Skiing and Biathlon 2017/18

First topic message reminder :

Well, almost time for the "winter" ski season to start, with biathlon a little later - looking forward to seeing who is still in the various teams!

Meanwhile - what might be the first injury of the season! From the FIS site - During slalom training in Pitztal, Austria, on 22 October, Slovenian World Cup star Ilka Stuhec suffered a severe knee injury following a fall. The 2016/17 World Cup title winner in downhill and alpine combined and runner-up in the overall and super-G standings sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee during a crash while training on the glacier.  Stuhec will undergo surgery on Wednesday, 25 October, and more information about her condition and rehabilitation will be available after that time.

PyeongChang – Mixed Relay: A few things that I hadn’t expected – Lesser and Peiffer in the German team, no Samuelsson in the Swedish line-up (ill?); however we do have Martin Fourcade anchoring the French, which isn’t too surprising! The Norwegian line-up looks good – maybe Tarjei should have been there? Ah, apparently Schempp isn’t well; there are still rumours that Martin F isn’t well but they said that before the Mass Start. Race has started; Marte Olsbu leading early on; Vanessa Hinz well up, with Vittozzi, Kaisheva, Gwizdon and Fialkova well to the front; MDH there too. Quite windy when they zeroed, but it seems to have eased off as they come in for S1 – Lisa Vittozzi has cleared very quickly, and she leads out ahead of Vishnevskaya (KAZ), MDH, Hinz, Brorsson and Gasparin (1 spare, rest clear). Olsbu needed 2 spares and she’s had trouble with hand feeding the rounds; Fialkova has had a real nightmare and she’s on the penalty loop – there’s also an asterisk by her name on the data center (sic) feed – it’s gone now, but it shows 4 loops required – wrong targets? In for S2 already – Vittozzi is on fire – very fast, accurate shooting – brilliant stuff; Brorsson in trouble – 2 loops for her. So Vittozzi leads out, 6.8 ahead of Hinz, with MDH another 10 seconds back; Dunklee up to 5th. Lisa Vittozzi really did shoot brilliantly – even faster than Doro W who is taking the next leg! MDH is making up time on the lap – first exchange and Italy lead – Germany 2nd (+2.2), then France (+7.0). Vitková (CZE) has got her team up to 4th, making up 12 seconds on Dunklee, ahead of USA and Kazakhstan (+25.0). On the next lap Dasha has got Belarus up to 4th (8th at the exchange), Reid (USA) is losing time. The track is apparently very hard and icy – in for S3. Doro first to shoot – she’s also very fast and all 5 down with no spares – she leads out ahead of Laura Dahlmeier and Anais Bescond (1 spare). Dasha in 4th (+25.7) ahead of Raikova (KAZ) and Reid. Tiril Eckhoff has used 2 spares and she’s 10th, +42.6. Kuzmina isn’t having a nice time – she inherited a deficit of over 5 minutes (Fialkova was 5+6) and she needed all 3 spares here – now +6:30.2. Final standing shoot for the women; Laura has missed 1, Doro 3 and Bescond 3. Laura leads out; Doro in 2nd (+23.3), then Dasha, Bescond, Dzhima and Zuk (POL). Tiril is on the penalty loop (1+8); the Swiss also did one after S3. The next exchange – Erik Lesser taking over for Germany; Lukas Hofer for Italy, +29.9. Then Bocharnikov (BLR, +33.1), Desthieux, Seppala (FIN) and Pidruchnyi (UKR). JoBø in 10th, +1:16.3. USA have done 3 penalty loops on that leg, leaving Tim Burke with over 3 minutes to make up. Erik Lesser is on for S5 – good, fast shooting and he’s clear and away. Lukas Hofer taking it carefully and he’s clear too, out +33.9. Bocharnikov needed 1 spare but he’s out 3rd, just ahead of Desthieux. JoBø also clear and up to 7th (+1:21.3). I think Slovakia must have been lapped, no sign of them on the Exchange 2 list? Erik has pulled out time on Hofer; JoBø is making up time though. Lesser in for the standing shoot – he’s missed 1 (rather unlucky) and he’s away. Hofer has missed 1, so has JoBø – very fast manual feed – impressive! Lesser leads, then Hofer (+42.5), Bocharnikov (+44.5), Desthieux and Johannes (+57.5). JoBø is up to 4th, and closing on the French – EHS v Martin F on the final leg! Erik will hand over to Arnd Peiffer – the late substitute for Simon Schempp. Germany lead out after the final exchange; Italy and France level but only fractionally ahead of Norway; Belarus in 5th, ahead of Ukraine – what a leg from Johannes Bø! Martin F and EHS have already closed a little on Peiffer, and they are past Dominik Windisch, who has tucked in behind them. Final prone shoot – Peiffer has missed his first, and another – he’s out after 2 spares. Fourcade clear, EHS has used 1 spare. Out in order – Peiffer, Fourcade (+6.1), Windisch (+16.3, 1 spare), Svendsen (1 spare); Chepelin (BLR) also used 1 spare but 5th ahead of Pryma (UKR). Martin F has gone into the lead and he’s lit the afterburners; EHS has passed Windisch, but he can’t shake off the Italian. The final shoot – Martin F clear and away. Arnd has missed 2 and now he’s on the penalty loop! So, Martin is away – EHS used 1 spare but he’s out 2nd +34.3; Windisch +49.9 and Arnd Peiffer in 4th +50.3! Now, can Arnd redeem himself by salvaging bronze – apparently he might not be well either? Martin Fourcade can cruise to a French gold medal, Svendsen has a good margin to take silver but there’s a good scrap for the last medal. So, France (0+4) win, Norway (1+11 – well done JoBø) in silver and ….. Windisch has drifted left across Peiffer – that looked like an illegal block, but lets’ see? At present Italy (0+7) have bronze with Germany (1+7) in 4th; Arnd Peiffer looks gutted. I wonder if there will be a protest? There was – the jury rejected it (their statement reeked of bovine excrement, but despite that I think Italy did deserve a medal, despite Windisch’s very poor sportsmanship) The Eurosport team reckon it was a clear case of blocking and Windisch, and thus Italy, should have been DQ’d for it!

PyeongChang – Women’s 4 x 6 Km Relay: Not very nice on the course for this race, looks like it’s snowing but at least that might moderate the wind? Race is on; Vishnevskaya has fallen early on. On the top part of the course visibility isn’t good – driven snow. Lisa Vittozzi is leading in for S1 – the first prone; Sweden and Korea having problems! Susan Dunklee leads out, possibly inspired by the US team winning gold in the cross country, ahead of Varvynets (UKR), Beaudry (CAN) and Solemdal. Not sure what Franzi Preuß was doing – the graphic showed all her targets down with no spares but she seemed to be hand feeding a spare? It’s a fairly short loop so they are in for S2 – looks windier now? Dunklee has missed her 5th; Preuß is melting down – 1 penalty loop. Vittozzi leads out, ahead of Dunklee and Solemdal – all 1 spare used. Bulgaria and Ukraine also on the penalty loop – Franzi P almost a full minute back. Exchange 1 and Italy lead; USA in 2nd, then Slovakia (who have Kuzmina on leg 2), Norway, France and the Czech Republic. Germany in 12th, a full minute back. At the next split Kuzmina has already made up 8 seconds on Doro, and she’s past Egan; Denise Herrmann has also pulled back 8 seconds; hope she doesn’t push too hard! The snow is getting thicker; in for S3 – Doro has missed her 2nd, and she’s in trouble. Kuzmina used 1 spare (lucky with 1 other target) but she’s away. Doro is doing 2 penalty loops; order after S3 is Kuzmina, Eckhoff (+15.3), Egan, Kaisa M and Jislova (CZE). MDH is 6th, Herrmann up to 8th; Doro down to 13th. Kuzmina cruising into S4, getting a bit of recovery, but she doesn’t look comfortable – 3 misses and 3 spares left; Kaisa has missed her 5th and it’s windy! Lots of people taking ages to get the shots away. The script writers have really gone to town on this one – Doro W is clear this time and she leads out – quite amazing! Kaisa is 2nd, less than a second behind, then Kryuko (BLR), Egan, Gwizdon and Haeki. Herrmann took ages to shoot and sadly still ended up doing 1 loop; she’s 15th, Kuzmina down to 8th. Exchange 2 – Finland lead (Laukkanen, who raced the cross country team sprint last night, on the next leg). Italy 2nd, then Slovakia, USA, Belarus and France. Germany up to 12th, but 1:34 behind. In for S5 and conditions look nasty; Mari Laukkanen has missed her first, Gontier going well but she’s missed 1 as well – no one clear so far! Gontier used 3 spares, but she still leads out, ahead of Poliakova (SVK), Alimbekava (BLR), Gasparin, Laukkanen and Tandrevold. Franzi Hildebrand has also ended up on the penalty loop – she’s out 13th, 1:49.6 back; Germany now (3+9). The wonderfully named J Firesteel Reid (USA) has also done a penalty loop – USA in 9th. Next standing shoot – Gontier has missed her last 2 and she’s on the loop; Norway have 2 loops to do but Firesteel Reid has cleared. This is all very odd – Alimbekava leads out, ahead of Guzik, Poliakova and Gontier. Reid has got USA up to 5th, ahead of Braisaz; Franzi H better this time – 1 spare and out 13th, +1:29.6. Now, with Belarus leading, this could be a real upset – especially with Dasha on the final leg. Just 3 teams haven’t been on the penalty loop! Final exchange – Guzik has flown on the last lap and hands over in the lead – Poland lead ahead of France (great final lap from Braisaz), Italy, Belarus, Slovakia and USA. Franzi H up to 11th, +1:12.2. So, Nowakowska is pulling away slightly from Bescond, but Dasha is up to 3rd and pulling back time. In for the final prone shoot – Nowakowska has missed her first; Dasha has cleared all 5! Dasha leads out, ahead of Bescond, Nowakowska, I Fialkova, Sanfilippo and Cadurisch. Laura Dahlmeier cleared all 5 but so did Olsbu – Laura out 10th but under a minute behind now. Dasha is flying round to the last shoot, gaining a lot of time, but the wind has picked up again. Dasha has missed 3; all 3 spares needed but she’s out, just 6.4 ahead of Anais Bescond, with Hanna Öberg up to 3rd. Laura D used 1 spare, up to 8th, but she has an impossible amount to make up – 41.9 to Dasha and over 30 to bronze. On the lap Öberg has passed Bescond, but neither are gaining on Dasha. Belarus (0+9) win the gold medal [although nul points for flag construction] – brilliant work by Skardino, Kryuko, Alimbekava and Domracheva! Sweden (0+12) get silver – good work by Öberg – with France (0+14) in bronze. Norway 4th, ahead of Slovakia and Switzerland. Germany (3+11) in 8th – Laura the only team member who didn’t do a penalty loop!

PyeongChang – Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km Relay: The final biathlon event from these Olympics! Weather looks a bit better at present than the lottery the women had! I see Samuelsson is in the Swedish team, presumably better now? Same for Simon Schempp, who has the final leg for Germany. First leg started; Christian Gow the early leader, ahead of Desthieux and Dovzan (SLO). Birkeland taking this leg for Norway and Lesser goes for Germany – amazed to hear that Martin Fourcade is going on leg 3, not 4! Apparently the news today about Domracheva isn’t about her record number of biathlon medals but her past in the KGB!! Anyway – in for S1 – Erik Lesser clear and he leads out, ahead of Gow, Anev, Dovzan and Pryma (UKR). Birkeland among those needing 1 spare and poor Wiestner (SUI) is doing 2 penalty loops. Ondre Moravec leading in for S2; wind looks fairly amiable. Leading 4 teams have all needed at least one spare, but Desthieux has melted – 2 penalty loops! Erik Lesser leads out despite needing 1 spare, ahead of Kazar (SVK) and Birkeland; then Pryma, Smolski (BLR) and Femling (SWE); Wiestner has used another 3 spares. France are now 1:18.4 behind as Desthieux leaves the range; Gow and Moravec both used all 3 spares here. First exchange coming up – Lesser’s haircut seems to have inspired him; he’s pulling away on the final lap. Benedikt Doll leads out on leg 2; he has a gap of 18.4 seconds to Hasilla (SVK), then Semenov (UKR), Tarjei Bø, Jesper Nelin and Yaliotnau (BLR). France are 1:48.5 behind at the exchange and the Swiss over 3 minutes adrift. Doll in for S3 – all 5 down before anyone else has a round away; Bø in trouble – 3 targets remaining with 3 spares – he’s done it! So, Doll leads out, ahead of Semenov (+35.7), Eder, and Nelin. Bø in 7th, +49.8; Hasilla needed 3 spares and he’s 8th, Jacquelin clear here but France are still 1:47.9 back. Doll in for his standing shoot – the wind has got up, and he’s missed his 2nd shot, and 1 more – his back position looks awful. Slesingr (CZE) leads out, ahead of Eder, Nelin and Tarjei Bø. Doll has done 2 penalty loops and he’s 5th, +37.8 – did he use all 3 spares though? No asterisk by his name (it’s not an Asterix, Patrick, he’s a Gaul) at present though. Next exchange – Soukup (CZE) leads out ahead of Eberhard (AUT, +16.3), Samuelsson, JoBø and Arnd Peiffer (+37.2). Martin Fourcade out in 12th, +1:43.5. In for the third prone – wind still variable – looks better than last time? Soukup has missed his 5th – 1 spare used so his lead over Johannes Bø, who got all 5 very fast, is just 3.2 seconds as they exit the range; Eberhard 3rd ahead of Samuelsson, Peiffer and Burke. Fourcade also used 1 spare – out 9th +1:39.1. JoBø has got into the lead, and he’s opened a gap of about 10 seconds. In for the standing shoot – wind up again; JoBø has missed his 5th but he got it with 1 spare. Seb Samuelsson clear and out 2nd; Arnd also clear and away 3rd, +12.1. Eberhard has done 2 loops – out 4th but +1:12.7; Soukup in 5th after a loop and Tim Burke used all 3 spares which has cost him time. Martin Fourcade has also done a penalty loop, but he’s 7th as the loop is busy! Final exchange – Svendsen is away just 0.4 ahead of Freddie Lindström with Schempp 3rd, just 13.7 back. Austria 4th, but 1:23.0 back. The wind is getting up again as the leading 3 head for the final prone – Lindström first to strike; he and EHS are clear and out. Schempp needed all 3 spares and he’s lost almost a full minute. Dominik Landertinger has cleared all 5 and he’s out only 40 seconds or so behind Schempp. The leading 2 are cruising around the early part of the lap, but now they’ve increased the work rate – I don’t think EHS wants to lead at present; Schempp isn’t closing a lot and Landertinger has lost a bit. The final shoot – they have both missed the first; Lindström uses 1 spare and he’s away. EHS on the penalty loop – again some discussion about whether he used all 3 spares? Schempp also on the penalty loop, and again the captions seem to indicate he’s not used all 3 – I think it’s a caption error! Landertinger used all 3 spares – this wind really is vicious! After S8 the order is Lindström (0+7 the score for Sweden), EHS (1+12; +40.8), Schempp (3+10; +1:54.8), Landertinger (2+11; +2:40.9), Guigonnat and Nordgren. Well, what an Olympics for the Swedes – they take the final gold of the biathlon events; Norway get silver and Germany the bronze! Looks like Sweden were the only team not to go on the penalty loop; they might need to ask the king to come to all the events! Austria in 4th, ahead of France and USA.

Firstly a quick update - very glad to see that Ester Ledecka, having won the Alpine Super G gold, also won gold in the women's snowboard parallel GS: from Wiki - Ledecká made her Olympic debut in alpine skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics, while also being qualified for alpine snowboarding. She won the gold medal in super-G in alpine skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics in a historic upset. She was visibly shocked after finishing 0.01 seconds ahead of the 2014 Olympics defending gold medalist Anna Veith, who had already been proclaimed the winner by many media outlets. Ledecká was ranked 49th in the event prior to the Olympics and had never medalled in any international skiing event. After victory in the parallel giant slalom she became the first ever female athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in two different sports during the same Winter Olympics. She was chosen as the flag bearer for the Czech Republic at the closing ceremony.

Now, due to complications with "thebeastfromtheeast" I missed Saturday's races, so here's a brief overview and links to the FIS reports:
Kranjska Gora, Men’s GS – Another very impressive win from Marcel Hirscher, ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen and Alexis Pinturault (same order as the Olympics!)  Men's GS

Crans-Montana, Women’s Super G – A win for Tina Weirather, which gives her back the Super G standings lead – she will head into the World Cup finals with a 46 point lead over Lara Gut (7th today). Anna Veith in 2nd in this race ahead of Wendy Holdener – impressive for a technical specialist! Women's Super G.

Kranjska Gora – Men’s Slalom: Run 1. It’s a bit misty and grim there (although not as nasty as it is here); as I joined the coverage, Henrik Kristoffersen, who was 2nd down the hill, is leading from Michael Matt. Fifth to go is Marcel Hirscher – it’s another masterful performance, and he leads by a massive 0.82 margin – Kristoffersen has already left the leader’s chair – what a great sportsman he is! Andre Myhrer into 3rd; Dave Ryding off the pace and he’s currently joint 7th with Luca Aerni, +2.41. Ten away and Hirscher leads from Kristoffersen and Myhrer, Matt in 4th ahead of Gross and Mölgg; Victor M-J is +2.67 and into 10th! Pinturault has straddled, so he’s a DNF. Marco Schwarz is a massive way off the pace - +3.32 – Dave Ryding might well get a second run! Twenty away – no change to the top 6. Now, that’s a good run, especially on the lower section – Clement Noel (start number 22) into 5th place! And, just to prove that reasonable times are still possible – Loic Meillard (23) into 6th. We are into the 30s now – Marc Rochat (SUI) into joint 13th, and he’s the best of the later starters by a good margin. Run 1 over – no late changes to the top 10; Dave Ryding in joint 15th.
Run 2 – apparently another tricky course; Fritz Dopfer first away and safely down. Good effort by Timon Haugen (NOR) to get a second run, after starting number 60 in run 1; bit disappointing this time. Stefan Hadalin (SLO) into the lead; Sandro Simonet (SUI) has taken over.  It’s possible to gain time on the lower section of the course, but it’s tricky so it’s also very easy to lose time, as Trevor Philp found. Ten down and Simonet leads from Holzmann and Hadalin. Victor M-J into 2nd; disappointing run from Luca Aerni, losing over one and a half seconds, and into 12th. That means Dave Ryding is next – he’s gained a bit to inter 1, held it to 2, lost a bit to 3 after a big error and that cost time lower down – only 10th. LKN-Haugen has had an epic at the same spot as Dave R, but Marc Rochat has kept it together and he takes the lead – Switzerland 1 and 2 at present. Ramon Zenhaeusern (SUI) has been gaining time – a very tidy run and he leads what is currently an all Swiss podium! That didn’t last long – Sebastian Foss-Solevaag into 2nd.  TV break time – Zenhaeusern  leads, Hadalin still has the best time on run 2! Mölgg into 4th; Loic Meillard had an error on the flat and that’s it for him – into 12th. Nice run from Clement Noel – he was down at inter 2 but he’s recovered some time and he’s into 2nd place. Michael Matt was losing time; still green at inter 3 but he’s straddled. Andre Myhrer has a full second in hand, but he’s into the red at inter 2 and the end is messy – he’s 22nd, so Zenhaeusern will be on the podium!  Kristoffersen is next – 1.17 in hand and he’s lost almost all of it by inter 2 (-0.15); pulled back a bit by 3 and he’s neat to the finish – he leads by 0.39. Just Marcel Hirscher to go – he’s gained a bit to inter 1; 0.82 becomes 0.95, then 1.25 – he wins by a massive 1.22! That’s his 57th World Cup win, I think, and that means he wins his 7th Overall crystal globe (according to the FIS site) and the Slalom globe too; nice to see genuine congratulations from Henrik Kristoffersen and Ramon Zenhaeusern, who are the rest of the podium. FIS report here

Crans-Montana, Women’s Alpine Combined: Weather is a lot better here for the second, and final, Combined race of this season – a lowered start for the Super G which is the first part of the event; no Vonn or Shiffrin here today. Possibly it’s even a bit too warm? Sofia Goggia the early leader, with Marta Bassino making a pretty impressive recovery to go second, but +1.76; she is replaced by Ricarda Haaser. Federica Brignone into 3rd; here comes Wendy Holdener – she’s into 4th, but only 1.14 off the pace, and she’s a very good slalom skier. Michelle Gisin, the Olympic Combined champion, into 6th, after a couple errors on the final section. Ten away – Goggia leads from Haaser and Brignone. That’s good – Nicol Delago into 2nd and just 0.24 off the lead – she’s happy with that! Another good run from Ragnhild Mowinckel; into 3rd, +0.49; Petra Vlhova into 8th, +1.31 – the slalom run should be interesting! Twenty away – Goggia leads from Delago, Mowinckel, Haaser, Brignone and Holdener. Another good run, this time from Stephanie Brunner – she’s into joint 5th with Brignone;  good start by Johanna Schnarf – well in touch on the early stages, but a couple errors lower down leave her in 9th.  Short interruption for course repairs; well, not that short as it turns out – gate poles aren’t sticking properly! Race back on – Rahel Kopp into 11th; 30 away now and no change to the top 6 since Brunner.
Run 2 – Slalom: Course set by a Norwegian coach. With 10 away there are 2 DNFs; Nadine Fest (AUT) leads from Feierabend and Fest. Michelle Gisin is flying – 0.34 in hand has become 1.57 ahead at the finish; what a run! Priska Nufer into 2nd by just 2 hundredths, ahead of Fest. Now Petra Vlhova has 0.22 in hand – still green at inter 2 but a couple small errors on the soft snow near the finish drop her to 2nd, +0.06. Rahel Kopp into 3rd and then we have a couple speed specialists and a TV break. Now, here’s Wendy Holdener; 0.39 in hand and the favourite today – but her advantage is down to just 0.06 at inter 2 – she’s 3rd; the course really is getting rather rutted! Federica Brignone has also lost quite a bit between inter 2 and the finish, but she’s been more attacking than Holdener and she takes over the lead by 3 hundredths! Five to go – Steph Brunner into 5th; Ricarda Haaser goes 7th. Ragnhild Mowinckel next, and she’s losing time – red at inter 2, and into 6th. Nicol Delago red by inter 1; she’s heavy on the edges and goes 17th – Gisin will get a well-deserved podium place. Just Sofia Goggia to come – 0.91 in hand but she’s red by inter 2 – she ends up 8th! So, the podium is Federica Brignone, ahead of Michelle Gisin (fastest on the slalom) and Petra Vlhova. Wendy Holdener is 4th, which is enough to give her the Combined crystal globe for this season.

Kontiolahti – Men’s 10 Km Sprint: Joined this a bit late – just as Tsvetkov became the first to finish – no Martin Fourcade today apparently (DNS, but not sure why; rather last minute I gather), but OEB is here vice Svendsen who is ill! 37 of 100 starters through S1 – JoBø fastest there at present, with all 5 clear, ahead of Shipulin (+6.8), Lapshin and Rastorgujevs (+9.9). Arnd Peiffer best German after S1 in 5th, but he’s missed 1 at S2. After S2 Anton Shipulin is 10/10 and 11 seconds faster than Rastorgujevs (who is also 10/10 but not skiing as fast as normal). JoBø is in for S2; just 10 seconds to the first shot – and he’s missed 2 here! Erik Lesser at S1 and clear – just 4.9 slower than Bø. Shipulin on his final lap, hoping to beat Rastorgujevs time – he’s over the line 5.8 seconds ahead, with QFM in 3rd at present. Back at S2 JoBø has finished his 2 penalty loops – out 4th, +22.3; he’s actually lost a tiny bit by 8.2 Km. At present Anton Shipulin (0,0) leads at the finish, ahead of Andrejs Rastorgujevs (0,0; +5.8, and he lost a good 3 seconds forgetting his glasses and going back for them) and QFM (0,0); Arnd Peiffer (0,1) in 4th ahead of Schempp (1,1) and Hofer (0,1). Now, back at the first time check Samuelsson was fast, but he’s missed 1 at S1 and the same at S2; Erik Lesser has missed his last shot at S2 so he’s out 6th, +29.3. JoBø has finished – he’s 4th at the moment; Desthieux into 6th and Lesser 7th. Simon Fourcade seems to have injured something (or is it a ski problem?); not sure what happened there; meanwhile back at the start one Ole Einar Bjørndalen has started! At S1 L’Abee-Lund is clear and +15.0; Simon Fourcade is at S2 – so whatever the problem was it’s been fixed – he’s cleared all 10 but that snag (technical/kit?) has cost him time and he’s over a minute back. OEB has cleared at S1; out 17th, +19.3; Eliseev was clear at S1 but he’s missed 3 at S2. L’Abee-Lund over the line in 11th after missing 1 at S2; however OEB is 10/10 and leaves the range in 5th, +23.7, after some really impressive, fast shooting. Roman Rees 10/10 after S2, but +51.2; OEB is losing time on the lap, he’s over the line in 12th, +40.4, just behind L’Abee-Lund! That’s it – Anton Shipulin wins the sprint, his 11th World Cup win, from Rastorgujevs and QFM; JoBø in 4th, ahead of Peiffer and Desthieux; OEB in 12th. Julian Eberhard fastest around the tracks and second fastest on the range, but he missed 5 targets (3,2). JoBø 2nd fastest ahead of Schempp, Rastorgujevs, Peiffer and Desthieux. Lapshin best on the range, ahead of Eberhard, Lesser, Birkeland, OEB and JoBø.

Kontiolahti – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint: Looks a bit windy, and it’s snowing too – looks like Eurosport aren’t joining coverage until 1700 (local) – 15 mins after the start – so on the IBU feed at present, with normal commentary! Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold is the first away; Lena Haecki (SUI) is the early leader, at 1.1 Km. Tandrevold in for S1 – she’s missed her first shot, and 3 more; Haecki has missed 1, Hauser 2 and Kryuko (BLR) is the first to clear all 5; Vishnevskaya (KAZ) has joined her and she’s a little faster out of the range. MDH also clear and faster but Tachizaki (JPN) is faster still! Dasha is away, and so is Laura Dahlmeier; Franzi Preuß has just gone fastest at S1 – until Dasha goes clear and leaves the range 8 seconds faster – very good, quick shooting! Laura D has missed her first, but the rest are down – out 10th, +29.0. The early starters are at S2 – Kryuko clear again, and MDH is also 10/10 and 11.5 faster, despite quite slow shooting. Back at S1 Lisa Vittozzi is clear and even faster than Domracheva; Tachizaki has missed 2 at S2. Back at 1.1 Km Tiril Eckhoff is flying, just ahead of Dunklee and Doro Wierer. Doro is in for S1 – she’s missed 1 while Franzi Preuß has missed 2 at S2. Dasha is going well at S2 – but she’s missed her final shot – even so out 14.1 ahead of MDH. Tiril Eckhoff clear at S1 and ahead of Dasha’s time; Laura D clear at S2 and out 15.1 behind Dasha. Nadezhda Skardino (BLR) has just gone 10/10, and out +9.2 – great effort! Commentary team say Martin F was a DNS yesterday because of gastric flu (or similar), while his brother apparently has vertigo! Anyway – at S2 Vittozzi has gone (0,1) but she’s faster than Dasha! Kuzmina at S1 – she’s missed her first, and 1 more; on the lap both Skardino and Dahlmeier are losing a bit of time; Vittozzi now just behind Dasha’s time. Kaisa Mäkäräinen has also missed 1 at S1; Eckhoff in for S2 – she’s missed 3! At the finish Dasha (0,1) leads, from Laura D (1,0) and MDH (0,0); Skardino over the line in 4th. Lisa Vittozzi (0,1) is in – despite that miss she’s in 2nd at present – very fast skiing! Looking back at S2 – Yuliia Dzhima is 10/10 and out 3rd, +7.8 – Vita Semerenko has taken over that place, and she’s just 0.7 behind Dasha! Kuzmina has missed 2 more at S2; Öberg has missed 1 and so has Kaisa. However, Franzi Hildebrand is 10/10 and she’s 16.4 faster than Vittozzi – but can she get around the final lap quickly enough? At the finish Dzhima has just come in 3rd, with Vita going 5th. Veronika Vitková is also 10/10 and she’s going well on the final lap too; Franzi H holding on to the lead, and I’ve lost all coverage! I’ve got it back – Franzi H is fading, can’t manage a sprint and she’s lost the win by just 0.5! So, at present Domracheva leads, Franzi Hildebrand (who lost 8 seconds between 6.8 Km and the finish) in 2nd, then Vittozzi, Dzhima, Dahlmeier and Vitková. Kaisa is currently 9th, and Kuzmina (2,2) 28th – the overall globe is going to be interesting (I bet none of the main contenders will boycott Tyumen!)! Right, that’s it – Darya Domracheva takes the win, Franzi Hildebrand in 2nd and Lisa Vittozzi 3rd; Dzhima 4th ahead of Laura D and Vitková; Kaisa in 10th (dropped 1 place by Maren Hammerschmidt going into 9th); Doro (1,1) in 18th, Tiril Eckhoff (0,3) in 19th, and Kuzmina in 30th. Dasha fastest around the course, just ahead of Kuzmina, Eckhoff and Mäkäräinen; Lisa Vittozzi fastest on the range, ahead of Cadurisch and Elisa Gasparin.

Kontiolahti – Single Mixed relay: Sadly I missed this one too; great effort by Antonin Guigonnat to clear his final 5 in great style to take the win with his partner Anais Chevalier. Julian Eberhard (partnered by Lisa Theresa Hauser) pulled away from a  tiring JoBø (who wasn’t helped by Marte Olsbu picking up a penalty) on the final lap to get 2nd place for Austria, with Norway third. Ukraine were 4th, ahead of Russia and Italy. IBU report HERE

Kontiolahti – Mixed relay (2 x 6 Km, 2 x 7.5 Km): Back in time for this one though – Doro Wierer the early leader ahead of Skardino and Franzi Hildebrand. Coming in for S1 it’s Nadezhda Skardino leading – wind doesn’t look as bad as yesterday? Doro has missed 3 – lots of misses showing on the graphics. Raikova (KAZ) leads out, ahead of Marie Dorin Habert, then Egan, Mun (KOR), Merkushyna (UKR) and Kaisheva (RUS). Doro has cleared after using all 3 spares and is out in 17th, +21.7. I can’t see anyone doing a penalty loop; looked like Solemdal getting a new pole as they start up that nasty climb? Into S2 with Egan leading from MDH and Franzi H (surely exhausted after yesterday’s sprint?). Merkushyna (0+0) clear here and she leads out ahead of Raikova (0+1) and Kaisheva (0+2); MDH needed 2 spares, but is out 5th. Doro needed 3 spares this time too and she’s 11th; Franzi H ended up doing 1 loop and she’s 17th, just ahead of Egan, who also did a loop; Gasparin has done 2 loops and Puskarčíková 3. Doro is making up time on the last loop, P Fialkova (SVK) gaining and MDH is also flying. First exchange Slovakia lead form France (+0.9) and Russia; then BLR/JPN/ITA (+17.9); Norway 8th and Germany 16th, +57.3 (1+4) – I thought Franzi H might be a bad choice after such a hard effort yesterday! So, next leg and Anais Bescond leads from I Fialkova, then Virolainen (RUS), Pisareva (BLR) and Vittozzi. Tiril Eckhoff up to just 12.5 behind – next prone shoot – and Bescond is away after 1 spare; Vittozzi also using 1 but out 2nd ahead of Virolainen , Fialkova and Eckhoff (also 1 spare). Franzi Preuß  (Germany now 1+5) is 11th, but 1:08.0 back; Öberg among those on the loop this time. On the lap Tiril Eckhoff is up to 3rd; Preuß  among those losing time. Final standing shoot for the women – the light has changed; Italy have missed 3, France 3 as well and Bescond and Vittozzi are on the penalty loop (2 loops and 1 respectively)! Eckhoff has managed to avoid the loop but needed all 3 spares. So, Virolainen (0+4)  leads out, ahead of Fialkova (0+5), and Semerenko (0+1); then Vittozzi, Eckhoff and Klimina (KAZ). Bescond (2+6) in 7th; Preuß  (1+7) in 9th, +59.2. Second exchange – Slovakia lead from Russia, Ukraine, Norway (+3.2 – good work Tiril!), and Italy. By the next timing point L’Abee-Lund has got Norway into the lead, ahead of Pryma (UKR), Bartko (SVK), Malyshko, Windisch (+5.6) and Desthieux (+48.6).  The leading group of 5 are coming in for S5; wind might be a bit stronger? Malyshko clear and he leads out; Pryma uses 1  and out 2nd, L’Abee-Lund 3rd (1 spare, +13.0).  Then Windisch (+20.5), Desthieux (+53.4) and Lesser. Nelin and Bartko also in touch. That hill looks a beast; Malyshko looking good though, Nelin past Lesser but places 5 – 8 are close. Next standing shoot – Malyshko has cleared 4 quickly but he’s having trouble with the final one; Pryma leads out, ahead of L’Abee-Lund and Windisch (+2.2). Malyshko 4th (+7.0), ahead of Nelin (+39.1), and Desthieux (+45.9). Erik Lesser in 7th, +51.5 but then there’s a gap of over 30 seconds to BLR/SVK/KAZ/AUT. The final exchange – Italy (1+12) marginally ahead of Norway (0+8), Russia (0+7) and Ukraine (0+2; +4.6). Sweden in 5th, ahead of France and Erik Lesser has lost ground after that hill – Germany in 7th, +1:07.0. It’s snowing a bit harder as Lukas Hofer takes over, ahead of Tarjei Bø, with Tsvetkov and Pidruchnyi close behind. Samuelsson +33.7 back, ahead of QFM and Doll, who is losing time (ski prep problems today?). The final prone shoot – leading 4 all clear this time, some faster than others! Tsvetkov leads out ahead of Hofer, Pidruchnyi and Bø (+5.0). QFM clear but he’s lost time – out 5th, +1:04.4 just a second ahead of Benedikt Doll, who was also clear. Samuelsson had problems with his manual feed – he used all 3 spares, and out 7th, +1:14.5 – then a gap of almost another minute to the chasing pack. Leading 4 all very close on the lap; quite slow into the final shoot – Pidruchnyi (1 spare) leads out ahead of Tarjei Bø (1), Hofer (1) and Tsvetkov (0). QFM clear and away +39.9, but Doll is doing a penalty loop – he’s out just 2 seconds ahead of Samuelsson. Leading 4 fighting for the final loop – now the pace is hotting up! I think Tsvetkov might get dropped here; Hofer leads at 6.8 Km from Pidruchnyi and Bø (+1.2); Tsvetkov +5.5. Italy take the win, Ukraine in 2nd and Norway 3rd. Russia in 4th, with France a distant 5th, then Sweden and Germany.

Ofterschwang Women’s GS: Missed this one so here is the FIS report: Norwegian double Olympic silver medallist Ragnhild Mowinckel claimed her maiden World Cup victory at the Ofterschwang giant slalom on Friday. Leading after the first run, the Attacking Viking skied her second run with all green lights to secure her career-first win in her third World Cup podium appearance. Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany kept the home fans happy with her second-place finish, and Mikaela Shiffrin moved up from fourth after the first run to finish on the podium in third.
With Shiffrin's podium finish, the American mathematically clinched her second career World Cup Overall crystal globe holding a 603-point lead over Wendy Holdener with only five scoring races left on the calendar. Rebensburg inched closer to her third giant slalom title and leads Tessa Worley by 92 points heading into the final race of the season in Sweden.
Warm temperatures were of concern for athletes in the morning, but they raved about the effective slope preparation which provided a fair surface despite spring-like conditions. Ricarda Haaser of Austria scored a career-best result in fourth place with bib 23. The top-25 ranked giant slalom skiers, along with World Junior Champion Julia Scheib of Austria, are now eligible to compete in the final giant slalom of the season next week.  The FIS report in full is HERE

Ofterschwang Women’s slalom: Out again and missed both runs, sadly. Synopsis - First run complete – Mikaela Shiffrin leads by 0.30 from Katharina Gallhuber and Bernadette Schild, with Frida Hansdotter in 4th just ahead of Wendy Holdener and Petra Vlhova. Looks like it was an exciting second run too – sad I missed it! Looks like Nastassia Noens (24th in run 1) had a good run – she ended up 17th in the end. Gallhuber and Schild both had rather disappointing second runs; Petra Vlhova took over the lead, to be replaced by Wendy Holdener, who had the fastest time for run 2. Frida Hansdotter went second to separate those two, and that just left Mikaela Shiffrin – the third best time on run 2 was just enough for her to take the win from Holdener, but only by 0.09! So, Shiffrin wins from Holdener and Hansdotter; Vlhova 4th ahead of Gallhuber and Schild.  As far as I can see that gives Shiffrin the slalom globe for this year (she is on 814 points) ahead of Hansdotter (639) and Holdener (552). Confirmed by the FIS – that’s Mikaela’s 5th slalom globe!
FIS report on this one HERE

Kvitfjell – Men’s Downhill:  At last - one I did see! Fairly crucial as Aksel Lund Svindal is 40 points behind Beat Feuz in the downhill standings! Svindal goes number 3, Feuz 5 – Vincent Kriechmayr has got the race started; he’s safely down but there were a couple errors. Snow conditions are a bit difficult today, despite all the work by the team here. Johan Clarey has had a problem at the start, catching a pole; he’s good on the lower section but ends up 0.16 slower than Kriechmayr. Here comes Svindal – into the red at inter 2 but he’s recovered a little by 3 despite a mistake and is just green at 4 – a superb lower section and he leads by 0.50.  Mauro Caviezel is next – nicely green at inter 2, but he’s losing ground a little – red at inter 4 and he goes 2nd, +0.30. No time to get on the radio as Feuz is already away – he too is green at inter 2 and has fractionally improved by 3; still holding on at inter 4 and 5 – he’s lost a little and is slower through the final sped gun, but he’s got just enough to take the lead by 0.09. This might need a further race to resolve the globe – just one more in this season. That gives Feuz a margin of 60 points if the places stay the same! Dominik Paris into 4th; Christof Innerhofer is more in touch – he goes 3rd, 0.24 off Beat Feuz’s time. Next is Kjetil Jansrud, who has won here twice before – it’s his local resort too! He’s green at inter 2, but he’s slipped into the red at 5 – there’s an upset – he’s lost time on the final section and goes 3rd. Ten away – Feuz leads from Svindal and Jansrud. Matthias Mayer next, and in touch but he’s fallen – luckily nothing serious and he’s on his feet and skiing down. Brice Roger was only slightly in the red until the final section where he lost time to go 8th. Thomas Dressen has just got into the green by inter 3; still there at 4 but slightly red again at 5 – fantastic lower section and he leads by 0.08! Great effort – he’s understandably delighted; that doesn’t change the potential points gap between Feuz and Svindal though! Kilde is risking a lot and looking very powerful but it isn’t working for him – into 13th. Good start by Adrien Theaux, but just red at inter 3 and 4 – he’s lost a bit on the final section though and goes 7th.  Twenty away now – Dressen leads from Feuz and Svindal – then Jansrud, Innerhofer and Caviezel. And that was how the top 6 positions remained; good late run by Ben Thomsen (CAN) to get 16th place from start number 53. Good prospects for the final downhill! FIS report

AND FINALLY - Congratulations to Millie Knight and her guide Brett Wild for getting a silver medal in the visually impaired women’s downhill at the Winter Paralympics.

Kvitfjell – Men’s Super G: The penultimate Super G – Jansrud, on 260 points, leads the standings by 46 points from Svindal, with Kriechmayr a further 14 points back; Reichelt (186), Franz (172) and Mayer (160) are among those with a mathematical chance of getting the globe! Dominik Paris is the first away today; big error on the entry to the Tommy Moe turn – his time should be beaten fairly quickly? Yes, Thomas Dressen is next away and he leads by 0.83. Kilde next, the first of the locals; great start, slightly red at inter 2, green at 3, red at 4 and he goes 2nd, +0.48. Hannes Reichelt (poor old chap – Nick tells us he’s 37) is green at inter 1 and he’s building on his advantage – lost a tiny but lower down, but he takes the lead by 0.10. Good run from Christof Innerhofer – he’s into 3rd; now it’s Svindal’s turn. Great start, but then a huge upset – wrong line into the jump – no room to correct and he’s missed a gate – DNF and no points! Now – Kjetil Jansrud on track – 0.33 in the green at inter 1 and he’s building ; lost a little and slower through the final speed gun but he goes into the lead by 0.47 – I think Nick Fellowes will be hoarse tomorrow! Nice to see Svindal congratulating Jansrud at the finish. The light is getting tricky – flatter now. That’s 10 away – Jansrud leads from Reichelt and Dressen. Matthias Mayer first after the TV break – red at 1 and 2, but he’s skied through a gate, under the flag – very elegant but that’s a DNF. The sunshine is back – Andreas Sander into 4th, just 0.01 behind Dressen! Vincent Kriechmayr next and red at inter 1 – quite slow through the first speed gun too – he’s “only” 5th. Beat Feuz in the red all the way, but not by a lot – he’s into 2nd place, +0.22. That’s very good news for Jansrud as it means he can’t be beaten in the Super G standings if he retains the lead! Not over yet though – Mauro Caviezel also slightly red all the way and into 3rd, Reichelt off the podium! Max Franz is really pushing it – maybe too much aggression; quite wild stuff and he’s joint 5th. Twenty away – Jansrud leads from Feuz and Caviezel; Reichelt in 4th ahead of Franz and Dressen who are tied in 5th. Martin Cater started well, really in touch, but he’s lost the line and missed a gate. Sejersted is going well, red all the way but nicely in touch and he goes 3rd – huge PB for him! Manuel Osborne-Paradis on track now – that’s a good run and he’s into 4th! That’s the 30 – Jansrud leads from Feuz and Sejersted; then Manny O-P, Caviezel, and Reichelt. I think most of us thought that was it, but Brice Roger had other ideas; starting number 49 he managed to beat Sejersted’s time by just one one hundredth to steal the final podium place! So, Kjetil Jansrud wins, head of Feuz and Roger; Sejersted 4th ahead of Manny O-P and Caviezel. That puts Jansrud on 360 points in the Super standings, ahead of Reichelt (222), Kriechmayr (220) and Svindal (214) with just 100 points left to claim – I think that’s his third Super G globe. Anyway - well done to Kjetil Jansrud!!

Kontiolahti – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start: I see Martin Fourcade is back after his gastro-enteritis; not sure how fit he will be. Also interesting to see how fit JoBø will be after the single mixed relay – he looks OK early on. The early pace is rather pedestrian; no one seems keen to really ramp things up! Bit faster heading in for S1 – Fourcade has missed his first, and 1 more; couple others also missing 2 including Lapshin, Krcmar, Birkeland and Weger. Anton Shipulin leads out, ahead of Desthieux, Schempp, Peiffer, Doll and JoBø. All very close though – 10 seconds covering the top 15. On the lap JoBø is back in the lead, Martin F some 42 seconds back; very close at the front still. In for S2 – second prone; Desthieux has missed 2, JoBø has missed his 5th. Quite a few misses here, but Benedikt Doll is clear and leads out, ahead of Peiffer, Eberhard, Bailey, Moravec and Fak – all 10/10. JoBø is 7th, +24.0; Schempp also missed 1 and he’s 12th – Martin F clear that time and 15th, +39.2. Johannes up to 4th on the lap, Fourcade in 10th. In for the first standing shoot – the lead 3 have eased back a bit; Peiffer has cleared again and he leads out; Eberhard has missed 1 – so has Doll, out 2nd and 3rd, ahead of Shipulin who was clear this time – Martin F clear and up to 5th, +22.1. JoBø has missed 2 – he’s out 13th, +54.7; poor OEB has missed 3 this time and Kühn 4! I can only see 2 perfect scores at present; Arnd and Krasimir Anev. Schempp (0,1,2) is down in 17th, over a minute back. Fourcade up to 3rd on the lap; Eberhard has closed a little on Peiffer but Martin F is closing on him too! Final shoot – Peiffer has missed his 2nd and 3rd; Martin F has cleared the lot (2,0,0,0) and he leads out. Anton Shipulin (0,1,0,0) is 2nd (+4.9), Eberhard (0,0,1,1) 3rd with Erik Lesser (0,1,0,0) up to 4th, ahead of Doll and Peiffer. JoBø is having a bad day – (0,1,2,2) and 20th as he leaves the range, +1:24.6. On the lap Anton Shipulin has closed right down on Martin F and Eberhard has also gained ground; can’t see any of the chasing Germans catching those three. At 14.3 Km Martin F is just 0.7 ahead of Shipulin; Eberhard has closed to +4.2; 16 seconds back to the Germans who look set to take places 4 to 6. Shipulin has fallen, and Eberhard is through into the lead. Julian Eberhard wins, Martin F is second and Shipulin 3rd. Eberhard has apologised to Shipulin on the line, so I guess he feels guilty about something – clash of skis, ski on pole? Looked like a racing incident; very easy to clash when you are so close! Benedikt Doll in 4th, ahead of Lesser and Peiffer. JoBø (0,1,2,2) in 19th; Bjørndalen (0,1,3,2) in 28th. Poor Johannes Kühn (2,0,4,4) is 29th, somehow ahead of Leif Nordgren who had 6 penalties. Martin F fastest around the course, ahead of Eberhard and Schempp; Birkeland quickest on the range, ahead of Lapshin and Eberhard.

Kontiolahti – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start: I can’t see this in the Eurosport listings – just 30 mins of highlights later this evening, so back to the IBU feed, hoping that it includes commentary. Well, that doesn’t look like a pedestrian pace; race is on and sadly there doesn’t seem to be a commentary. I understand Franzi H is having a spat with Franzi Preuß, who is a bit miffed about comments that H made after the Olympics, although given her (Hildebrand’s) penalty loop yesterday she might want to keep a rather lower profile in interviews! At 1.8 Km Kuzmina leads, but only 10 seconds or so separates the top 14. In for S1 – wind similar to conditions in the men’s race – Italians going well, Lisa Vittozzi leads out, just ahead of Doro Wierer, then Hinz, Dahlmeier, Öberg and Chevalier – all clear. Dasha in 7th, +6.6 – all clear to 18th position, then Kaisa (1 loop); Kuzmina has missed 2 and is 28th, +41.3, but Martin F started like that too! On the lap Dasha has taken over the lead, ahead of Laura D, then Vittozzi, Hinz and Wierer. Both Kaisa and Kuzmina are making up time – in for the second prone shoot. Laura has missed her 5th here and Dasha has also missed 1; Vittozzi leads out, ahead of Hinz, Chevalier, Öberg, Maren Hammerschmidt, and Franzi H – all 10/10. Kaisa up to 8th, +24.0; Dasha 10th, Laura D is 11th (+29.1) and Kuzmina has missed 2 more (+1:22.0). Maren H is leading on the loop, but of course she hasn’t raced so much recently (not sure why the German team didn’t put her in the relay yesterday!). In for the first standing shoot – rats; Maren has missed 2, so has Öberg; Dasha and Kaisa 1 each – video feed a bit flaky so I’m missing a couple crucial (??) things! Right, Vanessa Hinz leads out, fractionally ahead of Anais Chevalier and Lisa Vittozzi – 0.8 seconds between the three of them! Franzi H in 4th but +24.9 despite her 15/15, then Olsbu and Bescond. Dasha (0,1,1) is 9th, +39.1; Kaisa (1,0,1) 10th and Laura D (0,1,1) 14th, +53.6. Of the other names MDH (1,0,2) is in 19th, just ahead of Kuzmina (2,2,1), +1:39.6. On the lap Dasha is up to 4th – and now just 22.6 behind the leader – currently Vittozzi – an amazing amount to make up! Final shoot – Chevalier has missed her 5th, and Vittozzi has also missed 1, as has Laura D; Dasha has missed 3, Hildebrand 2. As they leave the range Vanessa Hinz (0,0,0,0) still leads, and she has 23.6 advantage over Chevalier (0,0,0,1), then it’s Vittozzi (0,0,0,1), Kaisa M (1,0,1,1) and Öberg (0,0,2,0), +55.3. I think they are safe from Olsbu and Dahlmeier, although Laura is making up a little time. At 11.8 Km Vanessa Hinz leads by 25.4, and Lisa Vittozzi has just got past Anais C. Kaisa has made up a little but I can’t see her getting on the podium. Nessa has eased off; she takes the win and understandably looks delighted; pretty sure that’s her first World Cup win – Lisa V in 2nd (she’s having a good finish to the season) and Anais Chevalier 3rd. Kaisa getting useful points in 4th. Laura D (0,1,1,1) in 7th – I had hoped she might get past Olsbu, but it didn’t happen; Dasha (0,1,1,3) in 10th, Kuzmina (2,2,1,1) 16th and MDH (1,0,2,0) 18th. Darya Domracheva fastest around the course, ahead of Kaisa and Kuzmina, with Laura D 4th, 4 seconds ahead of Maren H. Doro Wierer fastest on the range (but 0,3,1,0), ahead of Chevalier and Hinz.

Åre – Women’s Downhill (14 Mar): This should have been the second race of the day, but as the men’s race was delayed it was “ladies first”. Sadly I missed it live – all very close; Lindsey Vonn takes the win (her 82nd?) by just 6 hundredths from Sofia Goggia with Alice McKennis third, Vikki Rebensburg in 4th ahead of Jasmine Flury and Johanna Schnarf. That puts Sofia Goggia just 3 points clear of Vonn in the discipline standings, with Weirather 3rd, 115 points back; and that’s the final downhill of the season – well done Sofia Goggia! FIS report

Åre – Men’s Downhill (14 Mar): Well, not a good start – the event is postponed due to weather conditions, so it looks as though I’ll miss live coverage! Actually, because of the delay, I did get to see some of it! I joined coverage as Beat Feuz started; at this stage Thomas Dressen leads from Adrien Theaux and Hannes Reichelt. Feuz is slightly green all the way, and he leads by 0.20 – that could well win him the title! Johan Clarey into 3rd and now it’s Aksel Lund Svindal – he’s in the red zone - +0.27 at inter 2, but he’s getting some of it back – fastest through the final gun but he’s into 2nd just 0.08 back. That gives Feuz the globe, I think (Feuz 722; Svindal 642 at present), and the bad weather is coming back. It doesn’t seem to be affecting Vincent Kreichmayr though – brilliant upper section to be 0.34 ahead at inter 1 – he’s lost a little on the rest of the run but that was enough of an advantage to take the lead by just 4 hundredths! (Standings now 702/642). Kjetil Jansrud starts 15th – he isn’t looking that in touch by his standards – red all the way and he’s just 7th.
Kilde off the pace but Matthias Mayer is much more in touch – red to inter 3 but a great lower section – he’s tied with Kriechmayr’s time – as Nick Fellowes said “we’ve waited all season for an Austrian victory and now we have two” (or something like that!). Poor Emanuele Buzzi – nice run and well in touch but he’s crashed out in sight of the finish – possibly on for a top 5; luckily he’s up and seems OK. Maybe not over yet – good run from Max Muzaton –can’t quite get into the top 5 but that’s a well-deserved 6th. And, that’s pretty much how it ended – well done Beat Feuz for his downhill globe, and to Kriechmayr and Mayer for their joint win!
FIS report

Åre – Women’s Super G: Hmmm; start postponed today too- only by 15 mins at present though! Right – the race is on, with a lowered start, and Ragnhild Mowinckel is first away; looks tricky? It’s snowing a little and apparently very cold (minus 17 in the finish area!) – visibility not good on the upper sections either; Corinne Suter looked good but she’s missed the top spot by just 0.02 – into 2nd. Schnarf very close to missing a gate; just about made it! Jasmine Flury wasn’t so lucky – she did miss the same gate – first DNF. Anna Veith away next and she’s better on the upper sections – green all the way and she takes the lead by 0.43. Joana Haehlen nicely in touch and she’s putting it all on the line - into 2nd; Tina Weirather green at inter 1, 2 and 3, and she takes the lead by 0.12; looking very good for the Super G globe!! However – Michelle Gisin is into the green despite being unlucky with the weather – she’s gaining time in the gusty conditions and takes the lead by a very impressive 0.33; a massive PB! Stephanie Venier into 4th; that’s 10 away – Gisin leads from Weirather and Veith. Now, Lara Gut is the only one who can stop Tina W getting the globe – she’s fallen at that tricky top gate/turn – she’s come to rest by a large, inflatable purple cow, which is surely adding insult to DNF. She is standing up and luckily seems unhurt, but Tiffany Gauthier is in trouble on the same turns – good recovery but she’s missed a gate lower down as a result and joins the DNFs. Good run from Federica Brignone, especially on the final sections – she’s into 2nd place. Tippler has also crashed on that nasty turn/gate – she’s up and skiing down safely. Vikki Rebensburg is flying after a slightly diffident start – green by inter 2 and she leads by a very impressive 0.43! Sofia Goggia is also going well – really on impressive form at present and she is green all the way (on a course set by an Italian coach) – she takes the lead! So, Goggia leads from Rebensburg and Gisin. Now, it’s Lindsey Vonn – she’s over half a second in the red by inter 2 after one error, and that gap is staying – she’s 3rd! Tina Weirather down to 6th at present, but with Gut’s DNF she’s got the Super G globe wrapped up whatever happens. The weather seems to be improving – the snow has stopped and the light is better; just one racer to come, and it’s Ester Ledecka – she was nicely in touch but, she too has missed a gate. That’s it – Goggia wins from Rebensburg and Vonn – well done Sofia! Gisin in 4th ahead of Brignone and Weirather. Tina Weirather takes the discipline crystal globe, for the second year running.

Åre – Men’s Super G: Seems to be a slight delay for this one too! Weather looking OK, although it must still be very cold – Matthias Mayer the first away – lots of terrain on this course too – quite a short race due to the weather! Max Franz takes over the lead, by just 0.01! Here goes Kriechmayr – he’s nicely green early on; almost perfect and he leads – is that enough for the double? They’re getting the racers away as fast as possible – the forecast is that the weather will deteriorate. Hannes Reichelt into 2nd; Thomas Dressen has taken over that place – potentially his first podium in Super G? Kjetil Jansrud next – he’s already clinched the Super G globe – no podium today though, into 4th. Here’s Svindal – at inter 2 he’s well in touch – he goes joint 2nd with Dressen, +0.08. He doesn’t keep that place long though as next away is Christof Innerhofer, and he goes into 2nd, +0.04 – all very close! That could be a season PB for Innerhofer. So, almost half way and Vincent K leads from Innerhofer, Svindal and Dressen. That’s how it ended – best of the later runners arguably Mauro Caviezel, from start 22 into 7th; nice to see Marcel Hirscher competing – he ended up 10th, +0.43, gaining another 26 points for the overall, which he’s won for the 7th successive year! So, Vincent Kriechmayr gets his second win in two days, avoiding sharing it with Christof Innerhofer by just 4 hundredths! Aksel Lund Svindal in joint 3rd with Thomas Dressen (what a good end to his season he’s having!) ahead of Reichelt and Jansrud.

Holmenkollen – Women’s Sprint: On at the same time as the Men’s Super G from Åre, which makes for a scheduling problem! I think I’ll watch biathlon live and try to catch the Men’s Super G on highlights. Race is on – Lena Haecki first away, Laura Dahlmeier going early – start number 3. Laukkanen and Vitková also away early, and both quick to the first timing point. Haecki in for S1, one miss and a bit lucky with the 5th as well; Laura D has missed 2 – bit unlucky as both looked split rounds, but that has lost her 57 seconds or so. Kuzmina very fast to the first timing point – Vittozzi is clear at S1 and quickest there at present. Susan Dunklee also clear at S1, and she leads out at present. Kuzmina, whose fantastic pace continues to worry me, has missed 1 at S1 – still out in 4th, just +3.4 and over 30 seconds faster than anyone else with a miss! Yurlova in for S2 and she’s 10/10 – very nice shooting. MDH clear at S1 – I think I saw a report that this will be her final season? Veronika Vitková has missed her final shot at S2 – pity; Doro Wierer has just cleared S1 and she’s fastest there at present. Laura D clear at S2 but she hasn’t recovered any time. Kaisa M has missed her first and last at S1; Susan Dunklee has just gone 10/10 and she’s faster than Yurlova after S2; Kuzmina clear here – pity! Even with 1 miss Kuzmina is 19.2 faster than Dunklee (0,0), and 43.1 faster than the next athlete with 1 miss. Dasha clear at S1, and just off Doro’s time; Mona Brorsson also well in touch there. MDH in for S2 – very slow shooting and she’s missed her 10th; Doro has missed 3 here! Kaisa is (2,2) after S2 – disappointing day for her. Dasha is clear again – 10/10 but still 12.6 slower than Kuzmina after S2. The wind seems to be picking up, but Yuliia Dzhima has gone 10/10, and out just ahead of Dasha. Franzi H clear at S1, but Tiril Eckhoff has missed 2. Dasha is gaining a bit of time on her final lap but I don’t think there is enough distance left for her to make up all the gap –no, she’s still 8.9 behind Kuzmina, despite shooting clear. Currently Kuzmina leads, ahead of Dasha with Dzhima just coming in third as I type; Dunklee off the podium – and she isn’t going to Tyumen because of the history of Russian doping! Germans not having a good day – Hinz, Dahlmeier and Preuß all with 2 penalties, Hammerschmidt and Herrmann with 4 each. Some good news is that Franzi H is clear, but she doesn’t seem to have the speed, especially on the last lap, this season – she was looking as though she might get Dunklee, but she’s lost time and finishes behind both Dunklee and Tachizaki . Tiril Eckhoff at S2 and she’s (2,2), same as Denise Herrmann; Hilde Fenne quite fast into S1, but she’s missed 1 – Norway also having a poor day. At present Kuzmina leads from Domracheva and Dzhima, Dunklee 4th ahead of Tachizaki and Hildebrand. I think that might be it – Linn Persson might have done something after being just 9.8 behind after S1, but she too has missed 2 at S2. That’s it – no change to the top 6. Cadurisch again quickest on the range, ahead of Kaisheva, Toivanen and Preuß; Kuzmina fastest on the course, ahead off Dasha and Kaisa, then Denise Herrmann and Maren Hammerschmidt.

Holmenkollen – Men’s Sprint: Right – the race is on – a few flakes of snow around but the wind doesn’t look too bad; poor start by Simon Schempp who has caught his pole on the start gate! Hmm - the snow is getting a bit heavier, with only the first half dozen or so away. Bjøntegaard in for S1; snowing still but light winds and he’s clear and it’s fast shooting too. Schempp is in and he’s missed 2, both on the right (just like Laura D). Dmytro Pidruchnyi (UKR) clear and briefly fastest – Garanichev 5.4 better! Samuelsson even better and Weger also nicely in touch. Back on the lap Martin F has broken a pole, which has cost him at least 8 seconds; Lapshin clear at S1 and away in the lead. Martin F clear at S1 and out 5.1 behind Lapshin, with Doll in 3rd at present. Bjøntegaard has gone 10/10, but his ski speed is a bit lacking. Klemen Bauer clear at S1 and with good ski speed too; at S2 Garanichev is 10/10 and out in the lead, but only 5.7 ahead of Hofer (1,0). That’s good shooting by Julian Eberhard, but Timofei Lapshin is even quicker and leads after S1. At S2 Samuelsson has missed 1; Schempp is (2,2) – not good! Anton Shipulin has shot well, and quickly, at S2 – out just 4.3 behind Garanichev – but Martin F has gone 10/10 and he now leads! QFM has also got 10/10 and he’s out just ahead of Shipulin. I didn’t see Lapshin go through S2, but he’s missed 3 there. L’Abee-Lund clear at S1, and out 3rd; Bauer has missed 1 at S2. At the finish Lukas Hofer (1,0) has made up a lot on the final lap – he leads by almost 8 seconds with Garanichev (0,0) 2nd, and Birkeland (0,0) 3rd. Back at S2 L’Abee-Lund is 10/10 and out 3.3 seconds ahead of Martin F (who was losing time to Hofer on the final section of his last lap; still recovering?). Back at S1 Johannes Bø is clear, and 12 seconds better than Martin F; at 8.5 Km Eberhard (0,1) is only 13.1 behind Fourcade’s time (at 9.5 the gap is down to 7.1). At the finish Arnd Peiffer into 3rd, and he too has gained time on Fourcade over the final part of the lap. Unbelievable – Kühn has missed all 5 at S2; more positively Eberhard is over the line just 0.2 behind Fourcade, while L’Abee-Lund could well take the lead! He has – he lost some time on the early section but he’s pulled it back and leads by 6.9 seconds. At S2 JoBø has missed 1, but he’s still out 1.1 ahead of L’Abee-Lund. He’s not really making up time on his fellow Norwegian – 1.5 better at 8.5 Km. OEB is at S1 – he’s missed 1 and his time is a bit disappointing too. Now, what’s happening – at 9.5 Km JoBø has dropped to 3rd, +2.8, behind both L’Abee-Lund and Martin F? JoBø has found something – he’s over the line 2nd, but only 0.8 ahead of Martin F – I wonder which of them will be more knackered for the pursuit!? Johannes does look all in; he normally hides it better. Not a good day for OEB – 3 misses at S2 and I suspect he won’t qualify for the Pursuit. At present Henrik L’Abee-Lund (0,0) in the lead, ahead of Johannes Bø (0,1; +6.1) and Martin Fourcade (0,0; + 6.9); Eberhard (0,1) in 4th, ahead of Hofer (1,0) and Peiffer (1,0). Best of the later starters might be Freddie Lindström (0,0) in 11th? That’s it – no late changes to the top 10. Simon Eder (0,1) quickest on the range, ahead of Lapshin (0,3) Birkeland and Lesser. JoBø fastest around the course ahead of Hofer, Eberhard, Peiffer, L’Abee-Lund and Fourcade – I wonder if Martin is fully recovered?

Åre – Alpine Team Event (16 Mar): Sadly I missed this one too – it looked like my only chance to get a decent walk in before the “Beast from the East” came back! Anyway, congratulations to Sweden on the win, with France in second and Germany beating Austria in the small final for third. FIS report

Åre – Men’s GS (17 Mar): Final GS for the men this season – Marcel Hirscher already has the discipline crystal globe though, not bad after his ankle injury last year! This will be a useful practice for the 2019 World Championships too – back in real time, really cold here today, well into the minus range. Race on – Manuel Feller first away, and his time is better than second to go Justin Murisier’s – looks an interesting course, set by a German coach. Now Henrik Kristoffersen is 3rd away – well into the green at inter 2 and he’s flying! Kristoffersen leads by over a second; impressive run! Next to go – his nemesis, Marcel Hirscher, and he’s 0.34 faster at inter 1 – 0.81 ahead at 2; big error just after that timing point so he’s lost a bit to inter 3 – he leads by 0.59 despite that bad mistake! The start interval is quite short – it’s a busy programme today! Matts Olsson into 3rd, but +1.37 – Pinturault goes better and he takes over 3rd, +0.91. That’s a good run from Zan Kranjec, especially on the final section, and he takes over 3rd place. Leif K N-H into 5th, but Loic Meillard is more in touch on the upper section – looking good for top 3 at inter 3 but he’s lost a tiny bit – he goes 4th. Slightly slow start from Victor Muffat-Jeandet, who is on new boots and skis (next year’s kit!) – he’s got the kit working though and he goes into 2nd! Amazing recovery by Luca de Aliprandini, but it’s cost him time. So, 15 away – Hirscher leads from Victor M-J and Kristoffersen; Kranjec in 4th ahead of Meillard and Pinturault. Amazed to see Kjetil Jansrud racing today – he’s missed a gate just in sight of the finish – pity! Marco Odermatt is the last to go – onto 11th and that’s run 1 over.
Run 2: Which clashes with the biathlon – very annoying. Ted Ligety will be the first away on this run; he’s down and already he’s seen off Zubcic and Tonetti – well done Ted! He’s got Nani and Faivre (DNF) too; Alex Schmid briefly into the lead, but quickly replaced by Manfred Mölgg. Luca de Aliprandini into 3rd, but Justin Murisier is going well – he takes over the lead. Eisath into 2nd, but then Tommy Ford goes into the lead by one hundredth of a second! Fanara takes over; Matts Olsson is into the lead by just 0.02! Pinturault is a DNF but Loic Meillard is going well, building from inter 1 to lead by a massive 0.90 – that’s the best time on run to so far. Henrik Kristoffersen next – he takes over the lead by 0.45; Victor M-J going well but he’s lost it on the final section after one small error – into 2nd by 0.03! Marcel H has lost a bit to inter 1, gained it back by 2 and he takes the win (again!). So, Marcel Hirscher takes another win, Kristoffersen another 2nd and Victor M-J seems to be enjoying his 2019 kit!

Åre – Women’s Slalom (17 Mar): Again, the slalom globe has already been decided – Shiffrin already 225 points clear! Still a bit of a battle for 2nd/3rd between Vlhova and Holdener, with Frida Hansdotter also in the mix, just 4 points behind Wendy, who will be first away today. That’s a tricky looking course – a real tight, sting in the tail after a very straight, fast upper section – Wendy Holdener down safely. Nina Haver-Løseth has made a couple errors, but she’s skied the lower section really well – just 0.34 off the pace. Katharina Gallhuber has done much the same – red on the upper section, but a superb final run gives her the lead by just 0.03! Petra Vlhova next – green at inter 1 and building – lost a bit lower down, but that early advantage was enough to hold on to the lead. That’s impressive – Bernadette Schild red all the way to inter 3 and then steals it on the closing turns – very precise stuff and risky but she leads by 0.06. Here comes Mikaela Shiffrin – she’s got the whole course sorted; green all the way and she leads by 0.49 – textbook stuff! Frida Hansdotter into 6th, just behind Holdener – Vlhova in 3rd at present. Costazza off balance and she’s a DNF; 10 away now and no change to the top 6. Micelle Gisin into 8th; no late changes to the top 6 and that’s run 1 over.
Run 2: Carmen Thalmann first away, and she’s seen off Ferk and Brignone. Ana Bucik has taken over the lead but she in turn is replaced by Katharina Truppe. Tenth away is Estelle Alphand – glad to see her doing well, and she takes over the lead – it’s Alphand from Truppe and Bucik.  Denise Feierabend had a messy start but she’s gone well on the lower section to take current first place. Now that was a really superb run – Katharina Liensberger has smashed this course (set by an Austrian coach!); Erin Mielzynski can’t quite match it and goes 2nd. A similar story for Anna Swenn Larsson – green all the way but lost it to the finish – she takes over in 2nd. Great run from Michelle Gisin; third best time on run 2 but enough to take the lead at present. Nina Haver-Løseth is going well – she’s gained time and leads; Frida Hansdotter is risking it all here – a few errors but she leads (despite Nick’s comment!). Wendy Holdener next and she’s gaining time to inter 2; into the red at 3 but pulled it back to lead by one one hundredth! This is all very close!! Four to go – Gallhuber is losing time and she can only manage 5th. Petra Vlhova is well off on this run – nerves or a course that doesn’t suit? She’s into 9th place – not her usual pace at all, and that moves Holdener into runner up in the globe standings at present. Schild into 4th(and none too happy with her run);  just Shiffrin to go – she starts with 0.72 in hand, up to 0.86, then 0.94 and she wins by 1.58 – amazing! No surprise that she had the fastest time on run 2; Liensberger second fastest on run 2, and finishing 8th. So Shiffrin wins by a huge margin, ahead of Holdener and Hansdotter. So, Shiffrin (980 points) had already won the slalom globe; Wendy Holdener takes runner up (705 points) ahead of Frida Hansdotter (681), who was just 2 points clear of Petra Vlhova (679).

Åre – Ladies GS and Men’s Slalom (18 March): Apparently the Ladies GS is cancelled (strong winds), but it looks as though the slalom is still on?! Eurosport have just shown the conditions at Åre – no wonder they cancelled the GS! That means that Vikki Rebensburg wins the GS discipline crystal globe (her third), ahead of Worley and Shiffrin. Sadly conditions have got even worse since they cancelled the GS and now the Men’s Slalom has also been cancelled . This is the way the season ends, not with a race but a storm! FIS - Rebensburg

In summary (Crystal Globes) - Overall: Hirscher (1620)/Shiffrin (1773; Downhill - Feuz (682)/Goggia (509); Super G - Jansrud (400)/Wierather (461); Giant Slalom - Hirscher (720)/Rebensburg (582); Slalom - Hirscher (874)/Shiffrin (980); Alpine Combined - Fill (140)/Holdener (150).

Holmenkollen – Women’s 4 x 6 Km Relay (17 Mar): Can’t see this anywhere on Eurosport, until 2330 tonight! They seem to rank women’s biathlon below pretty much anything else – and, it clashes with run 2 of the men’s GS as well – tricky! Watching on IBU feed with the FIS stuff also running. Well, Maren Hammerschmidt first away for Germany, up against Persson, Vittozzi, Chevalier and Solemdal, among others. In for S1 – Anais Chevalier very fast and clean; she leads out ahead of Maren H, Vittozzi (1 spare), Vishnevskaya, Tachizaki and Persson (+7.8) – most clear. Egan (USA) is on the penalty loop, but she’s the only one so far. Just a 2 Km loop, so we’re in for S2 – quite a few misses; Tachizaki used just 1 spare and she’s out in the lead, ahead of Vishnevskaya (0+0), Vittozzi (0+3), Skardino, Chevalier and Kaisheva. Maren H is in 8th after using 2 spares, +13.1; poor Egan is doing another loop. First exchange – Solemdal (who has used 3 spares) is losing ground on this final lap, but Vittozzi is flying! Italy lead out – thanks to Lisa Vittozzi they have 7.4 over Japan, with Germany 3rd (+7.9); then Russia, France, and Belarus (+10.5 – all still quite tight). Norway 10th, +37.4. At the first timing point Doro Wierer still leads but Denise Herrmann is right with her, ahead of Furuya, Aymonier and Alimbekava. Tiril Eckhoff has gained a little time and 2 places. In for the prone – Doro clear and fast, and she leads out; Denise H using 1 spare but it’s taking time. Out in order Doro, Aymonier, Alimbekava, Furuya, Herrmann and Haeki (+30.9). Kazakhstan on the penalty loop. In for S4 – Doro clear again (superb fast shooting, vintage Doro) and she leads out with a massive 24.3 advantage over Celia Aymonier (1 spare here), Brorsson, Furuya, Haeki and Herrmann (2 more spares; +48.1). Russia on the penalty loop this time, and so are the Czechs; Tiril has used 2 more spares and she’s 7th, +55.2. Second Exchange – Italy lead, ahead of France (+13.9 – good lap from Aymonier), Norway (thanks to Tiril) almost level with Germany (+34.6); then Switzerland and Japan. On the lap Gontier has opened a little on MDH; Franzi Preuß in third just clear of Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold; Selina Gasparin 5th ahead of Mitsuhashi. We seem to have lost commentary – oops, it’s back. Right – S5 – Gontier needing 1 spare, but MDH and Franzi H have done the same – they are out in that order but Tandrevold is clear and out just 0.5 behind Preuß; then Japan and Sweden. On the lap Gontier is holding off MDH; Preuß ahead of ILT but they are both losing a little time. On the hill MDH has gained though – just 0.6 behind at the next split. Back in for the standing shoot – my Wi-Fi has crashed at the crucial time (expletive deleted). Right – got it back – Gontier and MDH have both used 1 spare and out in that order just 0.6 seconds apart; Preuß and Tandrevold also 1 each and out 3rd (+26.4) and 4th (+30.4) respectively. Gasparin 5th ahead of Mitsuhashi. MDH through on the lap but Gontier is hanging on – final exchange; France (Bescond) lead out, ahead of Italy (Sanfilippo, +2.2) then Germany (Dahlmeier, +28.1) and Norway (Olsbu, +32.2). Switzerland in 5th, ahead of Ukraine (messy exchange). On the lap Olsbu is trying to close the gap – she’s pretty much halved it, and she’s past by the next timing point. The final prone shoot – Bescond is clear with no spares and away! Sanfilippo has used 1 spare so she’s out 2nd but +17.8 with the clean shooting Dahlmeier 3rd, +25.1 – Olsbu is on the penalty loop, but still out in 4th! Cadurisch in 5th about 45 seconds ahead of Dzhima. The final shoot – Bescond in, and she’s missed her 5th – 1 spare and away. Laura D is clear and she’s away 8 seconds back. Sanfilippo has used 2 spares but she’s out and away +31.4 – nice gap to Olsbu who has cleared all 5 this time – out +1: 15.5. Shoot of the day from Cadurisch who cleared all 5 and is out 15 seconds behind Olsbu. On the lap Laura isn’t catching Anais – in fact she’s losing time, but has Anais gone too early? Seems not – Bescond is still pulling away and the gap is 14.4 at 5.4 Km; Laura has begun to pull away from Sanfilippo at last – she’s still not back to last year’s form. France (0+6) get a well-deserved win, Germany (0+7) are runners up (+14.4) with Italy (0+8) in 3rd. Norway (1+10) in 4th, then Switzerland and Sweden. Bulgaria and Lithuania both lapped; China and Slovenia listed as DSQ, but I’m not sure why.

Holmenkollen – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit (17 March): Two Vikings away ahead of Martin F, but Julian Eberhard in 4th could be a real threat if he can keep on hitting targets today! Top 10 separated by 0.41 – very close. Lead group coming in for S1 – Martin F has missed his first, JoBø has also missed 1 and Eberhard 4 (same as QFM!)! L’Abee-Lund clear and away; Arnd Peiffer up to 2nd; Martin F out 3rd, +19.3, just ahead of JoBø; Garanichev up to 5th with Doll 6th. L’Abee-Lund looking strong on the lap; he’s pulled out a bit on Peiffer – in for S2. L’Abee-Lund has missed his first, Peiffer his 5th, JoBø has missed 2 but Martin F is clear! Martin leads out, ahead of L’Abee-Lund, Peiffer and Anton Shipulin (from 18th at the start); JoBø is 15th, +44.7. On the lap Fourcade has pulled out 12 seconds or so on L’Abee-Lund. In for the first standing shoot and Martin F has missed 1; L’Abee-Lund has got the lot here and so have Hofer and Shipulin – JoBø has got all 5 this time too! Out L’Abee-Lund, Martin F (+0.9), Lukas Hofer, Shipulin, Bø (+25.6) and Weger. Johannes has pulled another 6 back to 8.4 Km; in for the final shoot – Fourcade looking tired, but I suspect they all are? Martin F is clear; L’Abee-Lund has missed 2, JoBø has missed 1, so has Shipulin but Hofer is clear. Out from the range it’s Martin F (1,0,1,0), Lukas Hofer (1,0,0,0; +21.2), JoBø (1,2,0,1; +35.7), Shipulin (up from 18th), Tsvetkov (from 28th) and Eder (19); L’Abee-Lund down to 7th. Now, I think Martin has this but can Lukas Hofer hold off JoBø, who has clawed back about half the deficit by 10.9 Km? The spectators (?) are singing the French National Anthem – at 11.9 Km Hofer is holding on; Tsvetkov past Shipulin but not catching Johannes. Martin does a celebration jump off the bridge – he cruises to the win! Lukas Hofer gets a well-deserved 2nd, ahead of Johannes Thingnes Bø. Tsvetkov the best gainer – 28 to 4th, ahead of L’Abee-Lund and Simon Eder (19 to 6). Other gainers include Shipulin (18 – 7), Desthieux (30 – 11), Tarjei Bø (26 – 12), Samuelssson (35 – 13) and Lowell Bailey (42 – 28). Going the other way – Lindström (11 – 20), Eberhard (4 – 24), QFM (8 – 27), Bauer (17 – 31) and Malyshko (16 – 36). Best range time for Guigonnat, ahead of Eder and Nordgren; JoBø fastest on course, ahead of Martin F and Eberhard.

Holmenkollen – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit (18 March): Well, the weather might be awful in Åre, but it’s really nice in Oslo! Blue skies, sunshine, light winds and relatively warm. Kuzmina away, 9 seconds ahead of Dasha, then another 20 to Yuliia Dzhima; Kuzmina already gaining time by 0.6 Km. All starts OK; Kuzmina heading for S1 – all 5 down and Dasha has missed her 5th! Kuzmina away, Dasha out 2nd but +45.4, ahead of Tachizaki, Franzi H, Yurlova and Ivona Fialkova. Öberg has missed 2, so has Sanfilippo, Vittozzi 3. Only a short lap, so Kuzmina back in for S2 – she’s missed her first 2, long wait for the last one – 2 penalty loops. Dasha and Franzi H both clear this time; Kuzmina (0,2) is away first but the gap to Dasha (1,0) is now just 8.1 seconds. Hildebrand in 3rd, +12.3 with all 10 down, ahead of Yurlova, Dunklee and Fialkova. Laura D is 10/10 and up from 28 to 9th, +36.0. In for S3 – Kuzmina has missed 2 more, Dasha 1, Dunklee 1 but Franzi H is clear. Fialkova has missed 3. So, Franzi H leads out, ahead of Brorsson (+13.6) and Dahlmeier (+14.7) – all 15/15. Dasha in 4th ahead of Dzhima – incredibly Kuzmina in 6th despite 4 penalties, +23.8. The final shoot – pressure on Franzi H and she sometimes buckles – she’s missed 2, so has Dahlmeier; Kuzmina – despite skiing 4 extra loops, has caught up and shot clear – surely that’s almost impossible? So, leaving the range, Kuzmina (0,2,2,0) leads from Dasha (1,0,1,0; +1.5), Dunklee (1,0,1,0; +21.3) and Tachizaki (+22.8). Perhaps predictably Hildebrand is losing time; Dunklee past Tachizaki, Laura D back up to 8th. Delighted to see Darya Domracheva win that one; Kuzmina 2nd and Dunklee (who is boycotting Tyumen) gets a good finish to her season in 3rd place. Tachizaki in 4th, ahead of Dzhima, Anna Frolina and Laura Dahlmeier. So, among the gainers – Frolina (19 to 6th), Dahlmeier (28 – 7), Hinz (25 – 10), Wierer (39 – 11), Skardino (24 – 12), Hauser (32 – 15), Hammerschmidt (50 – 17!), Olsbu (41 – 19), Kaisa M (40 – 22) and Herrmann (43 – 28). Losing ground the list includes Franzi H (6 – 14), Yurlova (7 – 24), Öberg (13 – 27), Vittozzi (10 – 32), and Ivona Fialkova (9 – 47). Cadurisch again fastest on the range, ahead of Doro and Lisa Hauser; Kaisa fastest around the tracks ahead of Laura D, Hinz and Kuzmina.

Holmenkollen – Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km Relay (18 Mar): Weather still looking good in Oslo (nicer than it is here!). Race is on – an unusually fast start, but it’s slowed down now to a more normal first leg pace. Just 10.6 seconds between the teams as they go through 1.9 Km; Klemen Bauer leading now. Here we go for S1 – quite a few clear – just 2 people using all 3 spares, no penalty loops. Bauer leads out, ahead of Birkeland, Tsvetkov, Rösch, Landertinger and Anev; Lesser used 1 spare and is out 11th, Jaquelin needed 2 spares and he’s 23rd, +38.6. On the lap there is a group of 10/11 (depending on what speed Bailey is doing) opening a little gap. In for S2 – Birkeland very impressive; he leads out ahead of Weger and Pryma – Erik Lesser used another spare but he’s out 4th ahead of Tsvetkov and Rösch. Bauer has used 2 spares and he’s out 11th; Poland have done 2 penalty loops, but they are the only one so far. Tsvetkov is leading towards the first exchange, Lesser chasing then Birkeland, Weger and Anev. First exchange – Germany lead out, then Russia, Switzerland, Norway, Ukraine and Austria (+18.3); Italy 9th, France (0+3) in 16th, +50.2. Sweden (Ponsiluoma) have only used 2 spares but they are 21st, +1:15.8. Schempp taking leg 2, with Babikov and L’Abee-Lund closest. In for S3 - L’Abee-Lund has missed 2, and the Swiss are on the penalty loop. Babikov leads out with no spares used, then Schempp (1 spare), Tkalenko (UKR; 1), Fak (0), Hofer (0), L’Abee-Lund (2; +23.7). That’s a useful lead for Russia, but Babikov is losing some time on the lap. Leading 5 in for S4 – Schempp and L’Abee-Lund both clear and away in that order, Hofer also clear and out 3rd. Babikov used 1 spare – out 4th ahead of Fak and Doherty. Swiss back on the loop – Mike keeps saying they are the only ones who have been there in this race but Poland did 2 on leg 1 and Japan are doing 1 now; Latvia has also done one this leg! Desthieux has used all 3 here and is out 11th, just over a minute back. Heading for the second exchange Italy have got ahead, then L’Abee-Lund and Schempp – Norway lead out, ahead of Italy and Germany; Slovenia +8.9 then Russia (+25.2) and USA (+43.6). France up to 7th, but still almost a minute back. Interesting that no one seems to want to lead away – at the timing point Windisch leads from Tarjei Bø and Roman Rees (interesting choice?), then Dovzan, Malyshko and Burke. In for the next prone – Windisch clear and he leads out; Bø uses 1 spare and he’s out ahead of the clean shooting Dovzan. Rees has used all 3 spares – out 4th, +27.1, ahead of Malyshko and Burke; Bulgaria on the loop this time, Estonia doing 2. Dovzan and Rees losing time on the lap – Windisch going well, but he can’t shake off Tarjei! S6 – Tarjei clear and away; Malyshko clear and out 2nd (+27.6) then Dovzan (1 spare), Rees (0). Windisch has done a penalty loop but is out 5th (+46.4), fractionally ahead of Samuelsson (1 spare). Tarjei is pulling away from Malyshko, and Dovzan/Rees; Samuelsson gaining ground. Final exchange – Norway (JoBø) lead, ahead of Russia (+35.2), Slovenia (+43.3), Germany (+44.3) and Sweden (+47.7). France in 9th, +1:19.3 and without Martin F today. JoBø isn’t taking it steady – he’s pulled out 8 seconds over Anton Shipulin by the first timing point; Peiffer a further 10 seconds back, just ahead of Drinovec (SLO) and Lindström and they are all losing touch with JoBø. The final prone shoot – Johannes clear and away; that was really fast shooting – very impressive! Shipulin next in – he’s clear and away (+45.7), ahead of Lindström (0 spares), Drinovec (1), Eberhard (0) and Peiffer (3 spares!; +1:24.9). Johannes in for his final shoot – ye gods that was fast; all 5 down and he’s away! Shipulin uses 1 spare and he’s out (+1:02.6), about 14 seconds ahead of Lindström (1 spare). Eberhard is clear and he’s out only a couple seconds behind Freddie Lindström. Peiffer clear this time but he has quite a gap to Eberhard, who is faster! At 5.9 Km Eberhard is through Lindström and has also closed a good bit on Shipulin. I can’t see Peiffer catching Lindström! Well, Eberhard really is going well – just 3 seconds adrift at 6.9 Km! Norway (0+3) take the win – brilliant performance; Eberhard (AUT – 0+5) has passed Shipulin to take 2nd, with Russia (0+4) 3rd. Sweden (0+4) take 4th, ahead of Germany (0+9) with QFM getting France (0+8) up to 6th (but +1:58.5).

Tyumen – Men’s 10 Km Sprint (22 Mar): Final venue of the season, and a controversial one; no Canadians, Czechs or Americans! I understand, talking of Americans, that Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke have said they will not be racing next year, so Holmenkollen was their last race. Race on – it’s snowing but not heavily; course seems to have some tough hills! Emilien Jacquelin was the first away and he’s at S1 – missed 1, and then first to go clear is Dominik Landertinger; Tsvetkov also clear and faster, to the delight of the crowd! They aren’t happy now though, as Garanichev has missed 2! Johannes Kühn fast into the range; he’s lost some of that with a long pause before the first shot is away, but he’s cleared all 5 and leads out, just! Simon Desthieux is faster and Anton Shipulin is also clear and out just behind the Frenchman. Doll also clear and out 2nd; Martin Fourcade has started – earlier than Johannes! The crowd are getting very vocal – Alex Loginov clear and fastest at present after S1, ahead of Rastorgujevs and Bocharnikov (BLR). They are slightly more subdued as Martin F clears and leads out. Meanwhile Landertinger is clear at S2, but so is Tsvetkov and the Russian is 44.2 seconds faster! The snow seems to be getting heavier; will that harm the later starters? L’Abee-Lund fast into S1 but he’s missed 2; Desthieux also 10/10 after S2 and he’s marginally faster than Loginov. Shipulin is also 10/10 and about 5 seconds slower than Loginov. Doll in for S2, but he too has missed 2; however, Andrejs Rastorgujevs has hit all 10, and he’s 9.4 faster than Desthieux – great shooting! Loginov has missed his 10th shot – out 5th, +20.5. Martin F also 10/10, despite one of the Tyumen team wandering onto the mat next to him to sweep it! Fourcade is 20.7 faster than Rastorgujevs; Schempp clear at S1 and marginally behind Rastorgujevs. Now, JoBø has started; Freddie Lindström is 10/10, out 3rd, +26.6 after S2. At the finish it’s Desthieux, Rastorgujevs and Tsvetkov at present – that’s good speed from the Frenchman, who has taken about 12 seconds out of the fast skiing Rastorgujevs on the last lap. Tarjei Bø is clear at S1, out +7.5. Meanwhile Martin F is absolutely flying on the final lap – he’s over the line, and 33.2 faster than Desthieux; QFM into joint 4th with Tsvetkov. Not a good day for the Germans at the moment – Schempp has missed 2 at S2; meanwhile JoBø has missed 2 at S1 – wait – Erik Lesser clear at S1 and 3.2 faster than Fourcade!! Good final lap from Lindström, which puts him 3rd at present. Didn’t see Arnd Peiffer at S1 – where he missed 1 – but he’s clear at S2, out 8th, +38.9 and best of the Germans at present. However – Erik Lesser is 10/109 and out 2nd, +13.5, but ahead of Rastorgujevs, and Lindström. JoBø has cleared all 5 at S2 – out 14th, +58.5 – he needs 12th or better to get the sprint globe. OEB clear at S1; so is Christiansen, who could push JoBø down a place?? That’s all 84 starters through S1 – Lesser, Fourcade and Loginov best there. Interesting – JoBø through 8.2 Km – he’s 13th there but losing time to Fourcade. Erik Lesser also losing time and places on the final lap – down to 4th at 9.3 Km, and 5th over the line – the snow is getting quite deep in places. Johannes is also wading through deep snow on the final lap – over the line in 13th, and Guigonnat, for one, will push him down another place. Christiansen and OEB have both missed 1 at S2, and everyone is through there now. So, Martin Fourcade wins this sprint, and also the small crystal globe for that discipline, according to Eurosport. Simon Desthieux in 2nd (+33.2) ahead of Lindström, Rastorgujevs, Lesser and Tsvetkov/QFM who are tied in 6th. All those were 10/10 – Arnd Peiffer in 7th, the best of those with 1 penalty. JoBø ended up 14th, +1:22.4 – a lot to make up in the pursuit, but this is biathlon! Simon Eder fastest on the range, ahead of Lapshin and Birkeland; Martin F quickest around the tracks, ahead of Eberhard and Peiffer!

Tyumen – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint (23 Mar): Interesting that all the doping tests here in Tyumen are being processed in Germany, not Russia! Missed the race live, so had to catch up (when they finally finished the ski jumping and got around to showing it!). We joined the race as Bescond (start number 21) went through 6.9 Km – Dasha at S1 just after that – out 4 seconds behind Kaisa; Doro Wierer has just gone 10/10 – very fast shooting and out 2nd after S2. Olsbu in for S1, and 1 miss; Kuzmina over the line, 7th at present; she needs to be in the top 21 today to win the sprint crystal globe – she might well do it despite 3 penalty loops due to the amazing ski speed she seems to have this year. Dasha is in for S2 – that’s all 10 down and she is the only one who might catch Kaisa, who is currently leading at the finish – Dasha is out 3.6 ahead! Doro is over the line but she has lost time on the final lap and looks tired – long season! Snow is getting heavier – maybe that didn’t help Doro? Meanwhile Laura Dahlmeier has missed 1 at S1, and if the snow is making things slower that isn’t going to help – I wonder why she went relatively late – it didn’t help JoBø yesterday?! Olsbu has left S2 – (1,1); Vittozzi is 10/10 and seems to be faster than Doro – she’s over the line 4th. At 6.5 km Dasha is now 4 seconds ahead of Kaisa; Laura D in for S2 – slightly slow shooting, but clear this time. Dasha is over the line – she’s 1.2 ahead of Kaisa! That’s 6 points that Kaisa has lost in the overall. Poor Fenne has missed all 5 at S2; Dahlmeier over the line in 6th. Looks as though the pursuit will be exciting! So, another win for Darya Domracheva (0,0), who is obviously getting back into form! Kaisa Mäkäräinen (0,0) in 2nd, ahead of Eckhoff (1,0), Bescond (0,1), Vittozzi (0,0) and Dahlmeier (1,0; +50.0). Kuzmina (1,2) in 12th, despite the 3 loops; Franzi Preuß, who was so well placed after S1, ended 24th after her 2 misses at S2. Doro Wierer quickest on the range, ahead of Elisa Gasparin and Hauser. Kuzmina fastest around the course, fractionally ahead of Kaisa and Dasha; then Eckhoff, Olsbu and Dahlmeier.

Tyumen – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit: Guess what – ski jumping is running late and coverage is delayed! Anyway, Martin F is away and heading for the first timing point (IBU feed!) – looks relaxed but he’s pulled out 6 seconds on Erik Lesser who is up to 2nd ahead of Desthieux. By the next split Desthieux is back to 2nd, ahead of Rastorgujevs and Lesser; in for S1 now – Martin takes his time and all 5 are down. Lindström also clear and out 2nd, +44.6, ahead of Lesser (1 Miss), Rastorgujevs (1), Loginov (0) and Tsvetkov (1). JoBø is clear and out in 9th (from 14th at start), +1:21.5. At last – Eurosport are covering this and I have commentary – Martin at 4 Km; Freddie L is holding position, JoBø up to 7th. Martin in for S2 – steady start, then pretty fast – 10/10 and away. Lindström clear and out 2nd, +48.9; Erik Lesser clear this time, +53.8 and out 3rd ahead of Hofer and JoBø (0,0; +1:09.9). Doll (2,1) and Kühn (1,3) not having a good day, and I didn’t see it but QFM missed all 5 at S1! Martin F has pulled out time over Lindström and Lesser, but Johannes has pulled back another 4 seconds or so. First standing shoot – Martin F clear again, and that was fast shooting too. Chasing group in – JoBø is there; one miss each for Lindström, Lesser and Bø – Lukas Hofer is 15/15 and out 2nd, +1:11.8, JoBø 3rd (+1:19.7) ahead of Lesser, Lindström and Christiansen (up from 26th!). On the lap JoBø is right on Hofer’s heels, about 11 seconds ahead of Lesser. Martin F is in for his last shoot – he’s missed the first one, but the rest are down and he’s away; loop finished before the chasers start to shoot. JoBø has cleared all 5 very fast – Hofer clear and out 3rd, but 10 seconds behind JoBø. Lindström clear and out 4th, ahead of Lesser who missed 1; Peiffer 6th. Christiansen has missed 1 and he’s out 7th. So, Martin F (0,0,0,1) wins again – 23rd (or 20th????) podium this season, I think. JoBø (0,0,1,0) pulled out time over Hofer (0,0,0,0) on the lap to finish 2nd (from 14th at the start) ahead of the Italian, who started 13th. Lindström (0,0,1,0) in 4th ahead of Lesser (1,0,1,1) and Peiffer (1,0,1,0). Other gainers include Eder (27 to 8th), Christiansen (26 – 10), L’Abee-Lund (25 – 12), Birkeland (38 – 13), Bjøntegaard (37 – 16), Nelin (32 – 19) and Babikov (43 – 24). Losing ground the list includes Rastorgujevs (4 to 17), Desthieux (2 – 21), QFM (7 – 25), Eberhard (15 -33), Fak (19 – 34) and Lapshin (24 – 38). Lapshin quickest on the range, ahead of Birkeland and Lesser; JoBø fastest on course, ahead of L’Abee-Lund, Loginov, Schempp and Kühn. Martin already had the overall crystal globe after yesterday (his 7th!), and today’s result gives him the pursuit globe too (plus, of course, he shared the Individual with JoBø, and won the sprint!)

Tyumen – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit: I think this has the potential to be a lot closer (glimpse of the blindingly obvious?) than the men’s race! While I’m waiting for the biathlon to start, I’m watching Watabe winning the Nordic Combined 10 Km Gundersen at a rather warm Schonach – snow looks awful – very soft and slushy! Lots of very tired people littering the finish area. The conditions in Tyumen are much better – Dasha away with Kaisa right on her heels and Eckhoff another 30 seconds back. Kuzmina already gaining time and places – leading 2 in for S1; Dasha has missed her first (and I thought the graphic said 1 more, but now it says just 1; sure Patrick said 2 as well – a snag with the captions apparently), but Kaisa is clear. Eckhoff has missed 1, Doro 1, Vittozzi 2. Out, Kaisa, Dasha (+26.6), Bescond, Kuzmina (clear, up from 12th), Dahlmeier and Eckhoff. Kaisa in for S2 – wind looks fairly benign – Kaisa has missed 1, so has Kuzmina! Out Anais Bescond (0,0), Kaisa (0,1), Laura D (0,0), Dasha (1,0; +4.3), Kuzmina (0,1, +19.4), Preuß (0,0, from 24th). Doro is 1,1; so is Eckhoff. In for S3 – Dahlmeier clear and out just ahead of Bescond and Dasha (+3.5). Kaisa has missed 1, and out 4th, +25.3, 30 seconds or so ahead of Doro. Kuzmina has missed 2 and is 10th, +1:06.9; Tiril Eckhoff (1,1,2) is 16th. Dasha has gone ahead on the lap, but it’s all very close; Kuzmina up to 9th, just a minute back. In for S4 already – I do wish I could ski 2 Kilometres that quickly! Bescond and Dahlmeier have missed their first; Dasha has missed 2, but Kaisa is clear. Out with Kaisa and Anais Bescond tied just ahead of Laura D in 3rd; then Karo Horchler, Dasha and Uslugina (RUS; up from 22nd). Kaisa and Anais have pulled away from Laura – Dasha through Horchler, Kuzmina up to 6th already despite 4 penalty loops! Bescond on a good set of skis; this is going to be close! Sprint to the line and Kaisa just holds on to win, Anais Bescond in 2nd, then Laura D, Dasha, Karo Horchler (from 11th), and Kuzmina (from 12th). Looking at the gainers, the list includes Virolainen (16 to 7th) Uslugina (22 – 9), Preuß (24 – 10), Nadine Horchler (39 – 12), Vishnevskaya (26 – 17), Öberg (49 – 22), Simon (48 – 31) and Laukkanen (44 – 32). Going backwards, the list includes Tiril Eckhoff (3 – 11, 5 penalties), Doro W (7 – 16), Haecki (8 – 18), Chevalier (9 – 19), Olsbu (10 – 20), Aymonier (14 – 30) and Elisa Gasparin (19 – 46). Cadurisch quickest on the range, ahead of Vittozzi and Wierer; Kuzmina quickest around the course – 22.8 faster than Bescond who was 2nd ahead of Aymonier (good French waxing?) and over 29 seconds quicker than notable speed merchants such as Kaisa and Denise Herrmann! That gives Kuzmina the Pursuit globe too. Final note – I missed the fact that Skardino had won the Individual globe – well done her!

Tyumen – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start: Conditions look pretty good – race is on. Early leaders, JoBø, Martin F, L’Abee-Lund, Desthieux and Hofer. Here we go – S1; Martin F has missed 2, JoBø has missed 1, QFM 2, Schempp 2 and Weger has missed 4! Order after S1 – Tarjei Bø, Erik Lesser, Desthieux, Doll, Guigonnat and Hofer, all clear; JoBø out 16th, +21.0; Martin F 24th, +38.7. Quite a good pace as they come in for S2 – quite a big group; Martin F has missed another one but JoBø is clear this time; Doll and Lesser have missed 1 each. Tsvetkov leads out, ahead of Babikov, Lindström, Christiansen, Peiffer and Kühn (+4.5) – all clear. JoBø is 11th, but only +10.4 while Martin F is 26th, +58.9 – looks like his run of podium finishes is coming to an end? Simon Schempp having a bad day – 2,2 and almost 2 minutes back. First standing shoot – Peiffer fast but he’s missed 2, Babikov 1, Kühn 1, Lesser 1. Freddie Lindström 15/15 but only 3rd away, fractionally behind Loginov (1,0,0) and L’Abee-Lund (1,0,0); Hofer also 15/15 and 4th, ahead of Bjøntegaard and Tsvetkov who are also 15/15. JoBø (1,0,1) is 12th, +20.1, and Martin F (2,1,0) is 21st, +52.5. L’Abee-Lund looking comfortable on the lap; the leading group are in for the final shoot – Doll, Lindström and Loginov missing, JoBø clear this time and Martin F has missed his 20th target as well! Erlend Bjøntegaard is 20/20 and he leads out, ahead of Tsvetkov and Fak (also both 20/20). JoBø is 4th, +11.2, just ahead of brother Tarjei and L’Abee-Lund; Martin F 22nd +1:06.3. Maxim Tsvetkov pushing hard, but he can’t shake off Bjøntegaard; JoBø is losing ground to him though. Well, the crowd are loving this – Tsvetkov (0,0,0,0) gets his first World Cup win, and in front of his home crowd too. Bjøntegaard (0,0,0,0) in 2nd, ahead of JoBø (1,0,1,0), Doll (0,1,0,1), L’Abee-Lund, and Tarjei Bø. Martin F 19th in the end. Birkeland best on the range, ahead of Eder and Lesser; JoBø fastest around the track, ahead of L’Abee-Lund, Kühn and Peiffer; Martin F 5th fastest. Some consolation for Martin Fourcade – he has won the Mass Start globe anyway, so he’s won all 5 again (although he did have to share one).

Tyumen – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start: Once again the women’s event isn’t live on Eurosport! Looking at the IBU video feed, it seems the women aren’t going to be as lucky with the weather – sure I saw snow falling, but it seems to have stopped? While I’m waiting for this race to start, I see that Karo Horchler won the overall IBU cup this season – good effort! Right – the race is on, we don’t seem to have commentary on the IBU video, which is a pity. Yep, that is snow, getting noticeably heavier as they come in for S1; not a lot of wind though. Kuzmina has missed 1, but so has Kaisa; Anais Chevalier leads out, ahead of Yurlova-Percht, Doro W, Laura D, Olsbu and Hauser – all clear. Glad to see Denise Herrmann clear too; Kuzmina is 17th, +20.2, just ahead of Kaisa (+22.8). Solemdal the only one to miss 2 targets. Still quite a large leading group as they go through 4 Km; Kaisa now just ahead of Kuzmina. Heading in for S2 – the snow seems to have eased off, wind still light – Chevalier leads out again, Yurlova still 2nd ahead of Wierer, Hinz, Dahlmeier and Karo Horchler (+5.7). Dasha (10th) clear again and just ahead of Kuzmina and Kaisa (12th, + 11.1). On the lap Kuzmina has used her amazing speed to get back to the front – in for S3. Kuzmina has missed 1, Kaisa 2, Yurlova 2 and Herrmann 2. Anais C leads out again, ahead of Laura D and Karo – all 3 are 15/15; then Fialkova (1,0,0), Kuzmina (1,0,1) and Dasha (0,0,1). Kaisa is now 20th, +51.8 which I suspect means Kuzmina will get the overall globe? Kaisa is really trying – she’s made up a lot on the lap but I hope that doesn’t ruin S4 for her. Laura D first in – she’s missed 2, Karo 1, Kuzmina 1, Kaisa has cleared all 5 this time. Anais Chevalier is shooting well – 20/20 and she leads out, just ahead of Fialkova (1,0,0,0), then it’s Franzi Preuß (1,0,1,0), Vanessa Hinz (0,0,1,0), Dasha, and Karo Horchler. Kuzmina in 8th, just under 2 seconds ahead of Kaisa – both have done 3 loops! That’s good news, Kuzmina is losing places at present; Kaisa 6th, Kuzmina 10th at 11.5 Km; Dasha (0,0,1,0) leads but Fialkova is staying with her! Nail biting stuff. That’s another late season win for Dasha, Paulina Fialkova gets 2nd and Anais Chevalier a well-deserved 3rd, ahead of Hinz, Preuß and Kaisa M. Good run from Karo Horchler to get 8th. Amazingly Kuzmina has looked tired on the final lap and she’s over the line in 11th. According to the IBU post on FB this morning, if Kaisa finishes 4/5/6 and Kuzmina is at least 3 positions behind her, then Kaisa wins the overall? Hope that’s correct!! Looks like it is – Kaisa is very happy, and being congratulated! Doro fastest on the range (but seemed to lack ski speed today) ahead of Vittozzi, Hauser and Preuß; Kaisa quickest around the course ahead of Tiril Eckhoff (who finished 7th) Dasha, Aymonier, Hammerschmidt and Herrmann. Well, that’s it for the season – gloom descends!