Canadian pilot Pierre Lueders, right, and brakeman Lascelles Brown powered their way to a World Cup title and an Olympic silver medal last season. (Herbert Knosowski/Associated Press)

Canadians will be front and centre when the World Cup bobsleigh season begins on Nov. 27 at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. Two-time world champion and 1998 Olympic gold medallist Pierre Lueders looks to repeat his two-man World Cup title. The task won't be easy, however, as German Andre Lange, a double gold medal winner at the Torino Olympics, is motivated to regain his World Cup form.

On the women's side, German great Sandra Kiriasis will receive a stiff challenge from Canada's Helen Upperton. Kiriasis is the undisputed queen of the bobsleigh track, easily winning Olympic gold and the World Cup championship last year, and is poised for another stellar season. Still, Upperton became the first Canadian woman to win a bobsleigh World Cup event last year, emerging as a young star looking to dominate in the years ahead.

With several other bobsledders expecting to leave their mark on the sport this year, CBC Sports Online offers a glimpse of athletes to keep an eye on during the season.

The Favourites

Andre Lange, Germany (Two- and Four-man)
Lange's pedestrian effort during last year's World Cup season should be disregarded. Though he finished the year fifth in the two-man event and seventh in the four-man, the German was simply using the 2005-06 season as a tune-up for the Torino Olympics last February. Before the Winter Games began, Canada's Pierre Lueders proclaimed Lange the driver to beat. Lange proved Lueders's comments prophetic during the two-man event. He overcame a potentially disastrous second heat when brakeman Kevin Kuske's left hand slipped while attempting to get into the sled at the push start. Fortunately for the pair, Kuske was able regain control and the Germans lost minimal time because Lange's ability driving down the Italian track kept them in first. Lange went on to win gold medals in the two- and four-man events and remains the class of the field. With no Olympics to prepare for this year, Lange can devote all of his attention to the World Cup and February's world championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

German Andre Lange, left, overcame a sub-par World Cup season to capture gold medals in the two- and four-man competitions at the Torino Olympics. (David J. Phillipi/Associated Press)

Pierre Lueders, Canada (Two- and Four-man)
Lueders won't have the distraction that affected his performance for the early part of last season. His brakeman, Lascelles Brown, suffered through a frustrating process during his Canadian citizenship case, impacting the team's start. Brown, a Jamaican native, is one of the best brakemen in the world, a view Lueders knew all too well. The Edmonton driver failed to earn a podium finish in his first three races and grew increasingly annoyed as the situation dragged on. However, when Brown finally received his citizenship last January, Lueders gained a new lease on life. The pair earned an Olympic silver medal in the two-man event and went on to win the World Cup title – Lueders's sixth – by 21 points over Russian Alexandr Zoubkov. Lueders also finished second to the aforementioned Russian in the four-man event. With Brown's immigration problems a thing of the past, look for Lueders to be Lange's main threat for both the World Cup season and the world championships.

Sandra Kiriasis, Germany (Two-man)
Kiriasis and brakeman Anja Schneiderheinze have dominated women's bobsleigh for the last two years, blowing away the field with sheer power and strength. The German veteran began last season winning the first four World Cup races with relative ease, before capturing her first Olympic gold medal. "Unless she crashes this will be over after day one," CBC bobsleigh analyst Dave McEachern aptly predicted prior to the Torino Olympics. "She's just too big and too strong." Kiriasis built up such an insumoutable lead during the first half of the year that she didn't compete in the final World Cup race in Altenberg, Germany, yet still won the title by 98 points over Upperton. While the women's field is stronger and deeper than it has ever been, Kiriasis's power and overall abilities keep her at the top of the bobsleigh hill.

Calgary native Helen Upperton, left, emerged from obscurity last season by becoming the first Canadian woman to win a bobsleigh World Cup event. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press) )

Helen Upperton, Canada (Two-man)
Upperton and partner Heather Moyse emerged from obscurity last year, taking the bobsleigh world by storm in the process. In only her second full year as a driver, the Calgary native won Canada's first-ever medal in women's bobsleigh – a bronze in the opening race of the season – and later earned a gold in St. Mortiz, Switzerland, prior to the Winter Olympics. Though Upperton and Moyse placed fourth in Turin, Italy, finishing just five hundredths of a second behind Italian Gerda Weissensteiner, their second-place finish in the World Cup standings put the rest of the countries on notice. This season, Upperton will compete without Moyse, who is completing a master's degree at the University of Toronto. Though Moyse, one of the best push starters in the world, will be missed, Upperton is confident brakemen Jenny Ciochetti and Jaime Cruickshank can compete against the best in the world. Only 27, the upcoming season will only enhance Upperton's chances of capturing gold four years from now at the Vancouver Olympics. "By 2010 Helen Upperton is going to be dynamite," proclaimed McEachern.

On The Rise

Alexandr Zoubkov, Russia (Two- and Four-man)
At 32, Zoubkov remains fairly young for a driver that's been on the Russian national team since 1999. Zoubkov struggled during the early portion of his career but broke through at the 2005 world championships in Calgary with a silver medal in the four-man event. That season, Zoubkov also earned 11 medals in the two- and four-man competitions, further establishing himself as a driver on the rise. Zoubkov parlayed his success to his best-ever year last season, capturing the World Cup title in the four-man event and finishing second to Lueders in the two-man competition. The Russian topped off his breakout season winning an Olympic silver medal in the four-man. Zoubkov is already off to a flying start this year, winning the America’s Cup 4-man race at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, setting the stage for what could be an even better 2006-07 season.

Shuana Rohbock, United States (Two-man)
Kiriasis may have the pedigree and Upperton the label of young star, but Rohbock’s consistency over her first six seasons with the U.S. national team is the envy of the women’s field. Rohbock rarely makes a mistake and her clean driving continually places her among the best teams in the world. She first grabbed the attention of the bobsleigh world after winning a bronze at the 2005 world championships in Calgary with brakeman Valerie Fleming. Rohbock began the last year’s World Cup season with four straight podium finishes, including a silver-medal performance in the season-opening event in Calgary. The 29-year-old American pilot cemented her place among the top divers by winning a silver medal at the Torino Olympics, then finished third overall in the World Cup standings, behind only Kiriasis and Upperton. Now a crafty veteran with several international events under her belt, Rohbock refuses to take a back seat to either Kiriasis or to Upperton.

On A Slide

Evgeni Popov, Russia (Two- and Four-man)
Popov has failed to live up to the hype bestowed on him when he joined the Russian national team in 1997. Popov, who turns 29 the day of the World Cup opener, followed up a 10th-place finish at the 2005 world championships with another dismal World Cup season. The Russian's bronze-medal effort in the four-man competition at the Altenberg track in Germany was his first World Cup medal since 2001. Popov ended last season finishing sixth in the four-man and a disappointing 18th in the two-man competition, while also flaming out during the Torino Games. Like his countrymen Zoubkov, Popov began the season winning an America's Cup 4-man event, but the Russian has started strong in season's past only to crumple under the weight of lofty expectations.

Germany's Sandra Kiriasis, front, won the first four World Cup races last season en route to her first-ever Olympic gold medal. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Susi-Lisa Erdmann, Germany (Two-man)
The 38-year-old veteran has seen better days. Erdmann won a bronze medal in the inaugural two-man event at the 2002 Salt Lake Games and is a former two-time world champion. Despite finishing fourth in the World Cup standings last year, younger and stronger drivers took advantage of Erdmann's noticeable decline. Erdmann and brakeman Nicole Herschmann endured an inconsistent 2005-06 season, winning the third to last race in Konigssee, Germany, but a slow start cost her team any chance of finishing in the top 3 of the standings. Erdmann failed to reach the podium in her first three races and by time she earned a silver medal in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Rohbock was firmly entrenched in third. Her fifth-place showing at the Torino Olympics illustrated the German's inability to keep pace with the emerging stars of the sport.

Canadians To Watch

Amanda Stepenko, Edmonton (Two-man)
Stepenko, who will race with brakemen Shelley Ann Brown and Jill Salus, is entering her rookie season for Canada on the World Cup scene. The 26-year-old Edmonton native joined the national program in 2005, competing mostly with the America's Cup event while also placing fourth at the Canadian championships. Stepenko, who finished second during her last America's Cup competition in Lake Placid, N.Y., will rotate with Brown and Salus early in the season to determine which brakeman best suits her skills. For her part, Upperton particular loves the potential of Brown, a former hurdler. The brakeman, from Pickering Ont., is an explosive athlete and Upperton thinks Stepenko will greatly benefit from Brown's strong push starts.