Form Sigulda, LAT
(February 19, 2023) – Johannes Lochner capped the greatest two-man bobsled season of his career with a victory in the season finale in Sigulda.
The race for the medals was tight, with five pilots all taking a shot at gold: Lochner, Francesco Friedrich, rookie Adam Ammour, Michael Vogt and Brad Hall. After one run Lochner had just a .09 second advantage over his German teammates Friedrich and Ammour, with both Vogt and Hall lingering around the medal discussion within a quarter of a second of the lead.
On the second run Hall threw down what was his best drive of the four runs over the Sigulda weekend to easily move into the lead ahead of China’s Chunjian Li. Vogt was next, and while his second run was just a tick slower than Hall’s, his first run advantage was enough to keep him ahead of the Brit.
Friedrich, who for the first time in a long time was not the World Cup leader coming into the final race of the season, put down a very typical Friedrich drive: Quick, clean and with a strong start off the top as he took the lead from Vogt. Rookie teammate Adam Ammour then slid down into a tie with Hall to give both men a fourth place finish.
The last sled was that of Lochner. He and brakeman Georg Fleischhauer had yet to lose since pairing up earlier in the season. The duo put down the quick start of the competition, which was enough to take a decent lead from the top. From there Lochner was nearly flawless as he slid to his sixth straight two-man World Cup victory and his first career World Cup championship.
The silver for Friedrich capped off an otherwise strong season after a hamstring injury over the Christmas break set him back for a handful of races.
For Vogt who finished third, the bronze medal was his sixth two-man bronze medal of his career and ninth medal in the discipline overall.
Ammour and Hall tied for fourth, while Li rounded out the top six.
Lochner became the first pilot since Justin Kripps to beat out Friedrich for a World Cup two-man title. Friedrich finished second in the points for the second time of his career. Hall finished the season in third place, capping an outstanding season for the Brit.
In the bobsled combined points, Friedrich took the title by just 81 points over Lochner, with Hall in third. Markus Treichl, who had a fantastic season, finished the year in fourth in the combined points.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Lochner / Fleischhauer | GER | 8 | 4.89 | 4.86 | 49.91 | 49.99 | 1:39.90 |
| 2 | Friedrich / Margis | GER | 9 | 4.92 | 4.90 | 50.07 | 50.19 | 1:40.26 |
| 3 | Vogt / Michel | SUI | 12 | 4.96 | 4.93 | 50.08 | 50.26 | 1:40.34 |
| 4 | Hall / Cackett | GBR | 7 | 4.93 | 4.93 | 50.14 | 50.25 | 1:40.39 |
| 4 | Ammour / Ammour | GER | 3 | 4.86 | 4.89 | 50.07 | 5.03 | 1:40.39 |
| 6 | Li / Zhen | CHN | 11 | 4.97 | 5.00 | 50.47 | 50.67 | 1:41.14 |
| 7 | Treichl / Sammer | AUT | 13 | 4.96 | 4.98 | 50.53 | 50.70 | 1:41.23 |
| 8 | Cipulis / Nemme | LAT | 5 | 4.99 | 5.00 | 50.52 | 50.85 | 1:41.37 |
| 9 | Baumgartner / Mircea | ITA | 10 | 5.10 | 5.10 | 50.58 | 50.93 | 1:41.51 |
| 10 | Follador / Mariani | SUI | 4 | 5.09 | 5.15 | 50.55 | 51.11 | 1:41.66 |
| 11 | Kalenda / Bebriss | LAT | 1 | 5.01 | 5.02 | 50.79 | 51.10 | 1:41.89 |
| 12 | Dobes / Hrazdil | CZE | 6 | 5.07 | 5.11 | 50.96 | 51.44 | 1:42.40 |
| 13 | Behounek / Havelka | CZE | 2 | 5.11 | 5.29 | 51.03 | 51.91 | 1:42.94 |
