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Park City • Steven Holcomb walked onto the back of a loading truck as Alexander Kasjanov's gold-medal run came to a sliding halt. The Russian pilot had completed back-to-back first-place runs on Holcomb's home track at the Utah Olympic Park, cementing the first of two gold medals to be handed out in the four-person bobsled event in this weekend's IBSF BMW Bobsled & Skeleton World Cup.

While Kasjanov and his teammates pumped their fists and screamed in jubilation with teammates, Holcomb and his group took the long, cold ride back to the top of the park to prepare their sled for Saturday night's race after finishing 16th.

"I'm one of the best drivers on this track," said Holcomb, a three-time Olympic medalist. "This is my home track. I have more wins on this track than anybody. I had a great run. The drive was really good. We were just so far behind to start because of the conditions at the top. We had no chance."

The conditions he spoke of at the Utah Olympic Park on Friday night were cold blustery winds, blowing wave after wave of snow onto the track, and more specifically, slowing sleds up top. Holcomb's uncharacteristic slow second run was set back due to the powerful winds, he said. That second start negated a first run (48.10) that saw Holcomb's crew enter Round 2 in fifth place and within striking distance of their first podium of the World Cup season. Their second run (49.10) was 19th out of 20.

"That's not fair conditions," he said. "Like, you could at least hold up the track and let [the weather] calm down. They won't do that. It's really frustrating. We went from being in medal contention to last place."

It was basically the luck of the draw for sleds Friday night. The first 10 didn't have to deal with the same frigid gusts that some of the later sleds did. Holcomb said if conditions persist Saturday, he'd like to see race officials consider delaying sleds from competing until it clears. He pointed to examples of World Cups in Germany where he said if the wind is too strong, there is generally a wait.

"It's just not the way it should be," Holcomb said. "You come here trying to win the World Cup and do well."

Fellow veteran American pilot Nick Cunningham, who finished 12th overall, said he's never dealt with the combination of wind and snow in a competition at Park City as Friday presented.

"Hopefully tomorrow Mother Nature gives us a little break," he said.

In the women's bobsled event Friday morning, Americans Jamie Greubel Poser and Lauren Gibbs won bronze. Greubel Poser improved to 5-for-5 on medals — two gold and three bronze — in the first five World Cup races of the year.

"It's a little disappointing not to come away with a win on a home track, but at the same time we've done that to other people on their home tracks as well," Greubel Poser said.

ckamrani@sltrib.com Twitter: @chriskamrani —

Bobsled & skeleton World Cup

Utah Olympic Park, Park City

Four-person bobsled

1. Alexander Kasjanov, RUS, 1:36.20

2. Maximilian Arndt, GER, 1:36.24

3. Rico Peter, SUI, 1:36.42

12. Nick Cunningham, USA, 1:36.99

13. Codie Bascue, USA, 1:37.12

16. Steven Holcomb, USA, 1:37.20

Women's bobsled

1. Kaillie Humphries & Melissa Lotholz, CAN, 1:40.38

2. Christina Hengster & Sanne Monique Dekker, AUT, 1:40.54

3. Jamie Greubel Poser & Lauren Gibbs, USA, 1:40.85

8. Nicole Vogt & Malaikah Love, USA, 1:42.13

9. Brittany Reinbolt & Seun Adign, USA, 1:42.67

Saturday's schedule

11 a.m. • Women's skeleton

Noon • Men's skeleton

5 p.m. • 4-person bobsled