Sigulda, Nov. 16, LETA. Five Latvian pilots will take part in the Latvian bobsleigh team in the World Cup stages in Sigulda, the head coach of the Latvian bobsleigh team Sandis Prūsis opened in a conversation with the news agency LETA over the weekend.
The World Cup 2020/2021 bobsleigh and skeleton season will start right in Sigulda, and the matches will take place for two weeks in a row – from 20 to 22 and from 27 to 29 November. If skeletonists and bobsleighers have two competitions, then in the men’s bobsleigh competition in doubles in Sigulda, four sets of medals will be divided, because two competitions will take place in the place for four.
In Sigulda, Latvia has three starting places for men in bobsleigh, and they will be used to the full.
“At the moment, it looks like the twins piloted by Oskars Ķibermanis and Ralph Bērziņš will take part in all four stages,” says Prūsis, cautiously adding that everything can change in an instant. “In the first weekend, Dāvis Kaufmanis will be the pilot of the third doubles in one match, and Emīls Cipulis in the second. It has not been decided yet who will start on Saturday and who will start on Sunday.”
The debut of Olympic champion Oskars Melbārzs is planned for the second weekend together with Ķibermanis and Bērziņš on both days of the competition, says the coach.
He also adds that it is planned to change the pushers. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to say at the moment which pilot will be pushed together in which of the four races.
Prūsis says that all Latvian pilots who will take part in the competition have already made at least 40 races on the Sigulda track this season.
At present, Prūša has all Latvian bobsled players, including juniors. The total number in the Latvian national team is 21 bobsleighers.
While the world is in chaos, Covid-19 benefits countries that have their own ice rinks. Germany, which has four routes at Winterberg, Königssee, Altenberg and Oberhof, is particularly well placed to do so.
Prussia reveals that there was an idea to go to another country’s track, but it did not work because of Covid-19. Therefore, it was not possible to make any rides in fours, only the landing exercise on the artificial ice platform.
“It may happen that we will make the first races in fours only before the European Championship in Winterberg,” Prūsis reflects the consequences of the current situation in the world for the Latvian national team, adding that the fours teams will probably have to be re-formed.
This season, the World Cup has 12 stages for doubles and only four crews of four.
The competition on the Sigulda track will take place without the presence of spectators.
On Monday, the first trainings on the Sigulda track within the framework of the World Cup were conducted by skeletonists and skeletonists, but on Tuesday, the bobsleighers will start.
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