Nico Walther second ahead of Francesco Friedrich
Winterberg (RWH): World Champion Johannes Lochner of Germany has won the 4-man bobsleigh race at the BMW IBSF World Cup in Winterberg (GER). Lochner and his team of brakemen, consisting of Joshua Bluhm, Christopher Weber and Christian Rasp, pushed their German team mates Nico Walther and his brake squad Marko Hübenbecker, Kevin Korona and Eric Franke (0.23 seconds behind) back into second place after two runs in a very snowy Winterberg. Third place went to Francesco Friedrich (GER), who tied with Johannes Lochner last winter to share the World Championship title. Racing with Jannis Bäcker, Martin Grothkopp and Thorsten Margis, Friedrich finished 0.33 seconds behind the winning team.
The bronze medallist at the European Championships, Benjamin Maier of Austria and his brakemen Kilian Walch, Markus Sammer and Danut Moldovan celebrated their best result of the season after finishing fifth in Winterberg.
In the overall standings for the 2017/2018 BMW IBSF World Cup, Johannes Lochner (GER, 826 points) has now extended his lead after winning two out of the four races. Nico Walther (GER, 787) begins the second half of the Olympic season in second place overall. The Canadian Justin Kripps, fourth place in Winterberg, is currently third overall with 754 points.
For more detailed information including results and the current ranking please visit ibsf.org. ©RWH2017
Quotes
Johannes Lochner (GER, 2017 World and European Champion)
“A win like today is always amazing as it boosts your confidence. I am proud of my squad, they did a great job at the start.”
Nico Walther (GER, runner-up in the 2017 European Championships, runner-up in the 2015 World Championships)
“Getting onto the podium is definitely better than the result in the 2-man. However, we really need to work on our start. Seven or eight hundredths of a second is way too big of a difference.”
Francesco Friedrich (GER, 2017 World Champion)
“I think things have balanced out pretty well with the result today. However, there are still a few areas we need to work on. Despite all the snow, the conditions were fair today; they were the same for all of us.”
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