BMW IBSF World Cup with two weekends of racing on the Olympic sliding track
Premiere of the monobob, a double feature for 2-man bobsleigh, some home favourites
Innsbruck (RWH): The second venue to host the 2020/2021 BMW IBSF World Cup is Innsbruck in Austria. After the two opening World Cup events in Sigulda (LAT) at the end of November, bobsleigh and skeleton athletes are now heading to the Olympic sliding track for two weekends of racing. The schedule for the first World Cup weekend in Innsbruck includes a premiere: The women’s monobob world series, an event offered for all IBSF racing series in the pre-Olympic season, will be taking place during a BMW IBSF World Cup event for the very first time. Innsbruck’s schedule is also special in that there will be no 4-man bobsleigh races due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, both weekends will host two races in the 2-man bobsleigh.
Skeleton athlete Janine Flock arrives unbeaten to her home World Cup event
The home team from Austria will be sending a few favourites to compete in the third stop of the World Cup season. Leading the favourites is skeleton athlete Janine Flock. The European Championship bronze medallist has had an outstanding start to the season, winning both races in Sigulda. Janine Flock beat the track record for Sigulda a total of three times and was also happy with her start times: “A lot of athletic training has gone into my performance.” After five weeks of training and racing in Latvia, Austria’s most successful female skeleton athlete is now back in action on her home track – that is famous for the fact that a quick start can take you halfway to victory.
Two potential medals for Katrin Beierl, season debut for bobsleigh pilots
Bobsleigh pilot Katrin Beierl (AUT) has not one but two shots at a medal on the first World Cup weekend in Innsbruck: After finishing second and fourth in Sigulda, she also could be within reach of a medal in the 2-woman bobsleigh on her home track in Innsbruck. What’s more, Katrin Beierl is also signed up to compete in the first race of the Women’s Monobob World Series at the BMW IBSF World Cup. The bronze medallist from the 2019 European Championships already has some experience being a pusher, pilot and brakewoman all in one. At the season premiere of the world series in Winterberg in early December, she took home the bronze medal. Two Austrian athletes making their season debut in Innsbruck are Benjamin Maier and Markus Treichl. The bobsleigh pilots were unable to compete in Sigulda due to some of their team testing positive for coronavirus.
Women’s monobob world series to take place during the BMW IBSF World Cup for the first time
After the season premiere of the women’s monobob world series which saw nine athletes from seven nations competing in the event, the racing series will now head to Innsbruck, where it will take place in parallel to the BMW IBSF World Cup for the very first time. The women’s monobob will be added to the Olympic programme for the first time in Beijing in 2022.
TV broadcasts and live streams for sports fans
Even though coronavirus regulations prevent any fans from attending the track, sports fans from Austria – and the rest of the world – can of course still follow the action: The Austrian TV channel >> ORF is broadcasting the races on TV and via its own live stream. What’s more, all heats will be available to view on the IBSF live stream (YouTube or directly on ibsf.org with a live results ticker). ©RWH2020
Subject to changes – Up-to-date times (local time at the track and the user's local time) are listed on the IBSF website. ©RWH2020
On the sidelines
Denmark has both bobsleigh and skeleton athletes competing in an IBSF racing series for the first time in the history of the sport. Rasmus Johansen competed in the men’s skeleton at the opening event to the IBSF Skeleton Europe Cup in Winterberg (GER) on 27 and 28 November. The 18-year-old, who finished ninth in the 2020 Youth Winter Olympic Games, only just missed out on a top-ten place in the second race of the weekend. Nevertheless, eleventh place was by the far the best result for the up-and-coming athlete. At the Bobsleigh Europe Cup in Winterberg, pilot Jannick Bagge made his debut, finishing in 33rd and 32nd. The current Danish champion in the triple jump is steering his country’s first bobsleigh team in 14 years. The last time any Danish bobsleigh athletes competed in an international racing series was 2005/2006. ©RWH2020
Katrin Beierl’s (AUT) silver medal in Sigulda was not only her first World Cup medal, but also the best result for an Austrian female bobsleigh athlete in the BMW IBSF World Cup for four years. Christina Hengster, now the Chair of the IBSF Athletes’ Advisory Committee, also finished second in Whistler (CAN) back in December 2016. ©RWH2020
Viktória Čerňanská (SVK), the silver medallist from the 2020 Youth Winter Olympic Games (YOG) in Lausanne, is among the athletes competing in the IBSF Women’s Monobob World Series 2020/2021. The discipline made its debut on the race calendar at the IBSF Europe Cup in Winterberg (GER). The 18-year-old bobsleigh pilot finished seventh in the field of nine athletes. ©RWH2020
Benjamin Maier (AUT) is competing in the 2020/2021 BMW IBSF World Cup under a new name: The bobsleigh team now goes by the name of “Austrian Avalanche”, as the 2017 European Championship bronze medallist told the Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper over the summer. “We wanted a name that the whole team could identify with,” said Benjamin Maier in the report on tt.com. “Every member of the squad came up with ten suggestions and – after some long and in-depth discussions – we agreed on this new brand name.” ©RWH2020
This season's winners in the 2020/2021 BMW IBSF World Cup - Skeleton
This season's winners in the 2020/2021 BMW IBSF World Cup - Bobsleigh pilots
Further information
>> Athlete profiles on ibsf.org with medals tables, news and photos for all athletes
>> All results from IBSF races and training sessions >> The current rankings
>> Photos are available on the IBSF Flickr account (editorial purposes only and with photo credits!)
>> Press accreditation is available from the respective track – please consult the COVID-19 regulations in good time and register in advance! >> Information on the IBSF’s COVID-19 regulations
As usual, all races in the 2020/2021 BMW IBSF Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup will be available to view on a live stream on ibsf.org (with live results ticker) or Youtube. Information about channels and TV broadcasts is available at ibsf.org/en/broadcasters
Further information, photos and videos are available on our social media channels / @IBSFsliding:
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