“I’m sure the events from last February are still in the minds of some of the sliders,” said American Tony Benshoof (White Bear Lake, Minn.), last season’s men’s singles overall World Cup bronze medalist.  “There really haven’t been any changes to the track since the Games; it’s still going to be fast and tough to get down.”

That said; the 31-year-old Benshoof, along with fellow U.S. slider Courtney Zablocki (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), are both looking forward to returning to the Italian Alps’ 1,435-meter long track.  Both sliders just missed claiming Olympic medals with fourth place finishes.

“This is my kind of track, it’s challenging and I loved it from my very first run,” remarked Zablocki, whose Olympic result was USA Luge’s best-ever women’s singles Olympic finish.  “You need to be confident and ready to steer through every curve and by curve-14 you’ve picked up so much speed that you feel like a rocket.  On this track, you’re at the finish line before you know it.”

All 12 Olympic medalists are expected to race in this weekend’s series opener, including Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler.  In February, Zoeggeler became the first-ever slider to defend his Olympic title on his home course and the 32-year-old has yet to lose a race on the 19-curve track. 

Zoeggeler begins defense of his men’s singles overall World Cup crown Sunday, while Germany’s Silke Kraushaar-Pielach will begin defense of her women’s singles title Saturday.  Fellow Germans Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch begin the 2006-07 season, Sunday, as the defending overall doubles champions.