Dukurs, a multiple world champion and double Olympic silver medallist, claimed his 58th World Cup win after completing his two runs in a combined time of 1min 44.55sec.

Britain's Matt Weston secured his country's first World Cup medal in men's skeleton for more than a decade as he finished second, 0.20sec adrift of the victorious Latvian.

Reigning world champion Christopher Grotheer of Germany was forced to settle for bronze having clocked a combined 1:44.88.

The triumph for Dukurs saw the Latvian justify his status as the red-hot favourite for overall glory and ensured he extended his lead at the top of the leaderboard.

Dukurs has already established a considerable 156-point lead over nearest challenger Alexander Gassner of Germany, and occupies top spot on 900 points.

Austria's Janine Flock extended her advantage in the race for the overall women's title as she took victory today in 1:47.01.

The 2019 European champion ended the competition 0.21 in front of Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands, who remains in second on the season's standings.

Third place went to Olympic silver medallist and former world champion Jacqueline Lölling of Germany, who finished in a combined 1:47.23.

Flock is 45 points clear of Bos having amassed 875 from the opening four races of the season.

The event in Innsbruck is due to continue with the first of two planned competitions in the two-man bobsleigh and the two-woman bobsleigh event.