Record-breaking Russians lead the way in Luge Relay World Cup

The Russian's time of 2:22.517 beat the previous record, set by Germany at a World Cup event in 2017 by 0.13 seconds, as they made a major improvement on their seventh placed finish in the first event. The German side, including the winner of the women's event Julia Taubitz, could only manage a second-placed finish on their home track, finishing with a combined time of 2:22.530. The Italian side who had taken victory in the opening round of the competition in November, backed that up with a third-placed finish this time round, crossing the line 0.103 seconds behind the victors. The result in Altenberg leaves the Italians top of the overall standings after two events on 170 points, giving them a 15 point lead over Germany in second. Victory for Russia lifts them into third overall on 146 points, and they will be looking to close the gap on the leaders next weekend as the World Cup heads to Lillehammer. Sportsbeat 2020