The home race in Winterberg has once again become a show run for the German bobsleighs. In the constant duel between the dominators, Johannes Lochner is ahead. Adam Ammour also annoyed Francesco Friedrich this time.
Johannes Lochner celebrated his fourth victory in the fifth two-man bobsleigh race of the season. The Swabian was able to prevail on Saturday (January 3rd, 2026) with a clear lead of 0.30 seconds over Adam Ammour, who this time did not end up in his “subscription place”: So far this winter he has always come third in the small sled. This place was taken by Francesco Friedrich (+0.51 seconds) in Hochsauerland.
As in numerous races since the start of the season, Lochner, who was again pushed by Georg Fleischhauer, had the worse start time, but did a better job on the steering cables and was able to gain a lead of two tenths of a second in the first round over his long-term Saxon rival Friedrich, who was accelerated by Alexander Schüller. Ammour and Alexander Schaller landed another 0.16 seconds behind.
Ammour intercepts Friedrich
Ammour, who has been racing for Eintracht Frankfurt since last year, set the first benchmark time in the second run. But that was only after a break of several minutes during which the snow was once again cleared from the track. That paid off for Ammour, who didn’t let the wait bother him. Not only did he show the best start time to date, but also the fastest ride of the day.
Friedrich couldn’t keep up at the start and also lost further speed after hitting a barrier in turn 0. He was no longer able to make up for this deficit on the 1,330 meter long track and had to line up behind Ammour in the two-man bobsleigh for the first time this winter.
Meanwhile, Lochner left nothing to be desired at the front. Although he was a little slower than Ammour both at the start and on the track, he could easily afford this given his lead from race one. “We are more than happy with the start of the new year”explained the winner afterwards. Once again the weather in Winterberg caused additional excitement: “We were a bit lucky there too.” Accordingly, the 32-year-old wanted a little less snow for Sunday – also in view of the long journey to the next World Cup station in St. Moritz.