Natalie Geisenberger claimed her second victory of the season ©Getty Images

Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger secured her second straight victory of the Luge World Cup season in Winterberg.

The German star was aiming to follow up her triumph in Innsbruck last week and made the ideal start by recording the fastest first run time at the VELTINS-EisArena.

Geisenberger finished in a time of 56.979sec to top the standings, with the United States’ Summer Britcher 0.168 seconds off the pace in second.

A faster second run time of 56.505 saw Geisenberger extend her lead over the field, with the 29-year-old triumphing in 1min 53.484sec.

She finished clear of her team-mate Tatjana Huefner, who rose into second place overall in 1:53.832.

Britcher held on to a podium place, the American athlete finishing the competition with a combined time of 1:53.893.

"I think statistics like your 40th World Cup win don’t really sink into until after you have retired from the track," said Geisenberger.

"All I do is try to do my best in every single race.

"I did well in training and proved that the sled is running well.

"It’s great when you are able to transfer your performance from training into the race itself.

"Nothing much has changed in the luging world over the summer."

America's Emily Sweeney won the women's sprint event in Winterberg ©FIL
America's Emily Sweeney won the women's sprint event in Winterberg ©FIL

Geisenberger extended her lead in the World Cup standings after moving on to a total of 215 points, with Hüfner second on 170.

German success continued with the first sprint World Cup events of the season, as Felix Loch won the men’s event in a time of 36.644.

He was followed by Russia’s Semen Pavlichenko and Austria’s Nico Glerischer, who ended in 36.762 and 36.790 respectively.

The women’s event was won by Emily Sweeney in 39.598, the American ending clear of her team-mate Britcher, second in 39.642.

Geisenberger rounded off the sprint podium in a time of 39.678,

There was a clean sweep for the host nation in the doubles competition, with Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt winning in 31.622.

The Germans were followed by their compatriots Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken, who finished in 31.649.

Robin Johannes Geueke and David Gamm posted a time of 31.667 to round off the top three.

The next Luge World Cup is also due to take place in Germany, at Altenberg, next Saturday and Sunday (December 2 and 3).