Friedrich and Alexander Schler made two trips in one minute and 38.38 seconds. They were 0.44 seconds ahead of the Swiss Michael Fogt crew and 0.53 seconds ahead of the German Johannes Lohner.
The fourth was the best Latvian champion Olympic champion Oskars Melbārdis, who this time rode with Nemmi. They were 0.63 seconds behind the winner and 0.10 seconds behind the podium.
Bērziņš’s piloted two finished sixth in 1.09 seconds behind Friedrich, but Ķibermanis with Spriņģis finished seventh in five seconds.
In the first race, Melbārdis and Edgars Nemmi used the successful first start number, finishing in the fourth place 0.24 seconds behind the crew of Francesco Friedrich from Germany.
The sixth result was achieved by Ralfs Bērziņš with Arnis Bebris, who were 0.48 seconds behind the leader, and the seventh – Oskars Ķibermanis with Dāvis Spriņģis, who were still 0.12 seconds slower.
The first three places were taken by the Germans. The second after the first race was Johannes Lohner and Christian Rasps (+0.17), and the third was the two led by Christoph Hafer.
The bob piloted by the Swiss Simon Friedley, on the other hand, fell and finished to the side, with the bobsleders choosing to give up the second ride.
Friedrich with pusher Alexander Schlerer achieved the result in 49.19 seconds in both the first and second races, surpassing his own old track record.
Unlike the third stage, which took place in Sigulda on Saturday, Matīss Miknis and Intars Dambis were not among the pushers, who drove in Ķibermanis and Melbārzs crews, respectively.
Friedrich, who is 96 points ahead of Johannes Lohner, is in the lead after four stages with 900 points. The Swiss Mihaels Fogts is third with 770 points, the German Christoph Hāfer is ten points less, Ķibermanis is fifth with 714 points, and Bērziņš is in the sixth position with 696 points. The last three places in the 15 doubles competition are taken by Latvian pilots who have completed a smaller number of stages. 13th place is taken by Melbārdis (360 points), who has completed two stages, 14th – Dāvis Kaufmanis (144) and 15th – Emīls Cipulis (128), who both piloted two in this season’s World Cup matches.
In all three previous stages, which took place in Sigulda, the victory was won by the German bobsleigh virtuoso Francesco Friedrich, celebrating his 40th victory in the World Cup stages on Saturday, counting the success in doubles and fours.
Bērziņš was fifth in the first two stages, but on Saturday he was in ninth position.
Ķibermanis started the season with the sixth place, then had to settle for the eighth position, but on Saturday he managed to win the first prize of this season – the second place. Melbardis, meanwhile, held his first race of the season on Saturday and finished seventh.
Last Saturday, pilot Dāvis Kaufmanis was tenth, but on Sunday Emīls Cipulis took 12th place.
These are the last of the four previously planned doubles competitions in Sigulda.
Latvia and Germany are the only countries in these World Cup stages that have the right to start with three crews.
Bobsleigh players from the USA, Canada and Great Britain, as well as Russian and Austrian crews do not participate in the stages, because some athletes from these countries were found to have Covid-19 upon arrival in Latvia.
Last season, Ķibermanis won in both stages of Sigulda. In the first stage, Friedrich competed fiercely with him, but in the next stage, the German did not start, winning the second place for the Swiss Simon Friedl. Last year, when Sigulda debuted in the World Cup, Friedrich was unbeaten in both stages.
In the 2019/2020 season, Ķibermanis won the second place in the overall standings, conceding only to Friedrich, but Bērziņš did not start in two stages and ranked 14th. In the quadruple for Latvians, the fourth and 17th position, respectively, but in the combination – the third and 15th place. Ķibermanis became the European champion and won bronze in the planetary championship, but Bērziņš had a place in the second tenth in these matches.
Last season, Melbārdis started in the World Cup only in Sigulda in the doubles competition, where he was fifth, but in the European Championship – fourth. In the planetary championship, the Olympic champion had places in the top ten in doubles and fours.
Since 2006, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation has been organizing the World Cup stages together, dividing five sets of medals in one stage – in the skeleton for ladies and gentlemen, in the bobsleigh for men in doubles and fours, and for bobsleighers in doubles.
True, the Sigulda track is currently not suitable for bobsleigh quad competitions, therefore two men’s doubles competitions are taking place in Latvia in one stage.
The next two stages will take place in Innsbruck, but one stage is planned in Winterberg after the new year. Stages will continue in St. Moritz and Königssee, but the end of the season was scheduled for mid-March on the Yanchin track, where the 2022 Beijing Olympics will take place. True, the IBSF announced on Saturday that the Yanchin track will not be the last stage of the season.
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