From Königssee, GER
Königssee is known for holding some very tight races, and despite one pilot running away with the first day of sliding, the rest of the race was as tight as ever.
Francesco Friedrich dominated the first two heats of the four-heat race, setting the fastest time in both heats on his way to an overnight lead of .52. Behind him, however, the racing was tight throughout the field.
In the battle for second, Justin Kripps put some distance between himself and Germany’s Johannes Lochner, with the Canadian edging ahead over the course of each heat to a .11 advantage going into the second day of racing.
The big movers of the race came from mid-pack after the first run, with Nick Poloniato moving up from ninth after the first run to fourth at the end of the first day of sliding. Poloniato had a nearly flawless run on what was left of the track conditions and was rewarded with the third fastest run of the heat, moving to within a tenth of the top three.
Latvians Oskars Melbardis and Oskars Kibermanis finished their first day of competition in fifth and sixth.
Much like Nick Poloniato, Steven Holcomb made a big move after the first heat. Coming into the second run in 14th, the American moved into seventh on the strength of a very clean run. Holcomb finished tied for second in Königssee in the World Cup race leading up to the World Championships and has left himself in contention for another World Championship medal.
Justin Olsen made gains in the second run after a very bumpy run down the “bendaway” straight in his first run. The American moved up from 22nd to 17th. His teammate, North American Cup champion Nick Cunningham, finished the first day of sliding in 24th.
Another big mover in the second run was British pilot Bruce Tasker, moving into eighth from an 11th place first run. His teammate Bradley Hall moved up from 24th to 23rd in his second run.
Chris Spring rounded out a very strong day for the Canadians, moving up to 11th from 13th after two runs.
Results After Two Heats:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Friedrich / Margis | GER | 6 | 4.78 | 4.79 | 49.15 | 49.45 | 1:38.60 |
| 2 | Kripps / Lumsden | CAN | 11 | 4.84 | 4.85 | 49.44 | 49.68 | 1:39.12 |
| 3 | Lochner / Bluhm | GER | 9 | 4.87 | 4.88 | 49.51 | 49.72 | 1:39.23 |
| 4 | Poloniato / Wright | CAN | 1 | 4.85 | 4.85 | 49.62 | 49.71 | 1:39.33 |
| 5 | Melbardis / Strenga | LAT | 20 | 4.83 | 4.85 | 49.57 | 49.80 | 1:39.37 |
| 6 | Kibermanis / Miknis | LAT | 7 | 4.81 | 4.80 | 49.55 | 49.88 | 1:39.43 |
| 7 | Holcomb / Valdes | USA | 13 | 5.00 | 4.98 | 49.71 | 49.76 | 1:39.47 |
| 8 | Tasker / Fearon | GBR | 18 | 4.85 | 4.87 | 49.64 | 49.84 | 1:39.48 |
| 9 | Walther / Franke | GER | 5 | 4.91 | 4.92 | 49.59 | 49.91 | 1:39.50 |
| 10 | Hefti / Kuonen | SUI | 4 | 4.86 | 4.87 | 49.60 | 49.92 | 1:39.52 |
| 11 | Spring / Kopacz | CAN | 19 | 4.90 | 4.90 | 49.68 | 49.87 | 1:39.55 |
| 12 | Peter / Amrhein | SUI | 8 | 4.93 | 4.94 | 49.60 | 49.99 | 1:39.59 |
| 13 | Rinaldi / Vain | MON | 25 | 4.92 | 4.91 | 49.74 | 49.88 | 1:39.62 |
| 14 | Stulnev / Belugin | RUS | 14 | 4.97 | 4.97 | 49.74 | 49.89 | 1:39.63 |
| 15 | Zalims / Jansons | LAT | 16 | 4.87 | 4.86 | 49.91 | 49.80 | 1:39.71 |
| 15 | Won / Seo | KOR | 10 | 4.88 | 4.91 | 49.65 | 50.06 | 1:39.71 |
| 17 | Olsen / Weinstock | USA | 17 | 4.83 | 4.81 | 49.95 | 49.83 | 1:39.78 |
| 18 | Dvorak / Nosek | CZE | 24 | 4.89 | 4.89 | 49.90 | 49.92 | 1:39.82 |
| 19 | Luty / Tylkowski | POL | 27 | 4.96 | 4.98 | 49.84 | 50.03 | 1:39.87 |
| 19 | Maier / Sammer | AUT | 12 | 4.86 | 4.91 | 49.63 | 50.24 | 1:39.87 |
| 21 | Kasjanov / Pushkarev | RUS | 15 | 4.97 | 5.00 | 49.78 | 50.10 | 1:39.88 |
| 22 | Kim / Jun | KOR | 2 | 4.92 | 4.95 | 49.91 | 50.05 | 1:39.96 |
| 23 | Hall / Blanchet | GBR | 33 | 4.92 | 4.92 | 50.04 | 50.11 | 1:40.15 |
| 24 | Cunningham / Adams | USA | 22 | 4.94 | 4.98 | 49.96 | 50.22 | 1:40.18 |
| 25 | Andrianov / Antukh | RUS | 23 | 4.99 | 4.99 | 50.07 | 50.15 | 1:40.22 |
| 26 | de Bruin / Piek | NED | 28 | 5.02 | 5.00 | 50.07 | 50.23 | 1:40.30 |
| 27 | Oelsner / Schüller | GER | 21 | 4.95 | 4.97 | 50.10 | 50.22 | 1:40.32 |
| 28 | Costerg / Hauterville | FRA | 32 | 4.99 | 4.99 | 50.09 | 50.25 | 1:40.34 |
| 29 | Bertazzo / Variola | ITA | 3 | 5.04 | 5.06 | 50.11 | 50.34 | 1:40.45 |
| 30 | Vrba / Suchy | CZE | 31 | 4.96 | 4.98 | 50.11 | 50.48 | 1:40.59 |
| 31 | Treichl / Esterhammer | AUT | 30 | 4.98 | 5.01 | 50.17 | 50.43 | 1:40.60 |
| 32 | Suk / Oh | KOR | 26 | 4.97 | 4.99 | 50.49 | 50.20 | 1:40.69 |
| 33 | Baumgartner / Ughi | ITA | 29 | 5.04 | 5.07 | 50.25 | 50.54 | 1:40.79 |
| 34 | Tentea / Craciun | ROU | 34 | 4.99 | 5.00 | 50.63 | 50.58 | 1:41.21 |
| 35 | Radenovic / Vujanic | SRB | 35 | 5.06 | 5.08 | 50.66 | 50.81 | 1:41.47 |
| 36 | Silic / Mezulic | CRO | 36 | 5.19 | 5.21 | 51.22 | 51.46 | 1:42.68 |
