.885. It was his second World Cup silver of the season, and lead him to state that his goal is to challenge Loch in the future, particularly in two years at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.

Mazdzer’s bronze medal time was 1:47.902.

"I messed up at the bottom. I’m not exactly sure what happened. I really thought it was good and I was letting the sled run. But I guess I should have brought it over a little harder to (curve) 15. So I broke out to the left and lost a little over a tenth (of a second). Second place was definitely a possibility today. I was 0.03 off Felix Loch with two curves left. So that shows how good that first run really was. The second run I made a little mistake up top in (curve) four and that cost me a second place. Besides those two mistakes, the lines were right on and the sled was running well. Things were working out for me."

Loch’s 150-point World Cup advantage makes him unreachable. He secured a fifth World Cup crown after a slow start to the season where he did not reach the podium until his third start, and did not win until his fifth race. Loch, coached by his father and German head coach Norbert Loch, has been unbeaten ever since.

At 24 years of age, he has already amassed 31 World Cup race victories, and has won on this track, in the former East Germany, eight straight years.

Loch will bring 890 World Cup points to Winterberg, with Kindl second at 740 and Mazdzer third at 615. After finishing fifth overall the past two years, the American, who briefly held the World Cup leader’s bib in December, will attempt to complete his most successful season to date.

"There’s fantastic competition out there," added Mazdzer. "This season has been so close. It’s been extremely competitive. So to be in the upper echelon of all those amazing competitors is fantastic for me. Even though it’s your goal to always do better, this season has been extremely difficult getting in front of some of those guys. So to be in the position I am right now is fantastic. I messed up in Sigulda where I could have easily walked away with another bronze medal there. I had two fourths in Koenigssee (Germany, World Championships). So overall I’m extremely happy with this season and how everything has gone."

Ironically, it was the Altenberg race last year that prevented Mazdzer from finishing third overall. He was struck by the double whammy: Mazdzer was cruising to a top five singles result before major issues dropped him well back in the second leg. That kept him out of the next day’s Sprint race where he lost the potential for additional points, and ultimately cost him two places in the final standings.

The doubles race was business as usual for 2015-2016 with two German sleds and an Austrian taking the top three places.

Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken delayed the inevitable crowning of their teammates, Olympic gold medalists and World Champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. Peter Penz and Georg Fischler were the bronze medalists.

Eggert and Benecken threw down the two fastest runs, including a record 41.388 in the second attempt. They also nailed the start record in the first run. The team’s 1:22.890 total ran away from Wendl and Arlt by 0.37 of a second. They were victorious for the third time this winter while stopping their teammates World Cup winning streak at five.

The silver medalists clocked 1:23.269, with Penz and Fischler third in 1:23.471.

However, it’s still Wendl and Arlt leading the World Cup rankings with 952 points, with Eggert and Benecken at 862. Penz and Fischler are third with 785.

Mortensen and Terdiman sit in fifth place with 498, chased by Latvians Andris and Juris Sics. The three-time Olympic medalists had a chance to draw closer to the Americans. The brothers were fourth at the intermission, but lost time down the track in the final run and placed sixth. There are just 14 points separating the two teams entering next week’s season finale in Winterberg.

However, first there are Sunday’s races to contest before the traveling circus moves on to the last stop. Women’s singles start at 2:50 AM ET, followed by the Viessmann Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW. Catch the FIL live stream with Tim Singer calling the action alongside guest athlete commentators.

For photos, complete results and an interview with Chris Mazdzer, please click on the following link: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Luge/NEWS/2016/February/13/Mazdzer-Bronze-in-Altenberg

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