Five-star Friedrich stays perfect in Innsbruck

Friedrich has cycled through three different brakemen but that hasn't slowed him in the slightest and he made it five victories from five by laying down the fastest time on both runs in Austria.

Alongside Thorsten Margis this week, the German clocked 51.39s on his first run and 51.46s on his second for a total time of 1:42.85.

The double Olympic gold medallist led compatriot Johannes Lochner by 0.08s after the first run and extended that to an ultimate victory margin of 0.15 as Lochner and brakeman Florian Bauer settled for silver.

Friedrich's closest competitor in the overall standings, Oskars Kibermanis of Latvia, took his fourth podium of the season by claiming bronze alongside Matiss Mikniss – clocking a time 0.34s slower than the winner.

British pilot Brad Hall finished a season's-best eighth thanks to a strong second run, after lying 11th following the first heat.

Sportsbeat 2019