This was his first victory since the opening two World Cups of the campaign in Yanqing and Sochi, and came courtesy of a total time of 1min 39.605sec.

Ludwig recorded a track record 49.790sec on his first run, and then a 49.815 on his second to clinch gold.

He now has 505 points, giving him a 124 point lead at the top.

A strong challenge from Austrian home favourite Wolfgang Kindl earned him silver, with his 1:39.654 moving him into second place for the season.

German athletes had occupied the top three places on the overall standings going into the Innsbruck leg of the circuit, but a bronze from Dominik Fischnaller with a 1:39.880 forced him onto the podium.

There was a victory for the host nation in the doubles event, as Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller made it back-to-back wins on the World Cup circuit with a total time of 1:19.281.

Andris Šics and Juris Šics of Latvia stay top of the leaderboard after finishing second in 1:19.303, while Italy's Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner were third in 1:19.452.

Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken of Germany stay second for the season but lost further ground at the top after a disappointing 13^th place finish, while third-placed Andrey Bogdanov and Yuri Prokhorov of Russia came seventh.

Competition continues in Innsbruck tomorrow with the women's singles and the sprint events across all three categories.