From Lillehammer, NOR
(December 2, 2023) – Alexander Czudaj and Jörn Wenzel dominated the third two-man bobsled Europe Cup race in Lillehammer for their second straight gold medal.
The German duo had the two fastest pushes of the race and were quickest at every split on both runs on their way to a .42 second victory over Switzerland’s Timo Rohner.
The gold was the team’s second straight after starting the season with a fifth place finish.
Rohner scored his third straight medal of the Lillehammer stop this time with Dusan Novakovic on his brakes.
Rohner started the second heat in third place but put down a strong second run to move up one spot.
Rohner’s gain was Laurin Zern’s loss. The German couldn’t quite match the cleanliness of his first run, but did hold on for a medal with bronze.
Germany’s Hans Peter Hannighofer finished the race in fourth, only .04 out of the medals, while Romania’s Mihai Tentea scored a season-best fifth place.
Great Britain’s John Stanbridge rounded out the top six.
Adam Baird helped put two British sleds in the top ten with his eighth place finish, while Joshua Hudson finished out the British effort in 15th.
Liechtenstein’s Martin Kranz finished 14th.
After three races in the IBSF Europe Cup season, Alexander Czudaj and Timo Rohner are tied atop the two-man bobsled season standings, with Hans Peter Hannighofer just 16 points back. Laurin Zern and Mihai Tentea round out the top five.
The Europe Cup bobsled tour will continue with four-man bobsled before heading to Sigulda before the holiday break.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Finish |
| 1 | Czudaj / Wenzel | GER | 5 | 5.11 | 5.11 | 51.57 | 51.60 | 1:43.17 |
| 2 | Rohner / Novakovic | SUI | 11 | 5.14 | 5.18 | 51.74 | 51.85 | 1:43.59 |
| 2 | Zern / Schaller | GER | 8 | 5.15 | 5.14 | 51.70 | 51.96 | 1:43.66 |
| 4 | Hannighofer / Hempel | GER | 9 | 5.17 | 5.19 | 51.79 | 51.91 | 1:43.70 |
| 5 | Tentea / Dinescu | ROU | 4 | 5.22 | 5.23 | 51.82 | 52.01 | 1:43.83 |
| 6 | Stanbridge / Hullah | GBR | 6 | 5.28 | 5.30 | 51.98 | 52.14 | 1:44.12 |
| 7 | Wesselink / Franjic | NED | 12 | 5.14 | 5.13 | 52.25 | 52.33 | 1:44.58 |
| 8 | Baird / Cartagena | GBR | 10 | 5.23 | 5.25 | 52.15 | 52.45 | 1:44.60 |
| 9 | Verginer / Pagnini | ITA | 17 | 5.27 | 5.28 | 52.28 | 52.43 | 1:44.71 |
| 10 | Behounek / Fomenko | CZE | 16 | 5.29 | 5.29 | 52.45 | 52.42 | 1:44.87 |
| 11 | Boron / Buba | POL | 18 | 5.32 | 5.32 | 52.53 | 52.45 | 1:44.98 |
| 12 | Turea / Dobre | ROU | 20 | 5.20 | 5.17 | 52.57 | 52.42 | 1:44.99 |
| 13 | Nica / Dinca | ROU | 15 | 5.25 | 5.30 | 52.49 | 52.54 | 1:45.03 |
| 14 | Kranz / Bertschler | LIE | 14 | 5.35 | 5.33 | 52.56 | 52.48 | 1:45.04 |
| 15 | Hudson / Harvey | GBR | 19 | 5.35 | 5.35 | 52.93 | 52.85 | 1:45.78 |
| 16 | Prochazka / Petrikovic | CZE | 21 | 5.21 | 5.22 | 53.14 | 52.96 | 1:46.10 |
| 17 | Baechler / Alais | FRA | 1 | 5.42 | 5.37 | 53.18 | 53.15 | 1:46.33 |
| 18 | Sienkiewicz / Boinski | POL | 22 | 5.54 | 5.47 | 53.51 | 53.42 | 1:46.93 |
| 19 | Gazmuri-Olivares / Waler Aslaksby | NOR | 3 | 5.62 | 5.62 | 53.54 | 53.64 | 1:47.18 |
| 20 | Ferreira / Silva | BRA | 23 | 5.26 | 5.23 | 53.74 | 53.70 | 1:47.44 |
| 21 | Ribeiro / Larrinaga | POR | 2 | 5.45 | 54.03 | |||
| DNS | Lagrange / Lagrange | ARG | 24 | DNS |
