The final FIL World Cup of the 2018-19 season was a bonanza for Russian sliders, as they went 1-2 in the men’s Singles, won the men’s Doubles and collected a women’s Singles silver.
The closest seasonal race coming into Sochi (RUS) was the men’s Singles, where four athletes had a chance to win. Instead, the local favorites dominated the event, with Semen Pavlichenko and Roman Repilov going 1-2 in both the standard race and the Sprint.
That placed the two Russians at the top of the final season standings, with Pavlichenko winning his first World Cup title with 788 points, followed by Repilov (the 2017 winner) at 718 and Germany’s defending champ, Felix Loch at 685.
The men’s Doubles title was already safely won – barring disaster – by two-time defending champions, Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken (GER). But it was Aleksandr Denisov and Vladislav Antonov who won the races in Sochi – their only win of the season – with Eggert and Benecken second. Eggert and Benecken won the seasonal title with 1,050 points to 817 for runners-up Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller (AUT).
German Natalie Geisenberger won her seventh World Cup title in a row easily, piling up 1,052 points to 793 for teammate Julia Taubitz, who finished second. American Summer Britcher, despite finishing ninth and eighth in the two races over the weekend, hung on for third, equaling her best-ever seasonal World Cup placement.
Germany won the Team Relay seasonal title with 525 points to 455 for Russia and 410 for Latvia. Summaries:
FIL World Cup
Sochi (RUS) ~ 23-24 February 2019
(Full results here)
Men’s Singles: 1. Semen Pavlichenko (RUS); 2. Roman Repilov (RUS), 1:44.301; 3. Dominik Fischnaller (ITA), 1:44.327; 4. Maksim Aravin (RUS), 1:44.441; 5. Aleksandr Stepichev (RUS), 1:44.459. Also: 14. Tucker West (USA), 1:45.116; … 16. Jonathan Gustafson (USA), 1:45.251.
Men’s Singles Sprint: 1. Pavlichenko (RUS), 35.566; 2. Repilov (RUS), 35.584; 3. Aravin (RUS), 35.615; 4. Felix Loch (GER), 35.621; 5. Fischnaller (ITA), 35.672. Also: 14. West (USA), 36.001.
Men’s Singles Final Standings: 1. Pavlichenko (RUS), 788; 2. Repilov (RUS), 718; 3. Loch (GER), 685; 4. Johannes Ludwig (GER), 666; 5. Fischnaller (ITA), 623. Also in the top 25: 16. West (USA), 315; … 18. Chris Mazdzer (USA), 270; 19. Gustafson (USA), 261.
Men’s Doubles: 1. Aleksandr Denisev/Vladislav Antonov (RUS), 1:39.814; 2. Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken (GER), 1:39.867; 3. Vsevolod Kashkin/Konstantin Korshunov (RUS), 1:40.007; 4. Vladislav Yuzhakov/Iurii Prokhorov (RUS), 1:40.010; 5. Andris Sics/Juris Sucs (LAT), 1:40.048.
Men’s Doubles Sprint: 1. Denisev/Antonov (RUS), 31.450; 2. A. Sics/J. Sics (LAT), 31.461; 3. Eggert/Benecken (GER), 31.524; 4. Kashkin/Korshunov (RUS), 31.530; 5. Thomas Steu/Lorenz Koller (AUT), 31.542.
Men’s Doubles Final Standings: 1. Eggert/Benecken (GER), 1,050; 2. Steu/Koller (AUT), 817; 3. Wendl/Arlt (GER), 790; 4. A. Sics/J. Sics (LAT), 731; 5. Yuzhakov/Prokhorov (RUS), 562. Also: 8. Chris Mazdzer/Jayson Terdiman (USA), 459.
Women’s Singles: 1. Natalie Giesenberger (GER), 1:40.374; 2. Viktoriia Demchenko (RUS), 1:40.527; 3. Dajana Eitberger (GER), 1:40.703; 4. Kendija Aparjode (LAT), 1:40.717; 5. Julia Taubitz (GER), 1:40.777. Also: 9. Summer Britcher (USA), 1:41.030.
Women’s Singles Sprint: 1. Demchenko (RUS), 31.505; 2. Eitberger (GER), 31.609; 3. Geisenberger (GER), 31.642; 4. Aparjode (LAT), 31.696; 5. Ulla Zime (LAT), 31.748. Also: 8. Britcher (USA), 31.906.
Women’s Final Standings: 1. Geisenberger (GER), 1,052; 2. Taubitz (GER), 793; 3. Britcher (USA), 637; 4. Eitberger (GER), 631; 5. Tatyana Ivanova (RUS), 592. Also in the top 26: 15. Emily Sweeney (USA), 320; … 20. Brittany Arndt (USA), 217; … 26. Raychel Germaine (USA), 103.
Team Relay: 1. Russia (Demchenko, Pavlichenko, Denisev/Antonov), 2:45.272; 2. Germany, 2:45.344; 3. Latvia, 2:45.399; 4. Italy, 2:46.098; 5. Austria, 2:47.136.
