The defending World Cup champion had yet to top the podium so far this winter, but returned to form at the ideal time with the World Championships due to begin in 10 days time at Königssee, Germany.

Hermann would lie third in the standings after the first run of competition at the Austrian venue by clocking 54.17 seconds.

Her time was bettered by Canada’s Mirela Rahneva and Austria’s Janine Flock, who managed times of 54.03 and 54.12 respectively.

A strong second run time of 53.98 would be enough to propel Hermann to victory, with her rivals falling off the pace.

Hermann would end with a combined time of 1min 48.15sec, with Rahneva finishing 0.16 behind as the runner-up.

The podium was completed by Flock in 1:48.39, with Russia’s Olympic bronze medallist Elena Nikitina just 0.04 adrift in fourth.

Despite finishing down in ninth place, Germany’s Jacqueline Lölling remains the overall World Cup leader heading into the penultimate event as she boasts a total of 1,366 points.

World champion Hermann is now just 25 points behind, while Flock is well poised on a total of 1,321.

The World Cup season will conclude next month in Pyeongchang, with the 2018 Winter Olympic Games host due to hold competitions from March 17 to 19.

Latvia’s Martins Dukurs will head to the concluding event with the prospect of winning the overall title for the eighth consecutive season.

Dukurs won the penultimate men’s event with a combined time of 1:43.89 to move to the top of the series standings.

Sochi 2014 Olympic champion Alexander Tretiakov settled for second place in 1:44.47, after the Russian triumphed last week in Königssee.

The podium was completed by South Korea’s Sungbin Yun in 1:44.57, but he slipped out of the overall World Cup lead.

Dukurs now has a total of 1,437 points, with Yun second on 1,413.

Bobsleigh competition will take place tomorrow.