Trinity Ellis Leads Canadian Speed Queens into New Eberspächer Luge World Cup Season in Lake Placid
LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—Trinity Ellis led two Canadian women into a new race season with a 12th-place finish at the Eberspächer Luge World Cup in Lake Placid, NY. on Saturday.
Ellis, of Pemberton, B.C., bettered her previous best World Cup finish in Lake Placid by two spots, clocking a combined two-run time of 1:28.649.
“I’m happy with my results today. I definitely had lots of mistakes in my runs, so it is reassuring to see I was still able to have solid results, considering,” said Ellis, who also finished 11th in the Sprint World Cup race later in the afternoon. “The first World Cup jitters are now out of the way and I’m really looking forward to showing my best in Whistler next week.”
Competing in just her second Eberspächer World Cup race at Lake Placid and first since 2019, Ellis put her offseason training to the test while blasting down the slick 12-corner chute, getting the new season off to a solid start. She was sitting in 11th spot after the first run, but a skid in the labyrinth midway through her final decent cost her one position in the standings.
Austria’s Madeleine Egle captured the first women’s singles crown of the season with a golden time of 1:28.710. Germany’s Julia Taubitz was second at 1:28.898, while American Summer Britcher slid to the bronze on her home track at 1:29.117.
Ellis was joined at the season-opening World Cup with just one of her Canadian comrades, Carolyn Maxwell. The oldest member of the Canadian women’s squad at just 22 stopped the clock at 1:31.183 for 24th place. Maxwelll was in 15th at the midway point of the race but dropped in the standings after a challenging second run.
“It was definitely a day of ups and downs. I was trending in the right direction on my first run after a tough training week, so I was happy with that, but unfortunately in the second run, I wasn’t able to build on it and had a couple of mistakes,” said Maxwell. “Although it’s definitely a disappointing result, especially after showing the potential in my first run, I’m still happy with the lessons I have learned from today. This is the direction I needed for myself and I’m excited to build off of it for the rest of the season.”
Canada’s Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski kicked their World Cup season off on Friday in the men’s doubles race, placing 16th at 1:29.599.
“It was a tough week for us. We struggled trying to find the fast lines down the track, but it was great having two of our best runs on race day and seeing how we place among the field,” said Wardrope. “Now we just have to get to work and get everything ready for the home race in Whistler.”
The Canadians will host the world, December 15-16, 2023 at the Whistler Sliding Centre.
Complete World Cup Lake Placid Results: https://www.fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/eberspaecher-world-cup-26
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