IGLS, Austria (AP) Italian luger Dominik Fischnaller won the season-opening World Cup race Sunday after first-run leader Felix Loch was disqualified for an equipment irregularity.
Fischnaller finished in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 40.687 seconds to edge Armin Frauscher of Austria by 0.006 seconds. Another Austrian, Wolfgang Kindl, came 0.032 back in third.
World champion Semen Pavlichenko of Russia trailed Fischnaller by 0.180 and shared eighth with Chris Mazdzer of the United States.
Three-time Olympic luge champion Loch was disqualified from the competition because his sled exceeded the maximum allowed weight during a post-run control by officials.
Winner of the overall World Cup for the past four seasons, Loch led Fischnaller by 0.062 after the first run. A random generator chose Loch as one of the athletes who had to have his equipment checked.
Loch has been dominating men's luge for years, winning 38 World Cup races, nine world titles, and Olympic gold in the men's race in 2010 and the men's and team event in 2014. The disqualification is a major setback to the German's quest for a fifth straight overall title.
A team relay event is scheduled for later Sunday.
