Skiing 2016/17

Almost time - Sölden GS this coming weekend (22/23 October)!

Women's Race: Ahh, it’s good to hear Nick Fellowes’ rather interesting name pronunciation again. Worth noting that this race starts at an altitude of 3040 metres. Well, looks like we are starting with some familiar names going early on run 1; for example Lara Gut goes with number 2, Eva-Maria Brem 5, Tina Weirather 7 and Mikaela Schiffrin at 16. A few names missing too – Tina Maze has apparently announced her retirement (although she may race at the Worlds in Maribor, Jan 17) and Anna Fenninger (among others) is out with injury; I think Lindsey Vonn is at the US F1 GP this weekend? Sölden is looking good today, mix of sunshine and shade – Lara Gut seems to be on fire – she is 3.18 faster than Nina Løseth! Ana Drev and MPH can’t match her and now it’s Brem, who won the GS globe last year – she goes into third, with Drev holding on to 2nd.  Good run from Federica Brignone to take 2nd, but even so she’s 1.97 off Gut’s pace. Marta Bassino into second place now – good start from her. That’s 15 down – Lara Gut leads, from Bassino (+1.84), Brignone (+1.97), Kirchgasser, Drev and Worley. Now, that’s better – Mikaela Schiffrin into 2nd, still 1.42 back on Gut though; Kajsa Kling goes 5th, Stephanie Brunner into 6th. Carmen Thalmann has the dubious distinction of the first DNF of the new season, but she seems to be OK. Looks like Alex Tilley might just get a second run?
On to run 2 – sadly Alex didn’t quite make it; 33rd in run 1! Doesn’t look quite so nice now, more cloud,  and this is apparently a more demanding course – might cut up a little for the later starters? Good run from young Melanie Meillard; she’s going to be someone to watch. Looks as though Massios might be DQ’d for an early start. The “slower 10” from run 1 are down – Petra Vlhova (SVK) leads from Ricarda Haaser (AUT) at this early stage. Now 15 down, and Vlhova is hanging on to the lead; Frasse Sombet 2nd and Schneeberger 3rd. Fastest 15 still to come – Maria Pietilae-Holmner (aka MPH) a bit off the pace today; she’s had a frustrating time with GS at times. Løseth and Mowinckel both a bit disappointing; they probably won’t be happy with their second run, and neither will Brem, who is currently in 15th. Mind you, she didn’t do well here last year and still won the GS globe! Twenty down now and it’s still Vlhova from Frasse Sombet and Schneeberger. Final 10 to go – Sofia Goggia really taking risks; lovely run and she gets the lead. I thought Tessa Worley might take it away but she lost time low down on the course – into 2nd. Ana Drev built on her advantage at the top, but lost time lower down; only 4th after losing over a full second on the final stages. A similar story for Michaela Kirchgasser; green through all the split times but into 3rd at the finish. Stephanie Brunner produced something different – lost time to split 1 but then improved – she takes over the lead. Kling losing time pretty much all the way down to go just 17th; she will be disappointed with that. Brignone can only manage 6th but Marta Bassino, from Barolo (famous, as Nick F keeps reminding us, for its red wine), puts in a very competent run to take the lead. Doesn’t last for long though – very aggressive run from Schiffrin to take the lead away from the Italian. Just Lara Gut to come – 1.42 in hand as she starts; she’s lost a tiny bit at split 1 but builds to 2 and 3 – she takes the win by a massive 1.44 – fantastic race today. So, that’s the first race of 38 for the women this year finished – Lara Gut (SUI) wins from Mikaela Schiffrin (USA) and Marta Bassino (ITA). Stephanie Brunner a very creditable 4th, ahead of Goggia and Worley. Fastest time for run 2 from Vlhova!

Men’s Race: Nice to see Ted Ligety’s name in the start list; back from his ACL injury! Anyway, conditions look very good again – first run is on a course set by the French; perhaps fittingly a Frenchman is the first away, Mathieu Faivre. His time is quickly bettered by Thomas Fanara, and then it’s Marcel Hirscher’s turn – very quick; he goes 0.87 faster and takes the lead. Henrik Kristoffersen can only manage third (+0.91); however Alexis Pinturault is much more on form – he takes over the lead from Hirscher! Ted looking a bit race rusty, which is hardly surprising; Felix Neureuther has apparently had an injury free summer for the first time in ages – good run and into third. Stefan Luitz also going well – he’s taken over third place; 2 Germans in the top 5 at present. All change – Justin Murisier (SUI) goes into third, and he’s only a couple hundredths (0.03, if I’m going to be pedantic) slower than Marcel H. That’s 15 racers down – Alexis Pinturault leads, Marcel Hirscher 2nd (+0.17) and Justin Murisier 3rd (+0.20); then Luitz, Neureuther and Fanara. Nice run from Marcus Sandell; into 6th place. Fritz Dopfer seems to leading the “epic recovery” competition today, but he’s safely down. Now, Andre Myhrer has taken a good line – into 4th, an impressive run. With 30 down, the top 3 places remain the same – Myhrer 4th with Luitz and Neureuther making up the top 6.
Run 2 – 31 racers as there was a tie for the final place (Nani & Haugen). Commentators reckon this second run will be even more of a test; more technical and more physically demanding? Course set by a Norwegian this time; must be tricky as we have had 2 DNFs already (Moelgg & Jitloff) from just 6 starts. Benedikt Staubitzer was third man down the hill this run and his time seems to be holding up quite well; later starters losing time in the middle of the course. A good run from Luca de Aliprandini, and he takes the lead by just 0.02. Nick F is just commenting “I think Jansrud is in the form of his life …” at which point Kjetil joins the DNF team – curse of the commentator claims an early victim! Carlo Janka into third; several others finding that it’s very easy to lose time on the steep section. Ted Ligety lost a bit of his advantage in the middle of the course, but a great lower section puts him into the lead! Even so, it’s Staubitzer who is still fastest on this run at present. Faivre into 2nd; not for long though as Zan Kranjec (SLO) produces a lovely run to take the lead away from Ted – beautiful middle section. Henrik Kristoffersen was tipped to do well on this second run, but a big error early on cost him time – only third … and Fanara has just taken that away from him. Big error for Marcus Sandell; he did well to recover. Felix Neureuther was 0.31 off the pace at the second split, but he pulls it back to take the lead. Stefan Luitz can’t do the same though – only 15th. Andre Myhrer green through 1 and 2, but just one error loses him time; 8th place. Justin Murisier has lost most of his advantage by split 2; into 5th. Just 2 to go – Marcel Hirscher has 0.57 in hand at the start; it’s up to 1.08 by split 1; 0.79 at 2, 0.86 at 3 and into the lead by 0.67 – how did he recover from some of those errors? Pressure on Alexis P – he is building on his advantage all the way – very impressive; not just a win but the fastest time on run 2 as well! So, Alexis Pinturault takes the first race of the men’s season, from Marcel Hirscher (+0.70) and Felix Neureuther (+1.37). Kranjec 4th, Ted in 5th and Fanara 6th. Exciting race; Staubitzer second fastest on run 2!

Venue today is Levi in Finland, and the women’s’ slalom race. First however, a quick update – Lindsey Vonn has been training for the speed events this season, but it has to be said that she isn’t the luckiest person; according to her FB page (about 48 hours ago) “Unfortunately, yesterday I crashed while training in Copper and severely fractured the humerus (sic) bone in my right arm. I had successful surgery last night in Vail and everyone took great care of me.  While I am beyond frustrated by this latest setback, at least my knees are ok and I will return to the slopes as soon as possible, as I always do! Thank you for the continued love and support, it means so much to me”. Given the way she skied last season, even after injury, I suspect she will be back as soon as she gets medical clearance, or possibly even earlier! See FB page.  More bad news is that Eva Marie Brem has broken her leg and is out for this season FIS report here.
Right, back to Levi; no Lara Gut today but Mikaela Shiffrin goes number 7. Sarka Strachova gets run 1 started; Wendy Holdener promptly goes 0.86 faster! Veronika Velez Zuzulova (for the rest of the season – VVZ) goes into 2nd but loses that position to Petra Vlhova, who is just 0.17 behind Wendy H. Frida Hansdotter was in the red all the way, but a great final section sees her tie with Holdener for the lead – however, here comes Mikaela! Very confident run; aggressive and fast – she takes the lead by an impressive 0.72; super stuff. This is apparently the steepest slalom piste that the women will race on this season; several racers fighting for grip at times. That’s 15 down – no falls but some big time gaps; Mikaela S leads from Hansdotter and Holdener who are tied in 2nd, Vlhova 4th, VVZ 5th and Strachova getting the final top 6 place at present. Costazza has straddled and is the first faller today; she seems OK and is up and skiing off. Quite tight time gaps in the “middle” of the pack so it could all shuffle in run 2. That’s the first 30 away, almost no change to the top 10 as it was with 15 down, except that Anna Swenn-Larson has replaced fellow Swede MPH in 10th place - I'll be out for run 2, so I'll have to see it later! Worth noting that in run 1 Melanie Meillard (Sui), who started number 40, managed to grab 5th place from VVZ.
Run 2: The scheduled repeat on Eurosport seems to have been delayed (or abandoned) due to a marathon tennis match! Over to the video coverage – nice run from Katharina Truppe to take an early lead; the light is fading a little and the floodlights are coming on. Truppe is hanging on; several contenders losing time where the slope changes angle onto the steep section, with a tricky roller not helping! Maren Skjøld (Nor), who was 16th in run 1 put in a blinder here on run 2, building on her advantage and keeping it together on the steep to take over the lead. Truppe is being pushed down the list (ending up 15th) but Maren’s time is holding up well. Nina Løseth has gone into 2nd at present, but there are the fastest 8 still to come. Sarka Strachova suffering a little as conditions get a little harder – into 2nd place. VVZ takes over the lead; Skjøld  starts to slide back down the placings, but her run was (I think) the fastest on run 2 and she ended up a very creditable 5th. Good run too from Melanie Meillard, who ended 6th from a rather modest start number. Now that was impressive – Petra Vlhova has taken the lead by a massive 0.85; good day for Slovakia! Wendy Holdener was just into the red at inter 3, but pulled it back to just edge out Vlhova.  Not a good day for Sweden with both Frida Hansdotter (last years’ slalom crystal globe winner) and Anna Swenn-Larsson failing to complete the second run (only 2 to DNF). Last to go – Mikaela Shiffrin, with 0.72 in hand – lovely run to win this first of 9 slaloms. Result – Mikaela Shiffrin wins from Wendy Holdener and Petra Vlhova; VVZ 4th from Skjøld and Meillard.

Sunday: Venue today is once again Levi in Finland, and the first men’s slalom race of this season; Marcel Hirscher goes 5th in run 1. Annoyingly, I can’t seem to get logged in to Eurosport; from the ticker it seems Koroshilov, first down, was a bit out of touch; Dopfer better, Marco Schwartz better still – no idea what happened to Myhrer! Currently Marcel Hirscher has gone fastest – there’s a surprise, although FIS reports that “Marcel Hirscher suffers an infection of the middle ear and is not in his absolute best shape”. No luck on the desktop – heaven only knows why, Eurosport seems to be very flaky at times – seems OK on the iPad though. Now I can actually see the action – not at all nice in Levi – very poor visibility today, many racers getting iced up goggles, and it’s getting worse; not looking good for run 2 if it goes on like that. With 20 down it’s Hirscher, from Marco Schwartz and Felix Neureuther. Now for a bit of local (in UK) excitement – Dave Ryding is looking very good today! It’s better than just good – he’s currently in 4th place just 0.46 behind Marcel H! Currently Manfred Mölgg in 5 and Michael Matt 6th. Coverage has now ended and Dave is still 4th; top 6 unchanged.
Run 2: Hadn’t appreciated that Henrik Kristoffersen has decided not to race today; some problems involving a dispute with the Norwegian team about his main sponsor – he says he’s out until it’s resolved, as I understand the commentators’ discussion – a gift to Marcel and others! Mist and fog still evident but the temperature is staying down which should help the piste keep condition – have to say the visibility doesn’t look inviting! Top 30 back for this run; quite small time gaps in places so there could be a few upsets? Kristoffer Jakobsen is making his World Cup slalom debut today – nice run and he could be a name to remember (as Nick F said of another racer – “he’ll always remember this day for a long time”). First 10 down and Alexis Pinturault leads from Jakobsen and Lahdenperae. As yesterday, in the women’s race, a number of skiers are looking good on the upper, flat section, but losing time on the steep; good recovery by Linus Strasser! Leif Kristian Haugen looked as though he would take the lead, but he missed it by just 0.01, to tie with Jakobsen – Alexis hangs on; useful points for the overall! Just as we come to the halfway point Manuel Feller takes the top spot – great run! Luca Aerni into 2nd place; visibility seems to be fading a bit? Jonathan Nordbotten briefly into 3rd until Fritz Dopfer goes into joint 2nd with Aerni. Great run from Mattias Hargin; now he’s into 2nd; Michael Matt (younger brother of Mario?) has taken over 1st place, pushing fellow Austrian Feller down into runner up slot. Now it’s changing really quickly – Manny Mölgg takes over 2nd place by just 0.01! Here comes Dave Ryding; green at 1, still green at 2, just into the red at 3 – he’s 4th, +0.27. Felix Neureuther almost does it the other way round; red, red, green and then 3rd place. Just 2 to go – Marco Schwartz starts well; massive error and he skis out lower down. Marcel Hirscher builds on his advantage pretty much all the way down – he wins the first men’s slalom of the year by a massive 1.30 – depressing for the rest, given that he isn’t well! Good day for Austria with Hirscher winning from Michael Matt with Manny Mölgg in third for Italy. Neureuther in 4th, ahead of Feller and Dave Ryding (a personal best) in 6th.

Women’s GS (Killington): Rats – missed the first run live! Quite a number of DNFs shown on the FIS site – including Lara Gut and MPH. Some of the later starters are still on run 1, but it seems unlikely that they will alter the top 6 who are, at present, Nina Løseth from Tessa Worley (+0.09), Federica Brignone (+0.64), Stephanie Brunner (+0.90), Viktoria Rebensburg (+1.00) and Marta Bassino (+1.03). Mikaela Shiffrin, leading the overall rankings at this early stage, did finish, unlike Lara, and is in 8th, +1.15.
Run 2, and no change to the top 10. I see Alex Tilley has got a 2nd run after finishing 26th in run 1.  Eurosport seem to be fascinated by the snooker, which is being shown on a channel clearly marked “live World Cup skiing”, but there is a commentary free video feed available – looks a bit windy and misty in Killington? Visibility isn’t that good in places, but the forerunners are on the course now; I can see a lot of DNFs looming! Emi Hasegawa will be the first away – she’s down safely but that didn’t look nice – one can only hope that the vis is actually better than it looks on camera; Candace Crawford is also down, but a lot slower than Emi. Valerie Grenier seemed to have a couple exciting moments but she’s into the lead; Meillard is the first DNF. Now for Alex Tilley; building nicely through inter 1 and 2, still good at 3 – she is leading at present; nice run! Well, she’s seen off Barthet and Nadia Fanchini, but not Manuela Mölgg! Really wild run from Katharina Truppe – lost time after a mistake, almost got it back, then another amazing recovery but more lost time – safely down though. Much better from Wendy Holdener to take the lead, only to lose it straight away to fellow Swiss skier Simone Wild – 10 down and 1 DNF. Impressive run from Adeline Baud Mugnier, especially in the middle section – lead changes again. At the half way point of run 2 Adeline BM leads from Ragnhild Mowinckel and Petra Vlhova. The visibility looks a lot better now, at least in some places, but it hasn’t helped Michaela Kirchgasser, who goes into 5th with another 14 to go.  Sofia Goggia takes over the lead with what is, at present, the best time for run 2; Vlhova and Wild tied for 2nd best. Twenty away and it’s Goggia from Marsaglia and Curtoni – good day for Italy so far! Tina Weirather doesn’t seem to be on form today and Frida Hansdotter almost lost it – great recovery! At last – we get coverage with commentary! Eight to go, and here comes Mikaela Shiffrin – she’s losing time though and her 0.82 advantage has become +0.13 at the finish – into 2nd. Ana Drev had -0.88 at the start but also had a mistake after inter 2; into 3rd. Marta Bassino into 2nd – Vikki Rebensburg has lost masses of her advantage by inter 1; not sure her back injury is fully repaired? Stephanie Brunner was looking good but she’s fallen; she seems to be OK. Federica Brignone has also manage to lose a huge advantage as the piste gets harder work; she’s into 6th and just 2 to go – Goggia is guaranteed a podium place! It won’t be the win though as Tessa Worley puts in a great run to take over the lead.  Just Løseth to go – she only has -0.09 in hand; the light goes red by inter 1 and she’s into 2nd. Final results – Tessa Worley wins from Nina Løseth with Sofia Goggia 3rd, still with the best time on run 2! Bassino 4th ahead of Shiffrin (now with 225 overall points) and Drev; Alex Tilley 21st with some World Cup points on the board.

Killington – Women’s Slalom: Given Eurosport’s obsession with snooker and tennis (Argentina v Croatia, for heaven’s sake) this isn’t going to be easy live, especially as the biathlon Mixed Relay is running at the same time! OK – weather looks much better today; first away is Mikaela Shiffrin – looks to be a good run, especially on the bottom third and the big question will be can anyone match it – Sarkova is quite a way off; Holdener better but a mistake lower down drops her to 2nd. Veronika VZ was looking promising, but she has also lost time on the lower section – into second place. Right, 10 down and only 2 are within a second of Shiffrin; Mikaela leads from VVZ (+0.65) and Wendy Holdener (+0.94), then Løseth, Vlhova and Hansdotter. Twenty down and no change at all to the top 6, although Lena Dürr has gone into 7th; same with 30 down, and no change by the end of run 1 – let’s hope run 2 is a bit more interesting!
Run 2: Joined this half way through with Ana Bucik leading from Truppe and Wikstrøm, but with the fastest 15 from run 1 to come. Fastest on run 2 at present is Denise Feierabend. Quick TV break and straight away MPH has taken the lead; Irene Curtoni into 2nd. What a finish from Michaela Kirchgasser – that ski only just got inside the gate near the finish but she’s taken the lead; great recovery. Doesn’t last long though as Bernadette Schild recovers from a slowish start to take over. Sarka Strachova goes green/red/green to go into the lead by just 7 hundredths; Lena Dürr tries red/green/green and leads by just 1 hundredth! This is tight, for the cup points. Hansdotter has less success with the lower section; into 5th with 5 to go. Superb top section from Petra Vlhova – lost a little lower down but it’s enough to go into first place. Nina Løseth is also good on the upper section; again she loses time on the final third but she goes first by another 0.01 margin. Now Wendy Holdener – she lost time in the middle but what a superb finish – 0.48 faster than Løseth! Veronika VZ keeps it green all the way; just Mikaela Shiffrin to go. Here we go, lose a little at inter 1, pull it back a bit and gain more on the final section – another win by a mighty 0.73; despite that it’s only the 22nd fastest time on run 2, 1.33 off Denise Feierabend’s time! So, Shiffrin wins her 10th slalom in a row, ahead of VVZ and Wendy Holdener. Løseth in 4th ahead of Vlhova and Dürr.

Men’s Super G (Val d’Isere, vice Beaver Creek?) – 2 December: Excellent news – we have the postponed races from last weekend, but in Val d’Isere, which has a good lot of snow, – and Eurosport are covering this Super G live! Welcome back Aksel Lund Svindal – back from last season’s nasty injury. Race has started, Matthias Mayer (also back after injury) first away.  Romed Baumann is the first DNF;  Kilde just gets top spot by 0.02, but probably too many errors for him to stay there? Yes, Bostjan Kline (SLO) goes 1.12 faster – good run. Now here’s Svindal – green all the way and into the lead by 0.28, but even he isn’t completely error free. Dominik Paris into 2nd; now Kjetil Jansrud – red at inter 2 but good on the steep – he goes into the lead by 0.17! Norway 1 and 2 at present, with 10 racers having started. Nice to see Marcel Hirscher (who actually won the Super G at Beaver Creek last year) on the start list today – pretty good run too, on a course which favours downhill racers, and he’s into 7th at present. Bit disappointing from Beat Feuz; only 6th.  Good recovery from Dustin Cook, also back from injury. Nice start from Alexis Pinturault – green light at inter 1 & 2 but through a gate rather than round it lower down. I don’t think he’s hurt, but that the third DNF so far. Ted Ligety, also back after ACL surgery – not sure the course really suits him, just 16th today, at present. Still Jansrud, Svindal and Paris on the potential podium; then Janka, Kline and Feuz. I see Jan Hudec has started skiing for the Czech Republic (where he was born) rather than Canada – looks like it will take a while to settle to a whole new team, with entirely different kit? Good run from Travis Ganong to go into 7th from a start number of 27. I thought Erik Guay might have got into the top 10, but he lost time lower down; 11th at present – that’s the top 30 down. Not sure what has happened to Ferstl, but the race is interrupted. Brief excitement later when the FIS live timing showed someone as -1.17 at inter 2, but that turned out to be a glitch! Race over – unofficial results show no late changes to the top 10, although well done to Ryan Cochran-Siegle who started number 61 and ended up 15th. A win for Jansrud, Svindal 2nd and Paris 3rd; then Janka, Kline and Feuz. Hirscher ended up joint 13th, which I think gives him 20 more World Cup points?

Men’s Downhill (Val d’Isere, vice Beaver Creek) – 3 December: Before we move to alpine skiing, in the men’s 10 Km freestyle cross country at Lillehammer Andy Musgrave was looking good early on; still an impressive 11th  place out of 97. Back in Val d’Isere and with so much else on, we again aren’t getting live commentary, just video. This time Adrien Theaux is away first; weather looks good but there is an interesting mix of sunlight and shade on the course at present. Good start by Erik Guay but he’s lost time on the lower section, especially between inter 3 & 4. Some of the slow motion shots are amazing – the angles these racers get are incredible; great run from third starter Kjetil Jansrud, into the lead by 0.81. Baumann off form, possibly after yesterday’s DNF? Svindal too seems a bit off his usual pace at times, but he is supposed to be “taking it a bit easy” in the early races after the knee surgery – he’s into 2nd at present. Good start by Peter Fill, green all the way through inter 3, but then he lost time – into 2nd, splitting the two Norwegians. Ten down and it’s Jansrud, Fill and Svindal, then Kline, Theaux and Guay.  With 20 down, the top 6 are the same and Patrick Küng has gone into joint 7th with Dominik Paris – at which point I’m going out which means I’ll miss the biathlon and the rest of this race – catch up later! Not a lot to mention – top 8 remain as listed (Küng & Paris tied for that 7th place); Kilde 9th and Valentin Giraud Moine got 10th place from a 22 start and that’s about it.

Men’s GS 4 Dec: Run 1 – joined a little late, just as Marcel Hirscher became the first person to go sub 1 minute 12, obviously taking the lead. Next down was Mathieu Faivre - track might be speeding up – he’s green all through the intermediate points but goes 2nd by just 0.01! At present Hirscher, Faivre, Fanara (+0.44) then Pinturault (+1.08) and Ligety (+1.37). Manuel Feller has just gone into 5th (+1.22). Run 2 is going to be exciting, especially the Hirscher/Faivre tussle. Philipp Schörghofer has just replaced Feller, his fellow Austrian, in 5th but both are pushed down a place by Victor Muffat-Jeandet who is into 4th (+0.77) – the French are in positions 2, 3, 4 & 5! Stefan Luitz is my nominee for recovery of the day! Twenty down and Riccardo Tonetti has just skied into 5th – good effort. Top 3 unchanged – Hirscher, Faivre and Fanara. There is a suggestion that the snow might be getting a bit faster? Possibly so as Gino Caviezel is into 10th (start number 23) and Luca de Aliprandini is 11th (24). The live data feed is playing up again –I don’t believe Jansrud is 9.73 seconds faster than Hirscher!! In fact he’s a DNF, so no points today. So, run 1 pretty much over – Hirscher leads (just) from Faivre, Fanara, Victor M-J, Tonetti and Pinturault. Run 2 at lunchtime.
Run 2 has started – course set by an Austrian, looks tricky especially as the light fades. Mölgg looking good on his run, but he lost time low down, into 3rd. Tim Jitloff similar but he gained so much in the upper sections that he had enough in hand to take the lead. Lovely run from Erik (son of Ken) Read (CAN), nice technique and good speed – into the lead and a performance that should get him a better start number in future? Nice run from Tommy Ford, into 2nd; Filip Zubcic has taken it from him! That’s 15 down; Reed leads from Zubcic and Ford – fastest 15 from run 1 to come. Henrik Kristoffersen, still in conflict with his national ski hierarchy, takes over the top spot – in turn he is displaced by de Aliprandini; great recovery from Caviezel! What was that word Feller used – not happy with his run, just 5th at present. Great run from Alexis Pinturault – on the limit and he’s leading by 1.02, super stuff. Victor M-J is into 2nd – French going well. Fanara is green all the way to inter 3, thrown off into the sift snow and he’s 2nd. Now Faivre has over a second in hand – that advantage stays pretty much the same all the way 1.07 at the start, leading by 1.11 at the finish – brilliant run and pressure on Hirscher. Marcel H has gained a tiny bit by inter 1, but is into the red at inter 2 and 3; he goes into second 0.49 behind Mathieu Faivre! That’s it – Faivre takes his first World Cup win, to the delight of the French crowd, Marcel Hirscher second and Alexis Pinturault 3rd. Thomas Fanara 4th ahead of Victor M-J and Luca de Aliprandini. Erik Reed a very creditable 9th. Hirscher leads the overall by 80 points from Kjetil Jansrud; Hirscher and Pinturault tied for first in the GS standings.

Women’s Downhill – Lake Louise 2 Dec: Well, interesting to see Mikaela Shiffrin in the start list! Sadly this one isn’t covered live – thrice accursed snooker takes precedence despite being on BBC as well! There is video but no commentary – however that’s enough to see that visibility isn’t too good on certain parts of the course. Tina Weirather the first away – actually the vis looks OK, what were they showing earlier? She almost sat back down on the lower section, but a good recovery! Margot Bailet not so lucky  but she’s up and able to ski away. This course looks a bit of a beast; Edit Miklos has arguably been closest to error free so far, and she’s taken the  lead from Tina. That was a gutsy run from Lara Gut – green all the way and her time is the best so far by an impressive 0.90. Stacey Cook briefly into 2nd but deposed by Vickie Rebensburg. Corinne Suter was looking very good on the upper section but seemed to get a little  low in the line after an error, which lost her time  - I do miss the commentary, they see all sorts of technical issues that I miss! Laurenne Ross not far off on the early sections, but again losing time lower down. Kajsa Kling has made an even more impressive start – building to inter 3, and keeping it green through 4 and 5; great run from the Swede and she’s into the lead. Twenty away and it’s Kling from Gut and Rebensburg, then Cook, Schnarf and Ross. Quite a crash from Mowinckel – presume she’s OK as the race hasn’t been interrupted for long, but I suspect that hip will be very bruised; hope that’s all. That was a nice run from Stephanie Venier – into 5th place. Even better from Sofia Goggia – red at the top but she’s actually making  up time as she goes further down the course, still just red at 4, but she’s taken away the top slot by 0.09; almost no time to celebrate much though as Ilka Stuhec is next down and green all the way; Gut off the podium! Joana Hälen has just hit the netting – that looked a bit more serious but she is standing up and seems to be about to ski down – tough lady. I can’t help but wonder if Mikaela Shiffrin is reviewing  whether this was a good idea – she’s next. Actually that looked pretty good – into 16th at present and the prospect of a few more World Cup points to add to her already impressive total. Christina Ager almost went into the same net as Hälen; good recovery but she’s a DNF. That’s start number 35 away; currently Ilka Stuhec leads from Goggia, Kling, Gut, Rebensburg and Cook- and that’s how it ended! Shiffrin ended up in joint 18th.

Women’s Downhill – Lake Louise 3 Dec: And Mikaela Shiffrin is in the start list again today! Again this one isn’t covered live – there is video but no commentary. I gather (FIS Facebook)there was fresh snow on the course and a lot of work was required to get this event back on schedule? Looks good anyway; Edit Miklos gets things going! Corinne Suter is oscillating between green and red and ends up 2nd; now for yesterday’s winner Ilka Stuhec – green all the way and into the lead. Kasja Kling isn’t going to be on the podium today – 4th at present. Good run from Lara Gut – more red/green oscillating but eventually into 2nd – this course looks a bit of a beast. Ten down and it’s Stuhec, Gut and Miklos on the provisional podium, followed by Suter, Kling and Puchner. I suspect a few people will be disappointed with their times today; some quite big time gaps developing. Some racers finding it hard to keep on the line, from the look of it – great recovery from Margot Bailet. I had hoped that Tina Weirather would shake things up, but she lost time on the lower sections and is currently 9th. Twenty down – no change to top 6; Sofia Goggia isn’t going to be on the podium today either – 12th at present.  Hard to tell as the cameras optimise the coverage, but it looks like the light is going – very flat. That’s it – no change to the top 10, so very well done to Ilka Stuhec for winning 2 downhills in 2 days. Mikaela Shiffrin was 13th today, so that's another 20 points!

Women’s Super G – Lake Louise, 4 Dec: Rats – start postponed for an hour due to heavy snowfall. Now another 15 minutes delay; all credit to Eurosport this time for still trying to cover the race, and to the Lake Louise staff for clearing the piste. Mikaela Shiffrin going number 31 again! I think the course has been shortened, with a flat, gliding section lower down, but at least it looks as though it will happen; course set by a French coach. Any drifting off the line will be costly – fresh, soft snow lurking. First down is Johanna Schnarf, and her time is holding up at present. Great run from number 5, Tina Weirather to go into the lead by 1.28. Lara Gut takes over top spot – very aggressive; Gut, Weirather and Schmidhofer at present. That’s Sofia Goggia into third; that soft snow is really punishing any mistakes – they really are cracking through this race – short course and reduced start interval! Kling into 4th; Stuhec into 5th! Later starters seem to be generally slower, although Puchner (start 24) has got into 11th. Ah, the snow is getting heavier again; just in time to slow down Shiffrin! Good late charge from Edit Miklos (start 54) into 13th; also Johnson Breezy (50 to 16) and Priska Nufer (49 to 17). I think that’s just about it – Lara Gut gets another 100 points for her win, from Tina Weirather and Sofia Goggia. Kling 4th ahead of Stuhec and Rebensburg. Mikaela Shiffrin ended up 34th, so no points from this one; she is on 358 in the overall to Lara Gut’s 330, with Sofia Goggia third on 267.

Men’s GS – Val d’Isere 10 Dec: Missed a lot of run 1; when I joined there were 30 down – Alexis Pinturault leading from Stefan Luitz (+0.65) and Marcel Hirscher (+0.67); Roland Leitinger 4th ahead of Philipp Schörghofer and Felix Neureuther, who is tied in 6th with Leif Kristian Haugen. Looking at the top 10 Nösig (start number 28) is 9th and Loic Meillard (30) is 10th – looks like the course is holding up. Sadly Ted Ligety doesn’t seem to have had a good run – back in 21st, +2.23 at present. That’s run 1 over – no changes to the top 10! Good from Zampa to get into the second run with a very creditable ski from a late start number!
Run 2: Had to catch this one on the highlights version too, so they won’t cover the whole run. Ted Ligety is a DNF on what seems to be a very unforgiving course! First run that we saw, in this programme, was Erik Read – pretty good run despite a couple errors and he takes over the lead from Andre Myhrer. Luca de Aliprandini should surely have gone into the lead, but he joins today’s “error with just 3 gates to go” team – he did finish but that massive error cost him much too much time. That’s Tommy Ford out - looking good earlier though; Murisier also out. Now, Henrik Kristoffersen and it’s a good start – various shades of green all the way and he’s into first place. Victor M-J is into the netting almost straight out of the start hut! Hope he’s OK, as we have gone to adverts before I had a chance to see. Eleven to go – Faivre red all the way but into 3rd behind Read. Felix Neureuther is on the course; green at 1 and 2, still OK at 3 but that one mistake drops him into 2nd. Haugen is next – he can’t match Kristoffersen but goes 3rd just ahead of Read. Philipp Schörghofer is really risking it all; looked pretty good but he lost time somewhere on the final 6 gates – now he’s into 3rd. Just 4 to go – nothing special from Leitinger but Marcel Hirscher is on fire – into the lead by 1.17 seconds! That must be the fastest time on run 2 surely? Now Stefan Luitz – a slightly less aggressive start and an error and he’s losing time to Hirscher – into 4th. Finally Alexis Pinturault – with 0.67 in hand. Another aggressive run – a different line too; he’s lost a bit of the advantage but there’s enough left for the Frenchman to win and delight the local fans! Pinturault wins from Hirscher and Kristoffersen; Neureuther 4th ahead of Luitz and Schörghofer.
In the GS standings Alexis Pinturault leads with 260 from Marcel Hirscher (240) and Mathieu Faivre (158). Marcel Hirscher leads the Overall with 360, from Pinturault (284) and Jansrud (200). FIS race report HERE

Women’s GS Sestriere 10 Dec: Apparently a tough course on this icy Olympic track – one of the forerunners has crashed into the nets! Bit of difficulty getting the FIS data feed up, bit sluggish, but it’s on now – race is on and Vikki Rebensburg is first away. Apparently she has back problems which can’t be helping! Sure enough, second down is Nina Løseth – massively faster but three turns from home, with Nick and Chemmy in full gush, she‘s out! Very frustrating – that was a good run, ruined by a fractional lack of attention. No such problem for Tina Weirather who goes into the lead by a massive 1.5 seconds. That’s Federica Brignone out too – 4 away, 2 DNFs. Tessa Worley lost almost a second between inter 1 and 2, but much better lower down and she’s second, just 0.04 behind Tina; Ana Drev into 3rd. Good from Lara Gut, very close but not quite there – tied in 2nd with Worley. Now it’s Mikaela Shiffrin – green, red, green and that’s the lead by just one hundredth! All extremely close – building up for a very exciting 2nd run! Disappointing run from Kirchgasser, but Sofia Goggia is on form – very quick on the top, half a second up at inter 3 but a mistake coming onto the flat and she’s +0.12 at the finish – with the tight time margins that’s only 5th! After her the time gaps get bigger, but even so all the top 10 (and positions 6 to 10 are quite close too, and still changing) are within a second of Shiffrin. Francesca Marsaglia (start 23) – good run and into 11th! Mowinckel becomes the 3rd DNF – not a good day for the Norwegians here. Ah, a change – Simone Wild takes 6th from Ana Drev – just 0.43 off the lead. Thirty away; Shiffrin leads from Weirather; Gut and Worley tied in 3rd, then Goggia and Wild making up the top 6. Coverage shifts to biathlon, and so do I.
Run 2: Missed it live – the highlights start with the fastest 8 from run 1 still to come; at that stage Brunner leads from Meillard, but Marta Bassino has just gone faster – she takes the lead. Next down is Ana Drev – red at inter 1, getting it back at 2, but still just red – into 3rd place. Simone Wild is next; she’s losing a bit of her advantage at every inter; just trying a bit too hard perhaps as she goes into 2nd – Bassino’s time looking pretty good, she skied the final stage very nicely. Italy looking quite good on home snow – Goggia is actually building on her advantage – over a second up at inter 2, but then a big error; great recovery and she’s in the lead by 0.86! Four to come; first is Tessa Worley and the slowmo shows that she really has her race face on – she is also building on her advantage, beautiful skiing and deservedly into the lead. Lara Gut well into the red at inter 1; pulling a bit back but it’s not enough – 3rd at present. Tina Weirather next – just 0.04 in hand; losing time on the upper section, and going more into the red as she goes down – into 4th spot. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – she seems too be taking a different line and it doesn’t seem to be working; error on the flat too – into 6th for 40 more world cup points. So, a good day for the French as Tessa Worley wins at Sestriere to match Alexis P who won at Val d’Isere – her second consecutive GS win. Rising Italian star Sofia Goggia was second ahead of Lara Gut; Tinea W 4th from Marta Bassino and Mikaela Shiffrin. Overall points now Shiffrin 398; Gut 390; Goggia 347 – in the GS standings Tessa Worley has 240; Goggia 185, Shiffrin 165 and Gut 160. FIS race report HERE

Men’s Slalom – Val d’Isere 11 Dec: As this is slalom, which I admire for its impressive technicality but find a bit boring, I missed most of the first run in favour of a lie in! Looks like run 1 is pretty much decided – Alexis Pinturault (yes, him again) leads from Alexander Khoroshilov (+0.24), Henrik Kristoffersen (+0.42) and Marcel Hirscher (+0.74) Stefano Gross in 5th ahead of Matthias Hargin and Felix Neureuther – only the top 6 are inside 1 second of the leader’s time. Dave Ryding currently in 20th, +2.29. Right run over – no change to the top 10; Dave R is 23rd – loads of DNFs!
Run 2: Emma C-A reckons this is a slightly easier course? Early leader is Michael Matt – very impressive run, which might stand for a while? Now it’s Dave Ryding’s turn; he’s lost time to Matt, into 3rd at present. Impressive to see 18 year old Armand Marchant (Belgium), who started 65th on run 1, put in a good 2nd run to get his first World Cup points. Victor M-J is having an awful weekend – out yesterday and almost did the same today, currently +6.85! Tommaso Sala into 2nd and almost at once replaced by Luca Aerni – Matt’s run really was good! Oh well, all good things come to an end – Marc Digruber has taken over the lead; that’s half way – Digruber, Matt, Aerni. Naoki Yuasa going well at the top – green, green, red and into 3rd! Now Mölgg into 3rd, Myhrer to 4th; Feller is a DNF (straddle). Marco Schwarz going well at the top – massive error in sight of the finish and that’s a fair run spoilt. Excellent start from Felix Neureuther, then a straddle and out. Hargin has 0.90 in hand, he’s lost almost all of it by inter 2 and well red by 3 – into 5th. Stefano Gross has nearly a full second advantage as he starts – it’s halved by inter 2, and he too is into the red at 3 – enough in hand to go 2nd though. The mid section is proving crucial for the later starters. Here comes Marcel Hirscher – he’s actually building on his advantage to inter 2, bit slower to 3 but he’s into the lead by a massive 1.60 after a superb lower section; what a run! Sadly Matt is off the podium, and Hirscher has also taken the fastest time for run 2 away from him! Henrik Kristoffersen is also on form though; course set by a Norwegian, which might help – he goes into the lead by 0.75 and that’s the new fastest time on run 2! These top slalom racers are really pushing it. Alex Khoroshilov isn’t matching his first run – red all the way and into 3rd. Just Alexis Pinturault to go – half his advantage is gone by inter 1; he’s OUT! So, Kristoffersen wins, Hirscher 2nd and Khoroshilov gets the final podium place. Michael Matt was 6th, behind Digruber and Gross, and he also managed the 3rd best time on this run – good effort for him. Dave Ryding in 17th today. Another 80 points for Marcel H, with none for Alexis P; Henrik K up to 3rd in the overall points

Women’s Slalom – Sestriere 11 Dec: Over to Sestriere live; slalom 3 of 9! Let’s hope Chemmy doesn’t get too excited or Nick will have a surprise! Run 1 has just started, and first away is Mikaela Shiffrin who seems pretty much unbeatable on slalom courses at present – very icy and possibly that was a small error early on? Rest looked pretty good though; interesting that the Swiss coach set this course (for Wendy Holdener?), and the American coach will set run 2 (for Shiffrin?). Interesting – Frida Hansdotter, who rumour has it is not happy with her set up, is faster on the upper section, but losing time lower down – into 2nd. Veronika V-Z is very similar – faster at the top but losing a little lower down – she’s 2nd now. Well, if that course was supposed to favour Holdener it hasn’t worked – good recovery from an error, but she’s only 4th. That error was at the same gate that Mikaela found awkward; might cause problems for the later starters? Vlhova goes 4th, Løseth a bit off the pace, for her; I wonder if yesterday’s DNF has dented her confidence a bit? Very disappointing run from Gagnon – she’s not settled yet this season. Ten down – Shiffrin leads from VVZ, Frida H and Petra Vlhova. Oops, Michaela Kirchgasser into the netting – seems OK. Suddenly there’s no change, last excitement was Bernadette Schild going into 9th. Truppe almost made it into the top 10, but an error a few gates from home has dropped her to 13; ah, Emily Wikstrøm into 10th, just ahead of MPH! Manuela Mölgg joins the “all going well until in sight of the finish” team; the number of DNFs is rising. Coverage shifts to the biathlon, but Meillard has gone into 9th from a start number of 43.
Run 2: Back to Nick & Chemmy – good to hear that Alex Tilley has qualified for this 2nd run. Alex is the 8th to start this run – Marina Wallner leading at present; Costazza probably should have taken it away but she had a mistake with the course layout – unusual for a World Cup competitor (I think I could lip read the coach’s comment!). Alex into 3rd; her first World Cup points in slalom. Lena Dürr has straddled, she joins the DNF tally. Christina Geiger into the lead, but by just 0.08; Katharina Huber fastest on run 2 so far. Interesting to see Lara Gut with slalom skis on, and getting a second run – into 10th! Nice run from Katharina Truppe to take over the lead – very elegant; Gallhuber into 2nd. That’s half way. That’s close – very good run from Resi Stiegler, into the lead by 0.02; she hasn’t had time to get into the leader’s enclosure when Irene Curtoni takes over; next down is MPH who has produced a much better 2nd run and she leads by a massive 1.12 – that’s the new fastest time on run 2. Wikstrøm goes into 2nd; 11 to go. Bernadette Schild takes over 2nd; Melanie Meillard (SUI) is still just 18 but seems to be on a good streak – into 3rd. Another good run from Nina Løseth to take the lead – that should help make up for yesterday? Michelle Gisin into 2nd but she seems to have the wrong bib on – is that legal? I hope so, that was a good run; Strachova into 4th. Wendy Holdener was losing time at the top, but the lower section is superb and she takes the lead; a new best time on run 2. Vlhova can only manage 4th; Frida Hansdotter is just red at 1, green at 2 and into 2nd at the finish. Two to go – Veronika VZ is building to inter 2; lost a bit later but she takes the lead. Now, what can Mikaela Shiffrin do? Slow start but building to inter 2 and the bottom section is amazing; 1.09 ahead at the finish – fastest on both runs, and that’s another emphatic victory – the 11th straight win in slalom. Veronika VZ is 2nd and Wendy Holdener 3rd. Alex Tilley in 22nd, Lara Gut 28th – just 3 points! Overall Shiffrin leads by 105 points over Lara Gut with Goggia 3rd.

Women’s Alpine Combined; Val d’Isere (16 Dec): Missed the first part (physio appointment) but as it stands Laurenne Ross leads from Connie Hütter, Ilka Stuhec, Sofia Goggia, Christine Scheyer (AUT) and Johanna Schnarf. Lara Gut is in joint 7th, +1.67. Great effort from Ross – like to see her do well. Back live for the slalom; just 38 gates for this combined course which might favour the downhill specialists? Also going to be hard for the slalom specialists to make up time on such a short race track. Three non starters; Miklos, Johnson and Hählen. Now that was a pretty impressive run from Wendy Holdener – Switzerland lead. That time is holding up well – Michaela Kirchgasser probably should have beaten it; green at inter 1 but she lost a bit of time lower – just a small error but enough to drop  her into second just 5 hundredths off the lead. No such problems for Michelle Gisin – building all the way and she leads by 0.46. Currently Gisin, Holdener and Kirchgasser; Feierabend into 4th, replaced by Brignone. Interesting to see the speed specialists on the short skis! Now here comes Lara Gut; she’s lost half her advantage by inter 1, red at 2 and she’s out – no points today! Siebenhofer also OK on the upper section, but scrappy lower down – just 9th at present; Schnarf similar and 11th. Sofia Goggia has 1.91 in hand at the start; green most of the way – into 2nd by just 4 hundredths! Very impressive effort from her. Ilka Stuhec has also lost time all the way, but with such a margin she has managed to hang on  - nice skiing and she’s into the lead! One very happy lady! Connie Hütter isn’t too happy on short skis – 17th at present. Just Laurenne Ross to go, and she’s also a speed specialist; great downhill run today and a creditable slalom into 10th. So, Ilka Stuhec wins (her 3rd of the season so far in World Cup events) from Michelle Gisin and Sofia Goggia, who is now into 2nd place and 60 points closer to Shiffrin in the overall. The FIS report is HERE

Men’s Super G; Val Gardena (Gröden) 16 Dec: Race track looks pretty good but there is a lot of green and brown in the surrounding area; good job they have good snowmaking capacity. Again, missed most of this live; when I joined Kjetil Jansrud was leading from Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (+0.06!) and Erik Guay (+0.13); then Mayer, Sander and Dustin Cook. Aksel Lund Svindal is shown as DNF – hope that isn’t bad news and there isn’t an injury. Apparently he crashed 5 gates from home – no more detail at present. Max Franz has done well to get into 7th from a 27 start number; Brice Roger did well to avoid a fall there! I think the chances of a late upset are getting more remote; that’s 30 down and no change to the top 6. Josef Ferstl into 12th; now that’s interesting, Adrian Smiseth Sejersted (how I hate these Norwegian names; my spell check will explode one day) into 11th from start number 39, good effort! Sandro Viletta is shown as a DNF and the race is interrupted, although I have no video now as the coverage has moved to Val d’Isere – hope it’s not serious.

Women’s Downhill - Val d’Isere (17 Dec): Looks like a really nice morning there; mix of sun and shade on the course and it’s cold too. No Vikki Rebensburg (stomach upset?), and no Laurenne Ross today – apparently she is also unwell? Tina Weirather first away – she didn’t look too happy with her time. Lucky escape (or good recovery?) from Schmidhofer; Sofia Goggia quite red at inter 1 and 2 but getting time back at 3 – green by 4 and building the rest of the way - she goes into the lead. Great start from Connie Hütter; awkward line between 2 and 3 and a number of problems lower down but she keeps just in the green – into the lead by 0.04! Good effort after the commentators pretty much wrote her off after inter 3! Now, Lara Gut – she’s missed a gate! No points today either which isn’t helping her quest for the overall globe; she is not going to be happy! As Emma C-A put it – “not a good day to ask for an autograph”. Here goes Ilka Stuhec; her ski technician is her Mum! Green all the way, in varying shades, bit erratic at times and into the lead by 0.28. Currently Stuhec from Hütter and Goggia; Schnarf 4th and Elena Fanchini goes into 5th, just behind Schnarf. Nadia Fanchini is way off at inter 2 but she’s pulling back through 3 and 4, just +0.02 there. She has lost a little lower down – into 4th. Lot of Italians in the top 10! Elena Curtoni is the next to go but she hasn’t pulled time back – a disappointing 13th at present. Miklos and Siebenhofer into the top 10, but no threat to the podium. No changes for a while – now it’s Christine Scheyer, who did well in the downhill section of the combined yesterday; that’s a good effort and she’s into 8th – I think that’s a PB? Stephanie Venier has skied the middle section well after a disappointing start – she is 10th at present. We’re into the 30s now; no change to the top 10 for a while; late charge by Michelle Gisin to 7th place - very impressive form start number 51. Ilka Stuhec is having a good season (up to 3rd in the overall, winning 3 downhills) – she wins the downhill from Connie Hütter and Sofia Goggia, who is now just 31 points behind Mikaela Shiffrin (not skiing today). Nadia Fanchini 4th, ahead of Johanna Schnarf and Nadia’s sister, Elena Fanchini. Apparently someone is going to mountain bike down the course later – I suspect we will have lost coverage by then?

Men’s downhill 17 Dec, Val Gardena: Missed this live and can’t see a catch up at present. Impressive win for Max Franz, by just 0.04 over Aksel Lund Svindal (glad to see he’s OK after yesterday, didn’t see any report on his DNF and was worried he might have been injured), with Steve Nyman in 3rd. Adrien Theaux was 4th ahead of a resurgent Erik Guay with KIlde in 6th. Kjetil Jansrud back in 13th. The FIS report is HERE For some reason the FIS site won't link to the report on the women's race!

Men’s GS – Alta Badia 18 Dec: Just seen Max Franz’s run at Val Gardena yesterday – very impressive and great news for Austria! Anyway, today the women are still at Val d’Isere but the men have moved to Alta Badia – fair weather but lots of green/brown on the surrounding area. Nick is in the commentary box with Ed Drake today; lovely advert for the area while we wait for the race (with more snow visible than there is today!). I see Tina Maze was very much to the fore in the start order draw! Jansrud is on the start list but I don’t see Svindal. Race is on – Victor M-J is the first away; looks like an interesting course, steep and very winding. Obviously physically demanding; here comes Ted Ligety on a pattern set by his coach – he’s out early on; another person not to ask for an autograph at the moment! The FIS data feed has lost it – pity as Mathieu Faivre is really flying and we weren’t able to see quite how well he was going, video only; he leads by a massive 2.67!! Marcel Hirscher is really pushing hard, but he’s in the red on the top intermediates; making up time lower down, awkward on the lower jump, but he is into the lead – very impressive! Next is Kristoffersen, still at odds with his national team over advertising – not quite as clean as he might have liked – 3rd. The names keep coming – next down is Alexis Pinturault, not as aggressive and he’s over a second off Hirscher’s pace. Data feed back which helps me keep up with comparative timings. Good run from Florian Eisath to go 3rd. Some of these very fit skiers are looking exhausted at the finish – that must be quite a course! Ten away, Hirscher leads from Faivre (+0.21) and Eisath (+0.81). Kristoffersen 4th ahead of Neureuther. Some of these slow motion shots are amazing; the angles achieved and some of the recoveries are incredible! Now Philipp Schörghofer has made a very good start, nicely green at inter 1 and 2; lost a tiny bit at 3 but still green - he’s straddled off the jump and that’s him out with the lead in sight. Stefan Luitz into 6th; not much change then until Leitinger takes 10th. Erik Read out – seems to be OK now that he’s untangled his skis from the netting! Top 6 remain the same as we swap to Val d’Isere; no late changes.
Run 2: This course set by a Swiss coach; very rutted in patches where it crosses run 1.  Zampa first down but there might be a DQ pending? Victor MJ a long way down after run 1; leading run 2 at present but there were a lot of errors there. Missilier is 1.08 faster and takes over the lead; Mölgg into 2nd. Ryan Cochrane-Siegle into third – good to see him getting a second run after a late start in run 1. Yes, Cristoph Nösig into 2nd; good effort on the lower sections. Half way – Missilier from Nösig and Zubcic.  Justin Murisier into the lead but he doesn’t stay there long – Luca De Aliprandini much quicker! Tommy Ford was also a late qualifier for run 2 – great run until the final jump but still good enough for 4th briefly, Myhrer has gone into 3rd. Great run from Zan Kranjec, building on his advantage all the way to inter 3 – he goes into the lead. Missilier still the best on run 2 though, at present. Eight to go – Feller has missed the lead by just 0.01; it’s that jump again! Alexis Pinturault out – nasty looking slide and that ditch before the netting didn’t look a good idea – he seems unhurt though. Luitz a bit tired perhaps, losing time lower down and only 4th, great recovery after the jump though. Felix Neureuther also losing time, red by inter 3 and into third. Henrik K has 0.51 in hand – most gone by inter 1, red at 2 – he’s 5th at present. Now Eisath is building on his 0.63 at the start, looking good at inter 1 and 2, still well green at 3 and into the lead by a massive 0.80; that’s the new best time on run 2. Faivre next with 0.60 at the start – he’s losing a little but still green at inter 3 – he takes over the lead. Just Marcel Hirscher to go – 0.21 at the start, 0.13 at inter 1, 0.21 at 2, 0.55 at inter 3 and he wins by 0.71 – very impressive! That’s the fastest time on both runs and his 4th win on this hill, to match Alberto Tomba’s tally. As Pinturault didn’t score today, Hirscher takes over the GS globe lead by 80 points; he now leads the overall by 218 from Jansrud. Mathieu Faivre in second today, from Florian Eisath, then Kranjec, Feller and Neureuther. Parallel GS tomorrow.

Women’s Super G - Val d’Isere (18 Dec): This course set by an Austrian, also looks quite tough and it’s cold. Nadia Fanchini first down; Connie Hütter looked as though she might challenge Nadia’s time but she’s missed a gate. Here comes Lara Gut, who hasn’t had a good weekend so far – this is much better and she’s into the lead by an impressive 1.24. Stephanie Venier into 3rd; now it’s Tina Weirather, well green at inter 2, losing a bit at 3 and 4 – she’s into 2nd. Here’s Elena Curtoni; very green at inter 2 but a bit off line lower down – into 3rd. Vikki Rebensburg is back from illness today, but she’s a DNF. Laurenne Ross is also back today; very wild run at times, I suspect she isn’t fit yet – into 9th. Tessa Worley on the track – very green at inter 2 and good in the middle section, just red at 3 but losing time – she is into 5th. Next down is Ilka Stuhec – in touch at the top but again losing time lower down – into 7th.  Sofia Goggia also well in touch on the top sections, but she has joined the DNFs – Lara looking more secure.  Twenty down – Gut leads from Weirather and Elena Curtoni, then Nadia Fanchini, Worley and Venier. Ooh – Joana Hählen has produced a pretty good run – into 8th and her best World Cup performance, I think. That’s the top 30 away – no change. Great win for Lara Gut after such a difficult couple of days; that seems to have got her back to 2nd in the overall just 5 points behind Shiffrin and 12 clear of Stuhec at present. Lara also leads the Super G standings by 40 points from Tina W. Over to biathlon!

Men’s Parallel GS – Alta Badia 19 Dec: I have to say I don’t think this event should count for World Cup points yet, especially in the GS discipline – too new and unusual! There are 32 racers qualified for this event – 2 runs each for the 32, but when we move to the best 16 and beyond – one run only!! Last year the event was won by Kjetil Jansrud. Heat 1 is Hirscher v Missilier; the Frenchman wins run 1 (and, remember Marcel was out in round 1 last year); Jansrud beats Nani in their first. And so on – hard to type fast enough; I’ll wait to see who goes through. Blue course seems to be faster early on; haven’t seen a red win yet except for missed gates or falls? Ah, Faivre has done it on the red course. Kilde DQ’d for going through a gate; that’s an automatic half second penalty on the second run! OK – these are the next 16 – Missilier (Marcel H early out again this year!), Jansrud, Luitz, Eisath, Caviezel, Feller, Janka, Kristoffersen, Faivre; Kilde made a great effort to recoup his DQ but lost to Kranjec , Haugen (as Leitinger skies out), Victor M-J, Schörghofer, Sarrazin (there’s an upset), Myhrer and Pinturault. So onto the 16 – Jansrud beats Missilier; Luitz beats Eisath; Caviezel beats Feller, who has crashed out; Janka beats Henrik K; Faivre beats Kranjec; Haugen beats VMJ (skied out); Sarrazin has beaten Schörghofer(!); and Myhrer beats Pinturault. The quarter finals - Jansrud beats Luitz ; Janka beats Caviezel; Haugen beats Faivre; Sarrazin has won again, taking Myhrer out of the competition – what an evening he’s having! There is now a loser’s semi – repechage I suppose - Luitz beats Caviezel. First “real” semi – Janka has beaten Jansrud who has skied out, Janka very close to doing something similar! Back to the loser semi (rather a disparaging title); Myhrer beats Faivre. Back to the winners – Haugen is out, so Sarrazin will go through to the final (think he might have got there anyway!). Now we decide the placings – final 4 rounds, and of course this is for points as well as the money; Caviezel gets 7th, Faivre 8th. Andre Myhrer takes 5th by beating Stefan Luitz (6th). Now Jansrud v Haugen – Kjetil wins it to take 3rd, Haugen 4th. Now – Janka v Sarrazin, the young Frenchman – Cyprien Sarrazin has lost a ski pole exiting the start gate – somehow he still manages to beat Carlo Janka to take the win!! So, Sarrazin wins, Janka (2nd) and Jansrud (3rd) on the podium!

Should have been a women's GS, but the elements intervened! This is the FIS report:

The skies were blue and the fans jubilant, but the winds were unfortunately too strong in Courchevel, France, on Tuesday to hold the ladies' giant slalom race to completion. After the first 19 skiers descended from the start, the race was postponed. A jury decision revealed that the race would restart at 12:15 from the reserve position, approximately 70 meters further down the slope, beginning again with bib 1.  At the time, Sofia Goggia of Italy held a 0.02-second advantage over her teammate, Federica Brignone.   Athletes had inspected the reserve start as a possibility in the morning, so they returned to the top to begin the race anew.  But the restart never took place, as winds at the top of the mountain remained consistently strong into the afternoon. The race was officially cancelled just after 12:20 CET.  Information about a replacement location and time for the ladies' GS will be communicated as soon as it is available.  The ladies now enjoy a holiday break until competition resumes in Semmering, Austria, with a GS on 28 December.

Men’s Slalom – Madonna di Campiglio (22 Dec): Joined this a bit late (trying to use the label facility in Word which seems to be alarmingly buggy!) – run 1 and Henrik Kristoffersen is in the lead from Marcel Hirscher (+0.23) and Andre Myhrer (+0.49). Gross 4th, then Mölgg and Daniel Yule. Snow seems to be cutting up a little already, but apparently might favour the later starters? Luca Aerni into 7th, which drops Dave Ryding to 12th at present. Dominik Stehle into 9th; Dave now joint 13th; coverage over until run 2. Late charge by Aj Ginnis (start 58) into 13th place! Back for run 2, just a bit before half way – Julien Lizeroux (best on run 2 so far) leads from David Chodounsky and Mattias Hargin; Christian Hirschbühl into 2nd. JB Grange next down, and he’s into 2nd, just 5 hundredths off the pace. Dave Ryding next to go – he’s building on his advantage through inter 1 and 2; losing a little lower down but he’s into the lead – 2nd best time on this run so far. Erik Read had the same time as Ryding on run 1, but he can’t match him on run 2 – into 6th. Alexis Pinturault is building to inter 1, he’s almost lost it by inter 2, but then faster and into the lead – best on run 2, so far. Michael Matt has skied into 2nd; he’s replaced by Marco Schwarz – Dave R down to 4th. Now Patrick Thaler has gone 2nd – Alexis P holding on to the lead. Another racer into 2nd place – this time Naoki Yuasa; at last – looks like a challenge to Alexis – Luca Aerni almost a full second up at inter 2 – straddle with the finish in sight!! Daniel Yule is fast too, and he makes no serious mistakes – he now has the lead. Not for long though as Manny Mölgg has taken it away! Stefano Gross has made a poor start, quite red at inter 1 (+0.54), but much better lower down – just +0.05 at inter 2 and he’s done enough to take the lead. Myhrer has done it the other way round – better at the top, losing time in the middle and into 3rd. Now, Marcel Hirscher – huge build to inter 1, still well ahead at inter 2 and the lead by 1.02! That is the best time on run 2 – a year ago today he was almost taken out by a drone crash! Just Henrik K to go – 0.23 in hand; he’s lost a bit at 1, better to 2 and he’s produced the best time on both runs to win by 0.33 – very impressive. So, Kristoffersen wins, from Hirscher and Gross – Mölgg 4th, Myhrer 5th and Yule 6th – Dave Ryding ending up in 12th. Marcel Hirscher now leads the overall by 251 points, Kristoffersen 2nd and Jansrud 3rd. Hirscher also leads the slalom standings but by just 60 points for Henrik K with Mölgg 3rd.

Women’s GS – Semmering (Austria) 27 Dec: This is an extra GS, added to the schedule at Semmering to replace the race planned for Courcheval but cancelled. Not a lot of snow in the surrounding area but the course looks OK after all the snow making; icy though! Vikki Rebensburg away first, but Ana Drev is 0.73 faster. Nina Løseth into 2nd; disappointing run from Tina Weirather – into 4th 1.07 off Drev’s pace. Lara Gut made a good start, but a couple errors between inter 1 and 2 cost her time – 3rd place. Tessa Worley was slow at the top, had a definite moment lower down, but recovered and she is now in the lead; she looks surprised! Great start from Federica Brignone, but she’s over and out – just a slide and she’s OK. Now Maria P-H and she’s flying - -0.69 at inter 1, -0.37 at 2 and into the lead by 0.11. Frida Hansdotter into 4th; she’s replaced by Michaela Kirchgasser – 10 down and MPH leads from Worley and Drev. Now Sofia Goggia, who was leading this race in Courcheval when it was abandoned; she’s really going for it – couple errors but into the lead on the data sheet, however she missed the final gate – listed as DNF. Marta Bassino restores Italian hopes – she takes the  lead by 0.20. Now another Italian – Manuela Mölgg, red at inter 1 but she’s going well on the every tricky lower section; one hand down on the snow, but she takes over the lead – Italy 1 & 2. Next is Anna Veith (Fenninger as was), back from serious knee surgery and a very long absence; off the pace, but she’s back! Not perhaps the ideal track for a comeback, but she’s safely down. Mikaela Shiffrin almost lost it out of the start hut, but a great top section and she’s the first under a minute on this course. Nadia Fanchini has slid out; you can see the ice gleaming on the track; if it wasn’t so steep you could skate on it! Taina Barioz is start number 20 – she’s into 5th; at present it’s Shiffrin from Mölgg, Bassino, MPH and Barioz. Lara Gut down in 15th at present, +1.36! Bit of mist and light snow on the course now; Mowinckel into 11th, dropping Lara G to joint 16th, with Elena Curtoni. That seems to be it for run 1 – Shiffrin, Mölgg and Bassino are the top 3 – Eurosport shifts to Santa Caterina. Late news from the ticker – Ricarda Haaser (start 36) into 16th.
Run 2: Looks quite gloomy now, still grey with occasional light snow. First away is Tina Weirather; second is Katharina Truppe who was tied with Tina; she’s out but the data feed shows her leading – a few technical gremlins with the FIS IT? Better run from Tina Weirather as she’s holding on to the lead – Vikki Rebensburg takes it away! The wind is getting up here too! Petra Vlhova nicely green most of the way; couple of small errors and she’s 2nd by just 0.04. Better run from Lara Gut this time – she takes the lead although Tina W still has the best time for run 2 at present. That’s half way through the top 30 (in reverse) – Gut leads from Rebensburg and Vlhova. Nina Løseth was red at inter 1, green at 2, but the lower section has cost her time- into 4th. Might be the course is getting a bit cut up? Irene Curtoni out, she seems OK; Mowinckel into 4th. Michaela Kirchgasser next – still green at inter 1 but she’s losing time lower down; into 10th. Now Ana Drev – 0.40 in hand at the start, just red at inter 1, green at 2 but 2nd at the finish, +0.36. Now, Tessa Worley has a fairly comfortable 0.56 at the start – down to -0.30 at inter 1, better to 2 (-0.55) and she’s taken the lead. Taina Barioz has lost a lot of time on the lower sections – just 10th. MPH has made a good start, building on her lead, but the light is red at inter 2 and she’s fallen within sight of the finish, taking out a gate en route – she’s limping off; that looked painful, hope there’s no damage. Marta Bassino next, after a short delay; red at inter 3, and into 3rd, Drev off the podium. Manuela Mölgg next – 0.53 advantage; just red at inter 2 after a windy section and she’s into 2nd. Mikaela Shiffrin is the last to ski – 0.80 in hand! She’s built a lot on that by inter 1, lost a bit to 2 but a neat run – only 6th fastest on run 2 but enough to take this win as well. Final positions; Shiffrin wins from Worley and Mölgg with Gut gaining 13 places from run 1 to end 4th; Tina Weirather fastest on run 2. In the overall Shiffrin leads (598) from Gut (543) and Stuhec (486). In the GS standings Worley stays in the lead (320) from Shiffrin (265) and Gut (210).

Men’s Super G – Santa Caterina (27 Dec; Deborah Compagnoni course): This is an extra too, replacing a lost Lake Louise event. Aksel Lund Svindal not racing today; needs to rest his knee! Adrien Theaux first down – lot of light change to contend with as the course moves between sunlight and shade. Another icy piste surrounded by brown hills! Travis Ganong perhaps a little tentative after his lucky escape in downhill training, but he’s into the lead. Peter Fill is flying on the upper section; -0.98 at inter 3 and still well green at 4 – big mistake 3 turns from home and he’s just 3rd. Good run from Andreas Sander to take over the lead. Dominik Paris is really pushing, living dangerously, but it’s paying off – over a full second green from inter 3 and he leads by 1.07! Alexis Pinturault is next – a brave run; lost a lot on the final section but he’s just into second, just 2 hundredths ahead of Sander. Now Kjetil Jansrud, who has won both Super G’s this year; very smooth, green all the way and he takes the lead by 0.65! Hannes Reichelt into 2nd place; Kilde is a little wilder than Jansrud but good enough for 4th. Max
Franz is the 10th away – not quite on the fastest line and he’s 5th; at present Jansrud leads from Reichelt and Paris. After the TV break Bostjan Kline goes into 6th; the top 6 then stay undisturbed for a while until Beat Feuz (start 16) goes into 6th; I do like watching him, but that wasn’t quite his A game today. Good run from Vincent Kriechmayr to inter 4; line error lower down and a lucky escape – still enough in hand for 6th. Andy Weibrecht into 8th; Marcel Hirscher is next – this course may not be really his forte, and I’m not sure he’ll be in the points. Erik Guay into 9th, but useful preparation for the downhill? Twenty down – still Jansrud, Reichelt and Paris, then Kilde, Franz and Kriechmayr. Quite impressive – Josef Ferstl has overcome the slight increase in the headwind and he’s into joint 5th with Max Franz. Apparently the forecast is for even stronger winds, hopefully not affecting tomorrow’s downhill? That’s Steve Nyman out, missing a gate, and Brice Roger has taken out the gate on the Innerhofer jump – lucky escape and the race is on hold while they rebuild the gate. That’s the thirty, no changes to the top 6 since Ferstl got in! Mauro Caviezel into 7th – good effort, especially as the wind is definitely getting up. And now the race is on hold, with start number 34 (Brandner) in the gate – several shots of the upper section, really does look windy – gusts are stirring up the loose snow. Brandner is away; into the top 30. Christoph Krenn, a new addition to the Austrian team, is in his first World Cup race – a fairly impressive 20th place at present! Adrian Smiseth Sejersted is going well – into 8th place, another PB! That’s Hirscher out of the top 30; race on hold again, and running again; start number 45, Thomas Biesemeyer, into 8th – very impressive!  If it stays as it is, Jansrud will have closed on Hirscher in the overall by a full 100 points – 633 to 482 with Henrik K another 100 points back in 3rd. That’s it – a third successive win for Jansrud in the Super G!

Women’s GS – Semmering (Austria) 28 Dec: This is the scheduled GS race for this venue! Quite dull and overcast today, so the floodlights are on, and it’s snowing! No MPH today after yesterday’s fall and knee injury, but I understand the problem is not season ending and she should be back after 6 weeks or so. Marta Bassino first down on a course set by Lara Gut’s team. Vikki Rebensburg looks much faster – she takes the lead by 1.18 but there is a gate which probably can be taken a bit closer; Ana Drev into 2nd. Slower start by Tessa Worley, but she’s made up a little at inter 2 – even in the worsening visibility she has a really good lower section – into 2nd by just 2 hundredths! Federica Brignone has a similar slow start, but also recovers time lower down – third, +0.15 – going to be tight for run 2. Mikaela Shiffrin next – already green at inter 1, but she isn’t as commanding as yesterday – she takes the lead but by just 0.08. Lara Gut is slow, by her standards – into 5th, +0.71. Race interrupted, but not sure why – certainly the visibility isn’t good, but it might be a gate repair?  The action is back – Stephanie Brunner into 5th, pushing Lara Gut down another place – Manuela Mölgg into 6th, Gut now 7th, she’s got work to do in run 2 to improve her points today. Ten down – Shiffrin from Rebensburg and Worley, just 0.10 separating those three. Disappointing run from Kirchgasser, and Tina Weirather also not at her best. That crosswind on the upper section seems to be getting worse. Better run  from Anna Veith; only 14th at present but much more in touch, in what is only her second comeback run. Sofia Goggia isn’t having much luck here – out yesterday when in the lead, and awful visibility today – she’s out again; not hurt but today will probably not be a good one to ask for her autograph! Seems an early start is helping today, as conditions get even trickier; yesterday a start number in the teens was good, today there are no teens in the top 10 (best later start is Løseth, from 10 to 8th position, at present). Ah, Adeline Baud-Mugnier into 9th from start number 21. Slight improvement in the weather perhaps – Ragnhild Mowinckel (start 24) into 8th, but replaced by Petra Vlhova (25); top 3 still Shiffrin, Rebensburg and Worley. Ricarda Haaser (start 30) into 9th – great run! Alex Tilley very unlucky with the weather – no second run! This really is looking very marginal, and the forecast suggests it’s not going to get any better. Run 1 over, no late news since Haaser going into 9th.
Run 2: Wind seems to have eased a little but it’s still snowing hard. Visibility doesn’t look any better. First 5 down – Coralie Frasse Sombet first away on this run and she is holding on to the lead at present. Anna Veith safely down and she will score points today. Now, Marie-Michelle Gagnon has gained time to inter 1; little slower on the lower sections but she’s into the lead. Visibility getting worse at times – you need luck as well as skill today; some skiers losing massive amounts of time by inter 1 – any deviation from the racing line takes you into the soft stuff. I see there are no TV breaks, as the organisers try to get this race finished! That’s half way – Gagnon leads from Frasse Sombet and Kirchgasser – Taina Barioz has fallen and seems to have damaged her knee? Elena Curtoni is on the course; not sure that’s entirely safe, but Barioz is well off the line. Race now on hold, Taina B is being helped off the course, and is getting a piggy back down the slope – not entirely successful! Race on hold again; longish pause while the track is cleared; wind seems to be getting up again too. Well done Ragnhild Mowinckel – a good attacking run in awful conditions and she’s into the lead. Ricarda Haaser into 3rd; snow getting even heavier and the light is worse too (as far as I can see from the TV coverage). Good run from Lara Gut, who hasn’t been too lucky with the conditions – into 2nd; Mölgg into 4th. Stephanie Brunner is making a few errors and got caught in the soft stuff – even so, into 2nd. Three to go – Tessa Worley has lost a bit to inter 1, but has clawed a bit back by 2; she gets the lead but by just 0.08!  Vikki Rebensburg on course – really building to inter 1, but she’s lost a bit to 2 – second by 0.03. Just Mikaela Shiffrin, green through 1 and 2 – that’s the double for the American – great skiing! Shiffrin wins, from Worley and Rebensburg; Lara Gut in 6th behind Mowinckel and Brunner. That gives Shiffrin a lead of 115 in the overall, from Lara Gut and Ilka Stuhec. Tessa Worley still leads the GS standings, but she’s just 35 ahead of Shiffrin with Gut third.

Men’s Downhill – Santa Caterina (28 Dec): Start delayed because of the wind – I have a nasty feeling about this! Just been delayed again, and the start is being lowered to the Super G start. And now the race has been cancelled, rats!

Men’s Alpine Combined – Santa Caterina (29 Dec): Quite a disappointment that they didn’t reschedule yesterday’s cancelled Downhill instead of this combined, but there we are! Much better weather today for this combined – Super G to start and then Slalom – Alexis Pinturault the bookies’ favourite. Adam Zampa first out of the start hut; not a speed specialist but he’s safely down! Tonetti much faster but he’s missed a gate. Klemen Kosi much happier on this course – 1.89 faster as he takes the early lead. Dominik Paris isn’t a slalom specialist so he seems to be planning on the biggest advantage possible on this speed section – into the lead by 0.74. OK – here comes Pinturault (course set by his coach, and it’s very turn heavy – almost a GS!) – slightly green at inter 1 and 2, just 0.01 at 3 but almost half a second better at 4; he takes the lead by 0.29. Now, Kjetil Jansrud – green at 1 and 2 but red at 3 and 0.58 off the pace at inter 4 – there’s a shock – he’s only 4th! He does look tired and a bit off form; wonder if he’s picked up a bug, or a slight injury? Ten down – Alexis Pinturault leads from Caviezel and Paris. Having the course set by the French hasn’t worked for Adrien Theaux, he’s missed a gate. Next is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde – green all the way – not completely error free, but good on the lower section and he’s into the lead by 0.84. I understand that the Norwegian coach is setting the slalom course!! Another surprise – Peter Fill is off the pace (and he had a really bad day in the Super G here too) – he’s just 11th, +2.72. Next TV break with 20 down (3 DNFs) – still Kilde, Pinturault and Caviezel. Course arguably getting bumpier; later starters don’t seem to be making much impact at present – Mayer (start 16) into 7th; Kriechmayr (19) to 9th. Christof Innerhofer (26) was in 6th when he caught an edge within sight of the finish – nasty looking fall – he’s up and seems to be OK, if a bit sore. Now, Marcel Hirscher – nice turns at the top; he’s in the red but getting some time back lower down. He’s into 2nd, +0.79 so 0.05 better than Pinturault! What a brilliant run, especially given his Super G run 2 days ago. Beat Feuz into 8th. Now in the early 40 start numbers - Kilde leads from Hirscher and Pinturault, who are the only ones within a second. Caviezel 4th ahead of Paris and Jansrud. Good late run by Brennan Rubie (start 51) into 15th.
Missed the slalom live, which was a pity as I suspect it must have been a cracker – looking at the time intervals and the catch up programme shows that Alexis Pinturault put in a great run to take the win, as he overtook Marcel Hirscher, who was second +0.34 behind the Frenchman in the end – his slalom was 0.39 slower than Pinturault’s. Kilde took the final podium place ahead of Justin Murisier; Victor M-J must have had a good slalom to recover from a difficult Super G and get 5th with Erik Read 6th. Must have been some late excitement on the Super G as Read started 56 and Luca Aerni 66, the latter finishing in 7th after the slalom (saw both their runs in the catch up programme – impressive). Luca de Aliprandini also managed to get a second run despite starting the Super G really late; his slalom isn’t quite so slick but today should move him up the rankings though. Kjetil Jansrud didn’t finish run 2, so the Overall is now Hirscher (713), Jansrud (482) and Pinturault (465). Just seen Pinturault’s second run – really amazing! Hirscher was green at inter 1 on his second run, but lost time on the lower section. Great recovery by Kilde to get on the podium after an error in the mid section.

Women’s Slalom – Semmering 29 Dec: Joined run 1 a bit late – 12 down with, guess who, Mikaela Shiffrin leading from VVZ, Wendy Holdener and Frida Hansdotter. Sarka Strachova in 5th ahead of Nina Løseth. Michaela Kirchgasser among the DNFs. No change to the top 6 as Eurosport coverage stops, I see both Alex Tilley and Charlotte Guest were DNFs; no second run today.
Run 2: What a surprise, the ski jumping is over-running; luckily not by very much this time! Anyway, this run is under the floodlights; it sounds icy up there. First 5 already down when Eurosport joins the “with commentary” action – Elisabeth Willibald leads. How did Stephanie Brunner lose so much on the final section? Bit hooked up for a second on the control gate, perhaps – into 2nd. Christina Geiger can’t beat Willibald either – into 3rd – but Ricarda Haaser has built a little – she takes over the lead. Twenty to go – good to see Martina Dubovska get a second run after starting run 1 with start number 50. Adeline Baud Mugnier has taken the lead, just after the commentator reckons “it’s going away from her” – excellent! Difficult to judge, I expect – there have been some really error strewn runs at times that have been quick, and nice looking skiing that has lost time. Anne-Sophie Barthet into 2nd by just one hundredth. Gagnon out early on, with a straddle; Maren Skjøld is going well though and she’s into the lead – Willibald’s time still the best so far on run 2. Now Erin Mielzynski has taken over the lead, but she’s barely got into the leader’s enclosure before Bernadette Schild has gone even faster; she leads with the 2nd fastest time on run 2. Chiara Costazza very much in touch to inter 2, but into 2nd; Irena Curtoni has lost a lot between inter 2 and the finish – only 5th. That’s a great start for Nina Løseth, building a little – again, losing a bit on the lower section but good enough to take the lead by just 0.02. Sarka Strachova still well green at inter 2, but again the lower section has cost her time – into 3rd, just 0.07 off the leader. Four to go – Frida Hansdotter also green at 2, but the final turns have dropped her to 4th. Wendy Holdener has skied the lower section well – she takes the lead by 0.45. Here comes Veronika VZ – she has more than doubled her advantage by inter 1; brilliant run to take the lead by 0.90; that’s now the 2nd best on this run. Now Shiffrin, who is looking for the technical treble on this hill – hasn’t been done since 1989 (?) apparently. She’s red at inter 1, red at inter 2 (+0.33) and somehow has made up almost a full second from there to the finish (-0.64) – absolutely incredible! What a weekend for Mikaela Shiffrin - that’s her third win at Semmering this weekend, two GS events and a slalom, and the fastest time on both slalom courses today. Veronika VZ 2nd and Wendy Holdener 3rd. In the overall Shiffrin leads on 798; 215 ahead of Lara Gut with Ilka Stuhec 3rd on 495. She also leads the slalom standings with 400 points to VVZ’s 290; Wendy Holdener 3rd on 260.

Tour de Ski – Day 1: Well, the first thing I notice is that Therese Johaug isn’t on the start list – I knew she had a provisional 2 month ban for a positive test for clostebol, apparently from a sunburn cream (approved by her doctor, incidentally, who has now resigned); I now understand that if Anti-Doping Norway's proposed suspension goes through, she will not be able to return to racing until January 2018 (Link). Martin Johnsrud Sundby also received a ban earlier this year(?), for taking salbutamol; he not only seems to be back, but he leads the overall points standing – he seems to have got off more lightly, although his doping saga is arguably more complex and apparently began in 2014, rumbling on through a series of appeals until the eventual ban: Norwegian news in English (Link) says “Others have pointed out, though, that Sundby got off a lot easier than Johaug, who faces a 14-month suspension after testing positive for a steroid found in a cream she used to treat sunburn blisters on her lips last summer. Her test results were also released immediately, while Sundby’s were withheld while his appeals proceeded”. He did however lose the TdS and World Cup medals for the 2014/15 season (no mention of any of this in his FIS profile page!). This does seem rather inconsistent, to say the least, and there seems to be a residual suspicion among other competitors of widespread drug use, not helped by the McLaren report and the provisional suspension of 6 Russian cross country skiers! (the six are: Evgeniy Belov, Julia Ivanova, Alexander Legkov, Evgenia Shapovalova, Alexey Petukhov and Maxim Vylegzhanin).

So, the freestyle sprint event, from Val Mustair in Switzerland: No Marit Bjørgen this time either.  In both the women’s and men’s finals, the qualification rounds have left us with 5 heats of 6 skiers to decide today’s winners. Live coverage of the events doesn’t start until 1415, although the women’s heats begin at 1350, hopefully with at least video but probably no commentary until later. Heat 1 – favourite probably Stina Nilsson of Sweden; she is leading from Jessica Diggins (USA) and they finish in that order with Harsem (NOR) 3rd. Heat 2 – which includes Kikkan Randall (USA), and Hanna Kolb (GER) – early lead for Kolb from Ilaria Debertolis  (ITA), but they are bunching up again – Maikan Caspersen Falla (NOR) now leading, and pulling clear. Falla takes it from Kolb and Randall. On to heat 3, let’s see if Laurien Van der Graaf (SUI) can generate some speed! Early leader Sadie Bjornsen (USA), but this is close – Van der Graaf wins by just 0.10 from Sandra Ringwald (GER) with Anamarija Lampic (SLO) 3rd. Looks like first 2 qualify and then there are a couple lucky losers. Heat 4 – Nadine Fähndrich (SUI) leading early on; it’s an interesting course! Silje Øyre Slind (NOR) briefly pushing on but Krista Parmakoski (FIN) comes through to win from Vesna Fabjan (SLO, photo finish!). Final heat includes Charlotte Kalla (SWE), Heidi Weng (NOR) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (NOR) – tough heat! Looks like Østberg, Gaia Vürich (ITA) and Weng at present – Østberg takes it, with Weng 2nd; looks like Vürich will be  a Lucky Loser (LL), with Harsem.
Over to the men’s heats – Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) leading the first early on from Federico Pellegrino (ITA); Ustiugov wins with Lucas Chanavat (FRA) just taking 2nd from Pellegrino. Heat 2 – which includes Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) and Finn Haagen Krogh (NOR) – we have commentary! Sundby wins from Krogh; obviously his asthma isn’t a problem today! Now heat 3 includes Andrew Young (GBR) – he leads at half way. Young wins the sprint for the line, from Andrey Larkov (RUS).  Heat 4 – Dario Cologne (SUI) in this one, with Alex Harvey (CAN) and Didrik Tønseth (NOR); what a late surge from Alex Harvey to take the win from Thomas Bing (GER); Cologne 3rd and looking unlikely to get a LL spot. Final heat, which includes Andrew Musgrave (GBR) – sprints aren’t really his strong suit but he qualified 9th I think. What a final few metres – Musgrave wins from Renaud Jay (FRA)! Two Brits through to the next round! Pellegrino and Emil Iversen (NOR) get the LL slots.
The Semis: First women’s heat includes Nilsson and Falla – the Norwegian, not to be confused with the Swede, Kalla! Good try by Diggins, but Nilsson wins from Maiken Caspersen Falla – Diggins 3rd. Second semi – Østberg leading at present, Harsem doing well given she was a LL in the quarters. Harsem wins from Heidi Weng, Østberg 3rd.  Diggins and Van der Graaf get the LL spots this time; Østberg misses the final! Over to the men – first heat includes Young, but also Sundby and Ustiugov. Young is fading (illness early in the season taking its toll?); Ustiugov powers his way to the win from Krogh, Sundby 3rd but looking likely to get a LL? Second semi – can Pellegrino match Harsem by winning a heat after being there as a LL? This one looks slower; Harvey again hanging back early on – Pellegrino pulling away and he takes the win from Alex Harvey (photo?); Andy Musgrave 5th. So, Sundby and Chanavat from heat 1 get the LL spots in the final.
Finals – Women first. Stina Nilsson into an early lead from Weng and Falla – Nilsson and Falla away now with a massive margin ahead of the chasers – Stina Nilsson wins by a comfortable margin from Maiken Caspersen Falla; Weng in 3rd, then Harsem, Van der Graaf and Diggins. Men’s final – Krogh and Ustiugov away at present, surely Harvey hanging back too much; did he stumble? Ustiugov pulling away, and he takes the win. Pellegrino 2nd ahead of Krogh then Sundby, Chanavat and Harvey.

Details of the bonus format are HERE (I hope).

Men’s 10 Km Mass Start (Classic)(Val Mustair): The tracks look in good condition but the rest of the valley is quite green/brown. Looks a bit slow at the start; Andrew Young still double polling – now it’s getting faster. At 2.5 Km it’s still very close; Sundby just ahead of Ustiugov and Tønseth but only 1.6 seconds between the top 10. At 5 Km still Sundby and Ustiugov ahead of Emil Iversen and Dario Cologna, but still just 1.6 between the first 10; Musgrave 14th, Young 55th. Musgrave still double polling up the hills – he seems to be one of very few who think it’s a good idea and he’s losing places every time. Alex Harvey is gaining ground, but Krogh (who is also double polling) is losing places; Tønseth changing lanes right on top of someone’s skis – that won’t go down well! By 8.1 Km the gaps are beginning to open – Sundby leads from Ustiugov, Cologna, Krüger (NOR), Hellner (SWE) and Larkov (RUS). Final stages and Ustiugov trying to break clear on the last hill – over the camel bumps and he looks to have done it. Ustiugov wins from Sundby, Didrik Tønseth, Sjur Røthe (NOR), Cologna and Matti Heikkinen (FIN) – three Norwegians in the top 4! Andy Musgrave in 17th in the end (+17.4), Andrew Young 50th.
Women’s 5 Km Mass Start (Classic): What a surprise – ski jumping running late! Not too much of the race missed thankfully – Østberg leading from Weng, Nilsson and Parmakoski; having bonus seconds available very early has spread the field out a bit, those 4 opening up a gap. It’s closed back up a bit on the hill, although the 2 Norwegians are looking strong. At half way Østberg still leads from Weng, Nilsson and Parmakoski, but shortly after that split, Parmakoski has got into 3rd and closed down on the Norwegians – Nilsson slipping back, Harsem up to 4th. Østberg has broken away and Weng is away from Parmakoski; all 3 of them comfortably ahead of the chasing pack, some 150 metres back. So, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg takes the win, and the bonus seconds (15 for 1st; top 3 only getting a bonus). Heidi Weng 2nd (10 second bonus), Krista Parmakoski 3rd (5 seconds). Two Norwegians and a Finn on the podium. Nadine Fähndrich (SUI) in 4th ahead of Stina Nilsson (SWE) and Anne Kyllönen (FIN). Falla back in 25th and Charlotte Kalla back in 41st.

Rest day tomorrow.

Women’s Skiathlon (5/5 Km – Classic & Free) – Oberstdorf 3 Jan: Right – a mix today with 5 Km classic followed by 5 Km skating; 51 starters today – looks cold! 600 metres (altitude) lower today than for the Val Mustair classic. Looking very slippery on the corners, the downhill sections might be interesting? At 1.9 Km it’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg leading from Stina Nilsson and Krista Parmakoski, Weng 4th but it’s all very close – Nicole Fessel has gained a lot of places (21 to 5). At 2.5 km it’s similar; Nilsson leads, Jess Diggins up to 2nd ahead of Weng and Østberg; at the next split Parmakoski leads from Nilsson, Østberg and Harsem - bonus seconds to the top 10! Maiken Caspersen Falla in 6th, but great to see Charlotte Kalla, who looked off form so far, up to 7th from 33 at the start. At the top of the steep hill, at 4.4 Km, Weng is leading – 4.4 seconds to 5th place. Now, as the new rules have “shortened” the max pole height for classic, will everyone change poles as well as skis? In for the changeover – as they come out Østberg leads from Weng, Kalla, Parmakoski, Kyllønen and Nilsson. Think most changed poles too. That looks much better – I do prefer skating (largely because I was awful at classic when I tried). At almost 7 Km Østberg leads from Von Siebenthal (SUI), Kalla, Fessel and Weng. Diggins going well on the downhill section, to take over the lead at 7.5 Km, but only 2.4 seconds between the top 10. Just short of 8 Km it’s Østberg, Weng, Diggins, Kalla and Falla – Nilsson impeded a bit? Possible that the Norwegian waxing isn’t as good as some others? Last split at 9.42 Km – Nilsson leads from Diggins, Weng, Falla and Sadie Bjornsen (USA) – Østberg had a pole basket snag, down to 13th. Fantastic sprint to the line – Nilsson wins by a whisker from Jess Diggins, Heidi Weng 3rd ahead of Falla, Bjornsen (good day for the USA) and Fessel (FF for those two; not sure who will get it - tbc). Østberg in 13th at the end – bad luck to lose a pole so close to the end. Nilsson will take over as overall leader, helped by the various bonus seconds today, 4 seconds ahead of Weng – pursuit tomorrow based on these positions/finish intervals.

Men’s Skiathlon - (10/10 Km – Classic & Free) – Oberstdorf 3 Jan: Sadly not live as Four Hills qualifying has priority. So, 10 Km in the classic style to start; total climb for the 20 Km about 720 metres today. Conditions look pretty much perfect; this looks like a much faster start than in the women’s race. A few fallers early on including Andrey Larkov, who I think was the first to fall, causing a small pile up! All very close, and with the speeds they are reaching on the downhills we could see more falls later. About 10 minutes in the Norwegians are well to the front – I can see Sundby, Dyrhaug and Krogh, but Ustiugov and Hellner are also in touch; apparently a few of the racers didn’t feel good in the higher altitude of Mustair but seem to be happier here. First sprint bonus coming up – Harvey, Sundby and Hellner the top 3; Ustiugov 9th so Sundby has closed down the Russian’s lead; pace has slowed again.
Just after the change to skating skis and poles Sundby leads from Matti Heikkinen (FIN), Devon Kershaw (CAN) and Alex Harvey (CAN) – Ustiugov in 6th, but the top 10 separated by only 3.3 seconds. Still close on the hills, but Sundby and a couple others have gone the wrong way in the finish area – they need to retrace their steps to be legal as they re-join the correct line! Next bonus sprint is on lap 6 – this time Ustiugov gets the maximum bonus and after that “diversion” Sundby has missed out. Time gaps opening and closing during this section of the race; Cologna and Manificat coming to the front, Ustiugov in the top 5 still. Finn Haagen Krogh has pulled out and is listed as a DNF today; that’s his tour over. Gaps closing back up on the big hill, Sundby has caught up; interesting - the jury have penalised Niklas Dyrhaug (NOR) – yellow card and lost bonus seconds for obstruction in the second bonus sprint. Just over 1 lap to go; Sundby leading, Cologna just behind and Andy Musgrave still hanging on to the leading group. Still all quite close, Manificat has a spell at the front but Sundby is trying to break clear on the hill; Ustiugov got trapped but has gone the long way round – Sundby, Cologna and Ustiugov sprint for the line! The Russian is the strongest here - result: Sergey Ustiugov wins this leg too (hope he’s clean!) from Martin Johnsrud Sundby (ditto) and Dario Cologna (SUI) – just 1 second between them! Alex Harvey in 4th ahead of Marcus Hellner (SWE) and Simen Hegstad Krüger (NOR). Nice to see Maurice Manificat (FRA) and Devon Kershaw in the top 10. Andy Musgrave in 19th, just 14.9 seconds back. Overall, Ustiugov keeps the lead, 29.5 seconds ahead of Sundby with Alex Harvey 3rd. Dario Cologna is now 4th with Marcus Hellner up to 5th. Looks like Andy M is 7th!

Women’s Slalom – Zagreb 3 Jan: Missed the first run which must have been really tricky – Veronika VZ leads into run 2 – with 0.39 over Bernadette Schild and 0.41 on Sarka Strachová; Petra Vlhova 4th. A lot of DNFs (looks like 21!) after run 1, including Mikaela Shiffrin, Wendy Holdener, Nina Løseth, and Sofia Goggia – Alex Tilley and Charlotte Guest also out; hope they are all OK! Saw some of the repeat – track apparently a bit rough and bumpy, but icy too under the fresh snow. Holdener straddled and fell while pushing hard; Shiffrin also straddled, although she didn’t fall. Løseth slid out, missing a gate- the course really is taking its toll; Manuela Mölgg has just joined the DNFs! Great recovery by Maren Wiesler!
Run 2, under the floodlights: So, Veronika VZ has been 2nd to Shiffrin 3 times this year in slalom – can she win today now that Mikaela is out? Good early run from Laurie Mougel (FRA); that’s a good lead too. Two DNFs after the first 10. Denise Feierabend (SUI) has taken the lead; I thought Maren Skjøld might have taken it away but she’s into 2nd after the difficult lower section – Emelie Wikstrøm (SWE) lost time on the lower section, but she’s gained enough higher up to take the lead. Marusa Ferk (SLO) well in touch to inter 2 but then a big error and into 4th; best time on run 2 is still Mougel’s at present. That’s half way – Wikstrøm leads from Feierabend and Skjøld.  That’s Barthet out – some “interesting” terrain on this pitch; it’s taken out Irene Curtoni at exactly the same point! Now, Katherine Truppe (AUT) has skied the lower section beautifully and she takes the lead; Kirchgasser out though.  Christina Geiger into 2nd; Anna Bucik into 3rd. Good run from Resi Stiegler (USA) to take the lead – lost a bit on the lower section though so not entirely error free; Chiara Costazza can’t capitalise on that in this, her 101st slalom start – she’s 2nd. Marie-Michele Gagnon red at inter 1 and 2 but a great lower section gives her the lead; however, before she can reach the winner’s enclosure, Frida Hansdotter has built all the way to take first place by over a second – the new fastest time for run 2. Next down is Petra Vlhova – a superb lower section gives her both the lead and the best time on this run – her coaching team are delighted! Sarka Strachová is red at inter 1, green at 2 but red at the finish – she’s second. Two to go – Bernadette Schild doesn’t seem to have done much wrong but she’s losing time – into 4th. Veronika VZ has built on her advantage to inter 1, lost a bit to 2, lost a bit more lower down but enough in hand to take the win – it’s a Slovakia 1/2 – VVZ wins from Petra Vlhova (best time on run 2) with Strachová 3rd. That makes VVZ 2nd in the Slalom standings, just 10 points behind Shiffrin.

Note: Bad news for the Austrian team – Cornelia Hütter tore her ACL on 4 Jan while training at Saalbach – not sure how bad it is, or when she will be back.

Men’s Slalom – Zagreb 5 Jan: Run 1 doesn’t seem to be live (at least there should be video with no commentary, however it clashes with the Oberhof biathlon). Sounds like conditions were a bit difficult! Alex Khoroshilov first away; Mölgg, 4th down, has gone faster; Neureuther into 2nd. Here we go – Marcel Hirscher into the lead but only by one hundredth. Henrik K into 3rd, +0.03! Must have been some run from Julien Lizeroux; into the lead by 0.33; Daniel Yule faster than Henrik K and into 4th. With 15 down it’s Lizeroux from Hirscher and Mölgg. Victor M-J continues his disappointing season with a DNF here. Dave Ryding safely down and currently 11th, +0.87. Manuel Feller has had an excellent run – he leads by 0.05, but apart from him the later start numbers don’t seem to be making much impression; Luca Aerni 23 to 11th and Naoki Yuasa 29 into 13th are arguably the best of them so far. Alexis Pinturault is currently in joint 9th, but there is just 0.68 between the top 10. Always the chance of a surprise and it’s Mark Engel (USA) who has provided this one - start number 45 into 3rd, ahead of Hirscher!! First run over – no more upsets!
Run 2: Yes, you guessed it – the ski jumping is running late, and it’s just the qualifying! Over to video only, supplemented by FIS live data – it looks windy! In fact, very windy with spindrift blowing across the piste and affecting visibility – race has been interrupted – back on but conditions don’t look much better! Good run by Nordbotten to turn +0.64 at inter 2 into -0.07 at the finish! Linus Strasser goes the other way, turning green at 2 into 4th place. The ski jumping STILL hasn’t finished, presumably windy there too? Andre Myhrer has taken over the lead – without commentary you can hear the wind quite clearly, snow blowing over the course still. Stefano Gross has built on his slender advantage well – just over half a second up at inter 2, and he takes the lead. Ten away, 2 DNFs and this looks a bit dangerous! Make that 3 DNFs – I can’t speak Italian but I think I could lip read Razzoli’s comment! Still no commentary, which is a pity as Dave Ryding has just taken the lead with the best time so far on run 2! Khoroshilov joins the DNFs. Eventually, 28 minutes late with over half the second run over, we get commentary! How Chodounsky managed to see the gates is beyond me – mind you, he could have straddled and no one could have seen it! I think he’s had the worst of the weather so far. Luca Aerni lucky with conditions and into 2nd. Marco Schwarz doesn’t finish, caught on the tails of his skis and out; Alexis Pinturault has fallen after just 4 gates – no points for him either. Michael Matt is red at inter 1 and 2, but the lower section is better and he’s taken the lead. Felix Neureuther building a lot to inter 1, keeping it green at 2 and -0.59 at the end to take the lead – “right on the edge of his game” as Nick F says. That’s the fastest time on run 2 so far. Seven to go – no TV breaks as the FIS try to get this over. Henrik K is good but he can’t quite match Neureuther - into 2nd; he isn’t happy! Daniel Yule into 3rd; Manfred Mölgg has gained time to inter 1, lost a bit to 2 and gained a massive amount lower down – the lead by 0.72; best on run 2 so far. That was a very special run – next away is Marcel Hirscher and he’s half a second down at inter 1 and he’s lost more by 2 – trying too hard perhaps, several mistakes and he’s just 6th. Mark Engel not far off Hirscher’s time but he falls within sight of the finish. Julien Lizeroux a bit unlucky with conditions – only 9th. Just Manuel Feller to go – he’s straddled the 2nd gate! So, Manfred Mölgg wins (his first since 2009!) from Felix Neureuther and Henrik Kristoffersen. Hirscher 6th and Dave Ryding 7th. Overall Marcel Hirscher still leads with 753 points to Jansrud’s 482 – Pinturault 3rd. In the slalom standings Hirscher also still leads but Henrik K has pulled back 20 points today, and is just 40 behind with Mölgg a further 14 back. Dave Ryding is currently in 8th in the slalom points.

Women’s 10 Km Pursuit – Oberstdorf 4 Jan: Missed this live; waiting for the repeat – guess what, the ski jumping is over running yet again! We break for adverts and then back for the jump podium – good going Eurosport! At last – we are on the repeat – 10 Km of freestyle pursuit; a monster climb at the end too! Nilsson leads away ahead of Weng and Østberg; apparently Falla has withdrawn. Bit warmer today and the track has already broken up a bit after the warm up; could be bad for the men later? Stina Nilsson going well on the first section; Ingvild Flugstad Østberg has closed down on Heidi Weng; Krista Parmakoski 4th but a fair bit back. It’s starting to snow – quite wet stuff too; leading 3 almost together at 1.9 Km; Krista is about 27 seconds back, Jess Diggins behind her, about +52. Gaps have closed a little at the next split, Norwegians both past Nilsson on the next hill; we go to adverts and re-join late on in the race – no one yet in touch with the leading three, who look as though they will take the only bonus seconds on offer. Nilsson is in third, but she is nicely in the slipstream, which might be wise with the fresh snow falling. This is the big hill – commentators almost writing off Nilsson but she is hanging on well – her skis seem to be running better on the downhill. Nilsson is inside on the corner and she’s streaking away for the line – Nilsson wins another stage ahead of Weng (+1.7) and Østberg (+1.8) ; Parmakoski in 4th (+42.4) with Jess Diggins 5th (+1.47.5), Nicole Fessel up to 6th from 10th – good work by her. Leading 3 look shattered! Nilsson gains another 5 seconds over Weng after the bonuses are added; she leads Weng in the TdS by 6.7 seconds, Østberg +11.8 – those 3 clear but the final climb can see huge time gains. Parmakoski is +57.4 and Jess Diggins +2:02.5.

Men’s 15 Km Pursuit 4 Jan: Again, missed it live and had to catch the repeat. Sergey Ustiugov starts first, with 30 seconds on Sundby, Alex Harvey in third (gross moustache, Alex!), Dario Cologna in 4th; Andy Musgrave in 7th about 2 minutes back on the leader as we start today. At the first split Sundby has lost a second or so; Cologna seems to have made up some time on Alex Harvey? Andy has lost 7 seconds at the same split. Cologna is definitely closing down Harvey, although the Canadian does seem to have very good skis. At 4.4 Km Sundby has closed a little, and that continues as they go through the stadium area – the Russian is looking a bit tired; Cologna through Harvey but they are now staying together. Sundby now has the gap down to about 17 seconds at the half way point; Harvey nicely in Cologna’s slipstream, about a minute behind the leader. At 9.4 Km Sundby is still about 18 seconds back; Cologna doing all the work for the chasing pair, who aren’t closing. Oh, Harvey taking a turn at going first of the chasers. At 11.9 Km Sundby has lost a little time, just over 20 seconds back now. Seems Ustiugov has speeded up a bit – he takes his 4th win in a row. Sundby 37 seconds back, and he loses another 5 in bonus time. Harvey has got 3rd, just ahead of Cologna; Matti Heikkinen in 5th and he’s made up a good lot of time today – he was fastest round the course too. Andy Musgrave in 10th. Didrik Tønseth 2nd fastest ahead of Krüger, Manificat and Cologna. At the end of today Ustiugov is 42.2 seconds ahead of Sundby in the TdS, Alex Harvey 3rd (+1: 08.8) ahead of Cologna (+1:24.6) and Heikkinen (+1:45.0). Rest day tomorrow then Toblach on Friday

Men’s 10 Km Free – Toblach 6 Jan (Day 5): Bit of discussion early on about the bonus seconds – it does seem to favour the stage winners opening up the advantage and making it harder for the chasing pack – is that good for close racing? Not a Mass Start so hard to get a real time picture, but the early leader at 2.1 Km is Didrik Tønseth; Maurice Manificat has gone faster as has Andy Musgrave who is 3rd there at present, ahead of Sundby! Looking at the 6.6 Km split, Tønseth leads Heikkinen and Cologna; Francesco de Fabiani has just gone faster. Back at 2.1 Km Ustiugov, the last starter to go through that point, is 7.1 seconds faster than Manificat. At 3.4 Km though the gap between Ustiugov and Manificat is 3.4 seconds, with Krüger, de Fabiani, Tønseth, Sundby and Musgrave all within 11 seconds. Next split is 6.6 Km – Manificat fastest there at present; Musgrave joint 4th with Tønseth. At the finish Matti Heikkinen is currently ahead of Tønseth and Cologna, but Ustiugov has just gone through 6.6 Km with a 3.8 second lead. Next crucial split is at 7.1 Km – at present Manificat fastest from Krüger and Tønseth, Musgrave down to 8th – Sergey Ustiugov is through and his advantage has gone up to 5.2. Last intermediate is 8.4; again Manificat fastest ahead of Krüger and Heikkinen; Sundby 7th +27, so he’s not on his best form today. Ustiugov is through now – lead down to just 2.4 now! Back at the finish Maurice Manificat has finished and he’s 16.2 faster than Krüger with Heikkinen third. Alex Harvey is 10th, Andy Musgrave 17th. Commentators seem to be having trouble with their computers and time gaps! Sundby is at the finish – only 13th at present. Just Ustiugov to come – his advantage is shrinking but he has just held on to win his 5th stage by just 0.4 of a second! So, Sergey Ustiugov wins from Maurice Manificat with Simen Hegstad Krüger third. Heikkinen in 4th ahead of Hellner and Tønseth. Cologna in 7th, Sundby ends in 14th and Andy Musgrave 19th. Tour standings: Ustiugov leads from Sundby (+1:34.1), Cologna (+2:07.5), Harvey (+2:08.0) and Manificat (+2:14.5).

Women’s 5 Km Free – Toblach 6 Jan (Day 5): Now, given that the men started in a sort of reverse order (ie Ustiugov last), why is Stina Nilsson going 20th in the women’s race with Weng having the advantage of going last with all the existing split times available to her and her coaches? Ah, apparently it’s alternately one of the leaders (top 15?) and one of the non leaders – top seeds have a choice so Nilsson must have decided to go 20th – seems odd, although she will start just behind another Swede? Silly me – Cologna started relatively early in the men’s race! Anyway – race is on, this will be quite quick – only 40 starters and 5 Km. First split time is at 1.6 Km, then 2.1 and 3.4 – Charlotte Kalla arguably the first of the serious contenders to go, and she is fastest at present at 1.6 Km, Jess Diggins just 0.9 slower. Commentators are also confused by Nilsson’s tactics in starting early? At 2.1 Km Diggins has gone faster than Kalla but it’s close, Laura Mononen (FIN) third currently. Back at 1.6 Km Nilsson is 2nd, fractionally slower than Kalla; at 3.4 Km Diggins is 6.9 faster than Kalla. Looking at the 2.1 Km times it’s currently Diggins, Kalla (+0.8) and Nilsson (+5.1); Kalla has finished and she’s leading at present but Diggins is still to get there – when she arrives, she’s 14.9 faster than Kalla! Østberg is just about to start; at 1.6 Km Harsem is now the quickest. That’s Heidi Weng away – last to start; at 2.1 Km Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) is fastest so far. The first split is about to become history as all the starters will soon be through; Nilsson has finished but she’s only 12th +40.5. at the moment – I think that might be her chance of a tour win gone, as she lost a lot of time to Weng on the Alpe Cermis last year. No sign of Weng at 1.6 Km – I need to scroll down – at present she’s 20th +10.5; Østberg fastest there. On to the 2.1 Km – all through there too – Østberg still leads from Parmakoski, Niskanen and Diggins – Weng 6th +5.1. At 3.4 Km though Østberg is dropping back, she’s 6th, 11.4 behind Diggins’ time; Weng now through in 6th +10.3! There’s a few surprises, Sadie Bjornsen (USA) is 5th at 3.4 Km and ahead of the two top Norwegians; the Americans have great skis on the downhill sections! Right, at the finish, the final positions are – Jess Diggins wins, Krista Parmakoski 2nd ahead of Sadie Bjornsen – 2 Americans in the top 3 today! Charlotte Kalla in 4th ahead of Weng (+17.5), Niskanen (+18.0) and Nathalie Von Siebenthal (+20.5). Østberg finished 8th (+23.5), Stina Nilsson ended up 20th (+40.5). Overall, Heidi Weng now leads the tour from Østberg (+11.1), Nilsson (+16.3), Parmakoski (+36.8) and Diggins (+1:23.30)

Women’s GS – Maribor 7 Jan: A very busy Winter Sport day today, and this event kicks it off. Quick update – poor Cornelia Hütter has apparently not only had an ACL injury but has damaged the meniscus in both knees too in that training accident – out for the rest of the season. Not a lot of snow in the valley; course looking OK but all man made. I understand that Tina Maze will make her “official” farewell run today! Well, that’s not a good start – Tina Weirather first away on run 1, on a course set by her coach, and she’s missed a gate – no points today. Next away, Federica Brignone – she gets further down but she has also skied out! Vikki Rebensburg is 3rd away and she’s safely down; Tessa Worley is faster! Marta Bassino into 3rd; what a surprise, Mikaela Shiffrin is into the lead – normal service resumed. Next down – Lara Gut, but she’s well into the red at inter 2; great recovery – I thought she was over for a moment - she’s 3rd at present, +0.36 slower than Shiffrin. Now Sofia Goggia has not had much luck recently – this is much better, especially on the lower section,  and she’s into 2nd, just 0.07 behind. Kirchgasser has had a disappointing run, almost one and a half seconds off the pace. Anna Veith next – she’s getting back into practice, into 6th and +0.69. Nina Løseth has joined the DNFs; heavy fall onto her left hip but she seems OK. At the TV break (15 away), Shiffrin leads from Goggia and Worley, then Gut, Mölgg and Drev – 4 DNFs. This definitely seems to be a tricky course – no change to the top 6 for a while now. Quite a good run from Sara Hector; lost some time lower down though to go into 11th at present. Impressive recovery by Ricarda Haaser, but that must have cost her some time. That’s 30 away and still no change to the top 6. Emotional farewell to Tina Maze, who walked over the line – she’s throwing some of her race kit into the crowd - 4 golds, 5 silvers at world championships and that’s just a few of the successes, sad to see her go, although she really retired a while ago. Alex Tilley safely down and 26th at present. Coverage shifts to Adelboden. (No late upsets, but Rahel Kopp (SUI) did get into the top 30 from a  late start!)
Run 2: A much “straighter” course than run 1, apparently. Early leader is Tina Robnik (SLO); Adeline Baud-Mugnier has taken it away, despite getting caught up a little on a gate.  Truppe looking good but she’s slid out; Grenier great on the top section but lost it – just 4th. Kirchgasser building on the top section, but red by inter 2, and 6th. Similar story for Meillard – into 3rd though. Elena Curtoni has kept it together – into the lead. Wendy Holdener into 2nd; great start by Ragnhild Mowinckel, building from 0.08 at the start and going ever more green all the way to 1.42 at the finish – what a run – fastest on run 2 and a massive lead. Nadia Fanchini into 2nd, + 1.18! That’s better – Coralie Frasse Sombet into 2nd, +0.46, another 14 to go – for heaven’s sake commentators stop blathering about the tennis this afternoon! Sara Hector into 3rd; 10 to go. Mich Gagnon into 2nd; Anna Veith out, hopefully unhurt. Vikki Rebensburg has managed to take the lead away from Mowinckel, although the Norwegian still has the fastest time on run 2. Huge support for Ana Drev, red at inter 1, green at 2, but only 3rd at the finish. Five to go; Mölgg into 3rd, Lara Gut building a bit to inter 1, better still to 2 and even better at the finish – lead by 0.73! Tessa Worley also building to inter 1, just into red (+0.01) at 2 but a superb finish to take the lead – that’s the best time on this run too. Sofia Goggia slightly red at inter 1, but -0.42 at inter 2; she’s lost it – 2nd by 0.16. Mikaela Shiffrin the only one left to go – 0.20 in hand. It’s red at inter 1 (+0.13), but green at 2 (-0.13) – into 4th! So, Worley wins from Goggia and Gut, Shiffrin 4th ahead of Rebensburg and Mowinckel. In the overall Shiffrin still leads, Gut has pulled back just 10 points today and trails by 205 with Worley up to 3rd, 285 points behind the American. Worley leads the GS standings, 85 ahead of Shiffrin with Gut 3rd, 190 behind.

Men’s GS – Adelboden 7 Jan: Quite a lot of new snow here, hard work by the team to get the course ready. No Ted Ligety today, still nursing a sore back. Alexis Pinturault is the first away; looks a tough course, with a very steep finish, very physical! That looked a good run by Alexis  – Victor M-J already well red at inter 1, better in the middle but lost more lower down - +1.42! Philipp Schörghofer green at inter 3, bit scrappy lower and into 2nd. Felix Neureuther in trouble – over 2 seconds down. Now, Marcel Hirscher, trying for his 100th podium today – red at inter 1 and 2, recovered a little to 3 but slightly late in the line lower – 3rd and +0.70. Henrik Kristoffersen also red all the way and losing more on the last pitch – 4th, +1.31. Haugen into 4th; that turn into the final steep section looks quite frightening! Big error from Eisath, just 3 gates in; good recovery, he’s finished. Well, Manuel Feller won’t be leading after run 1 today; this course really is unforgiving – there are only 2 people within a second of Pinturault’s time – Schörghofer and Hirscher. Murisier the first DNF after a straddle – good recovery, avoiding a nasty slide.  Stefan Luitz well in touch through all the intermediate timing points, looking to go second, but he’s slipped and missed a gate. Early stumble by Myhrer won’t help his time, just outside the top 10. With 20 away Pinturault still leads, from Schörghofer and Hirscher; Haugen in 4th ahead of Kristoffersen and Victor M-J, some big time gaps in the top 10. The later start numbers aren’t making much impression; Nani (18 to 11th) and Mölgg (21 to 12th) being the best of them. Some great shots of disappointed coaches! That’s 30 away; still no change to the top 6, although good effort by Tommy Ford (start 29) to get into 12th. Not sure what has happened to Samu Torsti but run 1 has been interrupted for a while.
Run 2: I see Jansrud did get a second run – another tricky looking course; Kjetil into 2nd behind Zampa – a few welcome points today. Again the lower part of the course is changing green lights into red at the finish – Pleisch, -0.66 at inter 3 but +0.18 at the end; into 3rd. Steve Missilier is -1.14 at inter 3, and that’s more than enough to take the lead. First 10 down; Missilier leads from Kryzl and Zubcic. Good to see that Samu Torsti (FIN) is well and has a second run, I thought he was a DNF? Ah, yellow flagged on run 1, did it again, got a second run and he’s into the lead! He loses it to Florian Eisath; poor Andre Myhrer is losing time all the way down – into 8th. Half way; Eisath, Torsti and Missilier the top 3. That remains the top 3 for a while – Felix Neureuther eventually takes over the lead although Torsti still has the best time for run 2. Nine to go – massive error from Luca de Aliprandini, lucky to finish! Matts Olsson building on his advantage and he takes the lead – course set by his coach! Matthieu Faivre has taken it away; very impressive escape on the final pitch! Victor M-J green at inter 2, but then red – into 3rd. Nice run from Henrik K – he goes into the lead by just 0.02. Haugen good until the final pitch, big mistake – into 8th. Marcel Hirscher is building all the way – into the lead by a truly massive 1.99! Not surprisingly that is the fastest time on run 2 - that is podium number 100 no matter what happens next. Schörghofer does go into 2nd, but he’s 1.90 behind Hirscher’s time. Just Alexis Pinturault to come – he has 0.70 in hand; he is losing that a little – just 0.27 left at inter 3; he has taken the win by just 0.04! Pinturault wins the race, his 19th victory – the most successful French male skier ever, apparently. Hirscher 2nd, Schörghofer 3rd ahead of Kristoffersen, Faivre and Olsson. In the GS standings Hirscher leads Pinturault by 44 points, Faivre 3rd.  In the overall Hirscher has 833 points, to Pinturault’s 565, Henrik K up to 3rd with 492 with Jansrud getting 9 points today, taking him to 491.

Women’s Slalom – Maribor 8 Jan: Busy today – 81 starters here. Looks gloomy in Maribor, light snow falling – Frida Hansdotter the first away; an early start might be a help in the conditions? Wendy Holdener next down, and she’s faster. Løseth into 3rd, and here comes Mikaela – into the lead by 0.17. Apparently she sometimes needs a chair in the leader’s enclosure because she spends so much time there! Veronika VZ looking fast, and green at inter 2, but she’s out (on a course set by her coach!). Now it’s gone quiet; Shiffrin leads from Holdener and Hansdotter, Vlhova 4th ahead of Løseth and Strachová – those 6 separated by 0.82. No one else within a second of the leader. Course seems to be cutting up – 15 away and no change to the top 6. Good run from Emelie Wikström (start number 21) into 7th place; another good one – Manuela Mölgg (29) into 7th her best slalom result for a while! Lara Gut is racing today, trying for some points, but she isn’t going to get a second run. Ilka Stuhec will though – into 11th; Sofia Goggia is having another bad day – DNF. A sudden rash of DNFs, which sadly includes Alex Tilley, who is out after straddling the 2nd gate – not a day she will want to remember. First run over – no change to the top 11
Run 2: Is going to be awkward as it clashes with the Tour de Ski and live biathlon! Katharina Huber unlucky to be taken out by a broken gate pole which chased her down the slope and tripped her! Early lead for Katharina Truppe; conditions much better here than in Adelboden, although it is snowing a bit. Looks like the snow is getting a bit heavier? Michaela Kirchgasser into the lead with 10 away; she is replaced by Costazza, and now it’s Ana Bucik at the half way stage. After 20 Bucik is still leading from Costazza and Stuhec; Bernadette Schild into 2nd now. Strachová into first and replaced almost at once by Løseth, and then Vlhova. Hansdotter through to lead, Holdener takes it away and then Shiffrin leads, despite also being chased and nearly tripped by another broken pole – think she went over it twice! Quite a good second run – Mikaela Shiffrin wins from Wendy Holdener and Frida Hansdotter; fastest on run 2 was Ana Bucik! Overall Shiffrin leads by 305 points from Lara Gut with Tessa Worley 385 back. She also leads the slalom standings by 110 from VVZ with Holdener 3rd.

Men’s Slalom – Adelboden 8 Jan: Dave Ryding will start with bib 10 – he’s moving up the list! Race has started – Myhrer first away; steep terrain again! Felix Neureuther is faster, despite being red at inter 1 – this is a tricky course. Henrik Kristoffersen is really tearing this up – 1.27 faster; that’s a challenging target for the rest! Stefano Gross has straddled; Manfred Mölgg into 2nd. It’s getting foggy lower down the hill – very rapid change in the visibility. Next away is Marcel Hirscher – he’s off the pace today, unlucky with the fog too – only 5th and 1.60 off the fastest time. The fog seems to be moving up the mountain, at times it’s hard to see the skiers! Hargin is a DNF, the time gaps are becoming bigger as the visibility gets even worse. Marcel Hirscher doesn’t seem to be the only one thinking that this is beyond reasonable, he’s not a happy bunny. Great recovery by Dave Ryding, and another one lower down; into 8th but +3.27. Matt also out – I doubt if he could see beyond just the next gate. Even Pinturault is having problems – 7th and +2.64. Good run by Daniel Yule, into 7th and just +1.66 – pity he won’t ski for GB! Hard to tell, as we rely on the camera shots, but this is looking like a farce – we had a slalom in a gale last week, and now this. Perhaps the race referee needs to sort himself out and do his job! There is only 1 skier within a second of Henrik K, Manfred Mölgg at +0.38; the 2 tied in 10th place, Victor MJ and JB Grange are +2.98 for heaven’s sake. The “nasty bump” claims another scalp as Luca Aerni joins the DNFs. Feller into 9th; I think the vis is getting even worse at times, but it’s also patchy. Twenty five away – 6 DNFs; the FIS seem determined to get this finished despite the conditions – how bad does it have to get before they see sense? I suppose that at slalom speeds this is at least fairly safe. Byggmark also out; vis looks to be getting worse again. Naoki Yuasa has got into 11th; Dave Ryding currently in 17th as coverage moves to the Tour de Ski – 8 DNFs so far. Good effort by Linus Strasser to get into 11th. That’s run 1 completed, I hope the FIS are happy!
Run 2: Now, what are the conditions like? At the moment it looks OK, good visibility all the way, although there are some patches of mist/low cloud elsewhere in the valley – hope that doesn’t drift back in! Jonathan Nordbotten, first away on run 2, has set a hard target here – Dave Ryding has managed to go 2nd as we approach the half way point – Norwegian holding on to his lead! I thought Marco Schwarz would lead but he’s only into 2nd despite an initial 0.74 advantage. Thaler has lost a full second on his run, he’s 4th at present. Nordbotten is really holding on – the mist seems to be drifting in a little, but it’s OK at present – Victor MJ has also failed to dislodge the Norwegian – into 4th. Visibility is deteriorating in places; lower section still OK; JB Grange has lost loads of time – into 9th! Naoki Yuasa began with 1.02 in hand, he’s in the red by inter 2 and ends up 3rd, which drops Dave R one place. At last – Linus Strasser has joined Nordbotten in joint first place! Alexis Pinturault is next down – good run and he takes the lead by 0.38! Manuel Feller is going well, building on his advantage all the way to inter 3 – lost a bit lower but he takes the lead. Another good run from Daniel Yule – the vis on the top section is getting worse, but he’s into 2nd. Now it’s Hirscher’s turn – he won’t be happy to have both runs affected by fog! A good run though and he did a great job on the lower section – he leads by 0.86! Myhrer fast at the top but losing on the final section – into 2nd. Alex Khoroshilov next; lost a bit to inter 1, got it back by 2, into the red by 3 – into 2nd. The mist/fog is getting worse again; Felix Neureuther almost took the lead – second by just 0.05. Manuel Mölgg has 1.22 in hand as he starts; almost a second left at inter 3 – he takes the lead but only by 0.36. Just Henrik K to go – he is building already and holds that to inter 2; it’s up from 0.38 to over a second by inter 3 – he wins by a massive 1.83 – fastest on run 2 as well! So, Kristoffersen wins from Mölgg and Hirscher; Dave Ryding in 15th. In the slalom standings Henrik K and Marcel H are tied in first on 360 points each, Mölgg 3rd with 326. Hirscher still leads the overall on 893 points from Pinturault (594) and Kristoffersen (592); Jansrud on 491.

Tour de Ski Day 6 – Women’s 10 Km classic, Val de Fiemme 7 Jan: Not live as it clashed with the biathlon, so I’ll run the FIS data and try to catch up later. At 2.5 Km Niskanen leads from Heidi Weng, Nilsson, von Siebenthal and Østberg; all quite close though, just 3.3 seconds between the top 10. At 5 Km Yulia Tchekaleva (RUS) is leading, with Nilsson very close and von Siebenthal, Harsem, Kyllönen and Weng within 1.8 seconds. At 7.5 Km – Kyllönen leads from Nilsson, Pärmäkoski, Kalla, Tchekaleva and Weng (+2.3). At 8.9 Nilsson is trying to pull away, Kyllönen 2nd from Kalla and Parmakoski – Nilsson has won this leg, from Anne Kyllönen (FIN), Kalla and Pärmäkoski. Weng in 7th (+17.5) just ahead of Jess Diggins, Østberg down in 18th +1:08.5. So, the current standings – Nilsson is back in the lead from Weng (+19.2), Parmakoski (+53.9), Østberg (+1:23.3) and Diggins (+1:56.5), with just the Alpe Cermis to go.

Men’s 15 Km classic: Ustiugov, Sundby and Cologna well to the front as they start; Alex Harvey also looking good on the first big climb. How did Pepene (ROU) get so far up the rankings at 1.4 Km? A few fallers on this lap; at 2.5 km Sundby leads from Tønseth, Ustiugov and Cologna; just 1.8 seconds separates the top 10. Starting to spread out as they come in for the first bonus seconds – Sundby got 8 and Ustiugov none, Alex Harvey the main beneficiary. Looks like Ustiugov’s skis aren’t gripping well; let’s see how the next hill works out – he’s slipping badly there; at 5 Km he’s 6.4 seconds back – Dyrhaug leads from Sundby and Tønseth. Next hill, and Ustiugov is back with the leaders! At 7.5 Km Ustiugov is marginally ahead of Sundby, with Cologna 3rd ahead of Bessmertnykh and Larkov. Next lot of bonus seconds; Russians trying to take as many as possible, but Sundby was still 3rd – Ustiugov 8th. At 10 Km it’s Ustiugov, Bessmertnykh and Larkov leading; Cologna 4th, Sundby 7th – 2 laps to go. Just over 11 Km – Ustiugov, Cologna, Sundby and Dyrhaug – Krüger has fallen. At 12.5 the Russian still just leads from Sundby and Cologna; pace has really picked up, Manificat up to 5th. Now at 13.6 Km Bessmertnykh leads from Ustiugov, Dyrhaug, Larkov and Sundby. Sundby making a break at the 13.9 Km split, must have found a chunk of energy. He’s getting well clear, prospect of 15 seconds bonus if he wins – he does take it, but just 2.2 seconds ahead of Ustiugov who gets 10 seconds bonus, with Heikkinen third. Cologna in 7th, Manificat 13th, Harvey 19th and Andy Musgrave 20th. Standings with just the final leg to go: Ustiugov leads from Sundby (+1:11.9), Cologna (+2:04.1), Heikkinen (+2:32.9) and Manificat (+2:34.6)

TdS; Women’s 9 Km freestyle pursuit – Alpe Cermis 8 Jan: Missed the falls yesterday, think it was Parmakoski and Kalla. Fairly flat at first today but then the steep climb to finish – 495 metres, which is quite a bit more than the Eiffel Tower! Weng has closed down a little, but there’s no rush surely – she looks to be better suited to steep climbing. Not a lot of snow off the course itself – a white path through green and mud in the early stages; Weng has already made up 10 seconds by the 4 Km split but no major changes elsewhere. At just after the 6.2 Km mark Weng has overtaken Nilsson and is trying to open a gap to stop the Swede “hanging on” to her; at 7.1 Km Weng is already 28.8 seconds ahead of Nilsson; Parmakoski is closing Nilsson down too. Østberg seems to be suffering too; she’s losing time to Parmakoski and Diggins is getting closer to her. Nilsson is not getting any skate at all on the steep steps, but Weng is keeping the technique going. At 8.1 Km Weng leads by 1:18.6, Nilsson barely in front of Parmakoski, I think Østberg has lost a tiny bit on the Finn, Diggins close but the Norwegian has put a spurt on. Parmakoski has passed Nilsson; Østberg has pulled out again on Diggins – 7 seconds has become 25. Heidi Weng wins the Tour de Ski by a massive margin – her time is apparently the same as Johaug’s last year. Krista Parmakoski gets second, 1:37.0 back; late fight for 3rd between Nilsson and Østberg – the Swede just manages to hold in over the final few metres. Stina Nilsson third, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg 4th, just 10 seconds behind Stina – Jess Diggins 5th and eventually just over a minute back on Østberg. Niskannen 6th ahead of Kyllönen and von Siebenthal. Finish area is littered with exhausted athletes!

Men’s 9 Km freestyle pursuit: So, Sergey Ustiugov has 01:12 over Sundby, Dario Cologna +02:04, Matti Heikkinen +02:33 and Manificat +02:34. Harvey and Hellner also close to the “Cologna group”. Musgrave goes 14th, +5:21. At 4 Km Sundby has recovered about 3 seconds, Harvey up to 4th, Manificat also past Heikkinen at present; the climb is where it might all change. Ustiugov at 6.2 Km and starting the climb proper; Sundby +1:14.9. Cologna losing a bit to the chasing 3. At 7.1 Km Sundby has pulled back a little, Cologna is a minute behind him, with Matti, Maurice and Alex closing a little. Sundby has got the gap down to just under a minute; at 8.1 km it’s 53.8. Dario Cologna hanging on to 3rd but Manificat is about 15 seconds behind, just ahead of Matti H, Marcus Hellner past Alex Harvey. Final split at 8.5 Km – Sergey Ustiugov has pulled out a little – Sundby +1:02.0; Cologna and Manificat are close, just 1.3 seconds in it, Heikkinen also in touch. Angle is easing a little for Sergey – he wins the Tour de Ski! Martin Johnsrud Sundby is second, Dario Cologna has blocked off Maurice Manificat on a lower corner (bit naughty?) and he takes third ahead of the Frenchman. Matti Heikkinen 5th ahead of Hellner, Harvey and Krüger. Andy Musgrave finished 18th in the end; I thought Sundby was very rude at the end turning his back on Ustiugov as the Russian came over to talk – perhaps just too knackered but it didn’t look like that.

Women’s Slalom – Flachau 10 Jan: The “Hermann Maier” course this rather cold evening! It has to be said that while course doesn’t look anything like as steep as Adelboden, it is a rather tricky set; that should make this a fairly exciting contest – hopefully close racing. An American coach has set he course for this first run – Petra Vlhova is first away. And, that’s the first straddle this evening; no points for Vlhova. Løseth is slower, but she does finish! Wendy Holdener is a little faster – she takes the lead – Strachová is almost a second off the pace. VVZ more in touch but still only third. Lovely run by Frida Hansdotter – she takes the lead by nearly a second. Now this really is unusual – Mikaela Shiffrin 0.39 in the red at inter 1; she’s +1.13 at inter 2 and 1.38 off the pace at the finish – just 5th place, what is going on? Some suggestion that the equipment set up is not optimum tonight on this grabby snow; certainly she isn’t looking happy, and that lack of speed is very odd. Ten away – Hansdotter leads from Holdener and Løseth; Shiffrin still in 5th. Mich Gagnon didn’t start well, and, just as she was getting back into her run, she has also straddled. Kirchgasser is not starting (not sure why – injury during warm up?) and Costazza seems rather slow, although to be fair, at present there is only 1 skier within 1 second of Hansdotter. Rather better from Truppe who is into 7th; Wikström going well to inter 2 but a mistake just before the timing point dropped her speed and she ended 10th at present. Barthet out; so is Baud Mugnier, later starters not making much impact at present; best arguably Bucik to 8th. Top 6 remain Hansdotter, Holdener, Løseth, VVZ, Shiffrin and Bernadette Schild. Thirty away, no change to the top 6. Sadly Alex Tilley is a DNF; Charlotte Guest did get down but won’t get a second run.
Run 2: Well, I certainly wouldn’t bet against Shiffrin still pulling back enough to win this! This second run, set by a Canadian, seems to be faster, but it still looks quite tricky especially coming into the finish. It’s apparently minus 13 Celsius tonight; some of the crowd fortifying themselves with Schnapps or Jägertee, so we are told. Ten away, Manuela Mölgg has just taken the lead from Julia Grünwald and Maren Wiesler; Marina Wallner has the best time on run 2 so far. Resi Stiegler has taken the lead; her combined time is holding up well at present. Just as we get to half way Chiara Costazza takes over the lead; second fastest on run 2. Christina Geiger had the same time as the Italian on run 1, but she’s faster this time – into the lead. That’s 20 away – Geiger leads from Costazza and Meillard; Wikström next down and into 2nd. Strachová losing a bit of time all the way down – green to inter 2 but into 3rd; Wallner still fastest on run 2. Lovely run from Katharina Truppe – into the lead; Bernadette Schild into 2nd (watched by older sister Marlies). Now, here comes Shiffrin – 0.25 in hand and she has built all the way down – into the lead by a massive 1.24! That is the fastest time on run 2 and it really has put the pressure on those still to come – much more like it! Veronika VZ certainly can’t match it, she’s 2nd but 1.01 slower. Nina Løseth has lost a bit to inter 1, but she’s gained a little by 2 and – she takes the lead, brilliant stuff! That is a very happy lady! Wendy Holdener is good, but she’s into 2nd; Frida Hansdotter has built a little to inter 1, still there at 2, lost a bit lower down on the verticale but she had enough in hand to take a well deserved win! So, what a race – Hansdotter wins from Løseth with Shiffrin back in joint third, after whatever happened on run 1, with Wendy Holdener. In the slalom standings Shiffrin still leads, now by 125 points, from VVZ and Holdener. In the overall Shiffrin has a lead of 365 points over Lara Gut with Tessa Worley 3rd – she already has over 1,000 points!

Men’s Alpine Combined – Wengen 13 Jan: No Hirscher today, I understand he felt he couldn’t do justice to the downhill section on the Lauberhorn? Slalom first as they are hoping the conditions will improve later for the speed part; I joined slightly late as I didn’t have the Army to help clear the snow on my drive! At present Justin Murisier is leading from Victor M-J, Alexis Pinturault and Carlo Janka; Jansrud in 9th, +2.92 at this stage. The weather doesn’t look good in Wengen – wet snow falling and the visibility isn’t ideal; OK for the slalom half of this event but downhill is going to be a bit marginal! Adam Zampa has just gone into 4th, +0.91; Peter Fill joins the DNFs – in good company though as Matthias Mayer and Adrien Theaux are also out. Tonetti has just joined them, so has Ryan Cochrane-Siegle. Krystof Kryzl has gone into 5th; Goldberg a DNF. There is a rumour that today (or the Wengen events) might be Ivica Kostelic’s last race(s) – he was waving to the crowd as he finished – sorry to see him go, if that is indeed his last appearance in race kit, but 14 knee surgeries is a lot! Into the 40s now for start numbers – no change to the top 6, 13 DNFs! Istok Rodes (CRO) into 8th from a late start.
I missed the downhill part of this event, and wasn’t too worried as I suspected it might be cancelled. In the event it went ahead (on a shortened course; looked OK when Kernen did the camera run!) and seems to have been something of a farce as the later starters had no chance to record a decent time as the snow got ever heavier and the visibility deteriorated! Still, as everyone keeps telling us, it’s an outdoor sport! All power though to Niels Hintermann (who?) for his win, with Maxence Muzaton and Frederic Berthold taking the other 2 podium spots! I understand that gives Pinturault the Combined title this year!? The FIS race report follows: “It was a day of miracles in Wengen (SUI) today. Most had written off any chance of today’s Audi FIS World Cup alpine combined race to even be staged after a fierce winter storm unleashed its fury overnight and through much of the morning. Most generally don’t expect a racer with starting with Bib #51 to win at one of the most iconic stops on the tour, but ultimately, both miracles happened as unknown Swiss rookie Niels Hintermann took home his first-ever World Cup victory. The Organisers scrambled through the night, and a late change to the programme ultimately saved the day as the slalom was run before the downhill portion. Throughout the slalom, heavy snow continued to fall as the racers battled down the course. Justin Murisier (SUI) ultimately was the fastest man down the mountain in the slalom.  A small window of opportunity gave the Organisers a chance to prepare the course for the downhill, but those that were strong in the slalom were the ones that were ultimately punished in a downhill as the snowfall steadily picked up giving the early starters the clear advantage. One racer that made the most of the opportunity was Hintermann, who was the seventh racer in the downhill, and claimed the fastest time that stood as some of the top names came down the Lauberhorn with not luck (sic) against the conditions.  The entire podium was made up of racers who were among the first ten starters in the downhill. Maxence Muzaton (FRA) and Frederic Berthold (AUT) rounded out the unlikely podium. In fact, it was the first podium for all three of today’s top-three finishers.
Tomorrow, the winter weather pattern is forecast to continue, but the Lauberhorn Organiser is hoping to pull off another miracle for the downhill, scheduled for a 12:30 CET start. With the results from the two trainings it could be another day of unexpected results.”
I just hope tomorrow’s downhill has better luck!

Men’s Downhill – Wengen 14 Jan: This one is also cancelled  (see Altenmarkt-Zauchensee), again too much snow – the FIS not having much luck today!

Men’s Slalom – Wengen 15 Jan: Pity the FIS have decided to stay with the slalom, rather than substitute yesterday’s cancelled downhill – the Lauberhornrennen is surely one of the iconic races of the season and more worthy of inclusion than a slalom especially as it seems we’ve only had 2 completed men’s downhills so far this season; perhaps there’s more chance of getting a slalom completed today? Looks better today but it is still snowing, the piste is icy; race is on. Khoroshilov fast and an early leader – Marcel Hirscher away number 3; green at inter 3 but losing a little to the Russian lower down – into 2nd, +0.12 – not as aggressive as usual? Now, Henrik Kristoffersen – green all the way, lovely skiing and he leads by 0.44, so 0.56 faster than Hirscher! Just 4 away, and the podium at present is Henrik K, Alex Khoroshilov and Marcel Hirscher; Myhrer isn’t going to change that. Stefano Gross into 4th, Mölgg drops to 5th, Neureuther into 6th. Matthias Hargin has moved into 4th place – good run. Now Dave Ryding – green at inter 1, but getting redder lower down – he’s into 6th and that’s better than Mölgg and Neureuther! Nick is getting excited! Pinturault is a bit off the pace – into 9th at present. Good run from Patrick Thaler into joint 4th (Nick seems amazed that such an “old man” is still able to ski – he’s only 38, Bjørndalen is in his early 40s and he still races biathlon!). David Chodounsky risking it all; it has paid off as he’s 7th, pushing Ryding down one more place. Good run from Manuel Feller; nice timing and he’s into 2nd place – exciting stuff. Luca Aerni going well on the top section – he’s getting more ragged and now there’s a straddle. Speaking of which – Feller seems to have straddled on his run; the slow motion camera confirms that and he’s DQ’d. Heading towards the 30 away, and it’s Leif Kristian Haugen #30 – a very impressive run and he’s into 2nd place; great effort! So, barring a late upset, it’s Henrik K from Haugen, Khoroshilov, Hirscher and Thaler/Hargin making up the top 6.
Run 2: Seems like another testing course; with 10 away Jean-Baptiste Grange leads from Stefan Hadalin (SLO) – they are tied for the best time on run 2 at present. Almost half way and Julien Lizeroux has really gone for it – he leads by 0.96, and that’s a new best time on this run. He’s happy! Stefan Luitz into 2nd; Pinturault losing time on his run – he’s into 3rd at present. Felix Neureuther going well – he lost a bit to inter 1, made an error in the middle, but his finish was good – he leads, with the best time on run 2. Robin Buffet (FRA) into 3rd; impressive run from Christian Hirschbühl (AUT) who started number 46 on run 1 – he has gone into 2nd! Mölgg losing time after inter 1 – just 4th. Now it’s Dave Ryding – building to inter 1, almost off the green at 2 – despite a very positive commentary he’s into 8th, which I suspect will disappoint him? Chodounsky has straddled; Gross losing time between inter 2 and 3 and goes 9th. Hargin into 4th; Patrick Thaler started well but he has straddled too. Now, Marcel Hirscher – building to inter 1, steady to 2 and 3 – another second run charge and he leads by 0.48, with the best time for run 2. Khoroshilov can’t match that – he goes into 6th; Haugen losing time and he’s stopped, what happened there? Just Henrik K to go – good through inter 1 and 2, just red at 3 – he wins by 0.15! So, Kristoffersen wins which gives him the lead in the slalom standings by 20 points. Hirscher 2nd (and fastest on run 2), Neureuther gets the final podium place. Mölgg remains 3rd in the slalom standings; in the overall Hirscher is on 973, 281 ahead of Henrik k with Pinturault 3rd – speed specialists suffering from the lack of downhills?

Women’s Downhill; Altenmarkt-Zauchensee 14 Jan: This should have been Lindsey Vonn’s comeback race after injury, however the weather had other ideas! Cancelled due to snowfall (and seemingly strong winds too)! Later today the FIS will announce tomorrow’s programme – it may be they run the Downhill and ditch the Alpine Combination?

Update: From the FIS Facebook page - The ladies’ (sic) were due to have both a downhill training and downhill race today in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee (AUT) but due to poor weather conditions and heavy snowfall both had to be cancelled. The schedule for tomorrow has been decided and it will give the downhill another try, with the training run scheduled for 9:30 and the downhill race beginning at 12:15 CET.

On the men’s side, the heavy snowfall in Wengen (SUI) forced the cancellation of the Lauberhorn downhill race today. After nearly a half meter covered the course, there was no chance to clear the track with the snow forecast to continue to be heavy throughout the day. The men will stay with their original programme tomorrow with a slalom schedule for 10:30 first run and 13:30 second run.

Women’s Downhill - Altenmarkt-Zauchensee 15 Jan: Lovely day this time, very alpine! Nadia Fanchini doesn’t start after a crash in training this morning – no more detail on how she is. Sofia Goggia the early leader; however, Ilka Stuhec is flying again – into the lead by a massive 1.39 over Goggia; her Mum has done a good job on those skis! Görgl into 3rd; now it’s Lindsey Vonn on her comeback run – pretty impressive too, as she goes into 2nd, just 0.96 off the pace. Lovely run by Nicole Schmidhofer to go into 2nd; next away is Lara Gut – good top section and she’s just green at inter 3 – she takes the lead by just 0.03! Elena Fanchini goes into 4th – at present Gut, Stuhec, Schmidhofer, Elena Fanchini, Vonn, Goggia. Corinne Suter looking good – she’s into 6th, but loses that to Laurenne Ross. Great run from Johanna Schnarf, into 3rd! Weather a little worse now, no sunshine on course, but it hasn’t worried Tina Weirather – just green all the way and into the lead by 0.16! Vikki Rebensburg started well, but she’s out – seems OK. That’s 20 away – Weirather leads from Gut and Stuhec, just 0.19 between them. Ragnhild Mowinckel going well at the top, but a mistake took her off line – into 14th. Now here’s an upset - Christine Scheyer (AUT), who was second fastest in training this morning, has gone green all the way and is leading by 0.39 from a start number of 25! More late charges – Jacqueline Wiles into 3rd! All change at the top – the podium is now Scheyer, Weirather and Wiles; Gut 4th ahead of Stuhec and Schnarf. Jasmine Flury (SUI), another “new” name to me, also going well – she’s currently 8th. And again – Nicol Delago (ITA) into 8th – I think she was in the top 6 in this morning’s training run. Eighth position seems to be popular; Priska Nufer (SUI), start number 48 has just taken her turn at it! That leaves Vonn in 13th at present. No changes after that; in the discipline standings Ilka Stuhec still leads on 345 points from Lara Gut (180) and Sofia Goggia (175). In the overall Shiffrin still leads on 1008; Gut 315 behind with Stuhec up to 3rd.

It seems that both Aksel Lund Svindal and Ted Ligety are out for the rest of the season after further surgery; see the FIS report HERE

Great pity, but neither of them have been performing as well as they hoped and it seems surgery is the only viable option - all the best to them both.

Men’s Super G – Kitzbühl 20 Jan: The Streifalm course! Very odd – Eurosport have this on Eurosport 2 but there seems to be no commentary (with their apologies for its absence; should have been Nick F but “they” can’t seem to get him on air, so Matt Chilton has been drafted in until the issue can be sorted out – presumably from Garmisch?) and I keep getting very annoying pop up messages about the tennis, which is infesting the schedules at present! Anyway, Andreas Sander is the first down; obviously no Svindal or Ligety today as they are recovering from the latest round of “surgical interventions” – all the best to them both! Erik Guay is quite a bit faster, but third man down, Beat Feuz, is massively ahead – into the lead by 1.20! Impressed to see Marcel Hirscher here; that’s a really good start on a course which is definitely not in his comfort zone – he’s safely down; very gutsy stuff and he’s faster than Sander – into 3rd – I do hope he gets enough points today to make it worthwhile! We have Nick back; Hannes Reichelt not looking comfortable – good recovery, but the commentators reckon he has gear problems; he was faster than Feuz in the practice, but off the pace today! Looks like he might be DQd after losing the line lower down? Adrien Theaux into 2nd. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde down next; good run but he misses the lead by just 0.02! Ye gods, that is a demanding course; next away is Innerhofer – amazing escape early on , but he’s keeping it green – he really is on the ragged edge, but it’s paid off as he’s into the lead! Yes, that recovery looks even more spectacular in slow motion, one leg at head height and the other still carving! Kjetil Jansrud is next and he’s also making early mistakes on this bumpy piste; fastest through the gun, but he’s just 4th. Now it’s 5th as Dominik Paris has gone 4th, and then 6th as Peter Fill has gone 5th – Kjetil is not going to be happy! Impressive run from Matthias Mayer – green, green, red, green and into the lead! Very popular with the crowd, and Nick is excited too! Mayer leads from Innerhofer and Feuz. Another impressive escape, this one by Bostjan Kline, who narrowly missed the netting! Dustin Cook isn’t quite so athletic – into the netting but he’s up and seems unhurt; lucky! Alexis Pinturault is also here – good start, but a bit of an epic on the jump - he’s had a couple lucky escapes but he’s into an impressive 8th; more points than Hirscher! Good start from Carlo Janka; a line error has cost him time and he’s 10th! Max Franz into 5th, Josef Ferstl into 8th. Sejersted has gone even closer to the netting than Kline - too close as it turns out; nasty fall but he too is up and seems OK, although very annoyed! That was pretty much the way it stayed – Mayer wins from Innerhofer and Feuz; Manny Osborne-Paradis started number 47 and managed 14th, with Romed Baumann (28) ending up 15th; on the points front Alexis Pinturault was 10th (26 points) and Marcel Hirscher ended up 24th (7 well deserved points) – Jansrud was 9th (29 points). In the overall, Marcel Hirscher leads on 980, Henrik K 2nd on 692 with Pinturault on 655; Jansrud 4th on 544. Jansrud does, however, still lead the Super G standings with 3 wins so far – he is on 329 ahead of Dominik Paris (192) and Kilde (189).

Women’s Downhill – Garmisch-Partenkirchen 21 Jan: Can’t see this in the Eurosport schedule, at least not this morning, but there is a video link with no commentary. The men’s race from Kitzbühl is apparently live, but there doesn’t seem to be any biathlon either – very poor! Anyway – Kandahar 1 today – Garmisch looks nice and sunny; the camera run down the piste was impressive; happy memories of the area although I never went at that sort of speed! “Lokalmatadorin” Vikki Rebensburg is away first, possibly a couple line errors but she’s down; looks a testing course and physically demanding – I think that was almost 2 seconds faster than in training! Certainly Stacey Cook (+1.43) and Kasja Kling (+2.43) can’t match Rebensburg’s time – neither can Elena Curtoni. Now, here comes Tina Weirather – very close all the way, just a few hundredths either side of Vikki’s time until after inter 5 when there was a line error – Tina second +0.70. Good run from Nicole Schmidhofer, into 2nd, and now it’s Downhill standings leader Ilka Stuhec – red at 1, just red at 2, just green at 3 – bit wide at times so back red at 4; she’s taken a bit back but not enough – into 3rd. Next away is Christine Scheyer who produced such an impressive late charge to win at Altenmarkt on 15 Jan; well in touch until inter 4, then losing time and she’s missed a gate within sight of the finish. Lara Gut is away – again, very close and just green at 3 & 4; gaining time to 5 and that’s Lara into the lead by 0.33. First TV break and Gut leads from Rebensburg with Ramona Siebenhofer taking over 3rd place. Puchner in touch until inter 3 – just after that it looks easy to go wide and lose time, and she’s into 7th. Nasty fall for Johanna Schnarf, she’s lost a glove and a pole but she is up and seems OK – tough lot ski racers! As a sweeping generalisation, most racers seem to be in touch on the upper section, but losing time on the lower half. Here comes Lindsey Vonn – green at inter 2, and 0.39 green at 3; losing a little to 4 and 5, but she takes the lead by 0.15. She looks very happy, and there is a lot of support in the crowd. Twenty away – Vonn leads from Gut and Rebensburg, then Siebenhofer, Goggia and Schmidhofer. Stuhec currently in 8th and Weirather 9th. Another good late run from Jasmine Flury – into 11th, and also worthy of note is Ester Ledecka (CZE), start number 46 into 12th. Still a few surprises – Ricarda Haaser (start number 53) into 10th – and, that’s the race over, no change to the top 10 since Haaser. In the Overall Points Shiffrin leads on 1008, Gut 2nd, now with 773 and Stuhec 3rd on 616, just ahead of Goggia on 605. In the Downhill standings Stuhec still leads (377) from Gut (260) and Goggia (220).

Men’s Downhill – Kitzbühl 21 Jan: Ah, live coverage! They have just shown a flashback to Svindal’s crash here last year – nasty. Anyway – conditions look good today; huge crowd, very impressive display by a couple smoke trailing gliders (I did wonder where they’d land – on the snow seems to be the answer). Time for Nick Fellowes and Ed Drake; race is on with Steve Nyman first away (good in practice I understand) – 135 Km/h through the final speed gun! Travis Ganong is over a second slower; he’s down and Steve is still breathing hard after his run – despite the rumour that this piste is “a bit easier” this year, it’s still really physically demanding! Adrien Theaux is red all the way down to inter 7 but he’s somehow nicked it – into the lead by 0.13! Now, last year’s winner, Peter Fill – green from inter 2 to 7, and he takes the lead by 0.31, brilliant stuff! Early error by Reichelt cost him a lot of speed, but he’s pulled back a good chunk of it, 141 Km/h at the finish – into 3rd. Kjetil Jansrud good to inter 4, a couple errors and now late on the traverse – just 7th, not his best weekend and he’s not happy. Watching Dominik Paris – big man and going very fast; red at the top but now he’s into the green and he leads – Italy take the top two places, at present! That really was an amazing run, couple small errors but beautifully timed. Ten down and it’s Paris in the lead, from Fill and Theaux – amazingly Jansrud is 10th. What on earth happened there – Max Franz has lost a ski early on, looks like the binding released – he’s understandably annoyed, and beating the snow with his pole! Beat Feuz is getting to be a big lad; he really is flying down the upper section here. Lost a little between 4 and 5, but 0.72 in the green at 6 – massive crash as he comes onto the traverse. This doesn’t look good – he was carrying a lot of speed into that turn; astonishingly he’s standing up and walking off, let’s hope there’s no late damage – he’s skiing down into the finish area!! Carlo Janka is also looking good early on – green to inter 4 and still in touch after that split; lost a tiny bit to the finish and into 3rd. Lucky escape for Christof Innerhofer, one ski running along the banner on the netting – very athletic but a bit slow; into 9th. Good run from Erik Guay, green at 3 of the intermediate splits and into 4th. Matthias Mayer green at inter 1 and keeps it green to 3; going more red after that and he’s 6th at present. Kilde not on the pace either; he goes into 12th and Jansrud is down to 17th now – wonder if the Norwegian kit is right for this race? Now, this is interesting – Johan Clarey is nicely green at inter 2, and he’s holding at all the way to inter 6 – lost a tiny bit in the final stretch but into 2nd. Twenty down and Paris leads from Clarey and Fill; Janka 4th ahead of Guay and Theaux. More late upsets – Valentin Giraud Moine oscillating between red and green all the way down – he’s into 2nd! There is a suggestion that the track will get faster; certainly worked for Clarey and Giraud Moine! Coverage about to stop, the feeling seems to be that the podium won’t change? And, it hasn’t – good win for **** Jansrud will get no points today; what on earth has happened to him recently? The overall points situation is pretty much unaffected by this race as the top 3 aren’t racing today, and none of the top 6 got points here, although Paris moves up 4 places to 8th! The downhill standings are very close (so few races completed) – Paris (142), Svindal (140), Fill (139), Theaux (131), Guay (125), Jansrud (122; he drops 4 places today). Good to see Sejersted in 14th at present, after his crash yesterday! Max Muzaton (start 54) is in 14th!

Men’s Slalom – Kitzbühl 22 Jan: Well, another good looking day, but the surprises have come early – Stefano Gross down first and he leads, from second man Felix Neureuther. Third man away is the standings leader, Henrik Kristoffersen – and he’s out on the first run! Khoroshilov goes into third, and now it’s Andre Myhrer – he has missed a gate but it looks like that was because of a knee problem earlier; he is sitting by the piste, seemingly in pain. Next is Marcel Hirscher – that doesn’t look like a “vollgas” run from him and he goes 4th, +0.73. This course looks like a real pig; icy but soft in patches and rough too – Mölgg is also out; 7 away and 3 DNFs! Next is Dave Ryding – in touch at inter 1 and 2; into the green at inter 3, and he leads! I think Nick Fellowes is going to have some sort of seizure if he gets any more excited; Ed Drake thinking of going for a lie down! Crowd have gone very quiet!! Hargin is out (another straddle); Patrick Thaler straddles 8 turns into the course. Big error from Pinturault and he goes 6th, behind Hirscher, and +2.18 on what Nick keeps stressing is the “British leader”! Hirscher being pushed down a little – he’s 7th at present. With 15 away it’s Ryding in the lead, from Gross and Neureuther, then Khoroshilov, Schwarz and Yule/Lizeroux; Hirscher now 8th and there are 5 DNFs. Time for biathlon, with the FIS ticker in the background! Manuel Feller is also a DNF; so is Luca Aerni – I wonder how many will make it to run 2? And will Eurosport show it – it doesn’t seem to be in the schedule at present? No change to the top 8 with 30 away; Ramon Zenhaeusern (SUI) into 9th. Leif Kristian Haugen has got into 5th, pushing Hirscher down to 9th , Pinturault currently 20th – I count 22 DNFs at present! That’s run 1 over – Dave Ryding still leads; no late changes to the top 10.
Run 2: And no live commentary on British Eurosport; the snooker is on BBC you cretins, why have it on Eurosport as well when Dave Ryding is actually leading after run 1? Anyway – video and FIS data should cover most of it – Linus Strasser first away and he’s a DNF! This looks to be another very testing course, and with no commentary you can hear how icy it is! Stefan Luitz safely down and into the early lead. Great run from Erik Read to go into the lead; best time so far on run 2. Now, can Alexis Pinturault recover some points with his second run? He’s into 2nd; just the 6th fastest on run 2 though. Huge error from Michael Matt, and that’s most of the speed gone. Nordbotten into 2nd now; so far no one seems to be able to match Read. Grange has lost 1.31 seconds as he skis into 6th place – that’s 20 starters away and still Read leads from Nordbotten and Pinturault. Zenhaeusern has gone 5th, and now it’s Marcel Hirscher’s turn – he has 1.41 in hand at the start. He is the first skier I’ve seen for ages who has actually improved on his advantage – green all the way and he’s into the lead by 1.92! Obviously that is the new fastest time on run 2 and the crowd are going wild. Very impressive skiing; Julien Lizeroux was looking good for 2nd but he’s out too (straddle). Daniel Yule has managed it – he is 2nd but 1.61 back from Hirscher! Marco Schwarz into 4th; nice start by Haugen and he goes into 2nd place – good effort. Alex Khoroshilov has taken that place from the Norwegian by just 4 hundredths! Felix Neureuther struggling a bit – 5th place; now Stefano Gross – good advantage but he’s out before the first intermediate; lucky I don’t speak much Italian! So, just Dave Ryding – 1.02 in hand – it’s halved by inter 1, red at 2 but it’s still a good run and he’s hanging on to it – that’s a really superb second place for Dave Ryding! That’s something you don’t often see – A Brit on an Alpine ski podium! Hugely impressive stuff from Marcel Hirscher to win today, Dave R 2nd and Alex Khoroshilov 3rd. Pinturault in 10th at the end and Henrik K gets no points. In the overall, Marcel Hirscher leads on 1080, now 388 ahead of Kristoffersen with Pinturault 3rd a further 11 points back. Today gives Hirscher back the lead in the slalom standings; he has 540 to Henrik’s 460 with Manfred Mölgg 3rd on 358 – Dave Ryding is up to 5th!

Women’s Super G; Garmisch-Partenkirchen 22 Jan: Another nice day in Garmisch, but quite shady on parts of the course (set by Gut’s coach!). Stephanie Venier is the early leader; Sofia Goggia is green at inter 2, but has just become the first DNF today. Vikki Rebensburg is on the course; green at inter 1, even better at 2, holding that to 3, almost half a second up – she’s missed a gate after the roller – she is going to be very annoyed when she sees the split times. Now Lara Gut – a massive 0.38 faster at inter 1, 0.62 at 2, a little better at 3 and she goes into the lead by 0.67. Tina Weirather into 3rd; with 10 away Gut leads from Venier and Weirather, 3 DNFs. TV break over and Brignone into 4th, but +1.44. Now, Lindsey Vonn, start number 13 – surprisingly red at inter 1, and it’s going the wrong way; maybe still a bit rusty for the high speed turns of a Super G – into 6th. Tessa Worley into 4th; Anna Veith in touch at inter 2, but out after missing a gate. Elena Curtoni the first to break 100 Km/h today but ends up 5th at present. Good run from Nicole Schmidhofer – she is currently 4th; Stacey Cook is another one to miss a gate. Now, this might be interesting – Christine Scheyer can sometimes spring a surprise – alas, not today but even so she’s 12th and that’s her best Super G result so far. Twenty five away – Gut leads from Venier, Weirather, Schmidhofer, Worley and Elena Curtoni. No late charge from Jasmine Flury today either as she has also skied out. Not alone today – 10 DNFs so far! Ricarda Haaser is also one to watch – bit wild at times today (102.7 Km/h through the speed trap – fastest so far) but she’s down in one piece and joint 10th – her best Super G result. That ends the live coverage at GAP; seems that in UK we aren’t getting the Kitzbühl run 2 slalom live with commentary, just a video feed. DNFs now up to 16. That’s the Super G over – no changes to the top 10 since Haaser. Good win for Lara Gut; she gets 100 points closer to Shiffrin in the overall (873 to the American’s 1008). Venier in second and Weirather 3rd. In the Super G standings Lara Gut leads, and now has 300 points; Tina W 2nd on 220 and Stephanie Venier is 3rd on 125.

Men’s Night Slalom – Schladming 24 Jan: Well, Dave Ryding the first away tonight on run 1! That looked OK, the commentary team reckon there was a small mistake, but let’s see if that time lasts. It’s certainly better than Manfred Mölgg’s effort; mistake on the steep! Sadly for Dave, Henrik Kristoffersen is on form tonight – he’s 1.18 faster! Next away is Marcel Hirscher; he’s pushing very hard – red at inter 1, green at 2, red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.52. Alex Khoroshilov into 3rd; Daniel Yule has crossed the line on his back – that’s going to bruise! Dave R down to 4th, but with a better time than Felix Neureuther and Julien Lizeroux. Marc Digruber has straddled; Stefano Gross into joint 4th – 10 away and it’s Henrik K, Marcel H, and Alex K as top 3 – Dave R tied in 4th with Gross, and they are just 0.12 behind the Russian. Alexis Pinturault is having another disappointing day – just 12th and slipping to 15th. J-B Grange also out; so is Chodounsky. Getting rutted for the later starters; good effort by Naoki Yuasa to get into 9th. Coverage has finished for run 1 – no change to the top 10; Dave R still joint 4th. The unofficial results show no late surprises!
Run 2; Quite astonishing – British Eurosport have no commentary at first as their main channels are both showing African football – ah, now we have it, nothing too important missed thankfully! Five away and Reto Schmidger leads for Switzerland. I hope Robby Kelley isn’t going to try the Alpe Cermis part of the Tour de Ski, but all credit to him for climbing back up to complete the course – at least he will get point(s). Stefan Luitz into 2nd by just 0.03; Linus Strasser into 3rd. Dominik Stehle is also doing a bit of uphill to get points – he’s faster than Robby! The lower section of this course seems to be causing trouble; Marco Schwarz has gone from green to red by inter 3 and he’s into 4th. A change of lead; Haugen is 0.41 faster but that’s only the 5th fastest time for run 2. Track seems to be holding up at present; Alexis Pinturault has had a fair second run, late in the line in the middle but even so into the lead by 0.42; if that had been error free … ! Patrick Thaler has straddled – looked painful, maybe a knee injury; hope he’s OK. Mölgg losing time on the lower section – into 3rd. Nice run by Manuel Feller (very athletic!) to take the lead, but Schmidiger, now 5th, is still the fastest on run 2. Nordbotten looking good until a missive error scrubbed off all his speed; very exciting stuff from Yuasa into 2nd – very much all or nothing! Rats, Felix Neureuther is out; Hargin has lost time low down and goes 4th; Julien Lizeroux into the lead! Now, Dave Ryding – that’s a pity, he’s losing time – 6th position at present. Stefano Gross into 2nd by just 0.01! Next away is Alex Khoroshilov – he’s made up a lot of time between inter 2 and 3, and he’s still building – great run and he goes into first with the best time yet on run 1! Marcel Hirscher has a goggle snag; he’s swapped them and he’s building to inter 1 where he’s almost a second clear; -1.23 at inter 2; he’s lost a bit lower down but into the lead by 0.54 – same time on run 2 as Alex K. Right, just Henrik K to come – he has 0.52 in hand; it’s fractionally red at inter 2, bit worse at 2 but somehow he wins buy 0.09! What a lower section, but even so it’s only the 7th fastest on run 2! Kristoffersen wins, ahead of Hirscher and Khoroshilov; Dave Ryding ended in 10th.

Women’s GS – Kronplatz 24 Jan: Missed this one completely, so .. Congratulations to Federica Brignone for winning the event on a new, and steep, venue; Tessa Worley in 2nd and Marta Bassino 3rd. Lara Gut took 4th, ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin and Sara Hector. FIS report HERE

Men’s Downhill (vice Wengen) – Garmisch-Partenkirchen 27 Jan: Good conditions today, and Ed Drake reckons the piste is in really good condition – Hannes Reichelt first away, but the top section didn’t look good! Bostjan Kline faster on the top section; lower down he’s very high off a roller and couldn’t get the line back – he’s missed the next gate.  Similar story for Theaux, although he is down and 2nd. Clarey has also lost time on the lower section, he goes 2nd. Dominik Paris looked much better than Reichelt, but he’s slower – now he’s 2nd! At last – Kjetil Jansrud into the lead! Peter Fill has had a scary trip, but he’s into 2nd! Ten away – Jansrud leads from Fill, Reichelt and Baumann. After the TV break Steve Nyman is keeping just in the green, but he’s had a bad landing; into the netting – he’s being untangled and can stand, might have got some abrasions from the net? Looks like the race officials have decided he should be moved on a sled to a helo landing site for a check-up. The race is back on and Travis Ganong is first away; no data for inter 5 but he’s into the lead by 0.38. Kilde also out; Erik Guay in touch and green at inter 3 – nasty fall off the jump, but he’s stopped clear of the netting and he’s skiing down! Guillermo Fayed and Valentin Giraud Moine have also joined the DNFs – 6 out of 20 starters at present. Another delay while VGM is also evacuated. Helo has now, eventually, collected him and he is also en route for hospital – no more info on him at present. It’s been such a long break that they are sending a fore runner down. Currently Ganong, Jansrud and Fill on the potential podium, ahead of Reichelt and Feuz. Manny Osborne-Paradis into 6th place; 30 away so the race will count. No sign of a late charge yet although a few managed to get in the green early on, only to lose time lower down, or join the DNFs. Good result for Travis Ganong, and useful points for Kjetil Jansrud, although he is still 536 points behind Hirscher in the Overall. In the Downhill standings Jansrud has gained 5 places to re-take the lead, but is only 3 points ahead of Peter Fill and 34 ahead of previous leader Dominik Paris who only got 26 points today. Travis Ganong has gained 15 places and is currently 4th, 55 points behind Jansrud.

Men’s Downhill – Garmisch-Partenkirchen 28 Jan: First, an update on yesterday's crashes from the FIS site – “American Downhiller Steven Nyman was one of the athletes helicoptered off the hill after crashing into the fence. He suffered a knee injury and will be out the rest of the season. Frenchman Valentin Giraud Moine, who earned second place in the downhill at Kitzbühel, last week, was also evacuated after taking a devastating fall and sliding into the fence. There is no word yet as to the extent of his injuries [reports from other sources say he has broken both legs; Matt Chilton has heard that it’s damage to both knees – no confirmation]. French fellow Guillermo Fayed skied down, but he hit his knee and is likely to sit out the rest of the season as well”
Anyway, today is the planned Garmisch downhill, and once again Hannes Reichelt is first away. Piste is apparently in good condition but bumpy and with some shade; Reichelt looks to have put down a good run. Apparently the GAP team have had the jump that caused all the trouble yesterday “shaved” a bit to reduce the time in the air. Dominik Paris is 5th away; he’s lost a bit of time between inter 3 and 4 – into 2nd place behind Reichelt. Here comes Jansrud; slightly green at inter 1, 2 and 3 but the light has gone red at 4 and he’s losing time in the turns – third place for Jansrud. Peter Fill on the course, and green at 1 and 2; again the light has gone red at inter 4 – into 2nd by 0.16. David Poisson has crashed on the section that caused all the trouble yesterday, but he’s up and indicating that he’s OK. First TV break and it’s Reichelt, Fill and Paris on the provisional podium. Travis Ganong isn’t going to do the double – into 7th; Baumann has just taken that place away! Beat Feuz in touch to inter 3; lost a bit lower down but still good enough to go 3rd. Erik Guay will not be starting today, he feels that he needs to recover a bit more from yesterday’s crash before the World Championships.  Manuel Osborne-Paradis well in touch in the top section, but a big error after the jump has cost him time – good recovery though! Twenty away and it’s Reichelt from Fill and Feuz; Paris 4th ahead of Jansrud and Kline. Of the later starters, Brice Roger is the only one to get in the top 10 at present – he’s 9th. That’s the race over – no change to the top 10 since Brice Roger, so a good win for Reichelt – the first man away today! Top 3 places in the overall reamin the same, as none of them were racing today; Jansrud still 4th and now 45 points closer to the top 3. In the Downhill standings Peter Fill takes over the lead on 279 from Jansrud (247) and Paris (218); Reichelt is up 9 places to 4th ahead of Theaux and Ganong.

Men’s Giant Slalom – Garmisch-Partenkirchen 29 Jan: Good start to the day; Schörghofer is a DNF; Felix Neureuther is starting today – there was some suggestion that he might have a knee injury but he’s down safely. Alexis Pinturault is faster by half a second! Victor M-J is having a disappointing time – he’s into 3rd but over a second off Pinturault’s time. Marcel Hirscher is on the course – slightly in the red at inter 2 and 3, and he’s into 2nd by 9 hundredths. Slightly scrappy run from Henrik K – it’s a very icy piste and he’s just 6th at present, +1.52. With 10 away Pinturault leads from Hirscher and Neureuther; Stefan Luitz has got into 4th, just inside 1 second back; Faivre 5th ahead of Victor M-J. Kilde just green at inter 1, but he’s losing time on the more technical GS turns – 12th at the finish. Kjetil Jansrud was apparently in two minds about starting today, but as he’s here .. quite aggressive but he’s losing time – just 13th. Twenty away and no change to the top 6; Henrik K now 9th. Now that’s impressive – Matts Olsson (start 23) into 3rd, ahead of Neureuther. Tommy Ford into 10th place, which pushes Henrik K down into 11th. The course is getting cut up now, especially on the lower sections, which makes Olsson’s run even more impressive. Run 2 might be interesting! That seems to be it – no change to the top 10 since Tommy Ford and coverage is moving to Cortina.
Run 2: Five away and Simon Maurberger (ITA) is leading; Loic Meillard has just taken over, and he is, in turn, replaced by Luca de Aliprandini. Kjetil Jansrud hasn’t had a good run, only 9th fastest on run 2 and he’s down to 7th already. Fifteen away and Kilde has gone into 3rd. Mölgg has almost a second in hand as he starts but it’s being eroded and he ends 8th, +0.74 behind. A similar story for Murisier, but he had just enough in hand and takes the lead. Better stuff from Henrik K and he takes over the lead, but only by 2 hundredths! Just 10 to go – Florian Eisath into 3rd, behind Kristoffersen and Murisier. Victor M-J really isn’t having a happy time – he’s lost over a full second and lies 15th at present. Faivre has taken the lead, but is replaced by Luitz; Neureuther close but only 3rd and they are now repairing the lump that caused him problems. Pause over and Matts Olsson is on course – it’s cutting up but he’s into the lead. Another storming second run from Marcel Hirscher, he’s past the bump without a care and he’s into the lead by a massive 1.50 seconds! No surprise that that is the new fastest time on run 2! Just Alexis Pinturault to go – he’s red at inter 1 and has lost a bit more at 2, big error lower down and he’s into 4th. Hirscher wins again with a truly unbelievable second run; Matts Olsson 2nd and Stefan Luitz gets third. In the overall Marcel Hirscher has taken another 100 points and leads (1260) Kristoffersen (828) and Pinturault (763) – Jansrud is 4th (675). In the GS standings Hirscher also leads (533) from Pinturault (439) and Faivre (360).

Women’s Downhill – Cortina d’Ampezzo 28 Jan: Joined with 5 down, just as Vikki Rebensburg takes the lead from Johanna Schnarf; Anna Veith in 3rd. Looks a lovely day; I wonder if Nick F can ever mention Tina Weirather without the “father and mother” bit? Tina into 3rd; Laurenne Ross looking good at inter 2, but she’s made an error just after that which has scrubbed off speed just as the flatter section arrives – into 6th. Ilka Stuhec is fast at the top – well green at inter 1 and 2, but tied with Vikki at inter 3 – she goes into the lead by just 0.06! After the TV break Sofia Goggia is first away – red at inter 1 but green at 2 and 3 – she goes into the lead by 0.42. Ramona Siebenhofer has fallen but she seems OK; line error and the commentators say that was where Lindsey Vonn crashed in training yesterday – slight delay while the netting is repaired. No change to the top 3 for a while, but here comes Lara Gut – bit off the pace at inter 2, pulled a bit back by inter 3, but still red – great lower section and she takes the lead by just 0.05. Now for Lindsey Vonn; green at inter 1 but she’s lost grip and has crashed out at the same point as yesterday; she’s up and seems OK, if understandably annoyed. Twenty away and it’s Gut from Goggia and Stuhec, then Rebensburg and Schmidhofer. Verena Stuffer has started well; green at inter 1 and 2 but she’s losing time lower down - into 6th. Good start by Tamara Tippler, green at 1 and 2 but she’s lost speed in some of the middle turns – she’s 9th at present which would be a PB if she can stay there; second of the Austrians at present. Eurosport switches coverage to Garmisch; no late changes to the top 10, so that’s another 100 points for Lara Gut – just 30 points behind Shiffrin in the overall now! Sofia Goggia is up to 3rd in the overall – in the downhill standings Ilka Stuhec remains in the lead on 437, from Gut (360) and Goggia (300).

Women’s Super G – Cortina d’Ampezzo, 29 Jan: Lindsey Vonn on the start list, so that crash yesterday hopefully didn’t do too much damage; Mikaela Shiffrin is also on the list! Apparently Julia Mancuso is one of the forerunners today! This is supposed to be a fast, technical Super G (set by an American coach); looks a nice day although there isn’t a lot of snow in the valley. Ilka Stuhec the first away, and that looked like a good run. Suter rather off the pace; Venier into 2nd, but loses that position to Anna Veith. Impressive escape for Tamara Tippler – safely down! Now, Lara Gut, she is really into the green at inter 2 and 3; not sure what happened there, she’s been twisted round, somehow avoided the netting but she’s out – I think she might have hurt her leg too – she was 0.78 ahead when that happened, so not a good day and a chance to take the overall lead missed. Worley into 4th, and she’s had a lucky escape too. Lindsey Vonn is through Daytona Corner safely; red all the way though and she’s currently 5th. Nicole Schmidhofer into 6th; that’s 10 away and Stuhec leads from Veith and Venier. Now, can Shiffrin get points today? TV break and back to see Elena Curtoni ski into 4th. Tina Weirather into 4th now; many skiers losing time on the lower section. Good run from Vikki Rebensburg, into 3rd place. Laurenne Ross into 8th, and now the on form Sofia Goggia – she goes 2nd – currently Stuhec leads from Goggia and Veith. Vikki Rebensburg in 4th ahead of Venier and Weirather. Amazingly Lara Gut is the only DNF with 30 away. Shiffrin is away, and Eurosport have gone to a advert break so we are missing the video coverage! She’s well in touch and actually green at inter 2; into 4th place, +0.73, which will really rub salt into Lara’s wounds! At last, we have Shiffrin’s run – what an effort, that’s a new PB for Super G, and if there are no more late upsets she’ll get 50 points! Well, that’s the race over and no change to the top 10! Mikaela Shiffrin now leads the overall by 80 points, rather than 30 before the race – I suspect you would have got long odds against that being the case! Overall – Shiffrin 1103, Gut 1023, Goggia 789; in the Super G standings it’s Gut (300), Weirather (256) and Stuhec (190) – Shiffrin is 21st, just 1 point behind Vonn!

Stockholm Parallel Slalom 31 Jan: Completely forgot this one, and missed it live – night slalom, head to head men’s event and women’s event with World Cup points (and loads of cash) at stake – used the Eurosport video to catch up. Some surprises, and some things as expected – highlights only. Women away first – Shiffrin v Adeline Baud-Munier; opening heat of 16 and Shiffrin was in trouble off the jump – saved by the Frenchwoman falling, although she did make a mobile hazard! Frida Hansdotter won her first heat, to the delight of the crowd; Meillard beat Holdener! Truppe beat Løseth on the first heat; the Norwegian missed a gate. Veronika V-Z crushed Denise Feirabend. Over to the men’s first heat – Hirscher v Kilde to start; narrow win for the Norwegian! Pinturault lost his first heat to Matt; Dave Ryding beat Nordbotten, Razzoli v Mölgg was error strewn but Razzoli took it. Hargin lost to Yule – course looks as if it’s getting more rutted, it’s quite warm! Linus Strasser (GER) a late replacement for Neureuther (knee pain), and he’s beaten Henrik Kristoffersen on run 1!
On the second run of the early heats (red swaps to blue), Shiffrin is comfortably through; Hansdotter also through but it was close! Meillard has put out Holdener; Løseth very lucky that Truppe straddled! VV-Z easily though – impressive skiing! Hirscher out, to Kilde, by 0.03 – another upset! Pinturault through; Dave Ryding comfortably through to the next round, where he’ll meet his training partner, Alex Khoroshilov! Mölgg out, so is Yule and amazingly, so is Kristoffersen – bet he wishes Felix N was here! Some good news to soften Marcel’s gloom!
Next round (QF), first run – Hansdotter wins again (crowd happy); Løseth lucky again, or error free – take your pick! VV-Z beats Vlhova. Kilde has pipped Pinturault; Dave R has just got the first run win. Hargin has beaten Razzoli by just 0.01; Strasser looking good as he beats Gross. Second run – Shiffrin wins easily against Gagnon; early jitters settled. Hansdotter also through to the semis, as are Løseth and VV-Z. In the men’s event – Pinturault through as Kilde falters; Ryding also into the semis! Hargin and Strasser join them.
The Semis: Hansdotter in trouble on the ruts and gifts run 1 to Shiffrin; Løseth has lost to the impressive VV-Z. Dave R is up against Alexis Pinturault – round 1 to the Frenchman by 0.15. Hargin v Strasser – the local just takes the win! Second run – Mikaela Shiffrin never lost her lead and she goes on to the big final; Hansdotter to the “repechage” to decide 3rd and 4th places. VV-Z also fault free and keeps her lead to beat Nina Løseth – the two top ranked slalom skiers will contest the big final! Meanwhile, over on the more surprise packed event, the two top ranked skiers are already out – Dave R is out, sadly, so he’s into the small final; Strasser has made up the deficit and he wins – pretty impressive for someone who wasn’t really supposed to be here.
Finals – “small” first – Løseth has pipped Hansdotter. Now – Shiffrin has got the hang of this format it seems, she has beaten VV-Z on run 1. Over to Ryding v Hargin, in front of the Swede’s home crowd – Hargin smashes his way through the gates to win, with a gate flag still on his arm! Strasser takes run 1 by a whisker or two. Nick F keeps saying “back to the top of the mountain” – it’s only 80 vertical metres up, isn’t it? Anyway, a big error from Hansdotter has handed Nina Løseth 3rd place tonight. VV-Z has made her first error of the night – Mikaela S wins, from VV-Z and Nina Løseth; another 100 points for the American. Dave Ryding has lost the final podium place by just 0.06 – even so, 4th place! And, late entry Linus Strasser has beaten Alexis Pinturault – just 0.04 the margin! So, men’s podium, Linus Strasser wins from Pinturault and Hargin – what a race.

FIS report HERE

Women’s Super G – St Moritz 7 Feb: Lots of new snow, but apparently it’s stopped just in time for the race! This is also a different track from the one the women normally race on, and they cancelled the training run yesterday – weather forecast none too good either! Elena Curtoni is first away – safely down. Interesting line on the upper section from Sofia Goggia but it doesn’t seem to be paying off; she’s into 3rd behind Stephanie Venier – Curtoni still leads. Tina Weirather is away – seems the BBC commentary team also can’t mention her without the “her parents are .. “ bit (ah, it’s Matt for the BBC); almost a straddle but that was a very impressive recovery – cost her time at inter 3 but a good lower section gives her the lead. Lara Gut is on the track – she’s also made a couple errors; she goes 2nd by just 3 hundredths. Nicole Schmidhofer was red at inter 1 and 2, but she has really skied the lower sections well – she leads by 0.33. Next is Ilka Stuhec – green already at inter 1, but she went wide and is red at inter 2; it’s going the wrong way – into 7th. Tamara Tippler has done much the same as Stuhec, and she’s into the soft snow too – last place at present. Next is Lindsey Vonn, fractionally red at inter 1; she’s in trouble and has had to put the brakes on – she’s a DNF; first big surprise of the championships! Vikki Rebensburg is just green at inter 1 and 2, fractionally red at 3 but an error lower down has cost her a podium chance – into 4th. Kling has joined the DNFs, after skiing out; good start from Ragnhild Mowinckel – green at inter 1 and 2; she has also made a small error lower down and the speed has suffered – into 6th. Anna Veith has also skied out; no change to the top 6 since Mowinckel – Schmidhofer leads from Weirather and Gut. Mich Gagnon has started well, but again she’s losing time lower down; top 10 look safe, and she’s 17th. Race has been interrupted while a couple gates are repaired – Ester Ledecka took such a tight line that she ripped a gate out and hit another! Another good start from Christine Scheyer; she had to put the brakes on though and that’s ruined her run – only 15th. Hang on – a green light, Jasmine Flury starts well but the light has gone red – into 17th. Still Schmidhofer leads from Weirather and Gut, Rebensburg 4th ahead of Curtoni and Mowinckel. That’s it – no change to the top 6, so Austria take the first gold!

Men’s Super G – St Moritz 8 Feb: Missed it live, but Eurosport ran the highlights pretty quickly, which was useful (apart from the interminable adverts!)! Vincent Kriechmayr the first away – apparently a tricky course (set by an Italian) but that looked good. Looks cloudy and a bit dull; Theaux a bit off the pace and Peter Fill also can’t match the Austrian, he’s 2nd – lower part of the course is sorting them out! Good recovery by Ganong off the jumps – twice! Beat Feuz was good in training but he’s got off to a slow start; green at 2 but red again at 3 – he goes 3rd. Andreas Sander into 2nd; Dominik Paris goes 3rd – it seems to be hard to get right line off some of those jumps. Interesting to see Pinturault and Hirscher in the start list today; Alexis Pinturault is doing a good job on this hill – he is into 2nd place, by just 2 hundredths! Kjetil Jansrud is next away – the light is getting a bit darker but he’s flying; the green is getting darker too – he takes the lead by almost half a second. Huge jump by Max Franz, living dangerously but it’s cost him time; Dustin Cook has gone through a gate panel, and he’s out. Kilde is number 13 today; he’s just in the green at the top 3 intermediates, slightly red at 4 and he’s 2nd by 0.09. Norway 1st and 2nd at present; Kriechmayr 3rd. Erik Guay is going well; very smooth and he’s green all the way – he leads by a massive 0.45! Marcel Hirscher off line on the jump; he isn’t as comfortable as Pinturault on the long skis – he is 15th at present. Erik Guay is on the phone to Manny Osborne-Paradis; no prizes for guessing the content of the call! Here comes Manny – fractionally green at inter 2; apparently he has the loosest boots of all the speed skiers, if so it’s worked as he goes 3rd – happy birthday M O-P! Canada now 1 and 3, with Kjetil J in 2nd, and that’s how it stayed – Canada take the first men’s gold medal! So, Guay, Jansrud, M O-P on the podium, Kilde 4th ahead of Kriechmayr and Pinturault; Hirscher 21st.

Women’s Alpine Combined, St Moritz 10 Feb: Bad weather on the hill and poor visibility so the speed section (downhill) has had to have the start lowered – should help the slalom skiers! Ilka Stuhec is the first away; really charging to try to maximise her advantage on the long skis (although she has apparently been top 10 in a slalom race too). Next down is Marusa Ferk (also SLO), who is more of a slalom specialist – good effort as she goes just 1.29 off Stuhec’s time. Now, if the downhill was the proper length, that gap would have been much bigger, I suspect! Kirchgasser into 2nd but still over a second back; she is quite able to recover that on the slalom course if all goes well. Laurenne Ross goes 2nd, +0.55, after making up speed on the lower section. Good start from Sofia Goggia; well in touch at inter 1 and 2 and she’s green at 3 – spectacular recovery and deservedly into the lead; very athletic! Wendy Holdener is within a second, and with her slalom skills that should make for an interesting second run. Tina Weirather is a DNS, not entirely sure why – here comes Lara Gut; good stuff but an early check cost her some time – into 3rd, +0.43. I do love the slow motion shots – some of the angles the skiers achieve are almost unbelievable! Good run from Michelle Gisin – into 4th and just +0.57; she’s very happy with that! No TV break yet, maybe the FIS are trying to get this downhill complete before the conditions get worse? Lindsey Vonn on course; she has her pole taped to her hand (post catching her hand on a gate recently?) –she isn’t flowing down this and goes 6th, +0.85. That’s 20 away – Goggia leads from Stuhec, Gut, Gisin, Ross and Vonn. Kristina Riis-Johannessen (NOR) has lost one ski on a turn – binding has let go, but she seems OK. Interesting comments by Chemmy about the possibility of running events in the southern hemisphere; meanwhile the fog is creeping in on the upper parts of the full downhill – seems to be affecting the upper part of todays’ course a little too. Into the 40s now, and no change to the top 6; Holdener in 7th is the last skier within 1 second of the leader’s time. First run complete!
Run 2 – Hell’s bells – Lara Gut has crashed and seems to have been injured on the warm up hill for the slalom; she has been taken off the slope by helo for assessment in hospital, early suggestion is that she might be out for the rest of the championships, at least – certainly hope not. Conditions look difficult, flat light and poor visibility – nice to hear from Tina Maze! Not a good start to the race proper, first away is Ana Bucik and she’s also fallen. Candace Crawford safely down but Mikaela Tommy has also crashed out. Nice run from Kristin Lysdahl (NOR) to take the lead, it looked to be only a brief stay in the leader’s area as Marta Bassino was green all the way but a mistake in the final section means that they share the lead. This seems to be a fairly straight slalom, set by Vonn’s coach – looks quite a dull layout when seen from the cable camera! Maria Therese Tviberg (NOR) has just taken the lead; Ricarda Haaser is faster, and takes over first place. Ten safely down, plus 3 DNFs – Valerie Grenier (CAN) has gone into silver and now Mich Gagnon is showing how it should be done – she leads by 0.66, from Haaser (AUT) and Grenier, and we are into the TV break. Federica Brignone into silver; that hand down on the snow might have cost her a better place? Good recovery for Denise Feierabend (SUI), red at inter 3 but a great lower section to go into first place; fastest slalom time so far too. Michaela Kirchgasser perhaps not as perfect as her slalom background might suggest but it’s still good enough to take the lead; Elena Curtoni joins the DNFs. Another TV break and then it’s Anne-Sophie Barthet; one mistake and she’s lost too much speed to affect the top 6. Wendy Holdener has lost a bit of time lower down, but that’s good enough for the potential gold medal. Vonn next - she doesn’t look too smooth and it’s just 4th. Laurenne Ross is not looking happy on the slalom skis – she goes 14th. Michelle Gisin is the next for the Swiss – losing a bit on the initial slopes but quite an impressive lower section gets her into 2nd! Now that is an upset – Stuhec falls almost out of the gate! She seems OK, but that was odd from an ex world junior champion. Another upset – Goggia has straddled and she is also out. The local crowd are ecstatic – Wendy Holdener takes gold, ahead of Michelle Gisin; Swiss 1 and 2 with Kirchgasser in bronze for Austria! Very dramatic day – hope Lara Gut is going to be OK and back soon.

Update: Lara Gut is out for the rest of the season, according to the reports I've seen so far, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4211464/Lara-Gut-crashes-slalom-warmup-combined-worlds.html

Men’s Downhill, St Moritz 11 Feb: Not a good start – the race start has been postponed for 30 minutes due to fog! Looks like they are going to try, but that great bank of low cloud in the valley doesn’t look good! It’s clear at the top, and the bottom, but the problem is the middle – Matt Chilton doesn’t sound too optimistic! This is apparently the steepest start on the FIS circuit – 800 metre vertical drop too! Ah well, predictably perhaps, there is another delay! Now it’s an official delay of another 45 minutes.  Next jury call – yet another delay! If anything the visibility is slightly worse! And again – this was due to start at 1200 CET, they are now talking about 1415; Marcus Waldner, the race referee has announced another 15 minute delay, aiming for a 1430 start, final decision at 1415 – cloud is still firmly in place! No race today – ideally it will be rescheduled, day/time tbc!

Women’s Downhill, St Moritz 12 Feb: A more promising day, and I think the intention is to run the men’s downhill today too! Nicole Schmidhofer first away; good but a bit slower than the best training time? Jacqueline Wiles is marginally faster and despite a few forays into the red she takes the lead. Tina Weirather has started well, and has made even more time between inter 2 and 3; this is looking good and she goes into the lead. She seems to feel that could have been better! Laurenne Ross is also going well – green at inter 3 and she’s now into the lead – great run! Very impressive stuff- Sofia Goggia right on the limit but it’s paid off and she takes over the lead – visibility getting a bit worse. Another change – Stephanie Venier has taken it by 0.12; she leads from Goggia and Ross. Ilka Stuhec next – straight into the green; briefly red at 4 but recovers to take the lead! Vonn is skiing with the pole taped to her hand again; she goes into 3rd. Ten away, Stuhec, Venier, Vonn on the provisional podium. When you see the run in details the conditions look good but the general shots show a bank of cloud hanging around! After a very intense period of change, it’s gone a bit quiet! Top 3 the same, with 20 away, Goggia in 4th ahead of Ross and Scheyer; best showing from a later start number probably Jasmine Flury from 18 into 11th place? Interesting to see Ester Ledecka racing; apparently she has a slot for the winter Olympics for the Czech Republic, but for snowboarding as well as alpine skiing – very versatile! As I understand it, Michelle Gisin races today because Lara Gut is out with her injury – good start but now she’s losing time – good effort though and she’s into 8th; impressive from such a late start. BBC red button coverage is about to end, and the feeling is that the medal places are decided; gold medal to Ilka Stuhec (SLO), silver for Stephanie Venier (AUT) and bronze for Lindsey Vonn. Race over, no late surprises! Men’s race in about an hour!

Men’s Downhill – Well, the cloud/fog is back, so the “freefall” start has been lowered and Carlo Janka is away on the shortened course. The initial section is certainly foggy but at least starting from the lower position means that you enter the poor visibility at a moderate speed – probably just within limits. Manny O-P was green all the way through inter 5 but a mistake lower down has left him in 2nd. Adrien Theaux is oscillating between green and red – he goes into the lead by just one hundredth! Guillermo Fayed is really flying, on the limits at times – well into the green and now he leads, by 0.66. Dominik Paris was red at first, but a great lower section gives him the lead – looks like the fog might be getting worse? Vincent Kriechmayr is spending a lot of time in the air, but excellent over the jumps – not completely error free apparently as he’s into 3rd. Peter Fill has taken a slightly different line, and it’s keeping him in the green – he leads! Bostjan Kline (SLO) is another one trying both green and red lights, but importantly the final one is green – Kline leads from Fill and Paris. Kjetil Jansrud is another red/green oscillator, but the lower section is good – now he leads. Patrick Küng is dead level with Jansrud on the upper section; it’s getting away from him a little in the middle, but he’s very good into the finish – a dead heat with Jansrud; maybe they will need 2 gold medals? Ten away; Küng/Jansrud lead with Kline 3rd, then Fill, Paris and Fayed. Now the organisers might need 2 silvers, as Beat Feuz has pulled out a really blinding run to take over the lead. Johan Clarey has slid into the netting, but he got a good bit of braking done before making contact and seems OK. Good start by Andreas Sander, but he’s lost time on the lower section; into 5th. Erik Guay trying for a double – he’s green all the way to inter 4, then it goes red – into 2nd place, just 0.12 behind. Feuz, Guay and Küng/Jansrud filling the podium places. Max Franz is looking a bit rough over the jumps, but he’s fast – into 3rd, so the organisers won’t need two bronzes! This race certainly hasn’t gone quiet! I thought Mayer might have got into the medals but an error before inter 5 cost him time – 9th place. Kilde into 6th; Brice Roger the last of the French today – arguably lucky not to crash out, but he’s 10th – best of the French. Good start by Nils Mani (SUI) but he’s lost it lower down – into 16th. I think that’s it – gold for Beat Feuz (SUI), silver for Erik Guay (CAN) and bronze to Max Franz (AUT); Jansrud and Küng tied in 4th, with Kilde 6th. Ironically the weather improved later in the day!

Men’s Alpine Combined – St Moritz, 13 Feb: A little confused by the calendar also showing a women’s GS today, at St Moritz but I’ve heard of almost none of the start list, so I’m not sure what this is? It seems to not be part of the Worlds, just an FIS race, with the “proper” World C’ship GS on the 16th. Anyway, it looks a lovely day – pity it wasn’t like this for the downhills (apparently it cost 3 million Swiss francs to prepare the freefall section, which hasn’t been used!). This downhill part of the combined is over the same course that was used yesterday in the men’s downhill, so with the lower start position. Some controversy today as Swiss racer, Niels Hintermann, who came from nowhere to win the combined at Wengen in January, and who was fast here in training, is not on the start list. He isn’t answering questions, other than to say he is fit and could race, and the Swiss team are also silent – odd decisions perhaps as Hintermann is currently second in the combined standings. The race is on, with Mauro Caviezel first away. Third away Romed Baumann is much faster – he leads by 1.05! Carlo Janka into 2nd; Murisier goes 4th. Matthias Mayer has skied into 3rd, but +0.82, and here comes Alexis Pinturault; that’s a useful run - he goes 8th, +1.46. Peter Fill is next; in the red but not by much, but he’s out – first DNF of the day. Now, Marcel Hirscher is racing in this event – I think he is the defending champion – and that’s not a bad run – 9th and +2.30. Very careful run from Adam Zampa – I can’t see him getting a slalom run, over 8 seconds slower than Baumann! Kriechmayr is making the jumps look easy again, but he’s not the fastest – into 4th. Slightly disappointing run from Kilde, just 9th and +1.38; he’s a big lad for slalom too. Now, a good start from Adrien Theaux – green through inter 3, just red at 5 – he’s into 2nd, +0.12 and he’s no slouch on short skis? Jansrud seems to be a little off his peak form – good run but just 3rd, +0.68, tied with Janka’s time. Brilliant run from Martin Cater (SLO) into third. That’s 20 away; Baumann leads from Theaux, Cater, Jansrud/Janka, and Paris– that’s 2 days running that Jansrud has tied with someone. Back from the TV break and a fine run from Thomas Dressen (GER), he goes 3rd +0.32. That’s 30 away – Baumann still leads, from Theaux, Dressen, Cater, Jansrud/Janka. BBC red button coverage has ended for the moment, however, Dressen was talking to the top of the hill, and it seems Andreas Sander and Josef Ferstl were listening – Sander into 5th, and Ferstl has made a late charge to 9th, just +0.90. Marcel Hirscher is now 25th and he’s still slipping back – with 54 away, he’s 28th and that’s where he finished up! A nice early run on the slalom for Marcel!
Run 2 – Slalom: And, Marcel Hirscher will be away 3rd. Course set by one of the Swiss coaches, and the race has started. Luca Aerni is first away; Hirscher is on course now – what on earth happened there, he was 0.44 ahead at inter 3 and lost it – 2nd by 0.01!? Inconceivable, as Vizzini said in the Princess Bride! Surprised that Pinturault didn’t do better; started with 1.15 advantage and ended up 3rd, behind Hirscher. Kilde also had a good advantage, but he’s lost it too – he goes third. The course seems to be cutting up a bit – Murisier was green almost all the way but ended 4th. TV break – Luca Aerni leads ahead of Hirscher and Kilde; Felix Monsen might have got points in freestyle for that pirouette, but here he’s out. Caviezel looked a bit ragged but he’s into 3rd; good from Kriechmayr but he lost lots of time on the steep – into 6th. Some quite good names losing loads of time on the steep; Dominik Paris was 1.92 ahead at the start and green all the way, but again lost it after inter 3 and ended up 4th. Now Carlo Janka is a good all rounder, but he is kicking up a lot of snow – into 7th. Jansrud is not starting; Andreas Sander is next – he’s red by inter 2 and well off the pace. Thomas Dressen had 2.29 in hand but he is also red by inter 3; he is 12th! Amazing – I thought Theaux would have done better than that – just 9th. Just Romed Baumann to go and Hirscher will get a medal despite everything! Baumann is well into the red at the end – so Luca Aerni (SUI), the first person down the slalom, is the gold medal winner! Marcel Hirscher (AUT) gets silver and Mauro Caviezel (SUI) gets bronze. Fastest slalom times are the same as the podium order; Paris in joint 4th was only 10th best on the slalom; he shares the combined place with Kilde who was 4th best in the slalom! With first and third the Swiss probably don't regret not racing Hintermann?

Alpine World Championships – Team Event, 14 Feb: This is another head to head competition – two men, two women per team. First heat of Round 1 is Austria v Belgium; Stephanie Brunner wins, and Vanreusel has straddled too. Amazing, Van den Bröcke has beaten Hirscher! Apparently Marcel isn’t at full power at present (illness, or skeletal problems?) which might explain why he didn’t win yesterday? Truppe beats Nelles to get Austria back in front and Feller takes out Verbeke to finish the job! Now SWE v SLO; Hansdotter pips Bucik by 0.01; Hargin wins as Hadalin falls; SWE 2-0 up. MPH beats Brezovnik to seal the win; bit academic but Myhrer has also beaten Kranjec. Next CZE v NOR; Ledecka has just lost to Lysdahl, perhaps Ester should have used her snowboard! Now Haugen v Kryzl – Kryzl out but he was behind anyway; Norway 2-0. Maren Skjøld v Martina Dubovska – close again but Norway take that too and go through. Ondrej Berndt restores some Czech pride by beating Kilde, who removed a gate flag! Norway through 3-1. FRA v RUS – strong French team but Russia don’t have Alex Khoroshilov? Tessa Worley well ahead as Alopina skies out; Pinturault v Trikhichev much closer – the Russian takes it! Looks like Pinturault straddled ? Yes he’s DQ’d. Adeline Baud Mugnier has an easy win over Aleksandra Prokopyeva. To decide it – Faivre v Ivan Kuznetsov; the Russian was well in touch but pushed a bit too hard and crashed out. France through. Next SUI v CRO; Camille Rast beats Andrea Komsic to get the Swiss 1 up. Reto Schmidiger makes it 2-0 by beating Filip Zubcic; now Wendy Holdener v Leona Popovic – the Swiss win again and will go through. Luca Aerni wins easily against Elias Kolega – Swiss 4-0. Heat 6 is USA v CAN! Megan James v Erin Mielzynski – Erin wins to get Canada ahead. Men now – AJ Ginnis v Phil Brown; Brown falls and the binding releases – easy win for USA. Resi Stiegler v Candace Crawford – Crawford has fallen, seemingly much the same as Brown. USA 2-1 up as we move to Mark Engel v Trevor Philp; the American falls, again on the red course and Canada go through 2-2 but with a faster combined time. Heat 7 – GER v SVK and we start with Dürr v Vlhova – Petra wins. Now Luitz v Zampa; Stefan Luitz wins that one – 1 all. Now, Christina Geiger v Veronika VZ; no real surprise that VVZ wins but Geiger also skied out which affects the combined time in the event of a draw. Last – Matej Falat v Felix Neureuther – the Slovakian wins and Germany are out in the first round, losing 3-1. Final heat, ITA v ARG – Irene Curtoni cruises to a win against Bancora. Tonetti v Gastaldi; very close at first but the Italian pulled away lower down – Tonetti wins, Italy 2-0. Chiara Costazza is ahead when Francesca Baruzzi Farriol skis out. Razzoli has another easy win against Tomas Birkner de Miguel. All credit to Argentina for trying though.
Quarter Finals: SWE v AUT, and we start with a dead heat between MPH and Brunner. Next Myhrer and Hirscher; the Swede takes it, Marcel definitely not on form today. Hansdotter has beaten Truppe and Austria are out of the competition. Feller has lost a pole so Sweden through 4-1. Now we hear – Marcel Hirscher has been sick for 6 days, so everything at this championship has been at less than full power! NOR v FRA; Adeline BM beats Lysdahl, but Haugen makes it 1-1 by beating Faivre. Skjøld v Worley; no real shock to see Tessa W. To decide it, Kilde v Pinturault, the Frenchman takes it; France through 3-1. Now SUI v CAN; Rast v Mielzynski to start – the Swiss probably should have won that, but a late error puts Canada 1-0 up. Schmidiger v Brown ; Brown has fallen and it’s 1-1 (lucky he didn’t take out Reto en route!). Wendy Holdener v Candace Crawford – Wendy wins by a massive 0.63! Finally Luca Aerni v Trevor Philp; the Canadian wins the race but Canada lose on tie break timings, just 2 tenths off. Next SVK v ITA; a harder draw for Italy this time! VVZ v Costazza, and Veronika takes that one. Now Falat v Tonetti – Matej Falat is on form today, pulling back over the final 5 gates to make it 2-0 to Slovakia. Petra Vlhova against Irene Curtoni, and Petra lives up to her world cup form –Slovakia are through to the semis! Razzoli has beaten Zampa to pull 1 back but it’s only for personal pride, Italy out.
Semi Finals: Heat 1 is SWE v FRA; Adeline BM has beaten Frida Hansdotter! Blue course looks a tiny bit better at the finish? Faivre v Hargin – Hargin, on the blue course, wins – very impressive gate punching, double handed! Now, MPH v Tessa W, MPH, on blue, wins! Alexis Pinturault v Andre Myhrer to decide it – Myhrer has made a massive error – Pinturault wins and by a big enough margin to win the tie break. Heat 2 – SUI v FRA; Rast v Vlhova; Petra takes it quite convincingly. Now Schmidiger v Zampa; I think Zampa has been a bit off this competition; the Swiss win to tie the score, but it’s fairly close. Now, this is Holdener against VVZ; Veronika wins, on the red course! Finally Matej Falat v Luca Aerni – Aerni does take it, but Falat has just pulled back enough time for Slovakia to win the tie break, by just 6 hundredths! Impressive, Eurosport have an interview with Ingemar Stenmark! He thinks Tina Maze has stopped too early, as now Lindsey Vonn will have less competition and break his record! An amazing man, and very modest.
Finals: Small final first, SWE v SUI, and we start with Hansdotter v Holdener; close but Frida takes it, on red! Hargin v Aerni next – Mattias takes this one to put Sweden 2-0 up. Hargin is much better at that double hand block- Luca got a bit caught up. MPH v Rast and the Swedes have taken the bronze medal even before the final pairing. Reto Schmidiger has done well to take that one for the Swiss, which should be some consolation? Big final, FRA v SVK: we start with Worley against Vlhova, great start by Vlhova – bit scrappy at times but Petra takes it. Now, Andreas Zampa against the very experienced Alexis Pinturault – Alexis wins to level the score, close but the combined time is marginally in favour of France. Last women’s race – VVZ and Adeline BM, VVZ takes that one but only by 2 tenths. Faivre v Falat is the decider – great competition! Mathieu Faivre has won by 4 hundredths, so on tie break France win gold, their first medal of the championships, with Slovakia getting silver – also their first medal here (and possibly first World Championship medal ever?).

Alpine World Championships – Women’s GS, 16 Feb: A really great looking day in St Moritz, lovely weather! Tessa Worley is the first away on run 1; safely down. Rats, Vikki Rebensburg has skied out. Rather wild run from Sofia Goggia; looked as though she caught her hand on a control gate early on which didn’t help – she did make up time lower down, but into 2nd, +0.48. Shiffrin next but the light is red, and getting redder; she goes into 3rd so we will have to see if she can do a Hirscher with a second run charge. The FIS data is odd this morning; showed a green for Bassino at inter 1, which then vanished and returned red; she’s 4th. This course (set by an Austrian coach?) looks tricky, and it’s catching people out; Worley’s time is looking good at the moment. Ten away and Worley leads from Goggia and Shiffrin; no one else within a second of Tessa! Here comes Tina Weirather, and sure enough we have the “mum & dad” commentary! She’s going to be disappointed with her time today though, into 9th and +1.78. Huge response from the local crowd as Simone Wild goes into 5th, behind Federica Brignone and ahead of Nina Løseth. And, that was pretty much it – Bernadette Schild started number 27 and went into 11th, and Kristin Lysdahl (30) was 12th but no later starters into the top 10. Looks like Alex Tilley is 31st so just misses the cut. Should be an interesting second run.
Run 2 – Bit late joining this, but just in time to see Melanie Meillard (SUI) take over the lead from Frida Hansdotter. I see Ilka Stuhec is a DNF; Mich Gagnon into 3rd.  Sounds like the snow is relatively soft for this run; Michaela Kirchgasser is keeping the light green , and she goes into the lead. Meillard still the fastest on run 2 at present. Good start by Mowinckel but she is losing time lower down, just 4th. Adeline BM is next and well in touch at inter 3 but lost a little later – 3rd (no commentary as we have, for some inexplicable reason, an interview instead – why not do that when the action isn’t happening?). Tina Weirather into 6th; Kirchgasser leads from Meillard and Baud Mugnier. Sara Hector is oscillating between red and green – green at the end too and she leads! Petra Vlhova is next, building at the top, briefly red at inter 3 and she takes the lead by just 1 hundredth! Bernadette Schild has gained time all the way to inter 3 – she’s on a slightly different line and it’s working – massive error on the final section and a 0.63 advantage vanishes – into 7th. Understandably she’s gutted – that should have been the lead. Now into the top 10 from run 1 – Marta Bassino is very close, but she goes 3rd by 0.03! Very close on the potential podium, just 0.03 between them. Manuela Mölgg has also gained time by inter 3; lovely final turns and she goes first by 0.62! That’s the fastest run so far on this course. We are now listening to another interview, and missing (video coverage only) Stephanie Brunner going into the lead, by 0.03. Seven to go; nice run from Ana Drev and she’s into 3rd. Løseth into 6th; more noise now as Simone Wild starts her second run – not as clean as run 1 and she’s fighting to keep the line - into 10th. Federica Brignone next and she’s built to inter 1, lost that gain by inter 2, got some back at 3 and she leads. That’s the new best time for run 2, but Shiffrin is next – she has lost a little to inter 1 and a tiny bit more at 2; more still at , 0.38 is now 0.15 – great recovery and a superb lower section gives her the lead by a massive 0.58! What a recovery, and she will get a medal no matter what. Goggia has lost almost all her advantage by inter 1, pulled a bit back by 2, lost it again and she’s 2nd. Just Tessa Worley to come; Goggia and Shiffrin are very happy! Now, Tessa has 0.72 in hand; it’s 0.55 at inter 1, back to 0.76 at 2, 0.78 at 3 – lost a bit on the final section but she has enough spare – Tessa Worley gets a second gold; Mikaela Shiffrin silver and Sofia Goggia bronze (Italy’s first medal here). Brignone in 4th ahead of Brunner and Mölgg. Great stuff from the top 3 to pull out those runs on a warming piste, although it did hold up pretty well! Shiffrin had the best time on run 2 ahead of Brignone and Mölgg.

Alpine World Championships – Men’s GS, 17 Feb: I feel quite tired just watching some of the warm ups! Not quite as nice in St Moritz as yesterday, but still looks OK – visibility perhaps a bit variable. Victor Muffat Jeandet is first away, safely down. Disappointing run from Felix Neureuther who was almost a second behind at inter 2; he goes 2nd +0.64. Much better from Mathieu Faivre; green all the way and into the lead. Sun pops out for Henrik K, and he looks very smooth – green all the way and he leads by 0.30; Felix N is now +1.31 off the lead. Now, that was a surprise, Philipp Schörghofer was red all the way to inter 3 and then upped his game to take the lead – impressive! Not such a surprise – Marcel Hirscher (hopefully now recovered) is green all the way and into the lead by 0.26; Austria 1st and 2nd at present. Alexis Pinturault a bit off the pace, but into 3rd; I didn’t know that he is half Norwegian and speaks the language well! Amazing what you can learn from the commentary teams. Matts Olsson into 4th; disappointing effort by Myhrer. Fifteen away, Hirscher leads from Schörghofer, Pinturault, Olsson, Kristoffersen and Haugen. Kilde started well, green at inter 1 but he’s losing time and has skied out. Filip Zubcic is the best for a while, into 8th; but Tonetti has just replaced him. This is looking good from Roland Leitinger – lost a little on the lower sections but still enough for 6th. Impressive recovery by Gino Caviezel; Tommy Ford out, as is Tim Jitloff. Thirty away and no change to the top 6 since Leitinger’s run. It seems to be a little darker, although it’s hard to tell from the TV pictures. Not a bad run from Simon Maurberger (ITA), starting number 35 and going 18th. Start interval down to 40 seconds now, so they are rattling through! Linus Strasser starts 43; quite a good run to inter 2 but lost a bit later – into 15th, just behind Stefan Luitz! Felix N is down in 21st at present; not his day. Quite close at the top, so run 2 should be interesting; Hirscher has just 0.26 in hand and all the top 10 are within a second of his time (Zubcic is 10th, +0.97). Name of the day, Sturla-Snaer Snorrason of Iceland perhaps? Totally off topic, but Iceland really is a fantastic country to visit!
Run 2: Race has been delayed for half an hour “due to an accident” – quite bizarre; apparently one of the Swiss Air Farce display team clipped the cable which carries the side view camera in the finish area; camera crashed down on the piste and the cable got tangled in the nearby chair lift – thankfully nobody hurt (be fun to be a fly on the wall for the debrief interview of the pilot; hope he’s OK). Anyway, seems Felix N might have back problems which would explain his disappointing run. The second run has started; course set by an Austrian coach. It looks overcast so the light might be a bit flat at times; Erik Read is the early leader. Phil Brown has skied out; Andreas Zampa almost did the same but he’s able to continue, albeit well off the pace. This course is causing problems – Maarten Meiners (NED) also out, but Loic Meillard is able to get the lead for the Swiss. Doesn’t last long – Steve Missilier is faster. Samu Torsti (FIN) has crashed out; he’s up and seems OK but there will be a slight delay while the netting is checked. Felix Neureuther is into the lead at present, Mölgg into 3rd. Good start by Caviezel, lost a bit in the middle and he leads by 0.08; brief tenure though as Dave Chodounsky is 0.35 faster; it looks like it’s snowing? Yes, it is snowing – Linus Strasser into 2nd; Stefan Luitz should have replaced him but an error within sight of the finish drops him to 3rd. Victor MJ green all the way until the finish – 3rd. Justin Murisier has put the Swiss back in the lead, but with 11 to come; Tonetti into 2nd. Visibility not good for Faivre, but he’s managed 2nd place; Haugen looking wild at times but keeping well in the green and he leads by 0.28. Roland Leitinger had a good run earlier, and this is also good; he is 0.46 faster than Haugen. It’s drifting away from Henrik Kristoffersen, steadily more red and he’s 3rd; Olsson 4th. Now, what can Pinturault do? That was disappointing – into 5th +0.73. Bit messy from Schörghofer too – looked like he was on his way to the lead but he’s 4th! Great run from Marcel Hirscher – only the 6th best on run 2 but he had enough in hand to take the gold today. Roland Leitinger gets silver (best time on run 2) with Leif Kristian Haugen in bronze medal position; that should get the Austrian press off Hirscher’s back for a while?

Alpine World Championships – Women’s Slalom, 18 Feb: Lovely day at St Moritz – the women seem to be doing much better with the weather, although it’s possibly a bit too warm! Mikaela Shiffrin will be the first away today; here she goes! Well, that looked pretty good – I may as well go and make the coffee as I suspect that time will be very hard to beat! Big mistake by Løseth – surely she won’t get a second run after that? Frida Hansdotter into 2nd; replaced by Petra Vlhova, who in turn is displaced by Veronika VZ. Wendy Holdener has had a good run – she goes 2nd, 0.38 behind Shiffrin. Ten away and it’s Shiffrin, Holdener, VVZ, then Vlhova, Hansdotter and Kirchgasser. Great start by Michelle Gisin but she’s lost a bit lower down – into 6th. Costazza out; first DNF of the day. Lena Dürr gets into the top ten, 9th place. Another good run from Ana Bucik – into 8th.  Christina Geiger out, so is Curtoni; Melanie Meillard should have just made the top 10, but she missed the last gate – very sad! Mölgg is also out – 3 Italians in the DNFs; 30 away and no change to the top ten since Bucik. Alex Tilley into 26th; maybe she might get a second run today? First run over and Alex is 27th, so she should get that second run. No late changes to the top 10.
Run 2: Well, that’s a good start – 2 away, both DNF (course set by an American coach)! Anne-Sophie Barthet has made it down safely; so has Alex Tilley although she is 0.90 slower. Gallhuber nicely in the green, but she has also skied out; Jess Hilzinger (GER) into the early lead. Odd to see MPH 23rd after run 1 – she is more than a second faster at the finish of this run – much more like it! Adeline BM has also skied out; 4 DNFs from 9 starts! After 10 starts – MPH leads from Anna Swenn-Larsson and Jess Hilzinger. Marina Wallner into 3rd. The section from inter 2 to 3 seems to be catching people out and losing them time. Nastasia Noens into the lead, although her early lead did evaporate a bit lower down. Huge noise from the crowd as Denise Feierabend gets back into the green after a red inter 1; good lower section too and she leads. Skjøld into 3rd; Wikström takes the lead – Swedes going well at present! Feierabend still has the best time on run 2; all very close – Bernadette Schild is 3rd, but only +0.04! Lena Dürr was green all the way but made a small error on the flat final section – speed scrubbed off and 11th place – heart-breaking! Lovely top section from Sarka Strachova, she’s gaining time all the way and she takes the lead by 0.88 –best time on run 2 as well. Ana Bucik a bit error prone (nerves?) but into 2nd. Kirchgasser into 2nd, by 0.17; more noise as Michelle Gisin starts – good to inter 1 and then a huge error; she has finished but well off the leader’s time. Five to go – Frida Hansdotter goes into the lead. Vlhova has also made a tiny error on the flat – 2nd place; VVZ on course – straddled and out – very unusual! Wendy Holdener is all over the place, but she’s recovered from everything - crossing the line on one leg, and she goes into the lead – the Swiss will have a medal.  What a phenomenal run from Mikaela Shiffrin – started 0.38 ahead and ended 1.64 clear – absolutely incredible skiing! So, Shiffrin gets gold, Wendy Holdener silver and Frida Hansdotter bronze – poor Petra Vlhova in 4th, the worst place in racing! If you missed this - do try to find Shiffrin's second run online - very impressive!

Finally, the BBC report on the falling camera (which delayed run 2 of yesterday's GS) is HERE

Alpine World Championships – Men’s Slalom, 19 Feb: Another lovely day in St Moritz, the men have got some decent weather! I think this first run is on a course set by a Norwegian coach; “his” man, Henrik Kristoffersen, goes number 3 today. Dave Ryding goes 5, just ahead of Marcel Hirscher. Manfred Mölgg is first away – Felix Neureuther is nicely in the green all the way, and he’s 0.45 faster. Now, Henrik K – he’s slower to inter 1, over the flat but better on the steep, lost a bit to inter 3 again but recovers to lead by 0.11 – close race so far! Daniel Yule is green at 1, still the same at 2 but a couple small errors drop him to 3rd. Dave Ryding next – good start on the flatter section, green at 1 and 2 and 0.40 in the green at 3 – he leads! Marcel Hirscher is a hundredth slower at 1, a tenth better at 2, 3 hundredths better at 3 and a massive 0.53 better at the finish! Alex Khoroshilov green at 1 but then a mistake has cost him time – good recovery and into 4th. Feller into 4th; Pinturault is out! Good run from Marco Schwarz; he goes 2nd. Ten away, Hirscher leads from Schwarz and Ryding. That’s a pity – Michael Matt into 3rd, Austria 1, 2 & 3! Myhrer good on the flat, but losing time lower down – just 12th. Better from Hargin – green at both inter 1 and 2, just a tenth off at 3 but again the lower section, where Hirscher was so fast, has proved critical and he goes 5th. Patrick Thaler has lost a shin guard half way – that’s going to hurt later! Twenty away; still Hirscher, Schwarz and Matt, Dave Ryding 4th ahead of Hargin and Kristoffersen. Good effort by Ramon Zenhaeusern to go 9th! Victor MJ is the best of the French, but down in 12th, +0.94. Stefan Luitz has also lost a shin guard – he and Thaler can compare bruises later – that really must hurt? Couple slightly unfamiliar names looking as though they might get a second run- Reto Schmidiger (SUI) does ring a bell, but Dominik Stehle (GER), Marco Pfiffner (LIE) and Joaquim Salarich (ESP) are new, I think (mind you, I’ve always been awful at remembering names). Steffan Winkelhorst (NED) might join them, but Salarich is now looking shakier – he’s just made it!
Run 2: This run on a course set by an Italian coach. Given the altitude and course preparation it seems the course should hold up well. Matt Chilton has been joined by Graham Bell on the BBC coverage – useful! Joaquim Salarich is away and safely down; Winkelhorst has had to walk back up the hill to go through a gate, obviously costing him a lot of time. Razzoli has produced a much more realistic time, and he leads; Luca Aerni is better still. Linus Strasser goes 2nd; Stehle 3rd. Superb run from Stefan Hadalin (SLO) – very clean and he leads by 0.83 – that might last a while? Schmidiger now 2nd; Dave Chodounsky takes over that position and then Haugen goes 3rd. Mölgg has taken 3rd; Andre Myhrer has improved his advantage by inter 1 – despite losing a bit he takes the lead. Hadalin still has the best time on run 2, and we are half way. Stefano Gross into 2nd; Lizeroux has straddled and Victor MJ is off the pace – not a good day for the French. Yule is out; a much better run from Felix Neureuther – despite losing a bit on the final flat he leads. Alex Khoroshilov 2nd; Manuel Feller gaining time though – he’s just 1 hundredth green at 3, but a good lower section gets him the lead. Hadalin still has the best time on this run. Henrik Kristoffersen next – that didn’t seem like his usual form, a few errors – just 3rd. Mattias Hargin is risking it all – well green at inter 3 but he’s out. Dave Ryding is clean but he’s not fast enough – into 8th, he’ll be disappointed with that, his timing just looked a bit off. Michael Matt is good at inter 1 but losing a bit; red at 2 and 3 – he’s 6th. Just 2 to come, so Feller will get a medal. Schwarz is red at inter 2 – he is down to 5th, so Felix N will get Germany’s first medal here! Marcel Hirscher has done it – the GS and Slalom double! Another gold for Hirscher, Feller gets silver and Neureuther bronze – some relief for the German team! Hadalin still has the best time on run 2, ahead of Myhrer and Hirscher. Great effort by Feller to go from 7th to 2nd, and Felix N going from 10th to 3rd. Dave Ryding 11th in the end.

Crans Montana – Ladies Alpine Combined (vice Altenmarkt-Zauchensee), 24 Feb: Here we go – more ski jumping, but at least it’s the Nordic Worlds rather than just a qualification session! We do at least have a video feed; looks a reasonable day but apparently a bit warm with preparations hampered by recent rain! Ilka Stuhec, the discipline points leader, is first away on the Super G section – she has missed a gate after the jump, only about 5 gates in,  and skied out! Tessa Worley next and she’s in the netting just above where Stuhec went out – seems OK but that’s 2 away and 2 DNFs. The proper feed has started on time - good news! Denise Feierabend has crashed at the same spot; looked a bit nasty but just as well the “pursuing” ski hit her head, on the helmet, rather than elsewhere? What has the Swiss coach, who set the course, done? Denise seems to be hurt but she is up and moving. Sounds as though the organisers are muttering about a re-start? Much standing around and pointing – seems the jump might be a little too big and if you are trying for a fast run, the speed might be too high to control as you come off it. Unofficially it sounds like the FIS will drop the start to a lower level, at the reserve start, and try again at 1130 CET?? Not a lot of use to Feierabend, if she is injured, and she is being taken off in a sled! It’s official – full restart but with a lower start on the Mount Lachaux course. That’s a lot of work to do in just over 40 minutes. Ilka Stuhec away first on the restart, and that was a good run; she held on to the lead all the way so after run 1 it was Stuhec, Federica Brignone and Michaela Kirchgasser; then Mich Gagnon, Priska Nufer and Marusa Ferk. Apparently after I went out the three “senior” Americans, including Lindsey Vonn withdrew from run 1 as it was still considered a bit dangerous, but they did send 2 more junior team members down! So, no Vonn, Shiffrin or Ross on run 1 and of course Feierabend couldn’t start. Three DQs, and 14 DNFs including Tessa Worley and Sofia Goggia.
Run 2: Slalom course – Coverage began with run 2 under way; Wendy Holdener (19th after run 1) has taken the lead, with the best time so far of run 2. Stephanie Brunner into 2nd, ahead of Lena Dürr (26th in run 1). That snow does look soft and slushy! No change to the top 3 for a while, until a good run from Marusa Ferk (6th on run 1) into 2nd place.  Mich Gagnon has a huge advantage but conditions are not that good – into 3rd. Three to go – Michaela Kirchgasser going well – and she takes over the lead! Now Federica Brignone, and she’s building on her advantage – up from 0.17 at the start to 1.16 at the finish – fantastic run, but still slower than Holdener and Dürr on run 2! Last away – Ilka Stuhec; she trails at inter 1 and is going more into the red – enough in hand to go 2nd though. So, Brignone wins, ahead of Stuhec and Kirchgasser. Wendy Holdener just off the podium, ahead of Ferk and Gagnon. That gives Stuhec the small crystal globe for Alpine Combined this season.

Kvitfjell – Men’s Downhill (vice Lake Louise), 24 Feb: Also looking a nice day there, although it seems th estart has been lowered; with 5 down Bostjan Kline leads from Travis Ganong. Erik Guay was fast in training, but he’s 0.25 off the pace here – into 2nd,  and I have to go out! Kline’s time was obviously good as he held on – Kjetil Jansrud went number 9 , into 2nd, Manny O-P (12) went 4th behind fellow Canadian Erik G; Beat Feuz was bib 17 and he went 6th. However, next to go was Matthias Mayer who pipped Jansrud for 2nd by just 1 hundredth! Late starter Thomas Dressen (48) pulled off a surprise by going into 6th – so Kline wins from Mayer and Jansrud; then Guay, Manny O-P and Dressen. Just 3 DNFs here!

Crans Montana, Ladies Super G, 25 Feb: Colder than yesterday, which is good news! Julia Mancuso is one of the forerunners again today; she’s doing a few of these and is apparently hoping to get back to racing soon. Interesting to see Mikaela Shiffrin in the start list today; there is a slight delay but Kajsa Kling is first away – couple slight snags lower down. So that time might not hold up too long? Shiffrin is into the red at inter 1, bit worse at inter 3, recovered some at 4 but ending up +0.75, in 2nd. Poor start from Stephanie Venier, but she’s pulling time back and she’s into the green by inter 3 – she takes the lead. Very good start from Ilka Stuhec, and she’s keeping in the green – over a second faster as she takes the lead; that’s more like it! Disappointing start from Tina Weirather, just over half a second in the red and it’s getting worse – she’s 3rd but +1.26. Laurenne Ross has clipped not one, but two gates and she’s out. Quick TV break and Elena Curtoni is into 2nd, +0.50. Vikki Rebensburg is out; Tessa Worley is a bit off the pace – quite a few skiers have lost the line a bit in the middle of the course and gone into the blue, which costs a lot of time – Worley is 8th, just over 2 seconds off Stuhec’s time. Sofia Goggia is all over the place but she’s in touch – she’s down and that’s another DNF – she seems to be OK. That’s 15 away – Stuhec leads from Curtoni and Venier. Lindsey Vonn is next; she’s over, through the Bridgestone banner and into the netting; didn’t look too bad and she’s up but that’s another DNF. Fabienne Suter is also out, although lower down; 12 have completed the course and there are already 6 DNFs! Brignone won’t do the double – she’s into 5th. Conditions are deteriorating, so the race is interrupted while they salt some areas to try to firm them up! Jasmine Flury is the first to try this “new, improved” version of the snow – in touch but she’s crashed within sight of the finish, just before the jump; that didn’t look nice, and she’s clutching her knee. I think Ramona Siebenhofer has been yellow flagged, but the good news is that Flury is back on her feet. Miradoli is safely down, but has lost one pole and a glove somehow – 15th! Yep, caught her hand on the snow and the glove and pole parted company with her! One of the course team has fallen over too – more delays! Priska Nufer has almost missed a gate – the snow is now much more springlike! I can’t see much prospect of a late upset – Stuhec still leads from Curtoni and Venier; Weirather 4th ahead of Brignone and Kling. Elena Fanchini joins the DNFs; there are 9 now, from 27 starts. News update: apparently Anna Veith is out for the rest of the season and needs surgery on what was her good knee. Anyway, 30 away so the race stands, as Eurosport shifts to Kvitfjell. No late upsets, although a good effort from Tiffany Gauthier (FRA, start 38) to get into 10th; Mich Gagnon (42) managed 12th. Good result for Ilka Stuhec; she is 3rd on the overall leader board with 965 points – Mikaela Shiffrin (13th today) leads on 1223, with the injured Lara Gut 2nd on 1023. In the Super G standings Tina Weirather (4th today) leads on 306; Gut 2nd on 300 and Stuhec 3rd on 290.

Kvitfjell, Men’s Downhill – 25 Feb: This looks a bit more like it – cold snow! Light might be a bit flat? Anyway, Travis Ganong is first down; Romed Baumann has made a few line errors so he’s 2nd. Weather is forecast to get worse quite soon so the start interval is 2 minutes; Theaux struggling a bit in the middle section – into 3rd. I gather the course is the full length today (unlike yesterday); Vincent Kriechmayr takes the lead. Kjetil Jansrud is on course and he’s into the green and gaining – almost a full second at inter 4 – slight mistake off the jump, but he takes the lead, 0.74 faster. The FIS data feed seems to have frozen again, won’t get past Jansrud’s “page” no matter how many times I reload! Peter Fill is going more red; great lower section though and he’s 2nd, +0.08. Johan Clarey looks rather cautious; French not having a happy time here so far. Now, here comes Erik Guay – slightly red at inter 1 and 2, more red at 3 and 4 – good lower section though and into 3rd. Manny O-P is also in touch, pretty much neck and neck with Erik, and he’s stolen 3rd from his fellow Canadian! Seems Kjetil Jansrud must have lost a bit more than I thought on the lower section, because that is where the competition are pulling time back. Bostjan Kline into 5th, no double for him. Kilde has also skied the final section really well; +1.22 at inter 5 but into 6th, +0.63 at the finish. Beat Feuz is oscillating between red and green; looking a bit tired perhaps, but he’s into 3rd. At present, Jansrud, Fill, Feuz; weather getting worse and the visibility is dropping. Dominik Paris will be very disappointed with that run – 8th at present and that might well be the end of his challenge for the globe? Carlo Janka is looking good , but the light has gone red at 3 – he’s into 5th, between Manny O-P and Erik Guay. That looked a nasty crash for Jared Goldberg; lost it before the jump and landed on his neck/back. Amazingly he’s on his feet, and walking but I don’t think skiing down would be sensible after an impact like that! I think they are going to take him down on a sled, although there seems to be some discussion – the delay isn’t helping the race team though as the weather is getting worse. Obviously Jared wasn’t keen to get in that sled (can’t say I blame him) so he has skied down, accompanied by a coach. They are going to send a forerunner down before the race resumes. All settled and Klaus Kröll is in the start hut – off the pace though. Dressen into 11th, good but not up to yesterday’s effort. Still Jansrud, Fill, Feuz, Manny O-P, Janka and Guay. That’s 30 away, so the race will stand – and no late changes to the top 10. Today’s result is good news for Kjetil Jansrud as he now leads the Downhill standings – only Peter Fill could stop him, thanks to his 2nd place today, with just 1 race to go! Marcel Hirscher leads the overall standings on 1275, ahead of Kristoffersen (843) and Pinturault (843), who are tied for 2nd. Jansrud is 4th, quite close behind on 835. Jansrud leads the Downhill on 407, with Peter Fill on 374; Paris is on 271 with only 100 points remaining to be claimed. Kjetil also leads the Super G on 329, with Paris 2nd on 192 and Kilde 3rd (189) – he could warp that one up tomorrow?

Crans Montana, Ladies Alpine Combined, 26 Feb: This is the one actually planned for here! Off topic, a little, congratulations to Lizzie Yarnold for winning bronze in the Skeleton World Championships at Konigssee; a good result given she only returned to competition in December! Now, the first part of this Alpine Combined competition is the Super G – first away is Marusa Ferk, and she has fallen (DNF); I do hope we aren’t going to have a repeat of Friday when the course was lowered to remove a jump that seemed unskiable. Christine Scheyer is next down and she’s past the jump, but she’s skied out on the steep lower section! Third away is Ilka Stuhec; safely past the jump, clipped a gate lower on the course and only just got inside it, but she’s down. No Lindsey Vonn today, it seems she had food poisoning last week, but on Friday the Americans withdrew as they thought the course was too dangerous? Schneeberger is safely down, but +1.80; Kirchgasser has skied out and I understand she will be going for knee surgery soon, so we won’t see her on the circuit again this season. Five starts so far, 3 DNFs. Ricarda Haaser is into 2nd, a more respectable +0.58! Wendy Holdener is down, and into 3rd, +1.67 – she’s a good slalom skier so that might be close enough? Maria Therese Tviberg (NOR) is apparently 3.1 seconds faster at inter 4, but that seems to be a timing gremlin – actually she ends up 3rd! Now, Federica Brignone (who won the combined on Friday) is in touch to inter 3; she’s lost time on the steep though, great recovery – into 3rd, +1.29. Elena Curtoni made up time between inter 1 and 2 but lost it again lower down – 4th. TV break and then it’s Mich Gagnon – she’s well in touch and green at inter 2; back red later but it’s close – into 2nd just 0.22 off the pace and she’s arguably a better slalom skier than Stuhec! Marsaglia was going well but she’s missed a gate; same for Stephanie Brunner. Great start by Ragnhild Mowinckel, green at inter 1 and keeping it through 2 and 3; slightly red at 4 and into 3rd. Good run from Stephanie Venier, she’s 3rd and +0.27. Sofia Goggia is, as usual, giving everything – she’s almost half a second ahead at inter 2, and the light stays various shades of green all the way – she leads by 0.36, and seems very surprised by that run. That’s 20 away; Goggia leads from Stuhec and Gagnon, then Venier, Mowinckel and Haaser – 6 DNFs. Thirty away – no change to the top 10; Lena Dürr into 13th, now 9 DNFs. Next to go will be Mikaela Shiffrin, but there is a delay while they salt the course - not exactly a high tech process! Good start and she’s well in touch on the upper section – she’s into 7th place and just +1.30; that really is within the bounds of recoverable, given her slalom speed! Good effort by Marta Bassino – into 8th place. Nasty crash for Nina Ortlieb (AUT); she’s up but with a bloody nose – surprised neither ski released. That’s coverage over – Bassino the last change to the top 10; run 1 complete with no further change to the leading 10!
Run 2: The top 30 go in reverse order – apparently only 30 made it down run 1, so if you finished, you’re in run 2! Ten away – Marlene Schmotz (GER) leading; she’s just lost it to Michelle Gisin. Lena Dürr is over and a DNF; Elizabeth Kappaurer (AUT) is into 2nd, with 15 to go. Laurenne Ross is out; seems OK. Schneeberger lost a lot of time to inter 1 but then seemed to settle a bit – into 2nd. Now, Wendy Holdener has 0.72 advanatge at the start – she’s lost a bit by inter 1 but then she settles too – into the lead by 0.73; the Swiss have the top 2 positions at present. Good start by Tviberg, but she’s losing time on the lower section – into 2nd. Curtoni is also out, but Federica Brignone is going well – she leads by 0.84 and that’s the best time on run 2 so far. Some big errors from Bassino, but she’s still into 3rd! Here comes Mikaela Shiffrin, 0.35 in hand at the top – a little stumble but she’s settled now and she leads by 0.70! Ricarda Haaser into 3rd; Mowinckel is a little wild – into 5th. Stephanie Venier is not a slalom specialist – 0.67 green has gone to 0.70 red at inter 1 and she’s 22nd. Next is Marie-Michele Gagnon – she’s lost a bit by inter 1, and is just in the red by inter 2 – the course is really starting to cut up too – she goes 3rd. Just 2 to come – Ilka Stuhec has 0.94 advantage – it’s 0.68 at 1, 0.12 at 2 but lost a bit lower down and she’s 3rd, just behind Brignone – will that be enough to get the Combined globe? Sofia Goggia is on the hill – into the red at inter 2 – huge error lower down drops her to 8th. Well, another impressive win for Mikaela Shiffrin (and a useful 100 points in the overall too; she is now 298 ahead of Stuhec and exactly 300 clear of Gut); Federica Brignone gets 2nd and Ilka Stuhec 3rd, which gets her a first small crystal globe (Stuhec 240, Brignone 220, Holdener 140).

Kvitfjell, Men’s Super G – 26 Feb: This race on the downhill course, but from the lower start – set by an American coach; Carlo Janka is first away. Flat light again but the course is fairly smooth so hopefully conditions will be good for the whole race. Bostjan Kline is faster, Kriechmayr into 2nd and Romed Baumann has just skied into 3rd. The commentary team are saying that Klaus Kröll is retiring, apparently he announced it yesterday. Max Franz well in touch and he’s into 2nd. Dominik Paris struggling a little on the lower section – into 4th place which might help Jansrud in his quest for the Super G globe. Let’s see, as Kjetil is on the course now – nicely green at inter 2, but he’s only just keeping there at 3; better at 4 and fast through the speed trap – Jansrud leads! Beautiful skiing! Peter Fill is into the green at inter 2 and he’s building on that at 3 and 4 – he takes over first place by a massive 0.48! As I understand it, if Jansrud finishes lower than second, the small globe might be decided at the last race of the season, depending on where his closest rivals finish – second however would definitely clinch it here. Now that’s decidedly unfriendly; Kilde has gone into 2nd, ahead of fellow Norwegian Jansrud – he needs to hang on there with Jansrud going down the list if he is to retain a chance of getting the globe himself – difficult as there is just 0.12 between them? As it stands that might still give Jansrud the globe? Looking at the FIS site, if Jansrud gets 60 points for 3rd today he would be on 389 points, Kilde in 2nd gets 80, taking him to 269 (120 behind); Paris gets 26 in his current position, taking him to 218. All a bit academic perhaps as Erik Guay has just gone 2nd! It’s now 379 to 249 in Kjetil’s favour, if all stays as is – so perhaps Erik has done Jansrud a favour! Now, Beat Feuz has split the Norwegians, going into 4th! Gap 125 in Jansrud’s favour. However, Manny O-P is in touch too, but the course is perhaps getting a little rutted – he’s 7th. Hannes Reichelt also well in touch – great lower section and he’s 2nd! So, at present Fill leads from Reichelt and Guay; Kilde 4th, ahead of Feuz and Jansrud – the Super G globe is still Jansrud’s if there are no more surprises. Dressen was on course for a good result, but one line error was very costly. Good run from Thomas Biesemeyer (USA) until inter 4, then lost a bit on the jump – 13th. Martin Cater (SLO) has really pulled out a massive run; start number 26 and he’s into 6th, ahead of Jansrud! Mauro Caviezel goes 9th – the course seems to be holding up well! A PB for Bjørnar Neteland (NOR, start 37) – he’s 14th at present. Christian Walder (AUT) is also going well – start 40 and he’s 11th, a PB for him too? No changes to the top 10; Peter Fill takes the win, ahead of Reichelt and Guay. Kjetil Jansrud has wrapped up the Super G globe today – he gets 36 points for his 7th place, to Kilde’s 50 points for 4th, which gives him 126 points in hand with just one race to go; Hannes Reichelt seems to have got up to 3rd in the standings as Dominik Paris is down in 26th today, which will drop him to 4th.

Jeongseon - Women’s Downhill, 4 March: Well, I didn’t actually see this live, at 0200 UK time! Hoping to catch the highlights later. Lindsey Vonn first away, after being very quick in practice; Stuhec starts number 3 and she’s got a green light at inter 1 – still green at 2, but just red at 3 and a bit worse at 4 – she’s into 2nd. Now, if she stays in 2nd, she should win the downhill globe today. Here comes Sofia Goggia – in touch at the first three splits and a very impressive final section gives her the lead by 0.07! Big shrug from Lindsey Vonn! Tina Weirather out; it’s quite warm and the snow is getting a bit softer. Vikki Rebensburg is nicely green at inter 1 and 2 but she’s had a big “moment” and that’s cost her time – into 6th. Stacey Cook is also green at inter 1, and still there at 2 – drifting into the red at 3 and she goes into 4th, displacing Verena Stufer. Schnarf into 5th; there seem to be a number of skiers going well green at the top; Corinne Suter is one of them, but she’s gone wide lower down and goes 6th. Next away is Laurenne Ross – also green at 1 and 2; good recovery as she approaches the finish – into 4th. Breezy Johnson has fallen but luckily on a flatter section and she’s OK. The coverage seems to have stopped before Tippler (start number 22) went 5th? Anyway, that’s the highlights over. At last, Sofia Goggia gets her reward, finishing a race to take a World Cup win; Lindsey Vonn second just 7 hundredths behind with Ilka Stuhec 3rd. Laurenne Ross in 4th ahead of Tamara Tippler and Stacey Cook – 3 Americans in the top 6! Nice to see Jasmine Flury in 7th, but Tina Weirather is among the 6 DNFs, and she was in the green when she skied out! Stuhec leads the downhill standings on 497, with Goggia on 400 the only one who can still just catch her!

Kranjska Gora – Men’s GS, 4 March: Looks a bit gloomy in that part of Slovenia, not a lot of snow in the valley either – course a bit bumpy it seems. Alexis Pinturault is away first, he’s having problems near inter 2, and he’s out – very neat ski through the poles, under the banner though! A better run from Henrik Kristoffersen, faster than Alexis to inter 2 and he’s down. Felix Neureuther is red all the way, although he has recovered a bit of time on the lower section - +0.34. Mathieu Faivre into 3rd; Victor M-J hasn’t had a lot of success recently, but that’s a better run – he goes into 2nd. Here comes Marcel Hirscher – green at inter 1, more so at 2 and he’s building all the way – he goes into the lead by 0.96! That’s 10 away – Hirscher leads from Henrik K and Victor M-J. Justin Murisier into 3rd, but he’s over a second off Hirscher’s time; impressive recovery from Kilde to avoid a DNF! Steve Missillier is out; next away is Gino Caviezel and he’s out too. None of the later starters seem to be making much impression, since Murisier. Carlo Janka is out; Tim Jitloff is living dangerously, but he has reached the finish! Thirty away; Hirscher leads from Kristoffersen and Murisier – Victor M-J 4th ahead of Neureuther and Olsson.
Run 2: This clashes with the men’s biathlon pursuit, so I’ll have to follow it on the FIS data feed at first. It’s raining in KG, certainly at the finish, anyway. With the first 10 away, Loic Meillard leads from Monsen and Meier. Kilde into 2nd; and Manuel Feller takes the lead – Meillard still has the best time on run 2. Elia Zurbriggen into 2nd, Haugen is flying and gaining time – he leads and the FIS feed has gone a bit odd! Over to the video as the biathlon is over – weather doesn’t look very nice, visibility fading fast, and Mölgg is out. Florian Eisath goes into 3rd; race interrupted as the low cloud thickens; high tech salt buckets out too! This must be frustrating for the final 10, who are being held at the start – the cloud seems to be getting lower too. There is a brief gap, but it seems to be coming back in; Stefan Luitz is the guinea pig who is first away after the interruption – into the red at inter 2, and he’s 3rd. At present Haugen, Feller and Luitz and conditions are looking worse again, wet snow flying up on the turns; race is continuing. No change to the top 3 for a while; most seem to have lost any advantage by inter 2 at the latest and the cloud is rolling back in. Impressive effort by Matts Olsson to get into 2nd! Felix Neureuther is into the red at inter 1, and visibility is awful – he’s 4th. The race is interrupted again; just 4 to go. Victor M-J at the start and he’s away; losing time all the way and he’s just 11th. Justin Murisier has a fairly useful 0.59 in hand, but he’s also red by inter 2 – conditions are dreadful again and he goes 10th. Kristoffersen next – most of his advantage is gone by inter 1, red at 2 and he goes 10th. This is really ridiculous and I suspect Hirscher will be somewhat vocal, probably not the only one! Marcel is away and he’s lost a full second by inter 2; out into the better vis with 0.63 in hand and he takes the win – very impressive! He has just won his 6th successive overall crystal globe today, and I think that’s the GS globe too – I’ll check later (Yes, he has that one too)! Hirscher wins, Haugen 2nd and Olsson 3rd. The FIS report is HERE

Jeongseon - Women’s Super G, 5 March: Another one I didn’t get up/stay up to see live! Not going to see the highlights any time soon either as it clashes with the Kranjska Gora slalom live. Did see Stuhec’s run, which gave her the early lead, displacing Rebensburg, and Laurenne Ross going into 2nd. Actually, as the live slalom is so unexciting (unless you are actually trying to ski on the KG slush), I’m back on the highlights – currently Stuhec, Ross and Rebensburg forming the provisional podium. Nicole Schmidhofer into 4th! Federica Brignone green at inter 2 and well in touch later – into 2nd. Sofia Goggia nicely green at inter 2 and she’s living dangerously again! She’s kept it in varying shades of green all the way, into the lead by over half a second! Vonn away next – hand still taped up; green at inter 3, red at 4 and she’s second by 4 hundredths today! Results very similar to yesterday – Sofia Goggia wins again, from Lindsey Vonn and Ilka Stuhec! Federica Brignone 4th ahead of Jasmine Flury, Laurenne Ross and Vikki Rebensburg. Tina Weirather was 9th, which means Stuhec leads the Super G standings, with Tina down to 2nd, just 15 points behind – 1 race remaining. In the overall Shiffrin remains on 1323, Stuhec 2nd on 1145.

Kranjska Gora – Men’s Slalom, 5 March: Joined run 1 a bit late, as it clashed with a very exciting biathlon relay! Currently Stefano Gross has a massive lead over Michael Matt (+1.15) and Marcel Hirscher (+1.47). Marco Schwarz 4th ahead of Neureuther and Mölgg. It looks a bit overcast and the snow looks wet and very rutted – apparently lots of rain overnight. Apart from Matt (start 12, into 2nd), the later numbers are not making too much impression; Myhrer into 8th – only the top 6 within 2 seconds of Gross! David Chodounsky (start 23) has got into 11th, but that’s +2.62! Sad to see that Dave Ryding didn’t finish run 1.
Run 2: Started taking an interest with 10 away; Patrick Thaler (2nd away) leads from Victor M-J and Loic Meillard. Sebastian F-S into 3rd; Pinturault isn’t having a good day – 1.12 in hand at the start goes to +1.16 at the finish and 13th place. Has to be said the course is not looking good – Alexis isn’t the only one going seriously backwards! In fact, it seems extremely easy to lose massive amounts of time on the lower section – that’s 17 that Thaler has seen off! Alex Khoroshilov gets into 3rd, but he’s lost over 2 seconds! Mathias Hargin had 2.19 but he’s lost it all – can’t escape the massive ruts and he’s 6th. Andre Myhrer has a better track, going after a TV break, and he takes the lead by just 5 hundredths! Manfred Mölgg into 3rd; Felix N has actually increased his lead to inter 1, and again to 2 – he really has done that well and he leads by 0.78! Amazingly that’s only the 13th best time on run 2, according to the FIS feed! Marco Schwarz messy on the top section and his chance is gone. Marcel Hirscher next – 5th or better will get him the slalom crystal globe. He’s away – but he’s into the red at inter 2; he’s second! That means he will get his third globe of the weekend, whatever happens! Michael Matt next – an early error hasn’t hurt his advantage and he takes the lead – good skiing! Just Stefano Gross to come – 1.15 in hand; he’s losing time in the ruts – he goes 2nd. Mike Matt gets his first World Cup win, ahead of Stefano Gross and Felix Neureuther. Marcel Hirscher in 4th, but that’s good enough to ensure that Kristoffersen can’t catch him in the slalom standings. Myhrer 5th and Thaler 6th, with the best time for run 2. Bit of a farce really, but that’s outdoor sport – conditions can vary!

Excellent news - Andrew Musgrave has finished 4th in the 50 Km freestyle race at the Nordic Worlds in Lahti, only 1.5 seconds off a medal! The BBC report is HERE

and a report in The Scotsman is HERE

Squaw Valley – Women’s GS, 10 March: Course set by a Swedish coach, looks a bit tricky; Marta Bassino first away, and she’s safely down – it’s a bit overcast at present. Ah, Tessa Worley has gone faster; another all-out run from Sofia Goggia but a mistake cost her time. A disappointing run from Vikki Rebensburg; here comes Shiffrin – well green at 1, a little less at 2 and she leads despite a slight error.  Ten away and Shiffrin leads from Worley and Bassino; Brignone 4th – Mölgg into 5th from start number 14, tied with Ana Drev. Marsaglia has skied out – first DNF of this run; Adeline Baud Mugnier next away and she is also a DNF, cursed by the commentator! And, that is the way it all stayed, as far as the top 6 were concerned; Ilka Stuhec joined the DNFs – 5 in total! Sadly Alex Tilley will not get a second run.
Run 2: Joined a bit late – 12 down and one DNF – Elisabeth Kappaurer leads from Simone Wild and Melanie Meillard. Good run from Ragnhild Mowinckel to take over the lead, and that’s half way. Now, Mich Gagnon is building on her advantage to inter 1; red at 2 though (just) and she’s into 2nd; Sara Hector goes 3rd. Wendy Holdener was green until inter 3, then red but she pulled a bit back to go 2nd; course cutting up a bit? Kirchgasser losing time all the way – hard to bear – she goes 2nd by just 0.02! Last (best) 10 to go – Petra Vlhova good to inter 1, lost most, pulled it back to go 3rd by 0.07 – this is very tight! Vikki Rebensburg next – she too loses between inter 1 and 2, gains to 3 and then accelerates – she leads by 0.81! Nice run from Stephanie Brunner – good strength to power through the ruts, and she’s 2nd.  Goggia has lost a pole – really amazing that she’s held on to go 2nd – good round of applause, well deserved! Ana Drev is holding on well – green to 3 and she goes into the lead by 0.05; Drev, Rebensburg and Goggia with 5 to go. Mölgg is building on her time – lost a bit lower down and she now leads by 0.01 – this really is very close!! Federica Brignone is also building to inter 1, and a bit more still by 2 – even better at 3 and she leads;  0.18 at the top, 0.96 at the finish – excellent, especially as the track is deteriorating!  Bassino can’t match that – red at inter 2 and a big mistake – just 7th. Just 2 left – Tessa Worley has lost a bit by inter 1, and even more by 2 – red at 3 and she’s into 2nd.  So, just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – she’s gained a bit to inter 1, lost some at 2, fractionally red at 3 and she takes the win by 0.07! Very exciting – Shiffrin wins, from Brignone and Worley; Mölgg in 4th ahead of Drev and Rebensburg. So, Tessa Worley still leads the GS standings with 1 race to go – but only by 80 points from – Shiffrin! Shiffrin is now 278 clear of Stuhec in the overall – Goggia third, 366 back.

Squaw Valley – Women’s Slalom, 11 March: Looks like a nice day; not sure about the weather or how well the course will hold up. Course set by a French coach; tricky offset gate near the top. Well, an early surprise – Frida Hansdotter has made a massive error that meant she pretty much stopped to avoid a straddle – not like her at all; she’s 4th in the discipline standings!  Much more representative time from Wendy Holdener; that might last a while? Nina Løseth in trouble – good recovery but she has straddled lower down.  Veronika VZ well in the green at inter 1 and 2; but she’s fallen – that removes any faint chance that she could win the slalom title, I think. Here comes Mikaela Shiffrin – surprised to see her in the red at inter 2, she has recovered most of it – second by 2 hundredths! So, 7 away; Holdener leads from Shiffrin and Vlhova. That’s a long slide from Resi Stiegler; she seems to be OK. Quick exit from Bucik; early straddle and out. That’s 15 away, no change to the top 3 – Strachova is 4th, then Schild and Kirchgasser. Well, MPH also out – even earlier than Bucik? Costazza has gone into 7th; Lena Dürr also out, so is Erin Mielzynski. Seven DNFs, 22 away! Melanie Meillard into 8th; Barthet DQd and Wiesler has joined the DNFs. Seems Ilka Stuhec isn’t starting? Brignone has just gone 11th from start number 32. Alex Tilley currently 21st, +3.17 – might get a second run? At present (43 away) 11 DNFs, 1 DNS and a DSQ! Run 1 over – top 10 unchanged, 15 DNFs in all, Alex Tilley still 21st!
Run 2: I missed it live! Rather busy, but no excuses – have to try and catch highlights. The start is pretty steep – apparently the most challenging on the circuit? This also looks to be a rather testing pattern of gates – very technical. Good run from Kappaurer to take an early lead; Grünwald has tied with her. Marina Wallner going well; she maintained her advantage most of the way and then increased it on the final section. Nervous run from Alex Tilley and a big error has cost her a lot of time – she has finished though, so she’ll get points today. Christina Geiger has taken over the lead; Wikström has replaced her, and in due course the lead is held by Bernadette Schild (great run, building on her advantage) and Sarka Strachova (by just 0.05). Three to go – Petra Vlhova a bit tentative on the upper section; better in the middle but she’s missed the tricky final gate. Shiffrin away, third turn a bit messy and she’s lost a good chunk of her advantage; pulling it back now and a tremendous final section gives her the lead by 1.03! Next is Wendy Holdener – the pressure is on, but she’s increased her slender advantage by inter 1. Looking good but 2 gates from home she’s fallen; hopefully OK but that’s a good chance to take her first slalom win gone. In the end, fairly predictable I suppose (except for Wendy Holdener being a DNF). Shiffrin takes the double here, with Strachova 2nd in the slalom and Bernadette Schild getting third – delighted for her. Best time of run 2 was for Marina Wallner (GER), who was 22nd on run 1! That’s the slalom globe to Mikaela Shiffrin!

FIS Finals – Aspen – Men’s Downhill, 15 March: Both men’s & women’s Downhill globes still to be decided today. The men’s title is between Kjetil Jansrud and Peter Fill; the Norwegian leads by 33 points at the start! Just 23 starters today - Dominik Paris is first away, and safely down –faster than the best time from 2nd practice already! Andreas Sander can’t quite match that – now here’s Peter Fill, who did well in training here; red all the way but with a good lower section he’s into 2nd by 0.08. Fifth away is Jansrud, who hasn’t been going well in training; that’s also a lot of red and he’s 5th, +0.54. That would give Fill the title 454 to 452; Kjetil needs help! Fayed into 6th, so that doesn’t affect the globe result. Reichelt almost out – good recovery! Jansrud will be spitting tacks – Johan Clarey into 5th, by just one hundredth, which helps Peter Fill! Now, here comes Kilde; he’s lost a bit between 3 and 4 – another good recovery and into 7th. With 10 down Paris leads from Fill and Sander; Paris is 7 points clear of Jansrud in the globe stakes! Oops – nasty crash for Bostjan Kline – he’s gone through both sets of netting (that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence about the race organisation!) and hit a few spectators; luckily everyone seems OK – Kline up and moving. Interesting that the commentary team didn’t think Dominik Paris’ time was that impressive! There have been a few spectacular recoveries so far; Erik Guay has skied the lower section well and he’s third, more help for Fill! This could be more bad news if you’re a Norway supporter; Carlo Janka looking good and he’s gone 3rd! The globe gap is now 15 points! Big error from Matthias Mayer, but he’s still managed 6th – Jansrud down to 9th! Just 5 to go – the last racer will be American Sam Morse, who is the junior world champion. Adrien Theaux has lost time in sight of the finish, but he’s still into 4th, gap now 21 points. Now, Manny O-P, and he’s well in touch – red through the inters but not too far off the pace – he goes 4th. Gap is now 23 points – I reckon Fill will retain his title! Caviezel is a DNF; 2 to go. Dressen into 16th; Sam Morse goes 21st – so Dominik Paris takes the win today from Peter Fill and Carlo Janka; Peter Fill is the Downhill crystal globe winner; no individual wins, but very consistent – 6 podiums!

FIS Finals – Aspen – Women’s Downhill, 15 March: This one between Ilka Stuhec and Sofia Goggia, but Stuhec is 97 points clear so this isn’t as close! Just 20 starters; now, Stuhec has the Combined globe already, and she’s first away in this race, on the same track as the men. That does seem like a good run; she looks happy with that! Venier is 2.62 slower; here comes Goggia – good between inter 2 and 3, but she’s clipped a gate – into 2nd and that’s Stuhec’s Downhill crystal globe confirmed (Goggia 2nd, Lara Gut 3rd). Johanna Schnarf into 3rd; she’s replaced by Tina Weirather. Lindsey Vonn starts number 9; red at inter 1 and it’s going away at 2; better at 3, and she’s into 2nd, +0.66. Not an elegant finish, she’s fallen (looking at the clock?) and ends up under the matting; luckily she’s unhurt! Nasty crash for Breezy Johnson; bindings didn’t release for a while – she is standing up but that must have hurt. Vikki Rebensburg a bit off the pace; she’s 6th. The warm sun isn’t helping the course – getting a bit rutted. Christine Scheyer into 8th; prospective podium still Stuhec, Vonn and Goggia. Nicole Schmidhofer is into 5th; good run, especially given the course. Nice run from Laurenne Ross, maybe tiring a little at the end – into 5th. Last racer is Alice Merryweather, the junior world champion – she’s 19th. No late changes to the podium; Stuhec, Vonn and Goggia; Super G races tomorrow! There are 3 races left, and Ilka Stuhec is now just 278 points behind Mikaela Shiffrin in the Overall, so it is just possible that Ilka might win that too (not sure I’d bet on it, given that those 3 races include a GS and a slalom!). Not sure why Nick Fellows keeps saying Stuhec has already won the Super G globe – according to the FIS site it’s Stuhec 350, Weirather 335 with tomorrow’s Super G to come??

FIS Finals – Aspen – Women’s Super G, 16 March: No confusion today; Ilka Stuhec leads the Super G standings by just 15 points from Tina Weirather – only Lara Gut is within 100 points but, of course, she’s out with an injury so it’s Slovenia versus Liechtenstein for the small crystal globe. Course set by a German coach; there is a delay to the start, possibly due to a forerunner falling on the lower section of the track? Stephanie Venier is first away – struggling to stay on the course at times but she’s down. Gauthier has had problems at the same place (Straw Pile?) – but she’s skied out – impressive scream! Better run from Nicole Schmidhofer – she ends 1.70 ahead of Venier; much more like it! Nasty crash by Johanna Schnarf – sadly on a steep bit, so a very long slide and finally into the netting – once again that netting looks a bit flimsy. Doctor is with Schnarf – amazingly she’s up and skiing down the remainder of the course; 4 away, 2 DNF. The organisers are repairing various bits of the course; Tina Weirather will be the next down - green at inter 1 and she’s improving; very impressive run and she leads by 0.74! That’s good after such an interruption and puts the pressure on Stuhec. Jasmine Flury a bit off the pace and she too has skied out. Here comes Ilka Stuhec; green at 1, red at 2 but just 0.09, same at 3 – into 2nd by 0.35 which might give Tina the globe? Nick thinks it’s over but what happens if Tina gets pushed down the results list? Haaser into 4th; Elena Curtoni is down but she’s hit a control gate (seemingly face on) – hope that isn’t a bad injury. Sofia Goggia is next; slightly red at inter 1 and 2, better at 3 and very fast through the gun – she’s fallen, but she’s up and skiing away. Christine Scheyer into 5th, which will be a PB if she keeps that position. Federica Brignone in touch at inter 3; she’s 3rd by just one hundredth! Weirather leads, Stuhec 2nd (+0.35) and Brignone 3rd (+0.36). Tessa Worley next but she’s off the pace, just 7th. Marsaglia into 12th, and now it’s Lindsey Vonn – just 0.07 red at inter 1, out to 0.18 at 2 but still well in touch; she’s clipped a gate and fallen. Into some good nets and she’s up and away – not a good day to ask for her autograph perhaps, but she seems happy enough at the bottom? I think the globe will be going to Tina now; Lizzie Görgl has gone into 5th. Vikki Rebensburg is on course, and just red at inter 1; out to half a second at 2 and she’s losing time – 8th place. One of my favourites, Laurenne Ross, is next but 0.75 down at inter 2 – she’s hit soft snow, caught an edge and she’s fallen as well – she is up too, and skiing down. Just Joana Hählen to go – for some reason the FIS data doesn’t show the last racer at Aspen; Hählen into 15th. That’s it – Tina Weirather has won this race, ahead of Stuhec and Brignone – that gives Tina the Super G globe by just 5 points, her first globe (as Nick reminds us, her mother has 7!). In the discipline standings Ilka Stuhec is 2nd, and Lara Gut 3rd. Mikaela Shiffrin leads the Overall globe standings by 1523 to Ilka’s 1245 – a gap of 198, with 200 available! Twenty one starters, 6 DNFs.

FIS Finals – Aspen – Men’s Super G, 16 March: Hope the snow isn’t too warm and soft for this event! Kjetil Jansrud has already wrapped up the Super G small globe, and he will be the first away today – on a course set by a Norwegian coach. The snow doers look soft; Jansrud should benefit from his early start but there were a few errors there. Martin Cater into 2nd , +0.75; Kilde next and he’s red through all the intermediates, but lower down, where Jansrud had a few snags, he’s clean and he leads by 0.47. Caviezel is better at inter 1 and 2; still green at 3 and it’s a dead heat for first! That’s soon resolved however as Hannes Reichelt goes even faster – green all the way; he leads by 0.33. Dustin Cook is also well in touch all the way to inter 3; he’s fallen within sight of the finish but has slid over the line, so he has finished (edit – no he hasn’t – DQ). Dominik Paris looking for the Aspen double – green at inter 1 and 2, but a little red at 3 – he goes 2nd. Peter Fill is a little off the pace today; just 6th at present. Mayer has skied out; so has Andreas Sander, who is DQ, and then Feuz goes out as well! Snow must have got a bit softer – that’s 3 out in a row. Erik Guay is in touch at inter 1 but then it gets redder – he’s skied out too. Same for Carlo Janka, who was on track for a good finish when it happened! Travis Ganong goes 7th; Bostjan Kline has also missed a gate – that’s 5 DNFs and 2 DQs. Adrien Theaux into 5th – that was a good run this late on. Nice to see Hirscher and Pinturault here today; Marcel H is down safely and has gone 10th – good effort. Anything you can do … Alexis Pinturault goes 10th, 6 hundredths faster than Hirscher! Luc Alphand is the last to go; again the data stream isn’t working for the last skier – same as the downhill yesterday – Alphand into 18th. So, Hannes Reichelt wins the final Super G of the season (getting him 2nd place in the discipline standings), ahead of Dominik Paris with Caviezel and Kilde tied in 3rd. Pinturault now 3rd in the overall standings, just 49 points behind Jansrud!

Aspen – FIS Finals, Team Event, 17 March: Missed most of this due to biathlon clashing but joined for the finals. Small final – Italy v France. Coralie Frasse Sombet has beaten Chiara Costazza; good start for France. Next is Thaler v Grange; Jean Baptiste Grange has taken it – France 2 – 0. Back to the women – Baud Mugnier v Irene Curtoni – Adeline BM has won that one so France win 3-0, with Lizeroux v Razzoli still to come. Julien Lizeroux has taken that one too; bet the French wished they could have skied like that earlier on! Now the Big Final – Sweden (who beat Austria in the QF, France in the semi) v Germany (who beat Switzerland [QF] & Italy [SF]). Now, the final is on -  Frida Hansdotter has beaten Lena Dürr. Next is Hargin v Luitz – Stefan has caught his arm on the gate and looks hurt; Mattias Hargin takes the win as Stefan is a DNF. Emelie Wikström has beaten Marina Wallner quite decisively and that seals the win for Sweden 3-0. The final race is Andre Myhrer v Linus Strasser – Myhrer slow out of the start; Strasser has lost a pole – the Swede is a DNF, so Germany have won the last one as a slight consolation! Win for Sweden, Germany second and France third. The FIS report is HERE

Aspen - Men’s GS, 18 March: Missed run 1, which I couldn’t see listed on Eurosport – Felix Neureuther obviously on form as he leads (by just 1 hundredth!) from Marcel Hirscher and Alexis Pinturault (+0.23). Faivre in 4th ahead of Luitz and Olsson. Henrik Kristoffersen down in 11th and Jansrud 21st.
Run 2: Again, video only, no commentary on Eurosport; so much for covering all the events properly! Just 26 starters; after the first 5 Florian Eisath leads - a really good run which left him 1.01 ahead – best so far on run 2 as well. Tommy Ford in 2nd and Loic Meillard has just gone 3rd. Steve Missilier into 2nd; they really are starting these racers quickly – 1 minute intervals! Paris into 3rd; Kilde in all sorts of trouble! Sarrazin has taken over 2nd place, but is replaced by Leitinger; Eisath holding on to the lead for the moment. He’s seen off Mölgg and Feller too, neither of whom have broken into the top 3. Luca de Aliprandini into 4th; the course sounds a bit slushy? Henrik Kristoffersen has 0.70 in hand at the start – red by inter 2 and he’s 2nd. Haugen into 4th; just eight to go. Philipp Schörghofer has 1.01 advantage – it’s red by inter 3 though and he’s fallen – seems OK but now Andre Myhrer is also out. Very easy to lose grip on this snow, it seems! Matts Olsson is still green at inter 3, and he’s tied in first place with Eisath! Stefan Luitz has done rather better and eventually we have a new leader – he’s only got the 9th best time on run 2 though! No time to get comfortable in the enclosure though as Mathieu Faivre is next down and he has taken the lead. Pinturault on the course – he too has skied out. Two to go – Marcel Hirscher is away, and already building on his advantage; 0.35 at the start is 0.51 at inter 1, 0.78 at 2, 1.04 at 3 and he leads by a massive 1.19! Still only the 2nd best time on run 2 though, but that was a truly amazing effort! Now, can Felix match that? Good run, but he can only manage 2nd; Marcel Hirscher wins (again; brilliant second run charge), Felix Neureuther second and Mathieu Faivre 3rd. Eisath in 5th, but fastest on run 2. So, Marcel Hirscher takes the GS globe too, which he had wrapped up a while back; Faivre in 2nd, 293 back just pipping Pinturault by 1 point thanks to today.

Aspen - Women’s Slalom, 18 March: Nina Løseth first away; no commentary as Eurosport, despite the schedule, are covering a cycle race! Sadly Nina has straddled, so the first time recorded is that of Frida Hansdotter. Strachova into 2nd; Petra Vlhova has skied a great lower part of the course, after being red at inter 2, to take the lead. Holdener into 3rd, and here comes VVZ – nicely green at inter 2, but she’s losing time lower down – into 3rd. Mikaela Shiffrin next; green at inter 1, a bit less green at 2 and now she’s into third – all very close. Vlhova leads, then Hansdotter (+0.03) and Shiffrin (+0.07). Michelle Gisin is out; Suddenly the rapid change has stopped! Meillard into 5th; first TV break and no change to the top 3. First run over – no change to the top 6, 4 DNFs. So, Vlhova leads from Hansdotter and Shiffrin but with just 7 hundredths between them it should be a good second run! VVZ in 4th (+0.14), ahead of Meillard and Holdener (+0.81).
Run 2: Hurrah – commentary too! This course set by a Swiss coach, I think. Resi Stiegler is much faster than MPH; that will be the baseline time. Mich Gagnon lost a bit on the top section but was blisteringly quick lower down – she leads by over a second. Maren Skjøld is even faster – there is certainly an opportunity to gain time on the closing section. Lena Dürr hasn’t managed it though, she’s 3rd after being nicely green at inter 2. Marina Wallner has taken the lead; Curtoni goes 3rd. Bucik has made a good start but she’s lost time lower down – just 6th. Christina Geiger has gone into 2nd; the snow is getting a bit slushier. Costazza is out, quite high on the course; good run from Bernadette Schild to take over the lead; Wallner still has the best time for run 2 though. Eight to go – Sarka Strachova was building, but lost a bit lower down – enough in had to take over the lead by 0.03 though. Wikström in the red at inter 1 and 2 but she’s recovered well and takes the lead, to the amazement of Nick! Wendy Holdener is building through inter 1 and 2, and she’s gained even more lower down – into the lead by 0.53. Melanie Meillard has also gained a little and she looks impressive – she now leads, and only 18 too, good news for the Swiss team! VVZ has lost a bit by inter 1, but has it all back, and more by inter 2 and that’s a good lower section to take the lead by 0.66. Now, here comes Shiffrin – good gains to inter 1, lost a bit but enough speed to take the lead. Frida Hansdotter has just 0.04 in hand – she’s 0.01 in green at inter 1 and 2, but fractionally slower on the finals – second by 0.11. Petra Vlhova is red by inter 1; bit too aggressive? Great lower section though and she’s turned +0.15 at inter 2 into -0.24 at the finish – what a win!! Petra Vlhova takes the final slalom win of the season by beating Shiffrin! Vlhova, Shiffrin and Hansdotter on the podium and Vlhova has the best time on run 2 as well