From Winterberg, GER
(Dec. 6, 2020) – Stephanie Schneider won the season opener for women’s bobsled, cruising to victory by well over a half of a second.
The 2019/2020 World Cup champion had the fast push of each race with brakewoman Tamara Seer and was the quickest at every timing line in both heats on her way to gold, beating out Austria’s Kati Beierl.
The gold was the second for Schneider on the European Cup tour as a pilot. Her European Cup start was her first since November of 2016.
Beierl finished in second for her fifth straight European Cup podium. She’d won her previous four EC starts.
Andreea Grecu, edged out Nadezhda Sergeeva for bronze, giving the 2019/2020 European Cup champion her 12th straight podium finish.
Sergeeva finished fourth, .01 ahead of Belgium’s An Vannieuwenhuyse in fifth. Russia’s Anastasiia Makarova rounded out the top six.
Frances Margot Boch sat out the second World Cup race of the season with a knee injury. She came back to action in the European Cup, finishing 14th.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Schneider / Seer | GER | 9 | 5.56 | 5.57 | 57.22 | 57.60 | 1:54.82 |
| 2 | Beierl / Onasanya | AUT | 12 | 5.60 | 5.60 | 57.58 | 57.86 | 1:55.44 |
| 3 | Grecu / Wick | ROU | 8 | 5.66 | 5.64 | 57.81 | 57.77 | 1:55.58 |
| 4 | Sergeeva / Mamedova | RUS | 4 | 5.69 | 5.69 | 57.89 | 57.80 | 1:55.69 |
| 5 | Vannieuwenhuyse / Aerts | BEL | 11 | 5.70 | 5.69 | 57.77 | 57.93 | 1:55.70 |
| 6 | Makarova / Egoshenko | RUS | 2 | 5.71 | 5.69 | 57.89 | 57.91 | 1:55.80 |
| 7 | Lobenstein / Dönicke | GER | 6 | 5.66 | 5.70 | 57.71 | 58.10 | 1:55.81 |
| 8 | Hasler / Rebsamen | SUI | 5 | 5.76 | 5.73 | 57.89 | 57.98 | 1:55.87 |
| 9 | Fontanive / Strebel | SUI | 7 | 5.66 | 5.65 | 57.98 | 58.04 | 1:56.02 |
| 10 | Guckwitz / Leitz | GER | 3 | 5.63 | 5.63 | 57.97 | 58.08 | 1:56.05 |
| 11 | Köhler / Kwofie | GER | 1 | 5.63 | 5.65 | 58.01 | 58.09 | 1:56.10 |
| 11 | Osipenko / Tarasova | RUS | 10 | 5.66 | 5.64 | 58.09 | 58.16 | 1:56.25 |
| 13 | Dudkina / Kurysheva | RUS | 16 | 5.79 | 5.79 | 58.64 | 58.47 | 1:57.11 |
| 14 | Boch / Senechal | FRA | 13 | 6.39 | 6.39 | 58.89 | 58.81 | 1:57.70 |
| 15 | Hunko / Lishchynska | UKR | 15 | 6.09 | 6.08 | 59.54 | 59.27 | 1:58.81 |
| 16 | Bee / Barrett | GBR | 17 | 5.94 | 5.98 | 59.79 | 60.63 | 2:00.42 |
| 17 | Ellett / Haslam | GBR | 14 | 6.05 | 6.17 | 62.77 | 63.80 | 2:06.57 |
