As in the previous day’s race, home athletes swept the podium, but this time Friedrich and his Olympic gold medal-winning crew from Pyeongchang 2018 - Candy Bauer, Martin Grothkopp and Thorsten Margis - moved one step up to the top of the podium as they won both runs at the Winterberg bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track to total 1min 48.57sec.

Johannes Lochner, part of Friedrich’s world title-winning team last year, steered his bob to second place, 0.36 seconds back, with yesterday’s winner Nico Walther, the Pyeongchang 2018 silver medallist, finishing third overall, 0.46 back.

Walther and his team-mates Marko Hübenbecker, Alexander Rödiger, and Eric Franke were using a new sled for the first time.

Austria’s Benjamin Maier with Kilian Walch, Markus Sammer and Danut Moldovan were lying third after the first heat but dropped back to fifth following problems at the start.

"We really didn’t get a good start first time around," said Friedrich.

"But we were able to show what we are capable of in the second heat.

Friedrich added: "We changed our equipment a bit since yesterday and, along with my experienced crew, I think it was a good step in the right direction."

Lochner commented: "This was also a weekend of testing for me.

"For example we tried different runners from the first race and I also changed one of my brakeman."

Walther said: "We got lucky with third place thanks to a mistake by the Austrians, but sometimes you need a bit of luck.

"I’m not too happy with the new sled at the moment, but at least I gained some valuable experience today."

In the overall four-man bobsleigh World Cup standings Friedrich leads with 425 points after the second of eight races, with Walther second on 425 and Lochner  third on 410.

The next IBSF World Cup is also set to take place in Germany, at  Altenberg, between January 4 and 6.