Sandis Prūsis, the head coach of the Latvian bobsleigh team, believes that the injuries of the riders will not affect the beginning of the upcoming season.
The World Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup will start in Sigulda, and the matches will take place for two weeks in a row. 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. Therefore, the trainings in Sigulda were also attended by representatives of other countries – there were Czechs, Poles, Ukrainians, as well as English and also representatives of other countries.
The Latvian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (LBSF) emphasizes that the biggest advantages are currently for domestic athletes, who can spend the most training rides on the Sigulda track. The Latvian national team has joined the new BTC doubles, which are currently being tested by both Ralfs Bērziņš and Oskars Ķibermanis. There will also be new four-seater sleds, but they will only be available for testing in December, when preparations for the third and fourth stages of the World Cup on the Eglass track in Austria will take place.
The composition of Latvian crews is not yet considered. Coach Sandis Prūsis plans to conduct control training next week.
“At the moment, it is still too early to judge who will drive. For now, the preparations for the season are still underway. Next week will be like a control week, after which possible compositions could crystallize, at least for the first stages in Sigulda,”
Asked whether all Latvian bobsleighers are healthy and without injuries, the coach answered in the negative.
“It will never be the case that all 25 athletes are completely healthy and without injuries. Of course, someone has an injury, but I would say that there is nothing so tragic that it could affect the start of the season for Latvian teams,” says Prūsis.
At present, it is still difficult to predict how many national crews will participate in the Sigulda stage, but the interest is great. The teams of the USA and South Korea, which plan to spend the first half of the season on their tracks until the turn of the year, are unlikely to participate.
The first and second stages of the World Cup will take place in Sigulda from November 16 to 29. The competition, as usual, will take place on weekends.
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