Johannes Lochner won the two-man bobsleigh World Cup opener on the Olympic track at the Beijing Winter Games ahead of Francesco Friedrich.
The two-man bobsleigh world champion won with regular pusher Georg Fleischhauer, 0.62 seconds ahead of Friedrich and pusher Alexander Schüller. The Swiss Michael Voigt came third at the season opener.
At the 2022 Olympics, record world champion Friedrich was able to beat Lochner in the Yanqing National Sliding Center. “The training performances were somehow confirmed. Hansi drove away from everyone in training and simply rode more consistently, he deserved to win,” said Friedrich from Saxony.
Lochner from Berchtesgaden continued his series: Whenever he started with pusher Fleischhauer, he won in the small sleigh. “I’m really happy, it worked really well with Georg at the start. I think he’s still unbeaten in twos so far,” said Lochner.
Across all seasons, it was the seventh two-man bobsleigh World Cup victory in a row, and the duo also won the World Cup in February in St. Moritz, ending Friedrich’s World Cup record streak, who had previously won all World Cup titles since 2013. “We will continue in the same way in the next races,” announced Lochner.
Women’s race in Beijing canceled
The start of the bobsledders’ new World Cup season had previously been postponed. Due to the low number of participants, the women’s competition in Beijing was canceled. They are now starting the season from December 4th to 10th in La Plagne, France.
