British Bobsleigh Association
World Cup Round 02 - Altenberg Race Reports, December 2008
08 December 2008
The bobsleigh teams headed South across Germany to Altenberg for the second round of the World Cup, with the races being held on 6th and 7th December 2008. The picturesque town of Altenberg is located in the Saxon region of Germany and the Altenberg bobsleigh track has three times hosted the World Championships, in 1991, 2000 and in February 2008, when Nicola Minichiello finished in 6th position.
2-Man Bobsleigh Race 02
The German pairing of Andre Lange / Kevin Kuske convincingly won the 2-Man bobsleigh race from Steven Holcomb / Justin Olsen of the USA, with Winterberg race winners, Beat Hefti / Thomas Lamparter of Switzerland finishing 3rd on this particularly challenging track.
Royal Marine Lee Johnston was paired with Julien Hughes-John for this race, after Dan Money suffered an injury during training, and the pair finished in 20th place.
4-Man Bobsleigh Race 02
Their weren't any winners to name in the 4-Man race, which was controversially halted with just four bobsleighs left to take their second run, gifting first and second place to German teams on this German track, with the final result being declared on the first run times only.
The GB1 bobsleigh of Lee Johnston / Karl Johnston / Allyn Condon / Julien Hughes-John lay in 19th position after the first run, having been slowed by the snow, but were destined for a top position after a fine drive in a snow free second run. Nature seemingly decided that those unaffected by the snow in their first run, such as the Germans, were going to be affected by the snow in the second run. However, the Race Jury thought differently, denying likely winners Team USA of what would have been a very worthy win.
Women's Bobsleigh Race 02
The Women's race was very close, with Sandra Kiriasis / Berit Wiacker of Germany 1st, a mere 0.02 seconds ahead of German teammates Cathleen Martini / Janine Tischer, with Shauna Rohbuck / Elana Meyers of the USA 3rd.
The GB1 pairing of Nicola Minichiello / Gillian Cooke finished in a creditable 7th position and look to be steadily improving, clocking very competitive start times in both their runs.
Race Reports written by Mark Carter - Performance Coordinator
2-Man Bobsleigh Race 02
The German pairing of Andre Lange / Kevin Kuske convincingly won the 2-Man bobsleigh race from Steven Holcomb / Justin Olsen of the USA, with Winterberg race winners, Beat Hefti / Thomas Lamparter of Switzerland finishing 3rd on this particularly challenging track.
Royal Marine Lee Johnston was paired with Julien Hughes-John for this race, after Dan Money suffered an injury during training, and the pair finished in 20th place.
4-Man Bobsleigh Race 02
Their weren't any winners to name in the 4-Man race, which was controversially halted with just four bobsleighs left to take their second run, gifting first and second place to German teams on this German track, with the final result being declared on the first run times only.
The GB1 bobsleigh of Lee Johnston / Karl Johnston / Allyn Condon / Julien Hughes-John lay in 19th position after the first run, having been slowed by the snow, but were destined for a top position after a fine drive in a snow free second run. Nature seemingly decided that those unaffected by the snow in their first run, such as the Germans, were going to be affected by the snow in the second run. However, the Race Jury thought differently, denying likely winners Team USA of what would have been a very worthy win.
Women's Bobsleigh Race 02
The Women's race was very close, with Sandra Kiriasis / Berit Wiacker of Germany 1st, a mere 0.02 seconds ahead of German teammates Cathleen Martini / Janine Tischer, with Shauna Rohbuck / Elana Meyers of the USA 3rd.
The GB1 pairing of Nicola Minichiello / Gillian Cooke finished in a creditable 7th position and look to be steadily improving, clocking very competitive start times in both their runs.
Race Reports written by Mark Carter - Performance Coordinator