Francesco Friedrich suffered a surprisingly clear defeat in his special discipline at the start of the Olympic winter. In Lake Placid/USA, the Oberbärenburger did not surpass Thorsten Margis in the surprising victory of his club colleague Nico Walther (with Christian Poser) in ninth place. For Walther it was the first World Cup victory in the two-man bobsleigh.
About three months before the Winter Games in Pyeongchang/South Korea (9. till 25. February 2018) Friedrich has to fight for his reputation as the measure of things in the smaller sleigh. Last year, the double world champion was no worse than second in any two-man bobsleigh competition, and he was unbeatable at the last four world championships. Johannes Lochner (Stuttgart), together with Friedrich at home at the Königssee World Champion four-man World Championships together with Christian Rasp, reached only twelfth place.
In the women’s category, Stephanie Schneider (Oberbärenburg) has made a dream start into the new season with her best career result. In Lake Placid/USA, the 27-year-old Lisa Buckwitz, who had switched to the steering cables only in 2015/16, took a strong third place with her pusher Lisa Buckwitz.
European champion Mariama Jamanka (Oberhof) finished fifth with Erline Nolte, the victory went to the two-time Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries (Canada) with pusher Melissa Lotholz. World Cup debutant Anna Köhler (Winterberg) reached the honourable twelfth place with Franziska Fritz-Glahn.
On Friday, another Men’s Two World Cup will take place in Lake Placid. Due to relatively high temperatures, the ice in the 1980 Olympic track did not reach the necessary hardness to guarantee regular conditions for all participants in the four-man bobsleigh. For this purpose, two big sled decisions will be on the agenda next week at the World Cup in Park City.