From Igls, AUT
The track in Igls is known for its tight racing. At just over 1,200 meters, it’s as close to a “sprint” event as the IBSF has, and the racing in two-man has been as close as promised.
Going into the second day of racing, German Johannes Lochner is the leader, looking to be the first man to win both Junior World Championships and World Championships since the man right behind him, Francesco Friedrich. Lochner was consistent, missing the track record by .03 and .01 in his two runs to take a .15 lead over Friedrich.
In third is Oskars Melbardis. The Latvian came into the second heat as the leader, setting a track record (51.54) in the process. His second run was over .2 slower than his first, dropping him to third.
Beat Hefti sits fourth with two consistent runs for the Swiss slider, while both Chris Spring and Bruce Tasker moved up handily from 8th and 10th, respectively. Spring will enter the second day of racing in fifth, with Tasker sixth.
It was a tough day for the American men, with Nick Cunningham leading the way in 13th. Teammate Steven Holcomb did manage to move up a few positions from 19th to 16th in the second run. Both sliders are wedged in a pack from 12th back to 20th that are separated by just .2 seconds.
On the flip side of that, it was a great start for the Canadians. Aside from Spring’s top-five run, Justin Kripps will enter the second day in ninth. Bradley Hall sits 19th for Great Britain.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Lochner / Bluhm | GER | 16 | 51.57 | 51.55 | 1:43.12 |
| 2 | Friedrich / Margis | GER | 10 | 51.68 | 51.59 | 1:43.27 |
| 3 | Melbardis / Dreiskens | LAT | 2 | 51.54 | 51.75 | 1:43.29 |
| 4 | Hefti / Baumann | SUI | 15 | 51.68 | 51.66 | 1:43.34 |
| 5 | Spring / Brown | CAN | 11 | 51.76 | 51.71 | 1:43.47 |
| 6 | Tasker / Fearon | GBR | 23 | 51.83 | 51.66 | 1:43.49 |
| 7 | Won / Seo | KOR | 3 | 51.69 | 51.82 | 1:43.51 |
| 8 | Peter / Amrhein | SUI | 6 | 51.80 | 51.88 | 1:43.68 |
| 9 | Kripps / Kopacz | CAN | 5 | 51.74 | 51.96 | 1:43.70 |
| 10 | Walther / Poser | GER | 1 | 51.71 | 52.03 | 1:43.74 |
| 11 | Maier / Sammer | AUT | 25 | 51.93 | 51.85 | 1:43.78 |
| 12 | Stulnev / Belugin | RUS | 14 | 52.01 | 51.93 | 1:43.94 |
| 13 | Zalims / Dambis | LAT | 4 | 52.00 | 51.96 | 1:43.96 |
| 14 | Cunningham / Wickline | USA | 12 | 51.98 | 51.98 | 1:43.96 |
| 15 | Arndt / Kuske | GER | 7 | 51.98 | 51.99 | 1:43.97 |
| 16 | Holcomb / Valdes | USA | 8 | 52.03 | 51.97 | 1:44.00 |
| 17 | Kasjanov / Malykh | RUS | 9 | 51.95 | 52.09 | 1:44.04 |
| 18 | Kibermanis Miknis | LAT | 13 | 52.09 | 52.00 | 1:44.09 |
| 19 | Hall / Simons | GBR | 22 | 52.02 | 52.08 | 1:44.10 |
| 20 | Rinaldi / Vain | MON | 19 | 51.99 | 52.15 | 1:44.14 |
| 21 | Poloniato / Kirkpatrick | CAN | 20 | 52.25 | 52.07 | 1:44.32 |
| 22 | Kim / Kim | KOR | 18 | 52.16 | 52.27 | 1:44.43 |
| 23 | Costerg / Castell | FRA | 27 | 52.20 | 52.36 | 1:44.56 |
| 24 | Negodaylo / Antukh | RUS | 24 | 52.28 | 52.42 | 1:44.70 |
| 25 | Luty / Kossakowski | POL | 26 | 52.37 | 52.50 | 1:44.87 |
| 26 | Dvorak / Suchy | CZE | 29 | 52.49 | 52.44 | 1:44.93 |
| 27 | Treichl / Esterhammer | AUT | 31 | 52.44 | 52.61 | 1:45.05 |
| 28 | Radenovic / Krajisnik | SRB | 32 | 52.44 | 52.65 | 1:45.09 |
| 29 | Vrba / Nosek | CZE | 28 | 52.37 | 52.73 | 1:45.10 |
| 30 | Bindilatti / Martins | BRA | 30 | 52.65 | 52.86 | 1:45.51 |
| 31 | de Bruin / Brink | NED | 21 | 52.80 | 52.84 | 1:45.64 |
| 32 | Grigore / Craciun | ROU | 33 | 52.89 | 52.94 | 1:45.83 |
| 33 | Silic / Nikpalj | CRO | 34 | 53.07 | 53.08 | 1:46.15 |
| DNS | Bertazzo / Comel | ITA | 17 | 52.53 | DNS |
