Holcomb leads the way after two four-man runs in Whistler

Bobsleigh & Skeleton Vancouver 2010 Post a comment

Posted: Saturday 27th February 2010 | 0:59

THE USA's Steven Holcomb clocked his second track record in a row to take a commanding lead at the halfway point of the four-man bobsleigh competition in Whistler.

SETTING THE PACE: The American four-man sled, piloted by Steven Holcomb, is out in front at the halfway point of the competition (Getty Images)

Holcomb, the current world champion, teamed up with Steve Mesler, Curtis Tomasevicz and Justin Olsen to break the 51-second barrier in the first run, clocking 50.89 and then bettered that by 0.03 to take a 0.40 lead into Saturday's two runs.

"We're right where we want to be. We had a great day today and we'll have another great day tomorrow [Saturday]," said Holcomb.

"We may not have had the start times but I know we've got a great push. That's what my guys are so good at, they can accelerate the sled down the track.

"These are two different races. We won today. We just need to win tomorrow.

"It's not over yet. We've got another race ahead of us. This is basically like half-time.

"It's not easy, but at the same time it's what you've got to do.

"You can't think about 'You've got the lead, don't lose the lead.

Holcomb and co are now just two runs away from ending the USA's 62-year gold medal drought but the current leader insists he is paying no attention to that.

"It's just adding pressure we don't need," added Holcomb.

"So, OK, if I don't medal this week, it'll be 63 years. Andre Lange is the one under pressure. He's the world champ and he's won it four times," he added.

"He was looking distracted though - he was getting slower and slower as he came across the line.

"But I could name, out of 16 curves, probably 12 of them, where you can lose 1/10th of a second so we just have to focus."

Leading the chase is Canada's Lyndon Rush - the home favourite who crashed out of the two-man competition.

He was 0.23 and 0.17 back in the two runs and nearly lost his second-place standing after a shaky start to his second outing, but powered through in the closing stages.

Germany's Andre Lange, the two-man Olympic champion and two-time defending four-man champion is currently third, 0.44 behind Holcomb, after almost crashing out at the treacherous 13th corner.

Almost all drivers except for Holcomb have struggled to come to terms with corner 13 - dubbed '50-50' by competitors in reference to their chances of remaining upright.

Lange started his second run superbly and looked all set to pile thr pressure on Holcomb but only a last-minute readjustment stopped him being the 12th pilot in the 29-strong field to suffer a spill.

Great Britain's torrid bobsleigh showing continued in Whistler as John James Jackson, Dan Money, Allyn Condon and Henry Nwume crashed at corner 13, having placed 11th in their first run.

They slid down the track to record a time and sit 21st, but that will be scant consolation for Jackson, who also suffered a spill in the two-man competition.