Bobsleigh dominator Francesco Friedrich made an exclamation mark at the start of the year even without his new top pusher Simon Wulff.
On Saturday, Francesco Friedrich raced to a track record and a commanding victory in Winterberg in a pair with pusher Alexander Schüller and celebrated his third success in the fourth race of the season in the small sleigh. For Friedrich it was the 50th World Cup victory in the pair in his outstanding career.
Long-term rival Johannes Lochner, who won the last race before the Christmas break in Sigulda, only came third with pusher Joshua Taschen on the 2024 World Championship track, a clear 0.62 seconds behind.
Adam Ammour from BRC Thüringen, with pusher Benedikt Hertel, pushed past Lochner with a strong second run and reached the podium for the second time after a mixed start to the season with many crashes (+0.21). “I felt good today, my team supported me,” said Ammour, who had a serious fall in four-man training in Winterberg, on “ARD”.
After the furious course record (54.05 seconds) in the first run, Friedrich, who relies on ex-sprinter Wulff (10.06 seconds over 100 meters) to push the foursome on Sunday, was 0.27 seconds ahead of his rival from Bavaria. In February, Friedrich celebrated his eighth World Championship title in a pair in Winterberg, and in the second race on Saturday he secured victory despite slight problems in the upper part of the ice channel in Sauerland.