Bob at world 4, Friedrich is always the ruler. A little blue with Baumgartner for the top 10

After two of the four heats scheduled, the German champion always leads at Altenberg ahead of Maier and Lochner. Schneider drives in the female monobob.

Saturday 13 February 2021 5 minutes reading time

The usual Francesco Friedrich leads halfway through the 4-a-side bobsleigh test which, with the two decisive heats on Sunday, will close the world championship in Altenberg. Despite a problematic entry phase in both runs, Pirna's ace manages to compensate with clean lines and imperceptible corrections that allow him to precede the Austrian Benjamin Maier, who had remained close to him, even just 8 cents later the first descent. The others are much more detached, with the Latvian Oskars Kibermanis who, thanks to a splendid second run, comes back to just 11 cents from the last place on the podium occupied for the moment by the German Johannes Lochner, who in this world championship continues not to completely convince and that he will have to defend himself in the fight for the bronze also from the Canadian Justin Kripps. Excellent first day of competition for the crew composed of Patrick Baumgartner with Eric Fantazzini, Costantino Ughi and Lorenzo Bilotti as brakemen. The Azzurri play a decent first heat and an excellent second that allows them to reach 12th place with a view of the top ten positions and more, considering that the Koreans who occupy the eighth place are 16 cents away while overturning in the last corners of the second descent the Swiss crew with driver Simon Friedli. Previously there had been the historic world debut for the female Monobob format, which this season entered the world panorama with the World Series, also in conjunction with some CdM stages. The German team that up to now had shown evident limits in this specialty, arrives well prepared for the first important event by placing all four of its athletes in the first positions. Leading after half the race is Stephanie Schneider: the first heat is very clean, but due to a second descent that is not perfect, the only non-Teutonic there in front, the American Kaillie Humphries, approaches until she reaches just 4 cents from the leadership before the two decisive runs tomorrow. Third partial place for the very young junior bobsleigh world champion in two, Laura Nolte, who led the race after a very clean first run but was forced to chase by virtue of a second descent full of errors. Fourth and fifth place occupied by the other Germans Jamanka and Kalicki, still in the running for a medal, the Canadian Appiah sixth. The new specialty and the complicated track lead many athletes to make many mistakes on the verge of overturning and there is no shortage of negative surprises, such as that of the Australian Breeana Walker, currently 15th, and Elana Meyers-Taylor. The stars and stripes athlete, after the usual mighty initial part stamped with the thrust record in cohabitation with the Canadian Appiah, during the first descent crosses into turn nine and completely overturns. On Sunday the two heats that will award the medals. Matteo Collodoro

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