Justin Kripps second in Altenberg ahead of Rostislav Gaitiukevich
Altenberg (RWH) There were 18 bobsleigh races - eight in 2-man and ten in 4-man - in the BMW IBSF World Cup in 2021 - and the winner was always Francesco Friedrich (GER). This was also the case in Altenberg (GER), where the sixth of eight season races in the large sled was on the programme at the end of the year. Friedrich and his push team Thorsten Margis, Martin Grothkopp and Alexander Schueller were 0.28 seconds ahead of the second-placed Canadian team with pilot Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell after the two race runs.
Rostislav Gaitiukevich (RUS, 0.35 seconds back) with Mikhail Mordasov, Pavel Travkin and Aleksei Laptev was in fifth place after the first race run. In the second run, the European Championship bronze medallist set the best time - faster than Olympic and World Champion Friedrich - and secured his second podium of the season in third place.
With the teams of Benjamin Maier (AUT), Oskars Kibermanis (LAT), Michael Vogt (SUI), Brad Hall (GBR) and Romain Heinrich (FRA) on ranks four to eight, eight nations placed on the first eight places. Romain Heinrich celebrated one of his best World Cup results ever with Lionel Lefebvre, Thibault Demarthon and Jerome Laporal.
World Championships bronze medallist Johannes Lochner (GER) with Florian Bauer, Christopher Weber and Christian Rasp did not make it into the top 20 and into the second run - for the first time ever in his World Cup career. In the first run, the two rear push-bars of Lochner's 4-man bobsleigh did not fold in, Lochner ended up in 21st place, just under a second behind.
Francesco Friedrich (GER, 1350 points) extended his lead in the overall ranking of the BMW IBSF World Cup 2021/2022. Justin Kripps (CAN, 1162) is second after six of the eight season races ahead of Benjamin Maier (AUT, 1154).
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
