From Altenberg, GER
(December 4, 2021) – Over the past few seasons it’s been a rare occasion to find Francesco Friedrich out of the lead after the first heat of any race, let alone on his home track in Altenberg. But that’s where Friedrich was after the first run in two-man bobsled, with teammate Johannes Lochner and Russia’s Rostislav Gaitiukevich ahead of him.
Lochner’s first run was nearly perfect, while Friedrich’s run was bumpiest in a matter of years, and that led to a .16 deficit from first to third. Friedrich’s second run, though, was exactly the type of run you’d expect from the winningest bobsledder in the history of the sport. He and Alexander Schüller set the quick start time of the competition and put down a heat-fastest run to easily move into the lead.
Gaitiukevich and brakeman Mikhail Mordasov were .38 slower than Friedrich on their second run to to what would eventually be Gaitiukevich’s second two-man bronze medal of his World Cup career, leaving only Lochner to hold off Friedrich.
Lochner and brakeman Christopher Weber were slower off the top, but Lochner’s run kept pace with Friedrich until the final few curves, where Friedrich pulled away from everyone else. When Lochner crossed the line he was .24 behind Friedrich in second place for his third straight silver medal to start the season.
Friedrich’s gold was his third in three races to start the 2021/2022 season and 40th of his World Cup career. The silver for Lochner was his 14th.
Canada’s Chris Spring moved up from fifth in the first heat to fourth place on a track that nearly ended his career. It was his best ever World Cup finish in Altenberg and his best two-man World Cup finish anywhere since the 2017/2018 season in Winterberg.
Germany’s Christoph Hafer finished fifth, while Canada’s Justin Kripps rounded out the top six. Kripps hasn’t finished outside of the top six since the 2019/2020 season in Igls.
The United States’ men struggled to find speed in Altenberg. Hunter Church finished 18th as the top American pilot. Teammate Codie Bascue missed out on a second heat by .08 and finished 23rd despite what appeared to be a relatively smooth slide.
Great Britain missed out on a top ten by one position, with Brad Hall placing in 11th. Lamin Deen finished 20th in the second British sled.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Friedrich / Schüller | GER | 13 | 5.16 | 5.11 | 55.06 | 54.90 | 1:49.96 |
| 2 | Lochner / Weber | GER | 9 | 5.20 | 5.20 | 54.90 | 55.30 | 1:50.20 |
| 3 | Gaitiukevich / Mordasov | RUS | 5 | 5.20 | 5.18 | 54.95 | 55.28 | 1:50.23 |
| 4 | Spring / Evelyn | CAN | 4 | 5.30 | 5.24 | 55.25 | 55.12 | 1:50.37 |
| 5 | Hafer / Sommer | GER | 8 | 5.34 | 5.32 | 55.18 | 55.26 | 1:50.44 |
| 6 | Kripps / Sommer | CAN | 11 | 5.23 | 5.24 | 55.29 | 55.37 | 1:50.66 |
| 7 | Maier / Sammer | AUT | 15 | 5.30 | 5.30 | 55.31 | 55.40 | 1:50.71 |
| 8 | Friedli / Jones | SUI | 16 | 5.30 | 5.31 | 55.43 | 55.36 | 1:50.79 |
| 9 | Heinrich / Lefebvre | FRA | 17 | 5.31 | 5.31 | 55.30 | 55.62 | 1:50.92 |
| 9 | Vogt / Michel | SUI | 6 | 5.30 | 5.31 | 55.29 | 55.63 | 1:50.92 |
| 11 | Hall / Cackett | GBR | 10 | 5.24 | 5.27 | 55.56 | 55.46 | 1:51.02 |
| 12 | Tentea / Daroczi | ROU | 7 | 5.32 | 5.33 | 55.47 | 55.59 | 1:51.06 |
| 13 | Baumgartner / Mircea | ITA | 25 | 5.40 | 5.38 | 55.72 | 55.41 | 1:51.13 |
| 14 | Kibermanis / Springis | LAT | 14 | 5.27 | 5.28 | 55.61 | 55.55 | 1:51.16 |
| 15 | Treichl / Mitterer | AUT | 19 | 5.29 | 5.29 | 55.58 | 55.61 | 1:51.19 |
| 16 | Dvorak / Nosek | CZE | 18 | 5.35 | 5.34 | 55.87 | 55.68 | 1:51.55 |
| 17 | Won / Jung | KOR | 22 | 5.36 | 5.37 | 55.83 | 55.77 | 1:51.60 |
| 18 | Church / Volker | USA | 2 | 5.31 | 5.34 | 55.77 | 56.00 | 1:51.77 |
| 19 | Andrianov / Malykh | RUS | 23 | 5.40 | 5.40 | 55.87 | 55.91 | 1:51.78 |
| 20 | Deen / Olubi | GBR | 3 | 5.44 | 5.47 | 55.93 | 55.95 | 1:51.88 |
| 21 | Cipulis / Lindenblats | LAT | 20 | 5.25 | 55.99 | |||
| 22 | Kaufmanis / Nemme | LAT | 1 | 5.26 | 56.00 | |||
| 23 | Bascue / Abdul-Saboor | USA | 12 | 5.33 | 56.01 | |||
| 24 | de Bruin / Franjic | NED | 21 | 5.39 | 56.02 | |||
| 25 | Shao / Ding | CHN | 26 | 5.43 | 56.43 | |||
| DNS | Variola / Fantazzini | ITA | 24 | DNS |
