Johannes Lochner prevailed at the BOB World Cup in Lillehammer just ahead of Francesco Friedrich and won the European Championship title in the four-way bob.
At the World Cup in Lillehammer, Francesco Friedrich also wanted to keep the competition at a distance in the four -way bob and won the victory in the big sled. But permanent rival Johannes Lochner made the two-person bob winner in the final run. The Berchtesgadener grabbed the European title with a five hundredth. The Swiss Michael Vogt and the favorite Britle Bradley Hall shared third place.
Friedrich puts competition under the best time
The permanent duel Francesco Friedrich against Johannes Lochner went into the next round at the BOB World Cup. On Saturday, the Saxon had already made the seventh EM title perfect in the two-way bob in front of its Bavarian competitor.
Now the next triumph should follow in the big slide. In fact, Friedrich and his team (Matthias Sommer/Winterberg, Alexander Schüller/Haller, Felix Straub/Saale) had the faster runners again and found the most perfect line in the ice channel.
The two-time double Olympic champion thus distanced his Berchtesgaden colleague (Johannes Lochner/Stuttgart, Florian Bauer/Ohlstadt, Jörn Wenzel/Oberbärenburg, Georg Fleischhauer/Potsdam), who was not yet able to win in the four, for a second. The Swiss Michael Vogt (+0.13) and the favorite Britle Bradley Hall (+0.17) were only minimal with their sledges. With Adam Amour (0.26), the third German sledge was still able to calculate minimal chances on the podium.
Lochner counters and becomes European champion
In the fight for third place, Hall pulled with Vogt. The Swiss had to cut off the first starting process after problems in the time measurement, could still keep the concentration high and drove the British on the podium at the same time. Adam Amour had to be satisfied with fifth place.
But what was going on with Lochner. The Upper Bavarian got a strong run and put Friedrich under pressure with the fastest time. At the end of the competition, the Sachse only brought the third fastest time on the ice and had to give up this time. In the end, there was still a German European champion to celebrate.