Schneider seals first World Cup victory as pilot

Schneider, who won World Championship bronze as a brakeswoman two years ago, raced to victory in Winterberg alongside Lisa Buckwitz.

The German led after run one with an opening time of 57.61 seconds, but despite a second place finish in the second run, Schneider's combined time of 1:54.90 was enough to see her take top honours.

Elana Meyers Taylor took the silver medal with Lauren Gibbs, improving on a sixth-place finish in the first run to record the quickest time in the second.

The final spot on the podium was taken by European champion Mariama Jamanka with Annika Drazek, two hundredths of a second off silver for her first World Cup medal of the season.

"To be honest, after my second run, I thought I wouldn't get anything," said Schneider.

"Of course, we are feeling relieved now, particularly because, with Mariama and Anna Koehler [eighth] too, the entire German team did really well."

Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell - Jamaica's first women's team to compete in the IBSF World Cup - finished their first race in seventh place.

Kaillie Humphries' fourth-place finish was enough to keep her at the top of the overall standings, with Meyers Taylor second and Jamie Greubel Poser third.