Vice World Champion Maier in second place in Altenberg ahead of Rostislav Gaitiukevich
Altenberg (RWH) Olympic and World Champion Francesco Friedrich (GER) also celebrated his third victory in 4-man bobsleigh in the third BMW IBSF World Cup 2021/2022. The defending champion thus remains unbeaten in both the 2-man bobsleigh and the large sled so far in the Olympic season with the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing as the highlight.
With Thorsten Margis, Candy Bauer and Alexander Schueller as the push team, Friedrich was 0.67 seconds ahead of second place in Altenberg (GER). Benjamin Maier (AUT) with Sascha Stepan, Markus Sammer and Kristian Huber finished second, just like at the BMW IBSF World Championships in March 2021. It was the first podium finish this winter for the 2021 overall World Cup runner-up.
Rostislav Gaitiukevich (RUS, 0.80 seconds back), 2020 Junior World Champion, celebrated his first podium in the big sled with Mikhail Mordasov, Vladislav Zharovtsev and Pavel Travkin in his tenth World Cup start in four-man bobsleigh.
Johannes Lochner (GER) with Florian Bauer, Eric Bruckert and Christian Rasp, ninth after the first run in Altenberg, clocked the second best time in the second race run in Altenberg and finished fourth, one tenth of a second behind the podium places.
In the overall ranking for the BMW IBSF World Cup 2021/2022 Francesco Friedrich (GER, 675 points) extended his lead. Benjamin Maier (AUT, 586) is now second overall ahead of Johannes Lochner (GER, 570).
For more detailed information including athlete profiles and results please visit ibsf.org. Photos for editorial use can be found at Flickr. ©RWH2021
Photos: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis
