Just 19 points separates Lamparter and the in-form Riiber prior to the final two events in the German town.

Lambarter leads the standings and appeared to have one hand on the Crystal Globe before Riiber put together a string of victories as he bids to defend his World Cup crown.

Since returning from the Winter Olympics in Beijing where his chances of gold were dashed by a COVID-19 infection, a re-energised Riiber has claimed three successive wins to close the gap on Lambarter.

Lambarter has led the World Cup standings for the past two months, but has not registered a victory since Klingenthal in mid-January.

The 21-year-old double World Championship gold medallist has accumulated 1,202 points over 18 of the 20 events, but Riiber is closely behind on 1,183 heading into this weekend’s showdown.

Olympic champions Vinzenz Geiger of Germany and Norway’s Jørgen Graabak will also be aiming to cap their seasons with another victory.

While the men’s title race remains in the balance, the women’s crown has already been secured by Norway’s Gyda Westvold Hansen.

Westvold Hansen has won all six events this season and will hope to complete a clean sweep with back-to-back victories in Schonach.

Qualifying is set to take place tomorrow, with the two events due to be staged on Saturday and Sunday (March 12 and 13).