2010 VANCOUVER WINTER OLYMPICS WOMEN’S LUGE ODDS AND TIPS

We’ve got a pair of German ladies casting very prominent shadows over the Women’s Singles Luge competition. The current betting favourite is Tatjana Heufner who trades at a price of 1.95 on Bwin and 1.65 with England-based Ladbrokes. Heufner took Bronze in Turin but is the #1 ranked women on the current World Cup circuit. She also struck in the World Championships in Oberhof back in 2008.
Her chief competition is expected to come from 22 year-old countrywoman Natalie Geisenberger- an Olympic debutante. She is currently running at #2 on the world Cup rankings and will push her German rival as far as she can. You’ll find her trading at 2.1 on Bwin and 2.2 on Ladbrokes.
These two are so heavily-favoured that Bwin has decided not to even bother offering odds on anyone else and has opted for a “Any Other Not Listed” selection which trades at a whopping 8.0. That’s high for that type of selection and with fractions of a second being all that matters in the end, you may do well to go in that direction and bet against the Germans.
Ladbrokes is offering up odds on several other contenders in Women’s Luge and you’ll find about three contenders challenging the top two. Anke Wischnewski, also German, trades at a 13.0 price, ahead of American Erin Hamlin and Canadian Alex Gough who are both listed at 17.0 prices.
The odds then take a jump to 29.0 for Austrian Nina Reithmayer followed by another significant step up to 51.0 for her countrywoman Veronika Halder and Ukrainian Natalia Yakushenko. Russia’s Alexandra Rodionova is priced at 67.0 while Switzerland’s Martina Kocher can be backed at a lengthy 81.0 listing.
There is an interesting bet available at Bwin if you think the Germans are going to get skunked at Luge. It’s a big long-shot for them to finish without a single gold medal in the 3 different events, but should they come up completely short you’re looking at a hefty 51.0 payout. Germany are considered odds-on to win 2 gold medals (at a 1.7 price) while a solitary gold pays 3.0 and a 3 medal sweep pays out at 4.75.
Bwin is offering odds on a podium finish with Tatjana Hufner at the lowest price of the entire games to finish top 3 here- a 1.01 listing. Bet £100 to win £1- that’s how dominant she is expected to be. Geisenberger is also short-priced at 1.04. Anke Wischnewski trades at 1.65 and is a large favourite for the bronze. Erin Hamlin is 2.5 to finish top 3 while Alex Gough can be backed at 3.5.
Personally, it’s tough to bet against the Germans here. They are the top women in the world and they will be coming in with a tremendous amount of confidence. I think Alex Gough isn’t a bad bet to finish 3rd or higher at 3.5 and I am of the opinion that Bwin has short-priced the Germans because they are expecting a lot of German betting volume. I think Natalie Geisenberger has a lot to prove and could be the upstart contender here.