British Bobsleigh Association
Lange Leads Lueders After Day One of 2-Man
19 February 2006
Andre Lange and Kevin Kuske of Germany had a near disastrous start in the second heat Saturday night but were able to hang on to a slim six-hundredths of a second lead over Pierre Lueders and Lascelles Brown of Canada.
Taken from www.fibt.com
Lange and Kuske led by .26 seconds after the first heat and looked to be in a position to dominate the event.
But at the start of their second heat run, Kuske slipped getting into the sled and was barely able to propel himself into the brakeman's seat. The Germans finished with a 55.73 clocking that still left them in first place.
Lueders and brown, a disappointing six after the first run in 55.57, came back with the best performance of the second heat, 55.50. That moved the Canadian duo into second place and re-ignited their chances for a top podium finish. Lueders won the Olympic Gold in 1998 in Nagano and was 2-Man World Champion in 2004 and 2005.
Lange and Kuske, who drew the fourth start position for heat one, had only the sixth best push time, 4.81, in the first run but gradually made up time down the track with solid driving. The Germany 1 sled reached the fastest speed, 132.4 km/hour, and finished with a track record 55.28.
Lange and Kuske, who is a powerful 196 cm (6-feet-4 ½ ), 109 kilogram (238 pounds) athlete, rode together only three times during the 2005-2006 FIBT World Cup season, but they were victorious in all three races (Calgary, Lake Placid and St, Moritz).
Sitting in third place, .20 seconds back are Martin Annen and Beat Hefti of Switzerland. They started first in heat one and laid down a solid 55.54 effort that easily broke their own 56.55 track record set in January 2005 at the Olympic test event. Two sleds later Alexandre Zoubkov and Alexey Voevoda of Russia matched the time and gained a share of the lead. The Russians also broke the start record with a 4.76 push time. But then Lange and Kuske took command of the first heat with their 55.28 clocking.
Matthias Hoepfner and Marc Kuehne of Germany, are in fourth place with runs of 55.56 and 55.82, for a 1:51.38 total time, while fifth is held by Zoubkov and Voevoda, who slipped to fifth place after a 55.85 second run that gave them a total of 1:51.39.
Todd Hays and Pavle Jovanovic of the USA are in sixth place with a 1:51.53. The Americans had a 55.81 first run, but improved to 55.72 in the second heat.
There were 29 sleds from 19 nations participating. Announced attendance was 5,345.
Lange and Kuske led by .26 seconds after the first heat and looked to be in a position to dominate the event.
But at the start of their second heat run, Kuske slipped getting into the sled and was barely able to propel himself into the brakeman's seat. The Germans finished with a 55.73 clocking that still left them in first place.
Lueders and brown, a disappointing six after the first run in 55.57, came back with the best performance of the second heat, 55.50. That moved the Canadian duo into second place and re-ignited their chances for a top podium finish. Lueders won the Olympic Gold in 1998 in Nagano and was 2-Man World Champion in 2004 and 2005.
Lange and Kuske, who drew the fourth start position for heat one, had only the sixth best push time, 4.81, in the first run but gradually made up time down the track with solid driving. The Germany 1 sled reached the fastest speed, 132.4 km/hour, and finished with a track record 55.28.
Lange and Kuske, who is a powerful 196 cm (6-feet-4 ½ ), 109 kilogram (238 pounds) athlete, rode together only three times during the 2005-2006 FIBT World Cup season, but they were victorious in all three races (Calgary, Lake Placid and St, Moritz).
Sitting in third place, .20 seconds back are Martin Annen and Beat Hefti of Switzerland. They started first in heat one and laid down a solid 55.54 effort that easily broke their own 56.55 track record set in January 2005 at the Olympic test event. Two sleds later Alexandre Zoubkov and Alexey Voevoda of Russia matched the time and gained a share of the lead. The Russians also broke the start record with a 4.76 push time. But then Lange and Kuske took command of the first heat with their 55.28 clocking.
Matthias Hoepfner and Marc Kuehne of Germany, are in fourth place with runs of 55.56 and 55.82, for a 1:51.38 total time, while fifth is held by Zoubkov and Voevoda, who slipped to fifth place after a 55.85 second run that gave them a total of 1:51.39.
Todd Hays and Pavle Jovanovic of the USA are in sixth place with a 1:51.53. The Americans had a 55.81 first run, but improved to 55.72 in the second heat.
There were 29 sleds from 19 nations participating. Announced attendance was 5,345.