World Championships in St. Moritz: tight box in the four-man bobsleigh: Friedrich is looking for an optimal set-up

World Championships in St Moritz
Tight box in the four-man bob: Friedrich is looking for the best set-up

Wants the title in four-man bobsleigh: Francesco Friedrich’s team. photo

© Robert Michael/dpa/archive image

After the end of the winning streak in the small sled, Friedrich wants to keep the world championship title in the premier class. But he mustn’t gamble again with the choice of runners.

After his first world championship coup in 2-man bobsleigh, Johannes Lochner and Co. are faced with the question: is series winner Francesco Friedrich going to gamble again in the premier class of 4-man bobsleigh?

Two-time double Olympic champion Friedrich has to find the right set-up this weekend. It is clear that he trusts his sled. “We have all the options there are,” he said. According to dpa information, the long-standing flagship pilot enjoys a right of way in the material – can be the first to choose.

Does the snow decide?

Since the four-man bob fleet of the Berlin Institute for Research and Development of Sports Equipment (FES) with different prototypes and expansion stages of the 410 is not as diverse as the two-man bobs for men and women, this could be an advantage for Friedrich in the internal German duel. But only if “you choose the right runners and the right polish,” emphasized the 32-year-old Friedrich, who like no other pilot and his team polishes the runners for several hours under the motto “every hundredth counts”.

However, the expected snowfall can suddenly become the decisive component. On the natural ice rink, the bobs with the high start number have an advantage when the sun is shining, because the water film makes the piste fast. The effect does not work when it snows. “In the post-Olympic season we have to live with the Beijing material. It doesn’t have to be optimal for St. Moritz, so we’re trying to find the best setting with existing components,” said FES project manager Bob, Enrico Zinn, to the Deutsche Presse- Agency.

Material ends winning streak

In the two-man bobsleigh race, Friedrich’s choice of material was suboptimal. The wider blade, which destroys less ice on the track, should ensure higher speed. “We got even wider from the runner, that wasn’t rewarded, we worked all night to change something,” said the record world champion and admitted: “Hansi had a better hand with the material. We went to the other Direction gambled, it was exactly wrong.” Due to the rather long curves in St. Moritz, the narrower runner at Lochner didn’t suffer as much damage in the hard natural ice, provided more grip and in the end a safe driving line that was also fast.

The world is getting closer – line is crucial

According to head coach René Spies, the density of the world elite is even greater in the premier class of four-man bobsleigh: “The race will be even tighter there.” Because the Brit Brad Hall, who is leading in the World Cup with the same number of points as Friedrich, has a top vehicle in the Wallner bobsleigh. Added to this are the Swiss around Michael Vogt with a Wallner bob optimized by Wolfgang Stampfer.

As much as Friedrich is a perfectionist, the line in the 1,722 meter long track remains decisive. “The most important thing is that you come in straight from the top and don’t stand across – Hansi just did that much better than everyone else,” he praised his Bavarian permanent rival. This is as easy and fast as ever: “I’m having fun right now, I don’t think about how much longer I’ll be doing it. I just go bobsledding every day. It’s no different than when I go skiing , that’s how I’m doing it now, let’s see what the future brings.”

The signal for the Bavarian is clear: if Dominator Friedrich slips up, he has to be there. This is the only way to defeat the exceptional pilot from BSC Sachsen Oberbärenburg, who suffered the last defeat in an important race in Innsbruck in 2016 against Oskars Melbardis. Back then, Friedrich was clearly leading at half-time, then backed the wrong skid in the sunshine and was intercepted by the Latvian. A year later he became four-man bobsleigh world champion for the first time at the same time as Lochner in Königssee. After that, he consistently dominated the World Championships and the Olympics.

dpa

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