BERLIN, Dec. 7 -- Olympic 4-man bobsleigh champion Oskars Melbardis of Latvia, 2018 junior world champion Andreea Grecu of Romania, and Youth Olympic champion Jonas Jannusch of Germany are setting the pace in the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) Europe Cup after the station in Altenberg, Germany on Saturday.
Melbardis, Olympic bronze medalist in 2017 and 2018 in the 2-man bobsleigh, is just ahead of junior European champion Mihai Tentea from Romania in the overall standings after three out of eight races, with Jannusch currently third overall.
Both races in Altenberg were won by Richard Oelsner of Germany. The junior world champion had skipped the opening Europe Cup in Lillehammer, Norway and currently ranks fifth overall.
In the 2-woman bobsleigh, Grecu won her second race of the season and defended her lead in the overall standings. In Altenberg, she relegated An Vannieuwenhuise from Belgium and Youth Olympic champion Laura Nolte of Germany to second and third place. After finishing eighth in Altenberg, Frenchwoman Margot Boch still ranked second overall, ahead of Melanie Hasler of Switzerland.
In the 4-man bobsleigh, Jannusch finished second to leap from 11th after the first race to the top of the leaderboard.
In the men's standings, Melbardis ranks second overall ahead of Hans-Peter Hannighofer of Germany.