Racing with Lisa Buckwitz, Schneider, who won silver in the 2015 European Championships and bronze in the 2015 World Championships as brakewoman for Cathleen Martini, held a 0.26-second lead over World Champion Elana Meyers Taylor, of the United States, with Lauren Gibbs. 

European Champions Mariama Jamanka and Annika Drazek, also of Germany, had to be content with third 0.28 seconds back.

Katrin Beierl and Jennifer Onasanya, of Austria, who have already won four races in the European Cup, finished in fifth.

Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell, Jamaica’s first ever women’s team to compete in the World Cup, finished seventh.

“To be honest, after my second run, I thought I wouldn’t get anything," admitted Schneider.

"Of course, we are feeling relieved now, particularly because, with Mariama and Anna Köhler too, the entire German team did really well.”

United States and Canadian teams had to borrow sleds and other pieces of equipment to undertake training following a delay in their own kit arriving from North America, which actually arrived shortly before the race.

This included Meyers Taylor, defending World Cup holder Jamie Greubel Poser and current leader Kaillie Humphries, of Canada, who managed to defend her lead of 852 points in the overall standings.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to get a silver as I am today," said Meyers Taylor.

"It’s been a crazy week, and that’s an understatement. 

"We didn’t get our sleds until yesterday, so the two runs today were the first time we had used them in Winterberg.” 

At the halfway point of the season, Meyers Taylor has 820 points in second ahead of Jamie Greubel Poser, of the US, with 803 points.

Jamanka admitted to an error of judgement: “I wanted to really attack this race but the second run was not really that great," she said. 

"You have the option to really cut the corner on the way to the finish line – I decided to go for it because I knew it would be tight. 

"However, I then cut off too much.”

In the men's two-man bobsleigh there was a surprise victory for Switzerland's 30-year-old pilot Clemens Bracher, on his debut, and his brakeman Michael Kuonen.

“We already knew that Winterberg suited us and we also did really well in the training," said Bracher. 

"However, we really weren’t expecting to win here. 

"This was of our first ever World Cup race in the 2-man bobsleigh.”

They finished ahead of Germany's World Champions Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis with Canada's Chris Spring and Neville Wright in third.

Fourth were Canadian pair Justin Kripps and Alex Kopacz, ahead of compatriots Nick Poloniato and Lascelles Brown.

Bracher and Kuonen had held a 0.21-second lead over the two teams tied in second, Spring/Wright  and Friedrich/Margis. 

This marked Spring’s third podium finish of the Olympic season and the first for Friedrich. 

“We’re very happy today," said Spring. 

"This is my first ever medal on a European track. 

"We lent our sled to Alysia Rissling for training, which meant it kept going back and forth, but we got through it as a team.”

Friedrich said the conditions had made life difficult: "Naturally, the snow affected our start but it's an outdoor sport," he said. 

"Of course, we wanted to see what the new equipment was like, but it didn't really work out in the snow.

"It's really tricky now.”

After finishing sixth after the first run, the defending World Cup holder managed to climb up to the top three.

Poloniato and Brown had surprised the field by taking the lead after the first run, but fell back to fifth place in the second run.

Justin Kripps, of Canada,  finished fourth in Winterberg but still leads the overall standings for the 2017/2018 IBSF World Cup with 804 points ahead of compatriot Spring with 787 points and Nico Walther, of Germany, in third with 697 points.