Germany’s 4-man bobsled hadn’t been beaten at Altenberg, the toughest track in the world, for 17 seasons.
Until Great Britain’s Brad Hall, Taylor Lawrence, Arran Gulliver and Greg Cackett came along, that is.
The quartet captured Britain’s second 4-man World Cup gold in three races and third of all time, another magical moment in this historic season.
Victory in Lake Placid was proven as far from a flash in the pan as Hall drove his team home by a margin of 0.09 seconds.
Cackett said: “That was pretty special.
“We looked at coming to Altenberg for two weeks on a bogey track as good preparation for the World Championships and we’ve finished the first week with a gold medal. D
“Doing well here at a track we’ve not done well at before bodes so well for the World Champs, which is at another track where we haven’t been as good as we’d like in the past. It’s exciting times.”
Hall’s sled were the second quickest starters in the first heat as they led at the halfway mark and a stunning second run start, the fastest of the day, laid the platform for gold.
“We always want to be the fastest starters so to pull out a 5.06 in the second run was a great feeling for all of us,” said Cackett.
“We know how important it is to be in a good place going into the first corner so to go two hundredths quicker than anyone else all day is just huge for us.
“The push has been consistently quick all season - we know we can produce when we need to. Arran’s only been sliding for a couple of months but he’s been amazing. To come in and help give us starts like that so early in his career is incredible.”
That made it the first time a British 4-man team had won two World Cup gold medals in a single season.
Hall has now won eight World Cup medals across two and four-man this term, also taking silver with Lawrence at Altenberg.
Cackett said: “Seeing Brad and Taylor win silver on Saturday gave us even more confidence that we could win the 4-man. We’re setting such high standards now because we know what we’re capable of.”
Britain are second in the overall 4-man standings with three races to come, within sight of the leaders. Britain have never won an overall medal in the 4-man World Cup.
The sky is now the limit with the World Championships running from 28 January to 5 February in St Moritz, and the World Cup concluding in Sigulda, Latvia in mid-February.
Cackett said; “Brad’s driving great and we know that, if we give him a decent push, he can get us on the podium anywhere in the world.”
Sportsbeat 2023