From Igls, AUT
(Dec. 19, 2020) – Francesco Friedrich won his sixth race in seven tries to start the IBSF World Cup season, this time crushing his own track record on his way to a .68 victory over Oskars Kibermanis
Friedrich’s old track record of 51.25 (Feb. 4, 2017) was lowered to 51.04 in the first heat to give the six time champion a .33 advantage going into the second heat over Lochner. On the second run Friedrich once again slid under his old track record with a 51.15 on his way to victory.
The win was the 32nd two-man gold medal for Friedrich and the sixth for him this season.
Well behind Friedrich there was a great battle for silver between Johannes Lochner and Oskars Kibermanis. Kibermanis went first, sitting in third after the first heat, and put down a time that was the second quickest of the heat. Lochner couldn’t match the big Latvian’s time, and when Lochner crossed the finish line he found himself .05 behind Kibermanis to win bronze.
For Kibermanis, the silver tied his best finish of the season, while Lochner’s bronze was his sixth in seven races.
Hans Peter Hannighofer made his World Cup debut in style, battling for a medal and finishing fourth. The German finished .2 ahead of anyone behind him and behind only the top three pilots in the world right now.
Swiss pilot Michael Vogt once again scored a top five finish in fifth, adding to what has already been a solid start to his 2020/2021 campaign. He edged out Russia’s Rostisalv Gaitiukevich in sixth by just .02.
Brad Hall led the way for Great Britain with a 12th place finish, up from 13th in the first heat. Teammate Lamin Deen finished 16th, up from 17th.
With one race to go before the Christmas break, Freidrich leads the World Cup standings over Lochner and Kibermanis. Vogt, Ralfs Berzins, and Dvorak round out the top six.
The United States, Canada, Korea, and China will join the tour after the New Year.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Friedrich / Schüller | GER | 7 | 5.00 | 4.98 | 51.04 | 51.15 | 1:42.19 |
| 2 | Kibermanis / Miknis | LAT | 13 | 5.03 | 5.01 | 51.47 | 51.40 | 1:42.87 |
| 3 | Lochner / Rasp | GER | 12 | 5.07 | 5.08 | 51.37 | 51.55 | 1:42.92 |
| 4 | Hannighofer / Ammour | GER | 20 | 5.07 | 5.09 | 51.49 | 51.67 | 1:43.16 |
| 5 | Vogt / Michel | SUI | 4 | 5.11 | 5.14 | 51.63 | 51.73 | 1:43.36 |
| 6 | Gaitiukevich / Malykh | RUS | 3 | 5.05 | 5.09 | 51.71 | 51.67 | 1:43.38 |
| 7 | Berzins / Nemme | LAT | 5 | 5.09 | 5.07 | 51.67 | 51.72 | 1:43.39 |
| 8 | Dvorak / Suchy | CZE | 8 | 5.13 | 5.11 | 51.70 | 51.76 | 1:43.46 |
| 9 | Maier / Sammer | AUT | 16 | 5.11 | 5.15 | 51.68 | 51.85 | 1:43.53 |
| 10 | Friedli / Haas | SUI | 9 | 5.12 | 5.11 | 51.81 | 51.74 | 1:43.55 |
| 11 | Melbardis / Bebriss | LAT | 14 | 5.15 | 5.18 | 51.70 | 51.93 | 1:43.63 |
| 12 | Hall / Blanchet | GBR | 15 | 5.11 | 5.15 | 51.96 | 51.76 | 1:43.72 |
| 13 | de Bruin / Franjic | NED | 1 | 5.22 | 5.16 | 51.95 | 51.86 | 1:43.81 |
| 14 | Variola / Fantazzini | ITA | 6 | 5.15 | 5.17 | 52.05 | 51.87 | 1:43.92 |
| 15 | Tentea / Daroczi | ROU | 11 | 5.27 | 5.31 | 52.04 | 52.11 | 1:44.15 |
| 16 | Stulnev / Gryaznov | RUS | 2 | 5.23 | 5.27 | 52.05 | 52.14 | 1:44.19 |
| 17 | Deen / Simons | GBR | 18 | 5.26 | 5.28 | 52.22 | 52.16 | 1:44.38 |
| 18 | Baumgartner / Verginer | ITA | 10 | 5.27 | 5.33 | 52.20 | 52.25 | 1:44.45 |
| 19 | Treichl / Glaboniat | AUT | 17 | 5.26 | 5.26 | 52.35 | 52.15 | 1:44.50 |
| 20 | Stephens / Wekpe | JAM | 19 | 5.36 | 5.39 | 52.56 | 52.64 | 1:45.20 |
