ALTENBERG, Germany — A newly formed Canadian luge team finished sixth in a World Cup relay on Sunday.

Olympian Reid Watts of Whistler, B.C., teamed up with relative newcomers Trinity Ellis of Pemberton, B.C., and Calgary-based Cole Zajanski and Devin Wardrope to record a combined time of two minutes 26.229 seconds.

"This was an opportunity for us to slide in our first team relay," said Wardrope, who's 19. "We came out of the doubles race with a less than ideal performance but getting to get back at it for one more run with our teammates was a fun way to finish off the weekend of racing."

The relay consists of one women's, one men's and one doubles sled. Athletes hit a paddle at the finish line that allows the next team member to begin their run.

"This is a great experience for us going into the rest of the World Cup season, and hopefully we’ll get a few more chances to race the relay," Wardrope said.

Germany won with a time of 2:23.954, while Italy was second (2:24.279) and Russia, third (2:24.447).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2021.