Loginov and Hofmeister earn maiden World Cup wins

Loginov was part of a Russian one-two as he beat compatriot Andrey Sobolev in the final with Maurizio Bormolini of Italy coming third.

Bormolini prevented a Russian lock-out of the podium as he beat Dmitry Sarsembaev but the evening was all about the 18-year-old Loginov.

"I have no idea how I did this. I tried to ride calm and focused and did it. It's incredible," he said.

Sobolev is now third in the overall standings, behind Nevin Galamarini and Roland Fischnaller, while Loginov is up to fifth.

Meanwhile Hofmeister, of Germany, beat three-time Bad Gastein winner Ekaterina Tudegesheva, a world champion in 2007 and 2013, in the final of the women's event.

It could all have been so different for the 21-year-old slipped against 2015 world champion Claudia Reigler of Austria only to clinch victory by 18 hundredths of a second.

The Netherlands' Michelle Dekker completed the podium with victory over Natalia Soboleva, younger sister of Andrey, in the bronze-medal race.

"That's crazy, just unbelievable. I really enjoyed racing today, I really liked the steep hill. That's an insane motivation boost for the 2018 Winter Olympics. I guess I can book my flight now," Hofmeister said.

The German moves up to third in the overall World Cup standings following her victory, with Ester Ledecka, of the Czech Republic and Russia's Tudegesheva in first and second respectively.

Sportsbeat 2018