Ahead of the final stage, only Friedrich and his Germany-1 four-man bob team had a chance of surpassing Melbardis in the standings, as Melbardis had a 200 point advantage over Friedrich.
However, after Friedrich pulled out of the final stage to better prepare for the World Championships, no other bob team can garner enough points to theoretically surpass Melbardis, as Russia's Alexander Kasyanov is 226 points behind him at this point.
This is the first time a Latvian four-man bob team has triumphed in the World Cup standings.
In the seven stages so far this season, the Latvia-1 four-man bob team won four, and finished on the podium in all of them.
Melbardis' two-man bob team is also currently in first place in the two-man bobsleigh standings, and will triumph in the standings if he finishes no lower than fourth in the season's final World Cup stage.
