Luge - Geisenberger wins maiden World Cup title

Geisenberger's teammates Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt began the penultimate World Cup of the season in America by claiming the doubles title with a win. And Geisenberger followed their every move as the doubles made way for the women's in Lake Placid, hosting a World Cup event for the first time since 2007. The 25-year-old, who has won five rounds this season, including three in a row, led from start to finish in America for her first ever overall World Cup title. Geisenberger clocked 44.295 seconds on her first run and then 44.145 on her second to beat home hope Julia Clukey by 0.295 overall. The victory also ends five seasons of hurt for Geisenberger, who has finished as the runner up for the past four years while she was third before that. And, while Geisenberger was celebrating with a round still to go in the 2014 Olympic venue of Sochi, Clukey's second place was also significant. She posted runs of 44.383 and 44.352 to end a run of three World Cup rounds where Germany have occupied every single spot on the women's podium. Clukey also becomes the first American to finish in the top three this season and only the fourth nation to do so with Russia and Canada the other two. That Canadian is Alex Gough, who was beaten by Clukey by 0.013 in Lake Placid but did still hold on for her third podium finish of the season. Anke Wischnewski took fourth ahead of two American's in Erin Hamlin and Kate Hansen before Tatjana Hufner, whose run of five successive overall World Cup titles is now over, in seventh. Geisenberger now holds an unassailable 185-point lead over Wischnewski in second with only 100 on offer at the World Cup finale and Olympic test event in Sochi. Wischnewski in turn has wrapped up second place with her points tally of 585 unable to be surpassed by Hufner, who sits in third with 461. Hufner however can still be beaten out of third by Gough with the Canadian just 26 points away from her German rival in fourth. If Gough can overtake Hufner she will be the first non-German luger to finish in the top three in the overall World Cup standings for 12 years. Geisenberger's overall win meanwhile keeps Germany's impressive run of successive victories in the women's event since 1999 going.