Champion Hefti to miss bobsleigh World Cup openers

The Swiss slider is without his push team-mates Thomas Lamparter and Alex Baumann, who are both injured and expected to remain out for several weeks.

Hefti will be absent from next month's World Cup meetings in Lake Placid, Park City and Whistler.

Instead of the races in America and Canada, Hefti will enter the Europa Cup races, assisted by Juerg Egger, Clemens Bracher and a further brakeman who Swiss Sliding will announce after the events in in Igls and Winterberg.