From Igls, AUT
(February 1, 2024) – Max Illmann edged out teammates Nico Semmler and Hans Peter Hannighofer to win the final two-man bobsled race of the 2023/2024 Europe Cup season.
Illmann trailed Semmler after one run, with Hannighofer just .06 back in third. In the second heat Hannighofer and brakeman Erik Leypold set the quick start of the competition to take the lead from Swiss pilot Timo Rohner with the two other Germans to go.
Illmann was next and was the only pilot to crack the 52 second barrier after he and brakeman Costa Laurenz bettered their start by a hundredth on their second effort.
That left Illmann between Semmler and Semmler’s second career Europe Cup two-man gold medal. Semmler and Felix Dahms were the slowest of the three teams off the top, but only by .02. Semmler’s second drive just wasn’t quite what he had in the first heat, and his finish left him tied for silver with Hannighofer, .07 behind Illmann.
The gold for Illmann was his second straight EC two-man gold and third medal in three races this season.
The podium sweep for Germany was their fifth straight on the Europe Cup two-man tour.
Rohner and Mathieu Hersperger finished in fourth place, ahead of Austria’s Jakob Mandlbauer and Daiyehan in fifth, with Germany’s Alexander Czudaj and Jörn Wenzel rounding out the top six.
Canada’s Pat Norton finished in seventh, two spots ahead of teammate Taylor Austin in ninth.
John Stanbridge was the top British pilot in tenth, teammate Joshua Hudson failed to make the second heat in 26th.
The United States put both of their sleds in the top 13. Geoff Gadbois finished 11th, two spots ahead of Kris Horn in 13th. It was the first look at Igls as a pilot for Horn.
With his silver medal, Hans Peter Hannighofer won the Europe Cup two-man season title over Alexander Czudaj by 18 points. Timo Rohner finished the season in third, with Laurin Zern and John Stanbridge rounding out the top five.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Finish |
| 1 | Illmann / Laurenz | GER | 17 | 5.22 | 5.21 | 51.72 | 51.93 | 1:43.65 |
| 2 | Semmler / Dahms | GER | 6 | 5.23 | 5.22 | 51.70 | 52.02 | 1:43.72 |
| 2 | Hannighofer / Leypold | GER | 10 | 5.20 | 5.19 | 51.76 | 51.96 | 1:43.72 |
| 4 | Rohner / Hersperger | SUI | 7 | 5.25 | 5.28 | 51.93 | 52.32 | 1:44.25 |
| 5 | Mandlbauer / Nichols-Bardi | AUT | 8 | 5.30 | 5.26 | 52.03 | 52.39 | 1:44.42 |
| 6 | Czudaj / Wenzel | GER | 4 | 5.30 | 5.25 | 51.99 | 52.45 | 1:44.44 |
| 7 | Norton / Evelyn | CAN | 11 | 5.29 | 5.35 | 51.98 | 52.62 | 1:44.60 |
| 8 | Wesselink / Franjic | NED | 13 | 5.24 | 5.24 | 52.26 | 52.52 | 1:44.78 |
| 9 | Austin / Murray-Lawrence | CAN | 9 | 5.33 | 5.35 | 52.26 | 52.54 | 1:44.80 |
| 10 | Stanbridge / Cartagena | GBR | 5 | 5.36 | 5.43 | 52.23 | 52.73 | 1:44.96 |
| 11 | Gadbois / Cheek | USA | 15 | 5.36 | 5.40 | 52.34 | 52.76 | 1:45.10 |
| 12 | Prochazka / Petrikovic | CZE | 21 | 5.32 | 5.36 | 52.54 | 52.63 | 1:45.17 |
| 13 | Horn / Simon | USA | 12 | 5.34 | 5.43 | 52.29 | 53.04 | 1:45.33 |
| 14 | Kranz / Bertschler | LIE | 14 | 5.45 | 5.44 | 52.43 | 52.94 | 1:45.37 |
| 15 | Rohn / Gnägi | SUI | 25 | 5.46 | 5.46 | 52.65 | 52.79 | 1:45.44 |
| 16 | Brown / John | TTO | 24 | 5.52 | 5.44 | 52.64 | 52.85 | 1:45.49 |
| 17 | Reich / Eichenberger | SUI | 26 | 5.49 | 5.48 | 52.70 | 52.98 | 1:45.68 |
| 18 | Scherrer / Grüninger | SUI | 3 | 5.50 | 5.58 | 52.61 | 53.08 | 1:45.69 |
| 19 | Baechler / Alais | FRA | 23 | 5.48 | 5.52 | 52.66 | 53.12 | 1:45.78 |
| 20 | Kaiser / Volgger | AUT | 20 | 5.43 | 5.47 | 52.67 | 53.19 | 1:45.86 |
| 21 | Shinohara / Hanyuda | JPN | 28 | 5.38 | 52.74 | |||
| 21 | Diouf / Blairon | FRA | 30 | 5.29 | 52.74 | |||
| 23 | Takeuchi / Kato | JPN | 1 | 5.40 | 52.75 | |||
| 24 | Nica / Oleinic | ROU | 18 | 5.48 | 52.77 | |||
| 25 | Hanschitz / Zech | AUT | 22 | 5.38 | 52.84 | |||
| 26 | Hudson / Kay | GBR | 19 | 5.41 | 52.86 | |||
| 27 | Turea / Cordos | ROU | 16 | 5.45 | 52.95 | |||
| 28 | Matsuoka / Okuno | JPN | 2 | 5.46 | 53.07 | |||
| 29 | Silic / Rusnjak | CRO | 27 | 6.03 | 54.39 | |||
| 30 | Szilagyi / Osztrogonacz | HUN | 33 | 5.60 | 54.49 | |||
| 31 | Laporal / Jourson | FRA | 31 | 5.45 | 54.50 | |||
| 32 | Lagrange / Lagrange | ARG | 29 | 5.77 | 54.51 | |||
| 33 | Bangiev / Caffier | BUL | 32 | 6.06 | 55.47 |