Too much snow for the ice track in Winterberg: The skeleton World Cup race was canceled due to the onset of winter in Sauerland.
Whether and how the first men’s race in the Olympic year can be continued or repeated was initially left open by the world association IBSF in its announcement about an hour after the end of the first round. After the women’s competition could take place, the mixed competition scheduled for the evening was also canceled.
According to national coach Christian Baude, a restart in Winterberg this weekend is out of the question as the onward journey to St. Moritz is scheduled for Saturday. In the first round, the persistent snowfall had already thrown the field into disarray.
Schlintner surprisingly in front
The last starter was the Austrian Alexander Schlintner, who surprisingly took first place, while the best German, Olympic champion Christopher Grotheer, was in fourth place and was on course for a podium.
The two World Cup dominators Matt Weston (18th place) and Marcus Wyatt (8th) from Great Britain were already significantly behind at halftime. After his difficult start to the season, Grotheer is still waiting for a podium finish, and the German gold hope for the Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo is still missing the Olympic standard. Lukas Nydegger in seventh place and Axel Jungk (9th) were also still promising after the first round, Felix Keisinger missed the second round of the top 20 in 27th place.
After the first round, several nations protested against the ranking because the track became increasingly clear of snow and therefore faster over the course of the 31 starters.
Austrian Flock wins women’s race
The women’s race, scheduled for 1 p.m., took place significantly late, but was able to take place. Their ranking was also shaken up in the second round. Winner Janine Flock from Austria moved up from third place with a big lead, while the German Jacqueline Pfeifer had no chance of attacking the podium on her home track with the eighth fastest time. The 2018 Olympic silver medalist was eight tenths of a second short of Flock. Susanne Kreher took twelfth place.
Our source:
- News agencies dpa and SID
Broadcast: WDR.deMen’s Skeleton Race Canceled, 02/01/20264:51 p.m
