Alpine Skiing and Biathlon 2021/22

24 Oct 21 - Season Opener – Sölden: Sadly I forgot that this was on, and missed the Women’s race completely! Anyway, congratulations to Mikaela Shiffrin on her 70th World Cup win – according to the FIS “she has won at least one victory in ten consecutive years on the top circuit and she becomes the first athlete ever to win at least one giant slalom in a series of six seasons”. Lara Gut-Behrami was second and Petra Vlhova third – Marta Bassino, who dominated GS last year, lost control of a ski on run 1, which ended her challenge. In the men’s race Roland Leitinger was fastest in run one – the first time he’s done that, 0.19 ahead of Mathieu Faivre with Marco Odermatt in 3rd [+0.21], then Kranjec, Caviezel and Pinturault; Kristoffersen in 11th, +0.89. Charlie Raposo was 41st, so doesn’t qualify for run 2.
Men’s Race – run 2: A lovely day in Sölden – blue sky and sunshine. I’d forgotten just how steep that hill is! Piste conditions are apparently excellent – this course set by a Swiss coach and it’s a bit straighter at the top. It’s started – Riccardo Tonetti the first away – there’s a lot more swing lower down on this set but he’s safely down. Simon Maurberger [ITA] next, the highest bib number [42] to qualify for run 2 – he’s 0.54 faster at the line; that’s a good run! The approach to the steepest section looks tricky – it’s easy to go in too fast, it seems! Cyprien Sarrazin into 2nd, +0.23; Daniel Sette [SUI] making the most of the Swiss course set – he’s into 2nd just 0.04 off the lead. A good run from Erik Read [CAN] to take the lead by 0.08; Rasmus Windingstad [NOR] looked to be right on the ragged edge at times but it’s fast – he goes into the lead by a massive 0.57! Ten away – Windingstad leads from Read and Maurberger. Loic Meillard into 2nd; Lucas Braathen [NOR] is in touch all the way and spot on from inter 2 – he takes over the lead by 0.20. Marco Schwarz [AUT] into 3rd, but only until Justin Murisier [SUI] takes over that spot. Half way through – Braathen leads from Windingstad and Murisier. Manu Feller seems to be free from back pain this season, and he’s into 5th; Matthias Mayer has skied out. Stefan Brennsteiner has fallen at the top of the steep and taken a long slide – he seems OK, thankfully. Now it’s Henrik Kristoffersen – just red at inter 3 but he’s lost 0.44 from there to go 5th. A good run from Luca de Aliprandini – nicely green at 3 but he too has lost a bit from there – even so he’s into 2nd, +0.07. River Radamus [USA] made a great recovery to retain the green light at 3 and he’s kept it too – into the lead by just 0.04! Filip Zubcic [CRO] is just in the green at 2, a bit better at 3 but he’s another one who has lost time from there – just 4th. Alexis Pinturault next – he’s gained to inter 1, but he’s lost some of that time and more to inter 2; his advantage is still drifting away but he’s kept enough to take over the lead by 0.06 – that’s only the 11th fastest time on run 2 though – the best so far is that of Lucas Braathen! Gino Caviezel [SUI] has gained time from 1 to 2, kept it to 3 and he takes over the lead by 0.23. Zan Kranjec [SLO] just red at 1, redder at 2 but back green at 3 and gaining from there to lead by 0.29 – great recovery! Marco Odermatt [SUI] next and keeping in the green all the way – he takes the lead by 0.10! Just two to come – Mathieu Faivre [FRA] is the first of them and he starts with just 0.02 in hand – he’s getting bumped around, he’s red at 1, redder at 2 and just 10th. Just Roland Leitinger left, with a quite healthy 0.21 advantage – he’s apparently looking more tense on this run and he’s red by 2 – it’s a good recovery from 3 to gain time and go 2nd, just 0.07 off the win! That’s still a considerable career best though! Marco Odermatt wins the opening race, from Roland Leitinger [AUT] and Zan Kranjec. Caviezel in 4th, ahead of Pinturault and Radamus. Lucas Braathen fastest on run 2. Nice to be back!!

13 Nov 21 – Women’s Parallel Finals – Lech/Zuers: Not exactly my favourite event, but it’s the only one this season – let’s hope this one is a completely fair test! Top of the table after the qualification rounds was Thea Louise Stjernsund, ahead of Andreja Slokar and Kristen Lysdahl. Only the top 16 got through – some fairly well-known names didn’t make it, including Katharina Truppe, Estelle Alphand and Meta Hrovat; Shiffrin and Vlhova are among those who aren’t even here!  The conditions don’t look too good – bit misty with snow falling, but fairly firm and icy – there were apparently problems with the gates during qualification – hopefully now sorted? First race in the 1/8 finals is fastest against slowest from qualification – Stjernesund [red] v Vanessa Kasper; perhaps predictably Thea Louise takes it but by just 0.16 – not a huge gap for run 2. Lara Gur-Behrami next against Marte Monsen – the Norwegian takes it by 0.27 – first big upset of the evening! Marta Bassino v Andrea Ellenberger – Ellenberger by 0.14; it’s beginning to look like the blue course might be faster? Lena Dürr v Maryna Gasienica-Daniel and this time it’s Durr on the red course who takes it, despite losing a pole. Kristin Lysdahl v Steph Brunner – Lysdahl wins by 0.12; then Tina Robnik v Elisa Mörzinger – Robnik on red wins. Last 2 pairs – Sara Hector v Katharina Liensberger is very close; Liensberger takes it by just 0.03 – Slokar last to go against Coralie Frasse-Sombet – this one is even closer with the French woman going against the qualifying results by ending up 0.02 ahead. So – the second runs; Stjernesund is flying and she takes it by 1.08 – Kasper out. Now can Lara G-B pull it back – there’s a real upset – she’s a DNF so Monsen goes through! Marta Bassino has got it back though as she’s beaten Ellenberger; Dürr has won again - Gasienica-Daniel beaten by 0.49. Lysdahl v Brunner – Lysdahl takes that one; Robnik beats Mörzinger by an impressive 0.73. Sara Hector wins as Liensberger is a DNF; finally Slokar has avenged run 1 – quite close but Frasse-Sombet lost time on the two final gates. Interesting – two favourites out.

Quarter finals:  First race is an all Norwegian event – Stjernesund v Monsen and Thea Louise takes it by 0.15 – fastest run so far tonight. Dürr v Bassino next – the German takes it by just 0.04; Lysdahl has beaten Robnik by 0.27. Finally it’s Slokar v Hector – Slokar takes it by 0.23. Run 2, on the “other course” – skis have been re-waxed and the athletes are back at the top. Stjernesund has beaten Monsen, but that was a close run thing! Marta Bassino has won it on the final 3 turns against Lena Dürr; Lysdahl a fairly comfortable winner against Robnik. The last run of the quarters is close – Andreja Slokar has just held on to beat Sara Hector.

Semi Finals: The minor places first – Dürr v Monsen – the Norwegian takes it by 0.26; next is Hector v Robnik – good run for Hector to take run 1 by 0.28. Over to the battle for the top 4 places; Bassino v Stjernesund – Bassino a DNF, so the Norwegian starts run 2 with a 0.5 advantage. Finally Lysdahl has won against Slokar by 0.17. On to run 2. Monsen has won again, against Dürr; Robnik has gone well on run 2 but Hector has just taken it by just 0.06. Bassino had too much to make up - Stjernesund through to the final; now there’s a shock Slokar has beaten Lysdahl by just 0.07 – the all Norwegian final isn’t going to happen!

Finals: Small finals first – starting with Robnik v Dürr, for 7th and 8th; Robnik initially shown as ahead but she’s actually a DNF. Next Hector v Monsen – the Swede has taken it by 0.50. Lysdahl v Bassino for the final podium place – Bassino has taken it by 0.35. Now, run 1 of the big final – Slokar v Stjernesund – the Norwegian takes it by just 0.12. The final run – Tina Robnik unable to quite make up the 0.50 deficit, so she ends 8th, behind Lena Dürr in 7th. Now, Marte Monsen v Sara Hector [what a race face!] – Sara is flying and she wins by a massive 1.10 to .take 5th. Marta Bassino v Kristin Lysdahl – for 3rd and 4th – very close but the Norwegian has pulled time back to take 3rd place. Now – the last race of the day – and it’s a close one again, it looked like Stjernesund was in control but she lost it on the final gate  by just 0.05! Well done Andreja Slokar – a superb win! Slokar wins ahead of Stjernesund, with Lysdahl in 3rd and Bassino 4th.

14 Nov 21 – Men’s Parallel Finals – Lech/Zuers: Quite close in qualifying  but Dominik Raschner [AUT] was just ahead of Zan Kranjec and Henrick Kristoffersen - good to see Eric Read in the top 10 too; sadly Charlie Raposo was 17th – good effort but no finals. Mind you he was in good company – Victor Muffat-Jeandet, Gino Caviezel, Stefan Luitz and Clement Noel were among those who also didn’t qualify; Alexis Pinturault didn’t even finish the 2nd run and there are no Swiss in the finals! Conditions looked a bit better today. Race on – so far the red course is unbeaten in run 1 of the 1/8 finals.  That’s a surprise – Trevor Philp on blue has beaten Linus Strasser, but he’s the only blue of 8 to win! On to run 2 – no real surprise that Raschner has beaten Armand Marchant [BEL], who has DNF’d his run. Stefan Hadalin has beaten Julian Rauchfuss; Alex Schmid has made up time but still lost to Adrian Pertl based on the run 1 times as they had the same finishing time for run 2. No, now they are saying Pertl was faster on run 2 as well! Atle Lie McGrath has lost some of his advantage after Cyprien Sarrazin was a DNF on run 1, but he had enough in hand and goes through. Kristoffersen also lost a lot of time on the blue course but he’s through after beating Stefan Brennsteiner by just 0.02!  Erik Read has beaten Alex Vinatzer; Philp has beaten Strasser again despite losing his grip on a pole but Christian Hirschbühl has reversed run 1 and beaten Zan Kranjec!

Quarter Finals: On run 1 Raschner has beaten Hadalin quite comfortably; Pertl has beaten McGrath – both winners on the red course so far.  That trend continues – Kristoffersen beating Read; Philp beats Hirschbühl: 4 – 0 to red. Run 2; Raschner through as Hadalin DNFs, maybe pushing too hard? Yes, red does look faster – McGrath has beaten Pertl; now can Read do the same against Henrik K? Sadly not, Kristoffersen through; Hirschbühl has just pipped Philp.

Semis: Erik Read was a DNF on run 1; Hadalin and Raschner both the maximum 0.50 ahead, as is Kristoffersen – all of them on the red course! Run 2 – Pertl, now on the red course, has pulled back the 0.5 and beats Hadalin by 0.11!  Trevor Philp through, knocking out fellow Canadian Read. Now the winners – McGrath has made up the 0.5 but he’s pushed too much and is a DNF. Finally, Hirschbühl has also made the most of the red course to beat Kristoffersen. Maybe the max 0.5 advantage rule needs to be looked at – certainly Kristoffersen thinks it’s unfair and he may well be right!

Finals – and the Big Final is an all Austrian affair! Third place will certainly go the Norway; McGrath v Kristoffersen. Erik Read [blue] only 0.18 behind Hadalin in run 1 – good effort. Pertl a DNF on run 1 against Philp and he was on the red course! McGrath [red] 0.42 ahead of Kristoffersen. Finally Raschner is the maximum 0.50 ahead of Hirschbühl. Now the final races – well done Erik Read, taking 7th by a massive 2.14 over Hadalin on Blue. It’s a good evening for Canada – no real surprise that Trevor Philp [red] takes 5th, ahead of Adrian Pertl. Well done Atle Lie McGrath – just fast enough on blue to deny Henrik Kristoffersen a podium place. The last run of the evening – Christian Hirschbühl [red] has arguably upset the form books by beating Dominik Raschner by 0.07! Hirschbühl wins from Raschner and McGrath. I still don’t like this format!!

20 Nov 21 – Levi – Women’s Slalom: Missed run 1 completely as I was busy, Petra Vlhova fastest on that run ahead of Shiffrin and Slokar, and joined run 2 as Laurence St Germain went into 5th; Ana Bucik leading at present. Good run from, Neja Dvornik [SLO], who got to 12th on run 1 from a start number of 58! She’s into 5th, but as Martina Dubovska [CZE] is into 3rd, Neja is down to 6th! Thea Louise Stjernesund has gained to inter 1 – still ahead at 2, less green at 3 and finally over the line to take the lead by just 0.05. This set by a Swiss coach and it’s claimed 3 DNFs so far. Sara Hector was red at 2, but pulling it back by 3 and she takes the lead by 0.09 – eight to go. Wendy Holdener going well – apparently she’s only recently back from a bizarre sounding accident in the gym which damaged both wrists! That’s a good run – she leads by 0.42! Lena Dürr gaining time from 1 to 2 and she’s getting more time as she goes down – she leads by 0.66 and that’s also the new best time on run 2. Katharina Liensberger red all the way and into 2nd; Michelle Gisin, who has been ill recently, into 4th. Anna Swenn Larsson has gained time to 1, dead level at 3 but she’s lost a little to the line – into 2nd, +0.29. Andreja Slokar next, she’s just red at 2, a little redder at 3 and into 2nd, +0.28. Just 2 to go – Mikaela Shiffrin on the course with 0.61 in hand as she starts. She’s 0.58 ahead all the way to 3 and over the line 0.53 ahead – the 2nd fastest on run 2. Petra Vlhova has 0.11 advantage at the start; 0.05 green at 2 but now she’s gaining – she wins by 0.31 and it’s the best time on run 2 as well! Petra Vlhova wins this one, ahead of Shiffrin and Dürr, then Slokar in 4th ahead of Swenn Larsson and Liensberger.

21 Nov 21 – Levi Black – Women’s Slalom: Run 1 – Mikaela Shiffrin away first – it looks a tricky course today but with no commentary I’m not sure who set it – she’s down but doesn’t look entirely happy? Michelle Gisin was +0.31 at inter 2 but she’s pulled back a little time to go 2nd, +0.18. Wendy Holdener was more in touch on the top section but lost time for 2 to 3 to go 3rd, +0.66. Anna Swenn Larsson green at inter 1, still ahead at 2 but red at 3 – she takes over 3rd, +0.19. A rather scrappy run from Katharina Liensberger into 5th; Lena Dürr into 4th. Now it’s Petra Vlhova – slightly green at inter 1, even less green at 2 but 0.25 ahead at 3 and she takes the lead by 0.18 – I wonder if she’ll get another reindeer today; she’s probably got more than Santa by now? With 10 down Vlhova leads from Shiffrin [+0.18] and Gisin [+0.36]. A good run from Martina Dubovska [CZE, bib 13] into 6th; Katharina Huber [AUT, bib 21] into 7th. With 40 away, it’s good to see Charlie Guest [GBR, bib 32] in 17th, ahead of some better known skiers and looking good to get a 2nd run! Of the later starters Maria Therese Tviberg [NOR, bib 46] is by far the most successful at present – into a very impressive 5th place! Good runs too from Emma Aicher [GER, bib 59] into 13th; local Riikka Honkanen [bib 52] into 18th and Neja Dvornik [SLO, bib 57] to 20th. That’s run 1 over – Charlie Guest ended up 21st, so will get a second run.
Run 2: This course set by an Austrian coach and it’s somewhat controversial – very hard to get any rhythm! Sixth to start is Martina Peterlini [ITA] – slightly red at inter 2 but she’s gained a lot from there and takes over the lead from Germany’s Andrea Filzer. The commentary team reckon the unusual course set might also make the piste more rutted than usual which could be interesting later on. Meta Hrovat gained a little to 2 but she’s lost a little as she moves onto the steeper section – into 2nd. Charlie Guest gaining all the way to inter 2, 0.42 ahead there, but then she too is losing time – into 4th at present. Neja Dvornik has taken over 4th place; several skiers seem able to beat Peterlini’s time on the upper flatter section but the steep is where it all goes wrong. Thea Louise Stjernesund has lost a lot between 2 and 3 but she’s pulled back time on the final gates to take the lead. Andrea Slokar not as fast on the upper section, but better after inter 3 to go 2nd; Katharina Truppe [AUT] is making the most of the course set [by an Austrian coach!] to take over the lead by a massive 0.61. Leona Popovic [CRO] into 3rd; Ana Bucik [SOL] has done well to be still just green at inter 3 and she’s gained time from there to take over the lead by 0.20. Sara Hector red from inter 2 and into joint 3rd with Stjernesund. Katharina Liensberger [AUT] green at the top, gained between 2 and 3 but then an error – into 2nd; seems the Austrians have been practicing that sort of set. Wendy Holdener [SUI] is flying – she has gained between 2 and 3 as well and she takes the lead by 0.49 – a great run, especially considering her wrists are still heavily strapped. Surprisingly Katharina Huber hasn’t got the course set sorted out – into 5th; a good run from Martina Dubovska to go into 2nd. Lena Dürr has kept in the green at 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.19; very smooth. Sadly Maria Therese Tviberg has crashed out – that’s probably going to hurt - off for a medical check. Michelle Gisin on course; red by inter 2 and into 3rd. Mikaela Shiffrin next, with 0.48 in hand at the start – still 0.40 ahead at 2, green at 3 as well – a big error but a great recovery to take the lead by 0.31! I don’t think she’ll be sending the Austrian coach a Christmas card! Petra Vlhova has gained from 2 to 3 she’s pretty much faultless to win again – another reindeer! So, Vlhova makes it 2 wins from 2 here, Shiffrin gets another 2nd place and Lena Dürr gets her second podium of the weekend. Wendy Holdener in 4th, ahead of Gisin and Dubovska; Charlie Guest ended up 20th. That leaves Vlhova and Shiffrin tied in the overall standings on 260 points; Vlhova leads the slalom standings with 200 to Shiffrin’s 160.

Östersund;  Women’s 15 Km Individual 27 Nov 21: Season opener time, and in the same venue as the last race of the previous season! The first challenge was getting to grips with the new IBU website – found the datacenter [sic] in the end. The next challenge will be getting used to the new suit colours. Conditions look fairly good – unusually light winds at present! This is the first of just 3 Individuals this season – no penalty loops, just a 1 minute penalty added to the time for each miss. A few new names in the start list; it seems Susan Dunklee has pulled out of today’s race – looks like Amanda Lightfoot is a DNF – nice to see the crowds back this year. Anna Maka [POL] is first away; Tiril Eckhoff the first of the big names with bib 3. Huge welcome for Hanna Öberg as she starts; at 1.5 Km Franzi Preuß is marginally faster than Eckhoff. The early starters are at S1 – Maka is clear but Tiril has missed 1 – Preuß is clear. Back at 1.5 Km Hanna Öberg is 5 seconds faster than Franzi P; Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold clear at S1, but +20.7 seconds. Linn Persson has a lot of support at S1 but she’s missed the first shot; Julia Simon has missed 3, Hanna Öberg 2.  A new Russian [no, it’s a married name – last season she was Kaisheva!], Uliana Nigmatullina, clear and close to Tandrevold’s time; Doro Wierer isn’t taking it easy – fast shooting and clear, out 1.6 ahead of Franzi P, but Lisa Vittozzi has missed 3. Lisa Theresa Hauser also clear and out 3rd, +10.5. Tiril at S2 and she’s missed the first one here; Franzi P has missed her 3rd shot. Marta Olsbu Røiseland has missed 1 at S1, Tandrevold has missed once at S2, Denise Herrmann clear at S1. It’s not Hanna Öberg’s day – 3 more misses at S2; Doro has missed 2 at S2. Back at S1 Elvira Öberg has missed 1 – at S2 both Nigmatullina and Emma Lunder are 0,0 but only marginally ahead of Franzi P.  Hauser is also 0,0 and she’s faster – 36.9 ahead of Preuß. Tiril now 1,1,1; Franzi P has missed 2 at S3 and she’s now 16.2 behind Tiril – Røiseland clear at S2. After S3 Selina Gasparin [0,1,0] is currently leading, but now Tandrevold [0,1,0] is 37 seconds faster! At S3 Doro Wierer is having problems – looks as though the firing pin isn’t making contact – she’s clear but that’s cost her time. Meanwhile Nigmatullina is the only one so far to go 0,0,0 which gets her out of the range 32.4 ahead of Tandrevold; Hauser has just joined her in the 0,0,0 group and she’s 34.5 faster. Back at S2 Marketa Davidova is 0,0; Røiseland 1,0,2. Fuyoko Tachizaki has also shot 0,0,0 but she’s only just ahead of Tandrevold after S3. Denise Herrmann [0,1,0] out 3rd after S3 but 1:05.9 behind Hauser. At S4 Tandrevold [0,1,0,2] is 6.1 ahead of Preuß [0,1,2,1] – Eckhoff [1,1,1,2] currently 5th, just ahead of Selina Gasparin [0,1,0,2], but she’s flying on the final lap. It’s all change at S4 – Emma Lunder [0,0,1,0] out 9 seconds ahead of Nigmatullina [0,0,0,1] with Lisa Vittozzi [3,0,0,0] up to 3rd! Now Hauser [0,0,0,1] is out 35.3 ahead of Lunder, but at S3 Davidova is 0,0,0 and 19.4 faster than Hauser! Røiseland [1,0,2,0] currently 4th after S4, just ahead of Tachizaki [0,0,0,1]. It’s still all to play for – Denise Herrmann [0,1,0,0] out just 7.1 behind Hauser with Davidova still to complete her final standing shoot. Good work by Dzinara Alimbekava [1,1,0,0] – out +25.1 after S4. At 13.5 Km Herrmann is now just 3.9 behind Hauser but the win is surely going to Marketa Davidova who has just cleared at S4 and out 1:19.2 ahead – brilliant shooting! At 14.3 Km Hauser has opened the gap to Herrmann. At the finish it’s Hauser 5.3 ahead of Herrmann; Elvira Öberg has somehow managed to get into 8th, at present, despite 5 misses! Davidova over the line – perfect shooting and a fast ski time too! Good effort by Vanessa Voigt [GER] – just 1 miss and currently 8th, but there is some good shooting among some of the later starters  - Anna Weidel [GER] the only other 20/20 so far but she’s just over 2 minutes slower than Davidova after S4 and losing time on the final lap too.  Back at S3 Emilie Aagheim Kalkenberg  is 0,0,0 and out 4th; Kristina Reztsova [RUS] also 15/15 and out 5th – both ahead of Herrmann’s time there, although not skiing as fast. Kalkenberg in for her final shoot – 1 miss and out 8th; Reztsova in too – also 1 miss and she’s out 9th. Looks like both might beat Weidel! Kalkenberg is over the line in 7th – she’s the best Norwegian!  Reztsova into 8th – the commentary team reckon the track was getting faster and maybe shooting conditions a bit better too? Well, that was exciting – Marketa Davidova [CZE, 0,0,0,0] takes the win, ahead of Lisa Theresa Hauser [AUT] and Denise Herrmann [GER]. Alimbekava in 4th ahead of Nigmatullina and  Lunder. Kalkenberg 7th, then Reztsova, Weidel and Røiseland. Elvira in 18th, Tandrevold 20th, Preuß 23rd, Hinz 24th, Eckhoff 30th, Wierer 37th and Hanna Öberg 74th!!

Östersund;  Men’s 20 Km Individual, 27 Nov 21: Johannes Thingnes Bø away with bib 2 – 116 starters – I’ll be here all day! Lots of noise as Martin Ponsiluoma starts – hopefully he’ll do better than the Öbergs, who were tipped for the women’s race! At 2.8 Km Quentin Fillon Maillet is closest to JoBø and even he is 7.3 behind; Ponsiluoma is closer now, +2.9. JoBø is at S1 and he’s missed 1 there; Jakub Stvrtecky is clear but only 39 seconds ahead of Bø. Christian Gow also clear at S1 but QFM has missed 2, Roman Rees clear and he leads. Not a good day for Sweden so far – Ponsiluoma has missed 2. Benedikt Doll has also missed 1 at S1; Michal Krcmar clear and just 4.6 slower than Rees. Oh dear, Seb Samuelsson has also missed 2; 20 through S1 but only 6 clear. JoBø is in for S2 – clear this time! Christian Gow the first to get 10/10, but he’s out just 14.7 ahead of JoBø; Rees also clear and faster. Back at S1 Tarjei Bø clear and faster than Rees. Sturla Holm Laegreid also clear at S1, as is Jesper Nelin, and he’s out just in the lead – some good news for Sweden. Looks like the wind is picking up a little.  Alex Loginov and Johannes Dale both clear at S1; JoBø already at S3 – he missed his 4th. Now, that’s interesting – QFM clear at S3 and out ahead of JoBø.; Tarjei has missed 1 at S2. Roman Rees has missed 1 at S3; so has Christian Gow – meanwhile Laegreid is 10/10 and just ahead of Rees after S2. At S2 Nelin has missed his last 2 after adjusting the position of his elbow. Dale has missed 2 at S2; Loginov 3! JoBø is at S4 and he’s clear again [1,0,1,0]; back at S2 ] Sivert Guttorm Bakken [NOR] is 10/10 as are Strolia [LTU] and Jake Brown [USA]. At S4 QFM is [2,0,0,1] and Gow has missed 1; both now behind JoBø’s time. Tarjei Bø best after S3 with [0,1,0], or he was until Laegreid went 15/15! Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen 10/10 an d out 4th; Bakken 15/15 but +51.5 against Laegreid. Tarjei at S4 and another miss [0,1,0,1] but he’s out in the lead, 16.8 ahead of his younger brother. Tsukasa Kobonoki the only 20/20 so far and he’s out in 3rd! That’s good from Eduard Latypov – [1,0,0,0] and out 2nd, but skiing slower than the Bø brothers. Sturla Holm Laegreid is also 20/20 and he’s away from S4 a massive 1:20.9 ahead of Tarjei! Back at S3 Christiansen is 15/15 and just 9 seconds behind Laegreid! It could be an all Norwegian podium? At the finish, at present we have Tarjei leading ahead of JoBø; Bakken has also shot a perfect score and after S4 he’s just ahead of Tarjei. Not sure what Latypov did there – he took a wrong turn coming to the line – that’s cost him a place ahead of JoBø! Also odd is the data showing Alex Mukhin as 4th after S4 when he was 52nd after S3; he also doesn’t seem to have shot S4! That’s better – he’s vanished from the leading 6 – actually missed 3 at S4 and out 51st! At S4 Christiansen has missed 3, but Scott Gow is 20/20 and out 3rd at present. At the finish it’s now Laegreid, Tarjei, Johannes and Bakken! I wonder if Simon Desthieux [0,1,0,1] can break the Norwegian podium – 5th after S4 but 3rd at 18.8 Km?  Yes, Desthieux over the  line in 3rd, just 1.4 behind Tarjei. Scott Gow over the line in 4th, pushing JoBø down to 5th – a good day for Canada with his brother currently 10th.  That seems to be it – Sturla Holm Laegreid [0,0,0,0] takes the win by almost a minute, ahead of Tarjei Bø [0,1,0,1] and Simon Desthieux [0,1,0,1].  Scott Gow in 4th, ahead of JoBø, Bakken, Latypov and QFM. All credit to Kobonaki  in 9th, ahead of Christian Gow. Jesper Nelin the best Swede in 12th; Samuelsson down in 40th with 6 misses and Ponsiluoma in 69 with 8 misses! A good run from Justus Strelow [0,0,1,0] to go into 13th – best German today, 1 place better than Rees.

Östersund; Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint 28 Nov 21: Hmm, no sound at present – now we have it; seems Patrick is having problems hearing things and we might have lost Mike, who should have been covering cross country, but that’s been cancelled as it’s too cold? It’s cold for the biathlon too, but within limits; seems Amanda Lightfoot will not start today! Most big names going fairly early; Røiseland going near the end of the main contenders with bib 38, so she’ll know what she has to do. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet first away – poor prone shooting yesterday by her standards. It should be interesting to see how the Öbergs do today – poor shooting yesterday but great ski speed. The tracks are sounding quite crisp and icy; Hauser going fast on the early section. Justine B-B at S1 – 1 miss; Hauser also 1 miss but they are both out ahead of Lunder who hit all 5. Doro Wierer has hit all 5 but it’s slow and she seems to be having trouble with the rifle again today. She’s away 9.3 ahead of Justine B-B, but Lucie Charvátová is faster and she’s 6.5 behind Anais Chevalier-Bouchet – both clear. Franzi Preuß clear and away 2nd, +2.9; Elvira Öberg currently fastest at 1.3 Km by 7.7 seconds! Braisaz-Bouchet clear at S2; Hanna Öberg clear at S1 and out 2nd, +2.2. Elvira has missed her 5th at S1; no one yet 10/10 – ah, Anais C-B has done it – the French supporters are happy! Preuß has missed her 4th at S2; Herrmann has missed 1 at S1 and so Has Tiril Eckhoff. Davidova has missed 1 at S2; Hanna Öberg has gone 10/10 and she’s out 1.8 ahead of Anais C-B – that’s quite a recovery! Elvira is 8/10; Hanna is gaining time against Anais C-B on the last lap – she’s gained 7 seconds to 6.3 Km. Back at S1 Røiseland is clear and out some 8 seconds faster than Hanna. Best after S1 at present though is Hanna Sola [BLR]! Tiril has missed 2 at S2; at the finish Hanna Öberg is over the line in the lead, then Anais C-B and Justine B-B. Pity – Sola has missed 1 at S2 but she’s away comfortably ahead of Braisaz-Bouchet’s time – she’s lost a bit to 6.3 Km. Røiseland has missed 1 at S2 – out 3rd, +12.1, but ahead of Sola. Alimbekava has gone 10/10 and out just ahead of Røiseland; Sola over the line in 3rd. Røiseland over the line and she’s taken over 3rd but I’m not sure she’ll hold off Alimbekava? At 7.1 Km Alimbekava has slipped to 0.2 behind the Norwegian, maybe too fast out of the range – she’s over the line 4th. So, at present Hanna Öberg leads, ahead of Anais Chevalier-Bouchet, Røiseland, Alimbekava, Sola and Braisaz-Bouchet. Great shooting by Anna Weidel – 10/10 and her standing shoot was brilliant! Out 9th but her ski speed probably isn’t enough to stay there? I missed Eva Puskarčíková – also 10/10 and out 7th after S2, very close to Preuß’s time. Ida Lien also 10/10 – her last shot was slow and her whole body was shaking which lost her time but she’s pulling it back on the last lap. Weidel over the line in 15th, Eva Puskarčíková was 10th [I must just missed her earlier on] but now Ida Lien has taken over 10th. Good run from Clare Egan, 10/10 and 12th place. No changes to the top 6 – well done Hanna Öberg, from 74th to 1st in 24 hours! Franzi Preuß best German in 7th. Elvira fastest around the tracks ahead of Røiseland and her sister.


Östersund; Men’s 10 Km Sprint 28 Nov 21: Now we seem to have Mike talking about cross country and Pat doing the biathlon intro – both at the same time! I think the control room need to switch Mike back off, especially as he’s noisier than Patrick! I’ve re-loaded the coverage and now have no commentary! Swapped to IBU live and that’s better - Jakov Fak in for S1 and clear, so is Felix Leitner. Beni Doll also clear, out +3.4 behind Fak. Seb Samuelsson flying on lap 1; Jesper Nelin clear at S1 and fastest there so far. Maksim Varabei [BLR] clear at S1 too and just faster than Doll; a bit academic though as Seb Samuelsson is clear at S1 and out 13.4 ahead of Nelin. Emilien Jacquelin clear and just 6 seconds behind Seb; JoBø is in for S! – clear and out 5.9 behind Seb. Fak is clear again at S2; Doll has missed 1. Nelin has missed 2 at S2; Alex Loginov is 10/10 and fractionally faster than Fak; however Seb Samuelsson is also 10/10 and a massive 38.5 ahead of Loginov. Jacquelin has missed 1 at S2 but still just 19.2 behind Seb, so he’s skiing well. Tarjei Bø clear at S1 but 20.4 behind. Over to S2 again and JoBø is 10/10 and out 5.1 behind Seb; Philipp Nawrath 10/10 and out 3rd, +15.5. At 8.8 Km Samuelsson has taken almost another 10 seconds out of Loginov. Back at S1 Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 4! On the final lap JoBø has lost 3.4 seconds to 8.8 Km; at S1 Fabien Claude is clear and just 1.7 behind Seb. JoBø over the finish line – 12.2 behind Samuelsson with Jacquelin in 3rd. Tarjei has missed 1 at S2 and he’s almost a minute back. Nawrath into 4th, 4.3 behind Jacquelin; not sure what has happened to Laegreid – 9/10 but 1:15.8 behind – tired? Good run from Simon Desthieux [0,0] into 4th, +23.8 – French in 3rd and 4th. Dale has missed 3 at S2; Claude 1 miss but still out 3rd, +13.8 – he’s lost a bit to 8.8 Km though, now +29.4. Claude over the line in joint 5th with Nawrath – 3 French in the top 6 at present. That might change though – Christiansen is 10/10 and out 6.2 back; I can’t see him catching Samuelsson but he might just knock JoBø down a place? He’s lost time by 8.8 Km though; pulled a little back by 9.6 and he’s got 2nd – a very good final section! So, Seb Samuelsson wins, Christiansen in 2nd, +11.8, then JoBø [+12.2!] Jacquelin, Desthieux and Nawrath/Claude. Bakken and F F Andersen in 8/9 respectively, so a pretty good day for the Norwegians and French, spoilt only by Samuelsson! No real surprise that Seb was quickest around the course, ahead of Jacquelin and JoBø.

Lake Louise 26 – 28 Nov: Sadly the first speed race of the new season, the Men’s Downhill scheduled for 26 Nov at Lake Louse was cancelled due to too much snow!

Men’s Downhill – 27 Nov: Conditions here look a lot better, although they have lowered the start – seems that Nick and Finlay are having snags with comms – sorted now. Lake Louise is a lovely place – I was lucky enough to ski here several years ago – great fun! Vincent Kriechmayr is first away – looking faster than in practice; he’s safely down. Marco Odermatt in the red early on – into 2nd, just 0.17 off the pace – pretty impressive! Johan Clarey off the pace, +1.56; Daniel Hemetsberger in touch to inter 3 but then a bad error cost him time – 3rd, and +1.29. Next is Beat Feuz – and we’re losing Nick again – a good final section and Feuz is 2nd, +0.12. Ryan Cochran-Siegle back from ACL injury and fast through the first gun – neat looking run and he’s into 4th. Here comes Matthias Mayer – just green at inter 2 and slowly getting greener – he takes the lead by 0.23; seems the conditions are getting trickier though. Dominik Paris just green at 1, just red at 2 but it’s slipping away from him – into 5th; first TV break – Mayer leads from Kriechmayr, Feuz and Odermatt. The light is getting flatter, I think. Romed Baumann just green at 1 but slightly red at 2 – conditions certainly are getting worse – Baumann into 5th. Matthieu Bailet into 6th; Max Franz a bit off the pace on the upper section, recovered from 3 to 4 and then into 5th. Kjetil Jansrud a disappointing 11th; we’ve lost Nick yet again! He’s back in time for Aleksander Aamodt Kilde’s run – fastest in final training I think but today he’s just 9th. Jared Goldberg out but standing up and seems OK; another break – no change to the top 4, Max Franz 5th, Romed Baumann 6th. The later starters aren’t having the best of conditions – no changes so far to the top 6 – highest bib in the top 10 is Kilde [bib 19]. Bostjan Kline in touch on the upper sections but ended up 11th; Niels Hintermann into 12th. That’s 30 away though so the race result will stand. Interesting to see Alexis Pinturault here and racing for overall points – he’s into 26th at present. That’s a lot of effort for a possible 5 points – sadly he’s down to 32nd and no points – good try though! That’s it – no late changes to the top 12 – well done Matthias Mayer.
There should have been a Super G on Sunday 28th but due to night snow and the forecasts it too has been cancelled! Not a brilliant weekend!

Killington 27/28 Nov:

Women’s GS Run 1 – 27 Nov 21: Joined this a little late because of the biathlon – just 9 away and a couple surprises – Tessa Worley leading from Petra Vlhova and Lara Gut-Behrami but Shiffrin in 9th, +1.38. Conditions don’t look good – snow, mist and wind combined – the race is interrupted and probably shouldn’t have started? No surprise there, given the conditions – race cancelled!

Women’s Slalom – 28 Nov – Run 1: Interesting – run 2 will be set by Petra Vlhova’s coach; she is bib 1 today. That looked good from Vlhova; the weather is certainly better than yesterday but still a bit gloomy. Michelle Gisin is 1.66 slower! Wendy Holdener is more in touch, +0.58; Mikaela Shiffrin at the start – she’s red at 1 and 2, gained a bit from 3 to the finish – into 2nd, +0.20. Lena Dürr into 4th, +1.06; that’s 10 away – Vlhova leads from Shiffrin and Holdener – no one else within a second. Kristin Lysdahl into 6th, just behind Liensberger; Paula Moltzan has taken over that 6th place. That’s all from Eurosport for run 1; probably no great loss as after Moltzan no one with a higher bib number has got into the top 10 – the closest was Tviberg [bib 31] into 12th. Charlie Guest got into 21st, but there are some good skiers yet to come – run 1 over – Guest in 24th, so run 2 beckons!
Run 2: Some quite large timing deficits in the top 30 – Chiara Mair is +3.31! To be honest, given those gaps and the overcast weather I can’t see this getting too crucial until the final 3. Anyway Mair is safely down and Mina Fuerst Holtmann is off that pace by quite a margin - +0.81! I hadn’t heard of Hanna Aronsson Elfman [SWE] before but she did well to get a 2nd run from bib 60 – and that’s a good run too, she’s 1.52 faster than Mair! She’s hanging on to the leader’s chair too; 11 away now and she’s still there – ahead of Marie Therese Sporer, as the snow gets a little heavier. Katharina Huber should have taken over the lead but she’s a DNF after missing a gate close to the finish! At last Anna Swenn Larsson takes over – 2nd best time on run 2. It fell to Maria Therese Tviberg to topple Swenn Larsson; Andreja Slokar into third – by that stage young Hanna was down to 8th, but still with the best time so far on run 2. Sara Hector has taken back the lead for Sweden! Kristin Lysdahl a DNF but seems OK; Paula Moltzan next – nicely green at 1 and 2 but just red at 3 into 2nd, +0.28! Katharina Liensberger going well on run 2 – she takes the lead by 0.44. Lena Dürr is red, green, red and into 2nd; now just the final 3. Wendy Holdener has gained to inter 1, steady to 2, lost a little to 3 but then a good run to the line to take the lead by 0.58! Next is Mikaela Shiffrin – 0.38 in hand at the start – it’s down to just 0.09 at inter 1 after a recovery, but from there she’s building up her lead – she leads by a massive 0.83, and that’s the best time on run 2 as well. Just Petra Vlhova to come – 0.20 in hand and a course set by her coach – she’s gained a little to inter 1 but then a massive handbrake turn and she’s 0.83 red by 2 – Vlhova holds on to 2nd, but today is Shiffrin’s day – much to the delight of the crowd. A win for Shiffrin, Vlhova 2nd and Holdener 3rd; then Liensberger, Dürr, and Hector - Hanna Aronsson Elfman ended up 15th but still with the second fastest time on run 2 – what a debut!

Östersund;  Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint 2 Dec 21:  A gloomy day with some light snow falling. At 1.3 Km Elvira Öberg [bib 1] is still fastest, just ahead of Alimbekava. Elvira in for S1 – she’s missed her 3rd shot, but her ski speed is amazing. Tandrevold has gone clear and out 7 seconds ahead of Elvira. Good, fast shooting by Linn Persson – out 2nd, +6.6; Dzinara Alimbekava also clear and out in the lead. A lot of mitts being worn today; it’s minus 13 – Hanna Sola now fastest at 1.3 Km. Elvira has missed 1 at S2 as well; Denise Herrmann has missed 1 at S1 and also had a problem feeding 1 round. Back at S1 Hanna Öberg has also missed 1. Tandrevold has missed 2 at S2; Linn Persson clear and away but Alimbekava is also clear and 12.9 faster. At S1 Sola is clear and 10.4 faster than Alimbekava. That’s interesting – Alimbekava left the range 14.4 ahead of Elvira; she’s just 3.6 ahead as she reaches 6.3 Km; at 7.1 Km Elvira is 6 seconds ahead! Hanna has missed 1 at S2; Herrmann clear but only just ahead of Hanna! Still only 2 people with 10/10, but neither have skied fast enough to beat Elvira to the finish. Doro Wierer has a working rifle today but she’s missed 2 at S1; Sola has missed 1 at S2 and out 3 seconds behind Alimbekava there. Preuß and Hauser both clear at S1, so is Røiseland. Tuuli Tomingas [EST] also 10/10 but out from S2 +25.7. Hanna Öberg over the line in 5th, 34.5 slower than her sister with the same penalties. Hanna Sola is faster than Alimbekava on the final lap but can’t catch Elvira! Meanwhile Hauser is 10/10 and away from S2 29.4 seconds ahead of Elvira; Vanessa Voight also 10/10 but a similar ski speed to Tomingas. Franzi Preuß has missed 1 at S2 – out 25.1 behind Hauser. Røiseland has also missed 1 at S2 and she’s +39.9. The wind has picked up I think; at 7.1 Km Hauser still has 12.2 seconds in hand against Elvira’s time and she’s over the line 12.5 ahead of the Swede! At S2 Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [0,1] is out 4th, +20.1 – over the line in 6th. The order at the finish at present is Hauser, Elvira Öberg, Sola, Alimbekava and Preuß. Lucie Charvátová has missed 2 at S1 – the camera switched to her coach, shaking his head! Chloe Chevalier clear at S1 and out 2nd, ahead of Hauser. Lena Haecki is 10/10 but again not with the ski speed to capitalise on it. Seems a little strange that Tiril Eckhoff is bib 111!  Chloe Chevalier is at S2 – slow on the range but all 10m are down and she’s out 3rd, +17.3.  She’s losing time on the final lap too – over the line in 8th, 2 places behind her sister! Back at 1.3 Km Tiril is +12.3; Janina Hettich also 10/10 but again, not fast enough yet. There are a few people showing signs of frost nip! Eckhoff at S1 and she’s missed 1, +41.6. Susan Dunklee at S2 – a bit off the pace and she’s missed 2 as well – I thought she looked a little unwell? Amanda Lightfoot [1,3] not having a good day. Neither is Tiril – now [1,1] and out 41st which is not good by her standards. That seems to be it – well done to Lisa Theresa Hauser! Amazing that Elvira Öberg was fast enough to take 2nd, with 2 penalties ahead of Hanna Sola [0,1], then Alimbekava [0,0], Preuß [0,1] and Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [0,1]. Denise Herrmann 9th and Voight 10th, so a good result for Germany in some ways! Belarus 3rd and 4th too.

Östersund;  Men’s 10 Km Sprint 2 Dec 21:  Joined this a little late – no one yet at the finish – only Beni Weger clear after S2 although Emilien Jacquelin is faster despite 1 miss. Latypov now also clear after S2 and in touch with Jacquelin – JoBø [1,0] missed at S1 and +30.5 against Jacquelin at S2. Christiansen clear at S1 and fast; good shooting from  Lukas Hofer [0,0] - +13.0 at S2. Nawrath, clear at S1 has just missed 3 at 2; Tarjei Bø clear at S1 and only fractionally behind Latypov’s time. JoBø over the finish line in 3rd, just ahead of Weger; Jacquelin still leads ahead of Eduard Latypov. Bakken is also going well – clear at S1 and fast – just quicker than Christiansen at that stage. Seb Samuelsson [1,0] must have Elvira’s skis – he’s 3.1 faster than Jacquelin. Meanwhile Lukas Hofer has finished – presently in 3rd; Christiansen has missed 1 at S2 but close to Hofer’s time. Tarjei Bø has missed his last shot – the sigh from the Norwegian coach was clearly audible! Samuelsson is flying – at S2 he was 3.1 ahead; by 8.8 Km he’s 15.7 ahead! Bakken with 2 misses at S2; Samuelsson takes the lead by 18 seconds, Christiansen into 4th. Back at S2 Laegreid is 10/10 and out 3rd, +7.8; Tarjei has been losing a little time – over the line 6th, just 1 place ahead of his younger brother at present. Quentin Fillon Maillet [0,1] has just missed his final shot – pity as that was a very quick shoot; he’s out 5th, +9.8! Laegreid has lost a lot on the final lap – in 5th, +40.5, despite 10/10!  QFM on his final lap – it’s very close between him and Latypov for the final podium place – QFM gets it with a strong finish! So, at present it’s Samuelsson ahead of Jacquelin and QFM; Latypov in 4th, then Christiansen, Laegreid, Hofer and Tarjei Bø. Good effort from Johannes Kühn – one miss at S2 but out 10th – over the line in 12th, best German today, 2 places ahead of Doll!

Östersund;  Women’s 10 Km Pursuit 4 Dec 21: I can’t say I’d fancy being in Lisa Theresa Hauser’s ski boots today – apart from the fact that they’d be crippling me having Elvira chasing me down isn’t a happy prospect! I think there is no commentary again! Over to IBU live where we do have Pat and Mike! Sure enough, by 0.8 Km Elvira has pulled back all but 4 seconds on Hauser, Sola still in touch – those three in a small leading group as they come in for S1. Hauser clear at S1 and away, Anais Chevalier- Bouchet clear and out 2nd, from 6th, with Elvira third, +25.4 after 1 miss. Røiseland in 4th after a clear shoot, up from 12, ahead of Haecki and Doro Wierer – also both clear. Hanna Sola has missed 2 and so has Alimbekava; Hanna Öberg has missed 1.  On the lap both Anais C-B and Elvira are closing on Hauser but working harder. Elvira now right on Hauser’s heels, Anais C-B a little back. In for S2 – Hauser clear again but so are Elvira and Anais C-B, Røiseland 10/10 and out 4th+20.6. Hanna Öberg clear this time and out 5th just ahead of Franzi Preuß [1,0]. On the lap Elvira Öberg is pulling away – 8.7 ahead of Anais C-B and 13.3 up on Hauser at 4.8 Km; Røiseland and Hanna Ö also closing down LTH. In for S3, Elvira well clear – truly astonishing speed; two misses! Anais C-B has missed 1; LTH clear and away 19.2 ahead of Anais C-B, Røiseland [0,0,1] in 3rd, +24.9, then Hanna Öberg [1,0,1], +25.3, Bescond [15/15], and Elvira Öberg [1,0,2], +30.7. At the next split Elvira has gained an astonishing amount again, up to 3rd behind Røiseland – even the commentary team can’t believe it! Final shoot – Elvira has dropped back to 4th on the approach; Anais C-B clear and she leads out, just 0.2 ahead of LTH with Marte Olsbu Røiseland +0.6. Anais Bescond [20/20] +6.0 then Preuß [1,0,1,0] who is just 5 seconds ahead of Hanna Öberg [1,0,1,1]. Elvira [1,0,2,1] has dropped to 7th.  That was a superb race by Marte Olsbu Røiseland – she takes the win with just 1 miss, up from 12th at the start. Anais Bescond [0,0,0,0] in 2nd from 14th, Anais C-B taking the final podium spot – good day for the French! Lisa Theresa Hauser in 4th, then Preuß and Hanna Öberg; Elvira 7th in the end, ahead of Herrmann, Haecki and Alimbekava. Røiseland among those gaining [12 – 1] places; the list also includes Bescond [14-2], Hanna Ö [11-6], Haecki [15-9], Justine B-B [17-12], Tandrevold [1 miss, 35-15], Nigmatullina [29-17], Lie [30-19], Maeda [37-23] and Julia Simon [48-25]. Going the wrong way the list includes Alimbekava [4-10], Sola [3-11], Vittozzi [13-20], Persson [7-26], Voight [10-27], Chloe Chevalier [8-33], Egan [26-46] and Tomingas [21-47]. A good race – pity LTH didn’t quite have the ski speed to back up her shooting!

Östersund;  Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km Relay 4 Dec 21: It is looking distinctly cold there; apparently minus 8 degrees! Hmm, no Laegreid in the Norwegian team; no commentary yet so no idea what might be behind that? Race is on – I can’t find a commentary anywhere! A nice little tangle there – couldn’t see who was involved but it is distinctly crowded this early on. At 1.3 Km Bakken leads from Khalili [RUS], Florent Claude [BEL], Femling, Krcmar and Fabien Claude [FRA]. Femling up to 2nd behind Krcmar as they turn to head for the range – first shoot by bib numbers. Bakken is clear and leads out, just ahead of Lesser, Khalili, Tachizaki, Claude [BEL] and Stalder [SUI] – all 0,0. The crowd are quiet as Pepe Femling used all 3 spares and ended up doing a penalty loop – out 24th, +47.0! At 4.6 Km the top 3 are the same, but Tachizaki has dropped to 13th. In for S2 – Bakken first to strike – he’s out in the lead, just 0.7 ahead of Erik Lesser [well done Erik], Krcmar up to 3rd, ahead of Stalder, French Claude and Artem Pryma. Khalili down to 7th after using all 3 spares; Femling in 22nd after using 1 more spare; Sean Doherty on the loop this time. On the lap Bakken is holding off Lesser, with Fabien Claude up to 3rd and closing; those 3 have opened a small gap as they head for Exchange 1 – out NOR/GER/FRA [+0.9], then RUS/CZE with China up to 6th – a great last lap by Cheng to get up from 11th after the standing shoot; Sweden in 23rd at present! At the next split Tarjei Bø is just ahead of Jacquelin and Rees; Danil Serokhvostov has got Russia back up with the leaders, bringing Jakub Stvrtecky [CZE] with him. Jacquelin has passed Bø by 9.6 Km but it’s all close as they head for S3. Serokhvostov clear and away, Tarjei needed 1 spare and away 2nd, ahead of Rees [1], Pidruchnyi [0] Eder [0] and Stvrtecky [1]. Poor Jesper Nelin used all 3 spares but avoided the loop – out 22nd, +1:44.6. It’s starting to snow! At 11.3 Serokhvostov is 2.1 ahead of Bø with Rees still in touch, +4.2, but the German has lost a little by the next split. Now S4 – Tarjei clear and away, ahead of Dmytro Pidruchnyi [0+0] 9 seconds back ahead of Eder [1], Serokhvostov [2], Giacomel [0] and Rees [2; +30.4]. Jacquelin used 3 spares at S3 and 2 more in the stand – out 7th; Nelin has used another 2 and out 21st, +2:04.5. As they head for exchange 2 Tarjei is 4.3 ahead of Pidruchnyi, who has done a great job on this leg. Serokhvostov in 3rd, but dropping back. At the exchange it’s NOR/UKR/RUS/ITA/AUT/FRA; Germany in 7th, China have dropped back to 12th and the Czechs are 13th, after Stvrtecky’s penalty loop at S4.
At the first split of the new leg JoBø leads by 14.4 having pulled out 10 seconds on Bogdan Tsymbal [UKR]; Loginov 3rd, +24.0, so he’s lost 5 seconds too, then Desthieux, Oberhauser [AUT] and Doll – all have lost time to Bø. At S5 JoBø has cleared and he’s leading out, ahead of Tsymbal [0+0] and Loginov [0]. Desthieux also clear and 4th, +40.0, then Hofer [2] and Doll [1]. Poor Magnus Oberhauser has used all 3 spares and ended up doing 3 penalty loops; Martin Ponsiluoma used just 1 spare and he’s up to 18th. JoBø is continuing to pull away on the lap – the coaches are shouting themselves hoarse! As he turns for the standing shoot Bø is over 18 seconds ahead. S6 – JoBø has cleared all 5 very quickly – no idea of the fall of shot as the camera was at the wrong end! Alex Loginov has also cleared and 21.4 behind, then Desthieux [1]; Tsymbal has used 3 spares and done a penalty loop but still out 4th, somehow ahead of Hofer who shot clear – must have had a slow lap?  Doll in 6th and Ponsiluoma up to 10th despite needing 2 more spares. There are only 2 people within a minute of JoBø as he heads for his handover to Christiansen. More like the old JoBø!! Behind him it’s RUS/FRA [+50.2]/GER [+1:19.8]/ITA/UKR [+1:20.4]. Nice to see Belgium still in 9th, just ahead of Sweden! At 23.8 Km Christiansen is 18.9 ahead of Latypov with QFM 49.6 behind. Then a gap to Nawrath [+1:17.7] who is in a little group with Windisch and Dudchenko. Then over a minute to Burkhalter [SUI]; Samuelsson is past Lahaye-Goffa but isn’t closing – the pursuit beckons I think. Final prone shoot – Christiansen used 1 spare, but so did Latypov; QFM clear but hasn’t made up much. Nawrath clear and some 9 seconds closer – more importantly he’s opened up a 24 second gap to Dudchenko [2 spares] and Windisch [3]. The Swedes really aren’t shooting well today – Samuelsson needing all 3 spares and he’s back behind Lahaye-Goffa! The final shoot – the Norwegian coach is looking a little tense! Christiansen has missed his first and needed 2 spares, but Latypov is in trouble – he’s on the penalty loop! QFM clear and out 2nd, ahead of Latypov, Nawrath [1], Dudchenko [1] and Smolski [UKR, 0]; Windisch has done 2 penalty loops and Is out 7th, just ahead of Samuelsson who was clear here. Sad that Lahaye-Goffa couldn’t hold on – a penalty loop has dropped him to 16th. I doubt the main positions will change now, Nawrath won’t catch Latypov. Well done to Norway [0+4], a comprehensive win – ahead at every exchange! France 2nd [0+8],  then Russia [1+9], Germany [0+6], Ukraine [1+6] and Belarus [0+11]. Samuelsson just outsprinted Windisch to get Sweden over the line in 7th.

Östersund; Women’s 4 x 6 Km Relay 5 Dec 21: It might be a brave person who would bet against Sweden, but it’s just possible that they might shoot like the men did yesterday? Again, we don’t seem to have commentary? If not them, Norway look strong. The race is on; not as much barging on the first hill as there was in the men’s race, but skate technique does take up a lot of space! At the first split it’s Reztsova ahead of Persson and Bescond; Paulina Fialkova listed as DNS so Slovakia out of it today. Heading in for the first prone; Moser [Canada] in trouble. It’s Reztsova who leads out, ahead of Baserga [SUI], Kalkenberg, Bescond, and Jislova ]CZE] – all clear, no spares. Dunklee has used 2 spares and out 19th, Moser all 3 and 22nd, and to add to her woes she’s fallen on the lap – up and seems OK. As they turn back for the range Bescond leads from Reztsova, Vittozzi, Voight and Persson, who has fought back from 15th after S1. Reztsova clear again and she leads out ahead of Vittozzi who has used one spare on both shoots, then Jislova, Voight, and Avvakumova {KOR] – all clear. Persson has used a spare on both shoots and is out 7th; credit to Moser who used just 1 spare this time and out 13th, Dunklee now 22nd after a total of 5 spares used. Now Persson has ditched her glasses, hopefully not left on the range? Exchange 1 – Reztsova has kept Russia just in the lead, then it’s ITA/CZE/GER/SWE/FRA, Norway in 7th, +19.1. At 6.8 Km Denise Herrmann leads from Brorsson, Wierer and Kuklina, who I’m fairly sure is wearing a different kit to Reztsova? Brorsson is leading in for S3; she’s clear and away, ahead of Anais C-B [0], Eckhoff [1], Alimbekava [0], Doro Wierer [1] and Herrmann [1]; no penalty loops so far. On the lap Tiril Eckhoff and Anais C-B are just past Brorsson; Doro now up to 2nd as the next split, Herrmann looking unusually slow? Leading 5 in for S4 – Alimbekava clear and out, just ahead of Anais C-B, but behind them there is a lot of missing! Herrmann out 3rd, +39.9 [2 spares], the 20 seconds back is Kuklina [1], who is just ahead of Eckhoff who has done a penalty loop. Wierer has also been on the loop and is 8th, and Brorsson has done 2 loops and is 9th, +1:34.3. Belarus and France nicely clear as they head for exchange 2; Herrmann isn’t catching them and neither is Tiril. Wierer and Brorsson also losing time; at the exchange it’s FRA/BLR/GER [+46.3]/NOR [+1:05.9]/RUS/SUI – not a good leg for many, including Sweden who are 9th, +1:48.3 – mind you it’s Elvira on this leg! At 12.8 Km Julia Simon has pulled out a little on Kruchinkina, Hettich now 51.2 behind and Tandrevold isn’t gaining either but Elvira has pulled back about 10 seconds already! The leading pair are in for their first shoot – Simon away after 1 spare, 31.8 ahead of Kruchinkina [2]; Hettich clear but +54.5, Tandrevold also clear and some 20 seconds behind the German. Elvira Öberg used 2 spares – out 9th, +1:41.1. The French coach is shouting at Julia Simon, to “encourage” her and it seems to work as she’s pulling away a little; Hettich losing a little to Tandrevold; Elvira up to 5th and she’s gained 10 seconds again. S6 and Simon has enough in hand for a penalty loop – she doesn’t need it though, fast shooting, all 5 down and out before Kruchinkina is even on the mat! Just 1 spare for Kruchinkina [+53.4], Hettich clear again and out 14 seconds ahead of Tandrevold [1 spare], with Elvira [1] just 3 seconds behind her; she could well be up to 3rd by the exchange?! In fact she’s 3rd by 16.8 Km – inhuman speed! Final exchange – France comfortably ahead as Justine B-B takes over; Hanna Sola away +1:08.4 and Hanna Öberg is just 12 seconds behind her! Then NOR/GER/CZE/ITA/RUS. JB-B in for her prone already; 1 miss on her 5th, 1 spare and away. Sola has also missed her 5th, 1 spare and away, Hanna has missed her 5th too and broke her position, now 23 seconds behind Sola. Røiseland clear and 7 seconds ahead of Preuß who used 1 spare. On the lap Røiseland has closed a little on Hanna. Justine B-B already in for the final shoot – huge stress – that was very fast – all down and a big smile from Justine – what a shoot! Absolutely brilliant! Hanna Sola has missed 2, 2 spares and away; Røiseland [1] out just ahead of Hanna [2] with Franzi Preuß 6 seconds back in 5th. The only real question now is who will take the final podium place? France [0+4] take a very well deserved win, ahead of Belarus [0+6] in 2nd; photo for 3rd – it goes to Sweden [2+11]! Norway [1+7] in 4th, Germany [0+4] 5th and Italy [1+10] in 6th. Well done to France, especially Justine B-B!

Östersund; Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit 5 Dec 21: A freeze on the way, hopefully not making too much impact until tomorrow. Jakov Fak did qualify but will not start; it’s too cold for him after he got frostbite a while ago. Laegreid also a DNS as he has a sore throat. The French supporters are still in good voice after the women’s relay result! At the first split Jacquelin has pulled back 3 seconds on Seb Samuelsson, both Bøs have gained 2 places. Seb in for S1 – he missed number 5; Jacquelin shooting slowly but he’s got all 5 and he leads out with Samuelsson 4.1 behind, Latypov clear and 3rd, ahead of Christiansen, Weger and Latypov. QFM has missed 2, the second possibly because someone skied over his skis as he was about to shoot? Seb and Emilien are pulling away from the chasing pack; about 15 seconds clear as they head for S2; Jacquelin has all 5 down but Seb has missed 1 again. Jacquelin leads, ahead of Latypov [+13.7] and Christiansen – both 10/10, Samuelsson in 4th, +25.4. JoBø [1,2] down in 21st, Tarjei [3,0] in 31st! Again, Jacquelin is pulling away on the lap; Fabien Claude is going well at present – 8th from 25 at the start. First standing shoot – Jacquelin has missed his last 2! The chasing 3 have all missed 1! Out in order Jacquelin, Christiansen, +2.0, Samuelsson, +3.6 with Latypov +34.6 after his 2 misses. JoBø clear this time and out 14th; Erik Lesser is 15/15 and up from 48 to 15. Jacquelin has let the other 2 past by examining his boots! The leading 3 are heading for their final shoot – chasing pack over 30 seconds back; Christiansen clear and away, Jacquelin and Samuelsson have both missed 1 – out in that order, over 15 seconds back. Giacomel in 4th from 26, +45.0, but he has company – Seppala, Eder and Krcmar, JoBø 8th but over a minute back. Rats, Lesser has missed 2 at S4. At 12.1 Km Christiansen is comfortably clear, but Samuelsson and Jacquelin are neck and neck, some 19 seconds back. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen [0,0,1,0] takes the win from 5th place at start, Samuelsson [1,1,1,1,] has outsprinted Jacquelin [0,0,2,1] for the other podium places. Michal Krcmar [0,0,1,0] takes 4th, from 15th at the start, ahead of Seppala [16 to 5] and Eder [27-6]. Other gainers include Giacomel [26-7], Guigonnat [20-9], Fabien Claude [25-17], Lesser [48-18], Dudchenko [44-19], Dale [40-23], Smolski [45-26], and Varabei [41-34]. Those going in the other direction include Latypov [4-11], QFM [3-16], Hofer [7-20], Doll [14-22], Tarjei Bø [8-28], Loginov [13-31], and Iliev [29-53]. Good race by Christiansen!

Beaver Creek [Birds of Prey] – Men’s Super G, 3 Dec 21: Missed the Super G yesterday, because I was fixated on biathlon! Marco Odermatt won that one, ahead of Matthias Mayer and, a real surprise, Broderick Thompson [bib 35, and apparently no slouch at figure skating either] taking the final podium place! Andreas Sander in 4th, then Kriechmayr and Pinturault. First away today is Romed Baumann, who was a DNF yesterday. Despite the lack of snow in the area, the course does look great, but it’s no consolation to Baumann who has skied out today – 2 DNFs in 2 days – he’s not happy! Travis Ganong next and he’s safely down on a course set by a French coach – apparently not as much “terrain” as yesterday’s set; a bit kinder. Sejersted off the pace, +1.26; Gino Caviezel a little closer – 2nd, +1.09. Vincent Kriechmayr next and closer still but he lost time coming off the Golden Eagle jump, +0.58. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on the course – green all the way to inter 3 and he leads by 0.37. Marco Odermatt slightly red at inter 1 but 0.32 ahead at 2, still green at 3 but less so – into 2nd by just 3 hundredths! It was the Golden Eagle again! Matthias Mayer into 4th, +0.92; Bailet relatively slow through the speed guns and into 6th. First TV break – Kilde leads from Odermatt and Ganong. That’s a horrible crash for Kjetil Jansrud – possible knee damage and that might be his season over? I’m amazed that he seems able to make his way to the base of the hill! Alexis Pinturault looking good and briefly green at inter 2; lost a bit from 3 to the finish and he goes into 6th, +0.98. Ryan C-S has skied out; Beat Feuz into 11th at present which will be 1 better than yesterday if he stays there.  He hasn’t, as Nils Allegre has gone 10th; what a recovery by Stefan Babinsky, but it’s cost him a lot of time! Max Franz out after missing the same gate as Baumann; Broderick Thompson isn’t going to do a double podium – just 15th.  That’s good from Raphael Haaser – into 8th; Urs Kryenbühl has caught his arm on a gate – painful – hope he’s just sore. Jansrud is chatting to Kilde so he seems to be better than I feared! That’s 30 away – no change to the top 6; Haaser the best of the later starters at present. Highest bib number so far in the top 20 is Mathieu Faivre [bib 40] in 15th place. Good effort by Matteo Marsaglia [bib 53] to go into 19th! That’s how it ended – well done to Kilde, Odermatt and Gagnon for their podium places; hope the DNFs are well.

Lake Louise – Women’s Downhill 3 Dec 21: It’s looking lovely for this race too – sunshine  and some blue sky! And once again there are commentary snags, the Beaver Creek video won’t be a lot of use to what I presume  is Matt doing Lake Louise! Hopefully sorted – Ramona Siebenhofer will be the first away – and we seem to have lost commentary again; Siebenhofer safely down. Now we have what seems to be an Italian commentary – what are these buffoons doing!? Anyway, Nadia Delago was green on the upper sections but red at inter 4 and into 2nd, +0.13. Breezy Johnson going well – green from inter 1 and she takes over the lead by an impressive 0.49 – pity Italian isn’t one of my languages as they are still running that commentary! Ah, Matt is back; meanwhile Sofia Goggia is flying – 0.40 faster at inter 1, 0.68 ahead at 2 and over a second by 3 – she leads by a truly massive 1.47! That really was a superb run. Corinne Suter seems to be off the pace today, she has bruising on her shins which probably isn’t helping – into 4th, +2.02. Apparently Lara Gut-Behrami has been unwell, so it’s not surprising that she’s not at her best - +2.74.  That’s a good run from Marjam Puchner - +1.54 at the finish but that’s good enough for 3rd! Ten away, Goggia leads from Johnson and Puchner. Ester Ledecka into 7th; still no one within a second of Goggia. Currently Goggia, Johnson, Puchner, Siebenhofer, Suter and Nadia Delago. Jasmine Flury into 7th; some good names failing to get in touch here. That was better – Connie Hütter [23] into 7th and Nicol Delago into 8th from bib 24. Mikaela Shiffrin is bib 31 – rather off the pace and just 24th, +3.60 – she’s dropping a couple places as well, still, useful practice for the Super G? Well done Sofia Goggia – a truly dominant performance – 1.47 ahead of Breezy Johnson – no late changes to the top 10!


Beaver Creek [Birds of Prey] – Men’s Downhill, 4 Dec 21: Snow on the course but not a lot elsewhere! Finlay reckons this is a real beast of a course, and he’s not alone. Johan Clarey first away – safely down. Ryan C-S next, slightly green at 1 but red at 2, less red at 3 and back green at 4 – he’s going well on the final section, to lead by 0.63. Beat Feuz is bib 3 – bit red at 1 and he’s caught a hand – green at 3 despite that and he leads by 0.23. Martin Cater [SLO] green through 1 to 3 but just red at 4, unlike RCS he’s losing time on the final section to go 3rd, +0.50. Matthias Mayer is bib 5 – he’s already 0.29 ahead at inter 1, 0.58 at 2, 0.77 at 3 but losing time form there – he takes the lead by 0.35. Good start from Daniel Hemetsberger, green at 1 but red at 2 and losing touch from there – into 4th. It’s quite a tough weekend – 4 speed races in 4 days! Now, Vincent Kriechmayr, but he too is red at 2 and getting redder – he’s into 5th, +0.70. Huge error by Nils Allegre but he’s safe; Dominik Paris in touch and he’s into 3rd, pushing RCS off the podium – good final section! First TV break – Mayer leads from Feuz, Paris, Ryan C-S, Hemetsberger and Kriechmayr. Romed Baumann nicely green at 1 but a few errors have cost him time – just 10th. Max Franz also seems off the pace his timing seems a tiny bit off – he’s 12th, very disappointing for him. Bryce Bennett just 11th; an error from Marco Odermatt too – he’s just 9th. Matthieu Bailet living dangerously – almost over twice but great recoveries – 17th of 18 after all that! Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on course – green at 1 and 2, just green at 3, greener at 4 and a great final section gives him the lead by 0.66; what a run! Next TV break – just one change to the top 6 from last time – Kilde now leads from Mayer and Feuz. Daniel Danklmaier into joint 8th with Dominik Schwaiger; this is looking good from Matteo Marsaglia – just red at 1, less red at 2 and it’s staying good – he’s into 4th, +1.20 – just 0.19 behind Feuz! Another good run – Niels Hintermann into 7th; and, Sejersted goes 10th. And, that’s how it finished – well done Kilde, Mayer and Feuz!

Lake Louise – Women’s Downhill 4 Dec 21: Conditions not so good here – visibility is not ideal and it’s snowing; Keira Weidle first away and she’s safely down – good effort! Ilka Stuhec is 0.75 off that pace; Corinne Suter green all the way and leads by 0.46 – it really doesn’t look nice there; I have skied in those conditions but I wasn’t going at anything like those speeds! Ragnhild Mowinckel into 3rd; Sofia Goggia is 0.42 green at inter 2, less green at 3 but better again by 4 – she’s through the gun at 137.79 kph and leads by 0.98! She is on fire! All credit to Lara Gut-Behrami – facing this challenge when ill is impressive but she’s off the pace today. Federica Brignone is fast through the first gun but it’s not translating into fast times – into 4th, but +1.70. Breezy Johnson is having a good weekend – in touch to inter 4 and into 2nd, +0.84. Nadia Delago fastest through the first speed gun, and the second but red all the way and into 4th.  Ten away, Goggia leads from Johnson and Suter. Ramona Siebenhofer into 7th; Elena Curtoni goes 9th.  That’s a good run from Mich Gagnon – she’s +1.60 but that is good enough for 6th place! Mirjam Puchner is nicely in touch on the upper section, lost a bit from 2 to 3, a bit more to 4 and now she’s into 6th.  Twenty away – Goggia leads from Johnson. Suter, Nadia Delago, Kira Weidel and Puchner. Ah, it’s not quite over – Connie Huetter going well and she’s got into 4th, +1.16; and, [yet another grammatical sin] Christina Scheyer [AUT] is having a good day as well – she’s into 5th! It’s obviously possible to get into the top 10 from those bib numbers but for the second day it’s not happening for Shiffrin – just 28th, which is already lower than yesterday’s disappointing result! Sadly she’s out of the top 30 now so no points! Lisa Hörnblad [bib 34] has gone into 18th; as it turned out that was the last change to the top 20 – what a superb win for Sofia Goggia, two in 2 days! Another great podium for Breezy Johnson and a third for Corinne Suter – well done all!

Lake Louise – Women’s Super G, 5 Dec 21: Still looking a bit misty, a little light snow. Francesca Marsaglia is first away – safely down, looks a good course. Ricarda Haaser is just green at inter 2, but slightly red at 3and slow through the final gun – she’s +0.48 at the finish, after an error on the final section. Tamara Tippler is well ahead at inter 2 and 0.73 green at 3 – she leads by 0.61. Nasty tumble for Ariane Raedler but she’s up and seems OK. Corinne Suter has lost a lot from 1 to 2 – into 3rd; Ragnhild Mowinckel has also lost time in the middle of the course but she’s gone 2nd, +0.59. Lara Gut-Behrami looking good despite her recent illness – she leads by 0.39! Federica Brignone in touch but she lost a little time off the final jump to go 3rd, +0.42. Breezy Johnson into 4th, with a good final sector; she’s not there long however as Mich Gagnon has taken over that place. Sofia Goggia flying again – red at 2 and 3 but she’s had a superb final sector to take over the lead by 0.11! Fifteen away – Goggia leads from Gut-Behrami, Tippler, Brignone – Joana Haehlen into joint 5th with Gagnon. Elena Curtoni living dangerously – into 5th after a slight epic on the jump! Mikaela Shiffrin green at 1 and 2, fractionally red at 3 – the last sector looked good but she lost time to go 5th! Top 6 now Goggia, Gut-Behrami, Tippler, Brignone, Shiffrin and Curtoni. Mirjam Puchner [bib 29] looking good again – well in touch all the way and she goes 3rd – brilliant! What a good weekend for her! That was pretty much it – Sofia Goggia gets the Lake Louise triple, and 300 points in one weekend – that doesn’t happen very often! Nice to see Lara Gut-Behrami heading back to health and another good result for Marjam Puchner- her second podium of the weekend. Mikaela Shiffrin gets a 6th place which might be some slight compensation for 2 disappointing downhill results? She still leads the overall standings on 405 to Petra Vlhova’s 340, with Goggia now on 315

Beaver Creek [Birds of Prey] – Men’s Downhill, 5 Dec 21: Starting from the lowered start today due to the wind – ah, start delayed! And a further delay… Sadly race cancelled – the men aren’t having much luck in the north Americas!

Hochfilzen – Sprints, 10 Dec 21: I was out all day and missed these two races live, although I did catch the results via the IBU app on my phone. Pity, as looking at the results there were some real surprises, especially regarding who did and didn’t have good ski speed. The men went first, and it was a very impressive win for Johannes Kühn [0,1], who finished 14.3 of Martin Ponsiluoma [1,0] with Anton Smolski [0,0] in 3rd. Alex Loginov in 4th ahead of Tarjei Bø and Emilien Jacquelin. Good to see QFM and Nawrath also in the top 10; Seb Samuelsson [1,2] was back in 13th, Christiansen [1,0] in 16th despite just the one miss, Laegreid [0,2] in 20th and JoBø [2,1] way down in joint 29th.  In the women’s race Hanna Sola [0,0] took what I think is her first win, ahead of a very fast Justine Braisaz-Bouchet [1,1] who was +46.8 after those 2 misses but somehow still ahead of Marte Olsbu Røiseland [0,0]. Ida Lien took 4th, ahead of Hanna Öberg [2,0] and Tiril Eckhoff [1,0]. Vanessa Hinz [0,0] was best German in 10th but +1:18.5 despite her good shooting. Denise Herrmann [1,1] in 11th, Elvira Öberg [0,3!] down in 17th, Hauser 26th, Wierer [1,1] in 33rd despite just 2 misses and poor Tandrevold [0,3] was a lowly 53rd!

Hochfilzen – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 11 Dec 21: Some snow falling as the race gets underway – I wonder how many places JoBø might make up today? Seb Samuelsson has already made up 6 places by 1.2 Km; he’s made up more time by 1.6 Km to. Patrick is putting the commentators curse on Kühn by pointing out that he hasn’t missed a prone this season! In for S1 – Kühn clear and out, Ponsiluoma has missed 1 but Tarjei is clear and out 2nd, +18.0, just ahead of Alex Loginov. Samuelsson clear and up to 6th, JoBø also clear and up to 20th, QFM has missed 1 but still 7th. Kühn in for S2 – and he’s clear again; Jacquelin also 10/10 and 2nd, +19.7, then Tarjei [0,0] and Loginov [0,0] – Samuelsson is also 10/10 and 5th from 14 at the start! JoBø is up to 11th after clear shoots at both prones; Ponsiluoma [1,1] down to 10th. Samuelsson is gaining a little more on the lap, Bakken is up from 36 to 16! The first standing shoot – Kühn clear again, in his weaker shoot; QFM clear here and out +12.1 with Simon Desthieux 15/15 and up to 3rd from 24!  Samuelsson has missed 1, so has Bakken; Tarjei 2 as have Ponsiluoma and JoBø. On the lap QFM has closed down Kühn and leads into the range; final shoot – QFM clear again and out but  Kühn has missed 3!  Jacquelin [0,0,1,0] out +38.2 just ahead of Felix Leitner [0,0,0,0] up from 32, but Tarjei is only 1.4 behind! Laegreid [0,1,0,0] is 4th, from 20 with Smolski close behind in 6th. Samuelsson in 8th but in touch with Tarjei and Co. Quentin Fillon Maillet [1,0,0,0] takes his first win of the season, up from 7th, with Jacquelin [0,0,1,0] in 2nd but there’s a real fight for the last podium place; my money on Tarjei or Seb. What do I know – Simon Desthieux [0,0,0,1] has timed that perfectly to make it a clean sweep for France. Samuelsson in 4th, from 14, just ahead of Tarjei and Smolski. Those gaining places include Leitner [32-7], Seppala [29-8], Laegreid [20-9], Tomshin [47-10; 20/20], Guigonnat [33-13], Hofer [23-14], JoBø [30-18 despite 3 misses] and Femling [58-24]. Going the other way the list includes Ponsiluoma [2-11], Kühn [1-15], Loginov [4-17], Weger [13-21], Hidensalo [11-26] and Nawrath [8-47]. Benedikt Doll managed to get from 60 to 39 despite 3 misses in the first prone. Well done the French!

Hochfilzen - Women’s 4 x 6 Km Relay 11 Dec 21:  The snow is apparently very wet here today, although the track is icy in places. The Norwegians look strong on paper but some of the team didn’t perform well yesterday; race is on and it’s snowing. Anais Bescond out front at first, but passed by Vasnetcova [RUS] just before the first timing point – the field are separated by just 14.7 seconds. Deedra Irwin [USA] has lost a ski and that’s going to cost her time getting it back on in the deeper snow. In for S1 and the wind is quite light; Bescond has missed her first and 1 more – 2 spares used. It’s Lisa Vittozzi who leads out, ahead of Zdouc [AUT], Cadurisch {SUI] and Persson – all clear with no spares, no penalty loops after S1. Vittozzi leading in for S2, ahead of Persson; that was superb from Vittozzi – fast and clear. She leads out 4.8 ahead of Persson with Cadurisch 3rd – all clear. Behind them there are a lot of misses going on – Bulgaria and Germany on the penalty loop; Bescond [3 spares in total] in 10th, Tandrevold [4 spares total] in 15th but pulling back a bit on the lap. Persson leading as they head for exchange 1, but only fractionally ahead of Vittozzi; Sweden lead at the exchange, ahead of ITA/POL/SUI/FRA/RUS – leading 4 all clear. Norway 8th, Germany 19th. Anna Magnusson leads in for S3 – clear and out 13.2 ahead of Comola  [ITA], Zuk [Pol] and Anais C-B, +24.5. Knotten is 9th after using 1 spare, Herrmann 13th, also using 1 spare; Canada on the penalty loop. Anais C-B up to 2nd on the lap, Zuk and Comola neck and neck behind her. In for the second standing shoot – Zuk is having a meltdown; Anais C-B out after using 1 spare, ahead of Hauser [1] and Magnusson [2], +10.9. Comola [2] down to 7th, ahead of Knotten [2] – Zuk [penalty loop] in 9th. Chloe Chevalier will take over for France at the next exchange, Magnusson has passed Hauser as they head for the line but it’s close – Tomingas [EST] in 4th. At the exchange France lead by 7.7, ahead of SWE/AUT/EST/SUI/RUS. Elvira Öberg taking over; Denise Herrmann has got Germany up to 9th with Norway down to 11th – Knotten losing time on that final lap. Elvira has already closed down – at 13.1 Km she leads Schwaiger by 12.3 seconds – there is no sign of Chevalier and we’re on adverts so no idea what has happened? Ah, it’s a data error, she’s 6.0 back, ahead of Schwaiger! In for S5 – Elvira has missed her first shot but the rest are down and Chevalier has also missed 1 and slow to get it down. Elvira out 16.1 ahead of Schwaiger, with Chevalier [2 spares] +28.3; Nigmatullina [RUS] in 4th ahead of Hinz – both clear here. Kalkenberg has used 2 spares here and out 11th; Öberg the younger is flying – 31.2 clear at 15.1 Km! Chevalier up to 2nd at 15.4 Km as Elvira comes in for her standing shoot. She’s missed 1 and very lucky with a second, but she’s out after just 1 spare – that’s much better than yesterday!  The chasing pair aren’t making any inroads; Schwaiger [1 spare] out 2nd, but +53.2, ahead of Chevalier [2], Nigmatullina [3], Baserga [SUI, 1] and Blashko [UKR, 1]. Vanessa Hinz needed all 3 spares and she’s out 7th. Kalkenberg is on the penalty loop – not a good day for Norway.  Elvira is handing over to her big sister with over a minute in hand! Behind Hanna Ö it’s AUT [+1:30]/RUS/FRA/SUI/GER{+2:00.9]. Hanna Ö in for her prone shoot – 1 miss but a lot were high left, out after using 1 spare. Reztsova has shot fast and clear and she’s up to 2nd, and out 30 seconds ahead of Justine B-B, Rieder [1] in 4th just ahead of Franzi Preuß [0] and Elisa Gasparin [1]. Tiril Eckhoff clear and up to 10th. Ooops – Hanna Öberg is on the penalty loop! She’s out in the lead; Reztsova has used 2 spares but out +36.7, Justine B-B has used all 3 and out just 4 seconds ahead of Preuß [1]. Poor Gasparin seems to be doing 3 penalty loops. The first 2 places look certain, so the fight for 3rd is the main interest at present! Sadly Franzi P isn’t closing on JB-B at present. Hanna Öberg cruises over the line to take the win for Sweden [1+8], Russia [0+10] comfortably second with France [0+14] getting the final podium place. Germany [1+10] in 4th ahead of Ukraine [0+13], then Austria [0+5] and Norway [1+13] in a photo for 6th – it’s gone to Rieder, so Tiril in 7th.

Hochfilzen - Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km Relay 12 Dec 21: Annoyingly, due to the delays to the women’s Super G at St Moritz this event clashes with the skiing! Priority biathlon, I think. Leg 1 and at the first split Laegreid leads from Tomshin and French Claude – just 10.9 seconds from first to last. Pepe Femling in touch as they head for S1; some sections of track still sound icy. Fabien Claude has taken over the lead into the range; conditions look good – Vasilii Tomshin [RUS] clear and out, ahead of Stalder [SUI] and Dovzan [SLO]. Femling [1 spare] in 5th, Lesser [1] in 7th – Claude in 14th after 1 spare, Laegreid has used 2 spares and out 16th, +19.4. No penalty loops this time. The Norwegian is making up time on the lap; into S2 and Laegreid is clear this time and out in the lead, just 0.4 ahead of Femling who is also clear. Dovzan [1] in 3rd, ahead of Erik Lesser [1, total 2]; Tomshin on the penalty loop and out 16th, +40.2. Fabien Claude has used 2 spares on both shoots and is 22nd, +54.4. Erik Lesser into the lead just clear of Femling; Laegreid seems to be feeling the effects of catching up after S1? Exchange 1 and Lesser has just held off Femling; Johannes Kühn away just 0.4 ahead of Martin Ponsiluoma, then NOR [+10.9]/SLO/BLR/FRA/ITA/EST +19.9. Russia in 13th. Ponsiluoma setting a fast pace and dropping Kühn and Tarjei Bø a little. In for S3 and Ponsiluoma is clear and out 2.5 ahead of Jakov Fak [0], Kühn [0], Tarjei [0], then Giacomel, and Desthieux. On the lap Ponsiluoma is going well – in for S4 and he’s out with just one spare; Kühn and Fak are missing, Giacomel [1] out 2nd, +2.2, then Tarjei [1], Fak [2], Desthieux [0] and Pidruchnyi [0] – Kühn [3] in 7th +30.7. Exchange 2 – Martin Ponsiluoma handing over to Malte Stefansson, who replaces Nelin in the team, and he’s out 10.5 ahead – then Bionaz [ITA]/NOR/SLO/FRA/GER, +29.1. Early on the new leg JoBø has halved the deficit to Stefansson and he’s past Bionaz – at the next spilt Bø is just 0,8 behind, and he’s past. S5 and JoBø is clear and away,15.2 ahead of Bionaz [1], Bauer [1], Stefansson [2], Loginov [0] and Rees [1]. JoBø has almost doubled his lead over Bionaz on the lap and he’s dropping the rest too; he’s in for his standing shoot – that was vintage JoBø, once he started it was fast and clear – he’s away! Jacquelin [1] out 2nd, ahead of Stefansson [1], Loginov and Rees. Bionaz on the penalty loop and out 8th; Bauer also on the loop but out 6th. Jacquelin isn’t closing on JoBø, who is going to hand over a good lead to Christiansen. Rees is going well and past Loginov, but not for long. Christiansen away on the final leg, 50.9 ahead of QFM. Then RUS/GER almost together, Samuelsson +1:24.1, SLO/SUI/ITA. Early on the final leg the gaps seem to be pretty steady; Nawrath past Latypov. Christiansen in for his prone – 1 spare and out; QFM is clear and out +33.6, then Latypov [1] and Nawrath [1], +50.0. Samuelsson [1] out 5th, +1:18.5. On the lap QFM isn’t closing, Latypov and Nawrath almost together some 50 seconds back. Seb Samuelsson has closed a little, but maybe he’s a bit tired – it’s a very demanding schedule this year? Final shoot – Christiansen out after 1 spare; QFM clear and out +14.3, Nawrath [1, +39.1], Latypov [1, +49.4], Samuelsson [1, +1:03.7] – did he drop something on the range? Now, QFM has perhaps the speed to close down but he won yesterday and has lost 3 seconds to 28.6 Km; Nawrath losing time to Eduard Latypov at present. At 28.9 the gap between Germany and Russia is down to just 0.8; Latypov past on the hill. Christiansen takes the win for Norway [0+5], then France [0+8], Russia [1+9], Germany [0+10] and Sweden [0+7]. Good to see Belarus in 6th!

Hochfilzen – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 12 Dec 21: Still looking nice in Hochfilzen – Hanna Sola is away with 0.47 until Justine Braisaz-Bouchet sets off 2nd; no Ida Lien today as she has a cold. Interestingly Mike tells us that Sola has the biggest lead from a 7.5 Km sprint for 20 years! That was by Forsberg, who then won the subsequent Pursuit by about 3 minutes after hitting all 20 targets! Sola in for S1 – clear and away; Justine B-B and Røiseland in almost together – Røiseland clear and out [+52.8] but Justine has missed 3, Vittozzi 4! It’s Alimbekava out 3rd [+1:16.5], ahead of Bendika [+1:35.8] and Herrmann [+1:39.5] – all of those clear. Hanna Öberg has missed 2, Elvira 1, Preuß 2 and Dzhima 3. Hanna Sola already in for S2 – clear again, good shooting too; Røiseland also clear but out 1:05.6 behind. Alimbekava clear and another 18 seconds back, but Elvira Öberg is up to 4th, from 17th, +1:46.3. Denise Herrmann clear and 5th, ahead of Chloe Chevalier. Hanna Öberg now 2,1 and 9th, just behind Tiril Eckhoff [1,1]. Sola in for the first standing shoot – first shot missed high right, and 1 more so two loops. Sola leads out; Røiseland has missed 1 but Alimbekava is clear and out 2nd, +36.8, Røiseland 3rd, ahead of Elvira [1,0,0] Herrmann [0,0,1] and Hinz [0,1,0]. Hanna Öberg is 16th [2,1,2], second Swede at present though is Stina Nilsson [1,1,0] in 10th. Sola now has 3 athletes within a minute as she comes in for S4 - first missed on the left but the rest are down. Røiseland clear and out +11.3, but Elvira is also clear an d3rd, +27.2. Alimbekava has missed 1 and out 4th+41.6 Amazing to see Hanna Öberg [2,1,2,0] out 5th; Hinz has missed 1 here and Herrmann 2. This is all quite close – at 9.2 Km Røiseland is just 5.3 behind and Elvira is 6 seconds closer too. At 9.6 Km the gap at the front is just 1.0, Elvira seems content with 3rd. Marte Olsbu Røiseland is up from 3rd at the start to take the win, ahead of Sola; Elvira Öberg up from 17 to 3 with Alimbekava in 4th from 8. Somehow Hanna Öberg has stayed in 5th despite 5 misses! Other gainers include Davidova [20-6], Herrmann [13-7], Hinz [10-8], Kazakevich [19-9], Nilsson [16-10], Voight [27-11], Reztsova [22-12], Bilosiuk [UKR, 24-13], Tandrevold [53-15!], Nigmatullina [30-17], Persson [28-18], Paulina Fialkova [34-20], Franzi Hildebrand [37-21], Anais C-B [60-22], Lie [46-25] and Hettich [55-26]. Those who lost places include Justine B-B [2-14], Eckhoff [6-16], Magnusson [12-19], Bescond [14-32], Brorsson [11-33], Bendika [9-37], Preuß [18-38], Vittozzi [7-42, 7 misses], and Dzhima [15-49].

Val d’Isère – Men’s GS 11 Dec 21: I missed most of run 1 – as I joined Marco Odermatt was leading by 0.32 ahead of Alexis Pinturault, who was just 0.01 ahead of Filip Zubcic! Faivre 4th, ahead of de Aliprandini and Alex Schmid, and that’s how it ended.
Run 2: Again, a little late for this one as I needed to go food shopping! As I Joined Loic Meillard was leading ahead of Justin Murisier and Lucas Braathen. Eleven to come with Henrik Kristoffersen on course – green all the way with a good final section gets him into the lead by 0.34. There are apparently rumours that the recently divorced Marcel Hirscher might be making a comeback with the new skis that he has developed? Victor Muffat-Jeandet good at inter 1 but from there he’s dropped time to go 4th; the  light has faded a bit but Manu Feller has kept the light green all the way to take over the lead. This looks a really tricky course – very easy to lose the rhythm and hard to recover time after any error.  Alexander Schmid into 3rd; Luca de Aliprandini green all the way to inter 3 but he’s lost time to go 2nd by 0.07! Mathieu Faivre just red at inter 1 and losing time all the way from there to go 6th. Filip Zubcic has a massive 0.87 advantage at the start, but the visibility is closing down and he’s out. Whatever happens Feller will get the first GS  podium of his career. Just 2 to come – Pinturault has 0.88 in hand but the conditions have worsened; still nicely green at 2 as the light improves and he’s gained a little to 3 to take over the lead by 0.65. That’s popular! Marco Odermatt in the start gate – he’s gained to inter 1, a little more to 2, lost a little to 3 but gained again to the finish – he wins by 0.59! Brilliant stuff – Marco Odermatt wins in style, ahead of Alexis Pinturault with Manu Feller 3rd; de Aliprandini in 4th ahead of Kristoffersen and Schmid. In the overall Odermatt leads on 446, against Mayer [310] and Kilde [229]. Odermatt also leads the GS standings on 200 to Pinturault’s 125 with Zan Kranjec on 86.


St Moritz – Women’s Super G, 11 Dec 21: This might be a tricky one – flat light, variable visibility and no trees might mean a few people get caught out with keeping their reference points? We have probably been lucky to get any racing here today due to the changes to Covid regulations! Anyway, Francesca Marsaglia will be first away – she’s safely down and that looked to be a reasonable run; Priska Nufer next and for some reason she was shown as +21.84 at inter 1 which is rubbish, as by 2 she’s 0.03 ahead! Nufer takes the lead by 0.14; Elena Curtoni is 0.24 faster at inter 1, slightly less green at 2 but almost a second ahead by 3 – this is good – she leads by a massive 1.23! She looks happy with that! Christine Scheyer into 3rd after an error; Federica Brignone slightly red, then green, then red and into second by 0.16 – the Italians are going well! Breezy Johnson was fast from inter 1 to 2 but lost time again from there to go 3rd; Lara Gut-Behrami slightly green at 1 but very fast to 2 where she was 1.20 ahead! Fast through the speed gun too and she takes over the lead by1.74 – the fans are very happy, and so is she! What a run! Mikaela Shiffrin quite red at 1 and almost a second down at 2; she’s 1.18 off the pace at the finish but that’s good enough for 2nd! The visibility seems to have got a little worse; Marta Bassino into 5th – 3 Italians in the top 6! I can’t see Lara G-B being beaten now – there is light snow falling at the start; there is room on the podium though as Shiffrin in second is over a second back, ahead of Curtoni, Brignone and Bassino. Ricarda Haaser in trouble and she’s skied out; Ragnhild Mowinckel in touch at inter 1 and 2 and she’s into 3rd, +1.45 – that’s more like it! Sofia Goggia is even more in touch – just 0.32 behind at inter 2 and she’s halved that deficit by 3 – Swiss fans have gone quiet – Goggia into 2nd, Just 0.18 behind. Michelle Gisin has been unlucky with the visibility and she’s gone 9th; Wendy Holdener has gone 6th despite the tricky conditions. That’s 20 away, Lara G-B leads from Goggia and Shiffrin, then Mowinckel, Curtoni and Holdener. That’s a commendable run from Araine Raedler [bib 23] into 5th; Romane Miradoli into 10th. Several skiers have been in touch at inter 1, but it seems alarmingly easy to lose a lot of time from there to 2. Jasmine Flury into 10th, as the snow reaches the finish as well; Alice Robinson living dangerously and out of the top 20. Connie Hütter has got hooked on a gate but seems OK. Now that was impressive – Noemie Kolly [SUI, bib 51] into 17th place – by far the highest bib number in the top 20 at present! That was the last upset – well done to Lara Gut-Behrami – a very impressive run got her the win ahead of Sofia Goggia and Mikaela Shiffrin. Ragnhild Mowinckel in a well-deserved 4th, nice to see her ack on form, ahead of Ariane Raedler and Elena Curtoni.

Val d’Isère – Men’s Slalom 12 Dec 21: I missed most of run 1, again! As I joined Clement Noel was in the lead ahead of Alex Vinatzer, +0.12, and Seb Foss-Solevaag [+0.17], then Nef, Feller and Muffat-Jeandet. Dave Ryding in joint 10th, +1.00, with Daniel Yule, and Kristoffersen down in 14th, +1.59, and he’s sliding further back as some of the later starters, such as Braathen, Reid and Kranjec go into the top 20. First run over – no changes to the top 10; Henrik Kristoffersen ended 18th – the real surprise is Pinturault – down in 40th after what must have been a massive error – no second run!
Run 2: Because of various other races and delays I joined a little late just as Armand Marchant [BEL] took over the lead ahead of McGrath and Razzoli; Henrik Kristoffersen next and a big error early on – he’s just 4th, not his best day! Stefano Gross has straddled; Fabio Gstrein gained to inter 1 but then he’s red the rest of the way and just 7th. For the moment no one seems to be able to match Marchant; Kristoffersen hanging on to 4th! Lucas Braathen into 4th; he’ll be off Kristoffersen’s Christmas card list! Now, Dave Ryding has 0.60 in hand as he starts – just red at inter 2 and still in touch at 3 – great final section and he takes the lead by 0.12 – Britain leads from Belgium! Daniel Yule losing time from inter 2 after a great top section but he had enough in hand to take the lead by just 0.01! Filip Zubcic 0.23 red at the final split but that was a superb final section – he leads by 0.04. Kristoffer Jakobsen was tied with Zubcic at the start but he’s green at inter 1 and gaining time – he leads by 0.45! Manu Feller has straddled; now Tanguy Nef has straddled gate 1! Seb Foss-Solevaag has lost all his advantage by inter 1 after a massive error – he’s into 5th, just behind Dave Ryding! Alex Vinatzer has gained to inter 1 despite living dangerously, over the line on his back – he takes over the lead by 0.37 – great recoveries! NO – he’s missed the last gate! Just Clement Noel to go – he’s gained to inter 1 and he’s gaining more – he leads by 1.40 and that’s the fastest time on run 2 despite all the ruts! That was amazing! What a way to end the race; Clement Noel takes the win, ahead of Kristoffer Jakobsen and Filip Zubcic; Daniel Yule in 4th, Ryding 5th and Seb F-S in 6th. Marchant finished 7th – great effort. The crowd are very happy with Noel!

St Moritz – Women’s Super G, 12 Dec 21: It looks to be a lovely day in St Moritz – blue skies and sunshine, but a little windy at the top. Ragnhild Mowinckel at the start but she’s been told to put the warm kit back on as the wind is too strong to race! The Wurst-Käse scenario [pun!] is that they might move to a lower start? That’s their solution – start delayed by 45 minutes while they move to the reserve start. The course set by a Canadian coach has been described as more like a downhill – very fast even from the lower start. It looks like the lower sections are still quite wind affected but Mowinckel is ready to go and she’s away – there is some snow blowing across the course in places but she’s safely down. I don’t think she’s very impressed by the effect of the wind and conditions! Next to go is Mikaela Shiffrin – slightly green at 1, over a second faster at 2 and she takes over the lead by 1.53 seconds. Not sure she’s too impressed either! The wind seems to have eased a little – Tippler has missed a gate; wind back up and Scheyer is also a DNF – 4 away, just 2 finishers. Corinne Suter through the speed gun at 97.85 kph but just 3rd, +1.59. Michelle Gisin green at inter 2 but losing time from there – into 2nd, +0.55; Lara G-B next, she’s massively ahead at inter 2, and lucky with the wind but she’s off course and into the netting. Looks like she’s gone right through the netting which shouldn’t have happened – Lara is sitting up and conscious but no more information at present – a stretcher has arrived which doesn’t look good, I thought she might be holding her knee? That netting looks pretty feeble for such a fast course? Well, that’s good news – Lara G-B has ignored the stretcher, put on a coat and skied down! Hopefully the medical checks will reveal nothing serious. Ariane Raedler ready to go but held back as they refresh the blue lines; it’s over an hour since the race should have started and we have just 4 finishers. Raedler away and in touch at inter 2 – it still looks windy in places – she’s put in an extra turn near where LG-B went off and into 3rd, +1.15. Federica Brignone is 0.57 faster at inter 2 and she takes the lead by 0.43, that was very neat; Breezy Johnson into 5th, +1.90. Marta Bassino red at 2 – unlucky with the wind perhaps but into 3rd; now, bib 13 is Sofia Goggia – this course set doesn’t seem to be particularly suiting her as she’s red all the way – even so, good enough for 3rd. Wendy Holdener into 7th; 15 away, Brignone leads from Shiffrin, Goggia, Bassino, Gisin and Raedler. Puchner into 7th; a great run from Elena Curtoni has got her into 2nd, +0.11 – 4 Italians in the top 6. Priska Nufer has taken over 7th; Marsaglia into 6th – yet another Italian! Shiffrin, in 3rd, is the only non-Italian in the top 6! That’s a good run – Alice Robinson on form today and into 4th, +0.52. The Italian stranglehold is easing a little – Jasmine Flury into 6th; there are 30 away so the race is official! Brignone leads from Curtoni, Shiffrin, Robinson, Goggia and Flury. Ramona Siebenhofer [bib 31] is well in touch all the way and she’s taken 5th! Isabella Wright [USA] has crashed out – no details yet but the race is interrupted again and it’s taking a while, which doesn’t seem good. She’s being helped off the course, obviously in pain but walking with support from the first aid team. A good run from Elvedina Muzaferija [BIH, bib 51] to go 18th at present – highest bib in the top 20! That’s how it ended – well done Federica Brignone; Elena Curtoni in 2nd and Mikaela Shiffrin getting the final podium place. That means Shiffrin is now on 525 in the overall, ahead of Goggia [435] and Vlhova [340]. Goggia still leads the Super G standings on 220, ahead of Lara G-B [no update on her yet after today’s crash] on 180 with Brignone on 177.

Annecy – Le Grand Bornand – Women’s 7.5 km Sprint, 16 Dec 21: Looks like a nice day – certainly sunny, and a good crowd there too! Denise Herrmann will be the first away today; her ski speed hasn’t been quite what we expected so far this season – hopefully it’s coming back! A few names I didn’t recognise – Alina Stremous from Moldova – I have been to the well known opticians but still thought it said strenuous! Tiril Eckhoff away bib 10; Happy Birthday Lisa Theresa Hauser! Hanna Sola currently the fastest through the timing points; Herrmann has missed her first shot, rest clear. Lena Haecki fast to shoot and clear; Sola has missed 1 but is quicker than Herrmann after S1. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet fast around the track but she missed her first shot and ran out of air before the last – got it but it took a while! Tiril Eckhoff is much faster on the range and she’s now fastest after S1, 2.8 ahead of Hauser who has also gone clear. Anais Bescond also clear at S1 and out 3rd, +3.9; Herrmann at S2 and she’s missed her final shot. Hanna Öberg has missed her first at S1; Elvira has missed 2. At S2 Sola is [1,1] but still out 19.1 ahead of Herrmann! Anais C-B is away from S1 3.9 ahead of Eckhoff, who has just missed 1 at S2. No problems for Hauser though – the only 10/10 so far and out 17.3 ahead of Sola, but Anais Bescond is also 10/10 and out 4.5 ahead of Hauser! Tandrevold has missed her final shot at S2; Hanna Öberg 1,1 but still close to Tiril who has 1 fewer miss. Elvira Öberg clear at S2 and out 3rd, +19.8 – Alimbekava [0.1] out 3rd, +11.8. At the finish Bescond has gained time on Hauser to lead by 9.5 seconds, with Sola in 3rd; Elvira Öberg is up to 3rd at 6.5 Km and hot on Hauser’s heels having made up 15 seconds in just 1 Km! She’s over the line in 2nd, just 0.7 behind Bescond – as Mike asks – “how did she ski that fast?” However, back at S2 Røiseland has joined the 10/10 team and 13.5 faster than Bescond there. That was a good run by Kristina Reztsova [1,0] into 4th at present; Marte Olsbu Røiseland flying on the final lap – not as fast as Elvira but she has enough in hand – she takes over the lead by 15.4 seconds, ahead of Bescond and Elvira [2,0] who is just 16.1/0.7 behind two athletes with no misses! At S1 Doro Wierer is clear and out just 2.5 behind Anais C-B’s time; I thought she was going to clear at S2, it looked like the old Doro but sadly she missed 2 – out 16th. Now, Stina Nilsson has the amazing ski speed but she’s missed 1 at S1. No sign of Franzi Preuß today – Mike was doubtful that she would start, but unsure of why. I doubt the top 3 will change now; at present Røiseland [0,0] leads ahead of Bescond [0,0], Elvira Öberg [2,0], Hauser [0,0], Reztsova [1,0] and Alimbekava [0,1]. And, no late changes – well done to Røiseland! Eckhoff finished 11th, Herrmann best of the Germans in 14th and Wierer in 19th just ahead of Vittozzi.

Annecy – Le Grand Bornand – Men’s 10 km Sprint, 17 Dec 21: Cold overnight but it’s now sunny – the conditions may therefore change as the race goes on! It’s a testing course here and technical too. Florent Claude [BEL] is first away; some of those hills look nasty! No real surprise to see that JoBø is currently the fastest at 0.7 Km; Belgian Claude has missed 2 at S1, Rees clear. Tero Seppala also clear and a little faster but Eduard Latypov is much faster – on the track and on the range! JoBø is at S1 – clear and out 3.6 ahead of Latypov; Seb Samuelsson has missed 1 at S1 and out +34.7. Good shooting by Johannes Kühn – clear and away 3rd after S1; Rees has missed 2 at S2. Back at S1 Tarjei Bø has missed 1; Seppala has missed 1 at S2. Latypov shooting more slowly at S2 but it was probably worth it – all 10 cleared. JoBø isn’t following that model though – very fast shooting and 10/10 – out 11.7 ahead of Latypov! QFM has missed 1 at S1 – to me his rifle looked slightly canted? Samuelsson clear at S2 but +40.3 and 4th behind Lapshin [KOR]; Kühn has missed 2 in the stand. Tarjei Bø [1,1] out of S2 just 11.4 behind Samuelsson [1,0] – Swedes don’t seem to be as blindingly fast today. That’s interesting JoBø over the line in the lead, but he lost 8 seconds to Latypov from 8.2 Km to the finish, having gained earlier on the lap. Samuelsson over the line 3rd; QFM [1,0] out of S2 in 5th – Anton Smolski [BLR; 0,0] has finished in 3rd at present; that’s the place that QFM is chasing. Christiansen [1,0] is over the line 4th, crucially ahead of Samuelsson; QFM has just gone 3rd. I can’t see any of the French team with 10/10 so far. Laegreid and Andersen both clear after S1 and well in touch; Fabien Claude [2,2] – the French coach is shaking his head! That’s good work – Filip Fjeld Andersen has gone 10/10 and out 3rd after S2; Laegreid has done the same and he’s 5 seconds faster - could be an all Norwegian podium, but they’ll need to catch Latypov! Laegreid is losing time to Andersen on the final lap; Latypov looks safe but QFM is possibly at risk? Andersen has gone 3rd, 3 seconds ahead of QFM; Laegreid has run out of pace and he’s in behind QFM! Nice to see that Smolski is so far holding on to 6th. That’s it – race over – JoBø takes the win, Latypov 2nd and Andersen 3rd, all 10/10, then QFM, Laegreid and Smolski. Jacquelin in 7th despite 2 misses, ahead of Christiansen and Samuelsson. Tarjei in 15th. just ahead of Nawrath, who was best of the Germans

Val Gardena [Gröden] – Men’s Super G, 17 Dec 21: This is apparently rather more downhill than Super G, according to some of those who have been inspecting it! Lots of terrain too although the snow conditions seem to be excellent – the course has been set by a German coach. Matthieu Bailet first away – a couple hairy moments with good recoveries but safely down – I can see this hill catching out a few today! Christof Innerhofer was red pretty much all the way but very quick through the lower speed gun and a strong final section gives him the lead by 0.27. Mattia Casse green all the way, faster still through the gun and he leads – I don’t think Innerhofer has had time to reach the chair! Travis Ganong is oscillating between red and green – highest speed so far and now he leads by 0.35! Sejersted in touch on the upper sections but into 4th; Ryan C-S also good on the upper sections but he’s managed to get into the green at inter 4 – he takes over from Ganong by just 0.01! A couple hairy moments from him too! Marco Odermatt next; green at 1 and 2 but then red and into 4th – he isn’t going to race the downhill tomorrow. Vincent Kriechmayr green early on and getting greener all the way to lead by a massive 0.72 – very impressive! Romed Baumann into 4th; Kilde next and he’s green at inter 1 and gaining [we’ve lost commentary, which is annoying] – what a run, Kilde leads by 0.27! Obviously he didn’t mind being bib 13! That’s a good run from James Crawford [CAN], going into 3rd and pushing the USA off the podium! Fifteen away, and the sunshine is moving onto the track – Kilde leads from Kriechmayr, Crawford, Ryan C-S and Ganong with Sander just going into 6th.  Beat Feuz into 3rd, Dominik Paris goes 4th. Matthias Mayer in touch – he’s level with Kilde at inter 4 but into 2nd, +0.22 – Austria now 2 and 3. Stefan Rogentin into 5th; Brodie Seger [CAN] into 10th at present – good effort! Josef Ferstl’s coach set this course, so he might be a little disappointed to only go 10th, although it is his best result so far this season? Bib 30 is Max Franz and he’s in touch – just 0.38 off the pace at inter 4 and in to 7th. It looks like Aleksander Aamodt Kilde will take his 4th win here, ahead of Mayer and Kriechmayr. A good run from Martin Cater [bib 42] into 12th; that was the last real change to the top 20. So, well done to Kilde, Mayer and Kriechmayr for the podium; Marco Odermatt ended up 24th, so just 7 points today.

Val d’Isère – Women’s Downhill,  18 Dec 21: Well, conditions look good and most of those interviewed seem very happy with the snow and the slope – seems reasonable as it’s the OK course! Mich Gagnon is first away today and she’s fallen at the telephone turn – very disappointing given her good training runs. Stephanie Venier is next and she’s safely down; Elena Curtoni is green by inter 2 and gaining from there – she leads by 0.67. I’m always amazed at the angles these skiers achieve! Apparently we are missing a few today including Lara G-B who has tested positive and gone home. Connie Hütter into 2nd; Tamara Tippler green at 1 and 2, then red and she’s crashed out – the nets have stopped her; thankfully she’s back on her feet and skiing down.  A slight delay and Marta Bassino is away – her first downhill of the season; red at 2, redder at 3 but steady to 4 – into 4th. Sofia Goggia is bib 7 and the hot favourite today – she’s fast but lost some time between 2 and 3, living dangerously but from inter 3 she’s amazing – she leads by 1.52! Ilka Stuhec is 0.40 green at inter 2, on the sections where Goggia was a little twisted but her errors have turned it red – she’s into 2nd, +1.37. Again, Corinne Suter is green at 1 and 2, but red at 3 and into 3rd; Ragnhild Mowinckel in trouble at the telephone turn but a good recovery – she’s into 4th, just 0.01 behind Suter! Breezy Johnson green early on but crucially still green at 3; red at 4 but still well in touch, and she’s into 2nd, just 0.27 off Goggia’s pace – that’s a great run. Federica Brignone can only manage 8th, but that’s her best downhill this season, if she stays there. That’s a good run from Ramona Siebenhofer – in touch at inter 3 and fast through the final gun – into 3rd,  just 4 hundredths faster than Stuhec! Now Mirjam Puchner was quickest in practice and she’s still green at inter 3, red at 4 though but still on for a podium – she’s into 3rd, +0.91. Twenty away – Goggia leads from Johnson and Puchner, then Siebenhofer, Stuhec and Suter. Nasty crash for Nicol Delago on the telephone turn but again she’s up and seems alright – looks like her air bag has inflated? I can’t really see the top 10 changing – now coverage moves to Val Gardena! No late changes – Puchner remains the highest bib number in the top 10, Elisabeth Reisinger [AUT, bib 32] the highest number in the top 20, taking 13th. Well done to Sofia Goggia for another impressive win – she leads the downhill standings with a perfect 300 points, ahead of Breezy Johnson on 240 from three 2nd places with Puchner on 152. Goggia now leads the overall too, on 535 to Shiffrin’s 525.

Val Gardena [Gröden] – Men’s Downhill, 18 Dec 21:  It looks good here too – Otmar Striedinger first away on the Saslong course – some big jumps and it’s bumping him around – he’s down! Martin Cater can’t match that time; Andreas Sander into 2nd, +0.71. Max Franz in touch and good from 3 to 4 – he’s into 2nd, +0.65. Niels Hintermann is red but not very much so and he’s fast through the gun – he’s into 2nd, +0.18 – good run! Romed Baumann green at 1, then slightly red, but redder at inter 5 after an error – that’s dropped him to 5th. Travis Ganong has taken over 5th;  Johan Clarey is green at 2, 3 and 4 but red at 5 and into 3rd. Bryce Bennett red to inter 4 but he’s green at 5 and that’s a near perfect line to take the lead by 0.14 – that’s a happy man! Kilde next and he’s green at inter 1, greener at 3 and 0.86 ahead at 4, but he misses the entrance to the next turn and he’s out! Dominik Paris is nicely green at 1 and even better at 2 – he’s looking smooth but he’s lost time from 4 to 5 and as a result he’s just 4th. It seems very easy to lose time there! Now, can Beat Feuz do what Kilde and Paris failed to do and dislodge Bennett? He’s red at inter 2 and 3 but green at 4; he too is a little late in the line, slow through the final gun and into 5th! Kriechmayr into a disappointing 9th; Matthias Mayer seems to have lost quite a bit from 1 to 2 and he too is having line and timing problems – just 11th! Ryan C-S has also lost a massive amount from 1 to 2 and he’s over a second off by 3; into 16th! Several surprises from a selection of well known  downhill specialists! Twenty away, Bennett leads from Striedinger and Hintermann, then Paris, Feuz and Clarey. Now that’s better – Bostjan Kline [bib 26] into joint 8th, +0.85, with Sander! This piste is apparently famous for having late starters cause an upset, but it doesn’t seem to be happening at present. Thirty away, no change to the top 6. Ah, Josef Ferstl into 7th; Mattia Casse [bib 34] now into 7th; and Simon Jocher [bib 51] into 8th! A good run too from Yannick Chabloz [SUI, bib 43]. So, well done to Bryce Bennett for the win, ahead of Striedinger and Hintermann; Paris in 4th ahead of Feuz and Clarey! Mayer stays ahead in the downhill standings [195] but only took 15 points today, Feuz up to 2nd [165] with Kilde down to 3rd [129]. In the overall Odermatt leads on 453, ahead of Mayer, 405, then Kilde, Kriechmayr, Feuz and Pinturault.

Val d’Isère, OK – Women’s Super G, 19 Dec 21: Another fine day here! Francesca Marsaglia first away and safely down; Jasmine Flury is 0.19 faster. Tamara Tippler seems fine after yesterday’s excitement and she’s 0.94 ahead at inter 3; she leads by 1.07! Ariane Raedler green at 1 and 2 but then red and into 2nd, +0.56. Sofia Goggia is bib 5 – marginally green to inter 3 but better at 4 – the live data feed has stalled! It’s back – Goggia leads by a massive 0.92! Federica Brignone green at 1 and 2 – nothing obvious wrong, maybe slightly low in the line, but she’s red at 4 and into 2nd, +0.52. Corinne Suter still in touch at inter 3, but now it’s going away from her – into 3rd, +0.80. Romane Miradoli into 5th – 10 away, Goggia leads from Brignone and Suter, with Tippler in 4th. Elena Curtoni green at 1 and 2, still in touch and a good final sector gets her into 2nd, +0.51 – just one one hundredth ahead of Brignone. Mikaela Shiffrin is bib 15 – green at 1, less so at 2 and slightly red at 3, more red at 4 but fastest through the gun [100.61 kph!] and into 4th, +0.75. Breezy Johnson into 7th; Ramona Siebenhofer goes 9th. Ragnhild Mowinckel nicely green at 1 and 2, just green at 3, just red at 4 and she’s into 2nd, +0.33 – a great run and she’s back on form! Lots of people seem to be able to “go green” at inter 1 but it’s very easy to lose time after that! Good effort by Connie Hütter to go 8th; now 30 away – Goggia leads from Mowinckel, Curtoni, Brignone, Shiffrin and Suter. Another good run by Elisabeth Reisinger [bib 36] into 13th, and even better Camille Cerutti [FRA, bib 40] has gone 11th! That’s it – well done to Sofia Goggia who has pulled off the double here – another 100 points! Nice to see Mowinckel back on the podium with Curtoni taking the final place. Goggia now leads the Super G standings by 93 points from Brignone, with Curtoni a close 3rd; in the overall Goggia is on 635 points to Shiffrin’s 570 with Vlhova a distant 3rd on 340.

Annecy – Le Grand Bornand – Women’s 10 km Pursuit, 18 Dec 21: The men’s downhill is still running but seems to be settled [I hope]. Once again we seem to be lacking commentary; not very impressive. On the opening lap Elvira is up to second already – Røiseland in for S1 and clear, Elvira has missed her 5th. Røiseland leads out ahead of Reztsova and Hauser, who were both clear, with Elvira 4th, +36.2 and just ahead of big sister who was clear. Julia Simon clear and up from 13 to 6 and Patrick and Mike are back! Røiseland in for S2 – missed her 4th, Hanna Öberg clear and she leads out just 0.6 ahead of Røiseland then Hauser and Elvira, who was clear this time. Julia Simon in 5th, ahead of Bescond and Wierer [0,0]. Vittozzi up from 20 to 9 and Hinz from 27 to 11. On the lap Røiseland is back in front, with the Öbergs right behind her! The first standing shoot – Røiseland has missed 2, so has Hanna Öberg but Elvira is 5/5 and away! Elvira leads, ahead of Hauser, [0,0,0, +10.5], Simon[0,0,0], Alimbekava [1,0,0], Bescond [1,0,0] and Røiseland [0,1,2] who is just ahead of Hanna Öberg [0,0,2]. Vittozzi and Wierer have missed 1 each, Hinz missed 2 here. Elvira is opening the gap over Simon and Hauser – in for the final shoot. Elvira has missed just 1, but so has Simon and Hauser has too; Hanna Öberg clear as is Røiseland. Elvira leads out, just 3.6 ahead of Simon, then Hanna Öberg, +15.8, and Røiseland +16.0. Elvira has now flashed up the turbos but Simon is still in touch; Røiseland past Hanna Ö at 9 Km. Elvira has taken the win, her first, ahead of Simon, up from 13, with Hanna beating Marte Olsbu Røiseland for the final podium place. Other gainers include Vittozzi [20-5], Mironova [21-8], Wierer [19-10], Anais C-B [26-14], Hinz [27-15, best German], Ivona Fialkova [44-16!], Justine B-B [31-17 despite 5 misses], Voight [32-19], Blashko [29-20] and Tachizaki [40-21]. Those losing ground include Bescond [2-6], Alimbekava [6-11], Magnusson [12-18], Sola [7-24], Kazakevitch [17-28], Herrmann [ 14-38, 6 misses], Mari Eder [9-39, 6 misses], and Haecki [25-42].

Annecy – Le Grand Bornand – Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit, 18 Dec 21: Conditions still look good; nice to see the crowds enjoying the events. Emilien Jacquelin is going hard on the opening lap – maybe too hard? JoBø in for his first shoot – Latypov clear and away 24.2 ahead of Laegreid with QFM 3rd, all clear. JoBø has missed 2, Samuelsson and Andersen 1 each. The chasers, Jacquelin and QFM leading them, are closing a little on Latypov, Laegreid and Smolski with them. In for S2 – Latypov shooting well but he’s missed his 5th; the French are both clear and out on Latypov’s heels, Christiansen clear again and 4th, just ahead of Laegreid who missed 1. JoBø clear this time and 6th ahead of Smolski who missed 1 and Tarjei, clear and up from 15 to 8. Jacquelin is pushing still – he’s past Latypov with QFM 3rd, then an opening gap to Christiansen; JoBø has lost a little on this lap. I missed Seb Samuelsson at S2 – he’s 1,2 now! QFM leading in for S3 – he’s clear and out, Jacquelin has missed 2, Latypov 1, JoBø 1. QFM is 24.1 ahead of Latypov as they leave the range with Christiansen clear again and 3rd. Smolski 4th, ahead of Laegreid and Jacquelin. JoBø [2,0,1] is 7th, +48.9. QFM has a 29.4 lead at 8.5 Km; last shoot coming up – QFM has cleared the lot at considerable speed – very impressive! Christiansen also 20/20 and out 2nd, +31.9, just ahead of Latypov. Smolski [0,1,0,0] just holding on to 4th, but he has Laegreid [0,1,0,0] and JoBø [2,0,1,0] almost with him. Quentin Fillon Maillet is cruising to the win; behind him Latypov is just about holding off Christiansen but it’s very close, JoBø past Laegreid but they aren’t catching Smolski! QFM over the line to win from 4th, Latypov just ahead of Christiansen [8-3] to complete the podium. Smolski in 4th, ahead of JoBø and Laegreid. Among the other gainers are Tarjei Bø [15-7], Lesser [26-10], Fabien Claude [40-14], Doll [24-15], Weger [28-16], Bakken [49-20], Eder [34-21], Femling [45-27], Krcmar [48-30], and Varabei [54-31]. Those losing places include Andersen [3-26], Nelin [20-33], Lazouski [19-34], Labastu [27-41], and Lapshin [10-50].

Alta Badia, Gran Risa – Men’s GS, 19 Dec 21: Well, a different venue for this one today, with a pretty impressive reputation. Run one set by a Slovenian coach; Alexis Pinturault first away and that’s looking good, although the commentary team are wondering if it was too smooth with not enough risked?  Mathieu Faivre is green inter 2 and building despite an error and he leads by 0.67! Loic Meillard can’t match either of the French skiers; Zan Kranjec next and his coach set this pattern – it doesn’t seem to be helping, he’s into 3rd, +0.83! Filip Zubcic going very straight and he’s into 2nd; Marco Odermatt green at inter 1, less green at 2 and just red at 3 – he’s 2nd, just 0.02 off Faivre’s time! Luca de Aliprandini a little slow to inter 1 – he hasn’t got that time back – into 3rd, +0.53. Ten away – Faivre leads from Odermatt and de Aliprandini, then Zubcic, Pinturault and Gino Caviezel. Henrik Kristoffersen next and green at inter 1 but red at 2 and into 5th, +0.57 – I’m not sure his set up was helping? Justin Murisier into 6th despite some problems; Manu Feller has been fast on the final section to pull back time and go 3rd, +0.19. River Radamus has also gained time from inter 3 to the finish to go 4th, despite falling on the line; the course is beginning to rut. Rasmus Windingstad green at 1 and 2 but a couple big errors have spoilt his run – into 11th. Radamus [bib 18] the highest bib number in the top 10. Coverage has shifted to Val d’Isère. Not much changed after that, Aleksander Andrienko [bib 34] did well to get into 16th, and Filippo Della Vite [bib 50] just missed the top 20, and ended up 21st!
Run 2: This is apparently a really tricky set, by a French coach, with lots of swing and it will also be a fitness check. Atle Lie McGrath the early leader; Patrick Feurstein [AUT, bib 35] has taken over the lead by 0.45.  Trevor Philp into 3rd; Marco Schwarz has taken over that spot despite a niggling ankle injury. Della Vite has skied out – shame after such a good first run! That’s 10 away, Feurstein still leads from McGrath and Schwarz. A good run from Stefan Brennsteiner into 2nd, but he lost a lot of time against Feurstein; Lucas Braathen in to 4th. This course really can grab time from any error; Loic Meillard has lost 0.40 from start to inter 1 and he’s red from 2 – just 4th. Erik Read into 3rd, but he had 0.71 in hand at the start! Zan Kranjec starts with 0.98 advantage, still green at 1 and 2 but red at 3 – he’s just 5th, +0.46! He’s lost almost 1.5 seconds on the run; Rasmus Windingstad has lost almost half of his advantage by inter 1 but he’s made up time by 2 – red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.24. Gino Caviezel has lost over half of his 1.10 by inter 1and he’s a full second red at the finish, in 11th! Now, it’s Alexis Pinturault and this course was set by a French coach – 1.14 in hand; even he has only 0.26 left at 2 and he’s red at 3 after catching his hand in a gate – he’s just 8th, +0.53. Justin Murisier also red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.20; now Kristoffersen and he starts with 1.24 advantage – he hasn’t lost much at 1 and is steady to 2, still green at 3 and this is looking better – at last, he leads by 0.58! He actually looks happy! Zubcic can’t match that – into 5th; Luca de Aliprandini living dangerously and losing time, but he’s managed to get into 3rd. River Radamus into 4th; Manu Feller has drifted into the red at 2 – a good final sector gets him into 2nd. Marco Odermatt also red by 2 and he’s taken over 2nd, by 6 hundredths. Just Faivre to go and he’s red at inter 1 having started 0.57 ahead – his coach set this course but it’s not working for him – that’s awful for him – into 16th! So, Henrik Kristoffersen gets his first podium of the season and it’s a win! Marco Odermatt in 2nd, Feller in 3rd, then Feurstein [who still has the best time on run 2], de Aliprandini and Radamus. Odermatt leads the GS standings on 280, ahead of Kristoffersen [163] and Pinturault [141]; Odermatt also leads the overall with 533 points to Mayer’s 405 with Kilde 3rd on 329.

Alta Badia, Gran Risa – Men’s GS, 20 Dec 21: The FIS really are cramming them in! I missed most of run 1, set by an American coach,  as I had to be out; as I joined Marco Odermatt is leading from de Aliprandini and Alex Schmid, Brennsteiner 4th ahead of Kristoffersen [+0.99] and Kranjec. The race is interrupted for repairs and it’s apparently badly rutted in places. Gino Caviezel and Atle Lie McGrath are both DNFs. Solheim [bib 29] into 17th – not bad! The later starters are having a tough time – the conditions are bad, and that might be what the fastest skiers will face on run 2. The number of DNFs are increasing quite quickly! Filippo Della Vite might just qualify for run 2 if he’s lucky! Just made it – he finished up 30th! No late changes to the top 10 – it should be interesting to see how they cope with the conditions on run 2!
Run 2: Filippo Della Vite the first away on a course set by a Norwegian coach – he’s safely down which is an improvement on yesterday – his first points! The more experienced Simon Maurberger can’t match him, and neither can Andreas Zampa after an early error. Trevor Philp is getting more green to inter 2 and he leads by 0.41 – a nice run! Erik Read has lost a bit from 2 to 3 – he takes the lead by just one one hundredth! Ten away, Read leads from Philp with Raphael Haaser just going 3rd, ahead of Della Vite. Marco Schwarz into 4th; Thibaut Favrot has crashed out but seems fine. Victor Muffat-Jeandet into 4th; Manu Feller has really attacked this course – building all the way to lead by 0.84! Rasmus Windingstad going well but he’s lost time in the final sector to go 2nd, +0.20. It’s a similar story for Mathieu Faivre, losing time from inter 2 to go 3rd. Alexis Pinturault has lost time to inter 1 and more to 2, a huge error and he’s just 8th! Loic Meillard has made a tactical error and he’s 11th – very unusual. Justin Murisier also losing time and red at 3 – that’s a good final sector though to claw back some time and go 2nd by 0.04. Filip Zubcic red by 2 and into 5th – TV break – Feller still leading from Murisier and Windingstad, 8 to go. River Radamus into 5th; Lucas Braathen only 6th as the course starts to look quite rutted. Zan Kranjec goes 7th; now Henrik Kristoffersen has 1.14 in hand – can he get the double? He’s lost a little; steady from 1 to 2, then half of the advantage gone by 3 but he has enough in hand to take the lead by 0.37 – but only the 13th fastest time on run 2! Stefan Brennsteiner into joint 4th with Windingstad; Alex Schmid is going well to be green at 3 – he’s taken the lead by just 0.02! Luca de Aliprandini just  staying in the green to take over the lead by 0.08. Just Marco Odermatt to go – a massive gain to inter 1 and he keeps building – he started 0.18 ahead and he wins by a massive 1.01 – what a run! Even then just the 10th fastest on run 2 – Trevor Philp quickest there, going early. So, another win for Marco Odermatt, ahead of de Aliprandini and Alex Schmid – both getting their first GS podiums. Kristoffersen in 4th, ahead of Feller and Murisier. Odermatt is now on 380 points in the GS standings, ahead of Kristoffersen [213] and de Aliprandini [207]. In the overall Odermatt is now on 633, with Mayer on 405 and Kilde 329; Kristoffersen has moved up 2 places to 4th, on 287.

Annecy – Le Grand Bornand – Women’s 12.5 km Mass Start, 19 Dec 21: Quite a tough test – conditions look good though, and quite cold; not a lot of wind. As expected it’s Elvira Öberg making the early pace, with big sister tucked in behind – quite a bottleneck at the first climb. The pace looks fairly gentle at present – i.e. only about 3 times my flat out pace! In for S1 – a good crowd there to add some noise – Elvira and Alimbekava have missed 1 each; Vittozzi has missed all 5! Hanna Öberg clear and leads out, just ahead of Sola, Hauser, Anais C-B, Røiseland and Simon, +5.2. Only two Germans today – Hinz and Voight – Preuß still out and I think Herrmann might have gone home? A good number of clear shoots at S1, including Stina Nilsson who was out in 15th. Only just over 5 seconds separating the top 10 as they head for S2. Second prone – Hanna Öberg has missed 3, Røiseland 2, Justine B-B among those with 1 miss. It’s Julia Simon who leads out, just ahead of Reztsova, Anais C-B, Hauser, Brorsson and Doro Wierer, +5.4. All the leading 6 still clear, nice to see Vanessa Hinz up in 7th with 10/10. Mari Eder has missed 4 at S2, Vittozzi better this time – just 1 miss; Elvira is 1,1 after S2 and Stina Nilsson has missed 2 this time. Simon is leading in for the first standing shoot – Simon has missed her first, Anais C-B and Reztsova have also missed 1! Hinz has missed 3, Sola 2 more, Justine B-B 2. It’s Doro who leads out, ahead of Hauser – both 15/15; Simon in 3rd, +13.4 ahead of Lie [0,0,0], Reztsova [0,0,1] and Anais C-B [0,0,1], +19.8. Elvira [1,1,0] is 9th, just ahead of Røiseland; Hanna Öberg in 13th. Doro has opened up the gap a little over Hauser but the French are closing a little as is Reztsova. The final shoot – the leading 3 have all missed 1, so have several others but Elvira [1,1,0,0] is clear here – it’s Jessica Jislova [0,0,0,0] who leads out but she’s only 1.3 ahead of Elvira! Simon 3rd and in touch, ahead of Wierer, Reztsova and Hauser [+8.5], Røiseland in 7th, +12.9. At 11 Km Elvira is now 11.8 ahead of Simon, then Reztsova, Jislova and Wierer with Røiseland up to 6th – all very close for the remaining 2 podium places! They aren’t going to catch Elvira who is 16.7 ahead at 11.5 Km – Reztsova back past Simon who is only just clear of Doro who is trying to distance Jislova. Elvira Öberg wins for the second time in 2 days, Julia Simon has out sprinted Kristina Reztsova with Doro in 4th, ahead of Jislova and Røiseland. Jislova the only one to hit all 20 targets. Hanna Öberg in 10th, Sola 12th, Justine B-B in 15th after 5 misses, Nilsson a creditable 16th. That’s nicely finished in time for run 2 of the Men’s GS!

Annecy – Le Grand Bornand – Men’s 15 km Mass Start, 19 Dec 21: Now, who might try to hurt the field on lap 1, if anyone? All very tight for the yellow bib as they start today; that’s a great crowd here. The field had spread out a little but they are bunching up again as the course steepens; Samuelsson just ahead of JoBø, Jacquelin and QFM. A nasty little climb on the route to S1 – QFM and Samuelsson have both missed 1, so has JoBø; Andersen, Ponsiluoma and Desthieux have missed 2 each. It’s Bakken who leads out, fractionally ahead of Latypov and Fabien Claude, then Laegreid, Jacquelin and Tarji Bø – all clear. A an aside, why do the sponsors refer to this as “bee-athe-lon”? On the lap Jacquelin has opened up a gap on Latypov, and indeed the rest of the field – I wonder if that is wise? Jacquelin in for S2 – clear and away; behind him are Kühn, +8.5, Laegreid, Tarjei, Seppala and Nawrath, +13.7 – all clear. Latypov has missed 1 and out 12th, QFM is 1,1 and 20th, just ahead of JoBø, also 1,1 as is Samuelsson in 23rd. Jacquelin keeping up the pace; Tarjei was leading the chasing group about 15 seconds back, but he’s dropping back as Jacquelin comes in for S3 – he’s missed 1, but so have a few of the chasing group such as Laegreid and Kühn. Despite that miss Jacquelin leads but just by 0.8 from Leitner who is 15/15, then Fabien Claude [0,1,0], Christiansen [0,1,0] Weger [0,0,0] and Bakken [0,1,0]. QFM clear this time and 7th, just 2 seconds ahead of JoBø who was also clear; Tarjei has missed 1 - out 11th, Laegreid also missed 1 and out 13th, Samuelsson [1,1,1] in 18th. Poor Andersen has missed 2 at all 3 shoots. Jacquelin is still pushing but QFM is up to 3rd as they head for the final shoot. Jacquelin has dropped all 5 before the rest have started; Leitner out 2nd, +11.5 with QFM, Christiansen, and Tarjei all clear here and in touch – what does Jacquelin have left for the final lap? Latypov, Samuelsson and Laegreid have all missed 1 here, JoBø has tried to shoot fast but missed 3. At 13 Km Jacquelin leads by 12.3 from QFM and Tarjei Bø. The French are loving this – Emilien Jacquelin has gambled on a very aggressive strategy and it’s worked for him – a very impressive win. Quentin Fillon Maillet in 2nd, ahead of Tarjei Bø. Leitner in 4th, ahead of Christiansen, Kühn, Doll, Bakken and Samuelsson [1,1,1,1,] who made up 5 places on the final lap. JoBø [1,1,0,3] down in 20th, just ahead of Laegreid [0,0,1,1]. Very impressive by the podium team!

Courchevel – Women’s GS, 21 Dec 21: Another day, yet another race, although it looks as though I will miss run 2. Another day with perfect conditions – course set by an Austrian coach; Petra Vlhova is back and she’ll be first away today. Vlhova away, bit late in the line lower down but she’s over the line and safe - she doesn’t look entirely happy with her run. Meta Hrovat looked really good on the upper turns but she’s skied out; Federica Brignone next, red at 1 and 2 but she’s faster on the lower sectors and into the lead by 0.33. She thinks it could have been better; a couple errors on the last gates. Michelle Gisin in various shades of green all the way – she leads by 0.32. Mikaela Shiffrin is well green at inter 1 and building – she leads by an impressive 0.74; Nick and Ed think she could have been even faster as there were a few slight errors. I’m a fan of Marte Bassino but she’s not having a good time on the GS races this season – she crashed on the first one, and she’s into the nets again today – thankfully unhurt. Mina Fuerst Holtmann into 4th; 10 away, Shiffrin leads from Gisin, Brignone, Holtmann, Vlhova and Worley. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 6th; Sara Hector driving hard – one error but a great recovery and she’s into 3rd! Good to see Sofia Goggia on the tech skis – she’s into 10th at present. I do love the slow motion replays – Sara Hector at an extreme angle, one hand down – impressive stuff! Thirty away – no change to the top 10 since Sara Hector [bib 13] went into 3rd. Good effort by Estelle Alphand [bib 39] to get into 20th place, at present. Camille Rast [bib 45] has done even better – she’s into 16th! That’s run 1 over – no change to the top 20 since Camille Rast!
Run 2: Course set by a Polish coach. I kept the live data feed running over lunch, as I was on my own, to give me an idea of what was going on. And then watched the race on catch up later! Early on Paula Moltzan put in a great run to take over the lead – with 10 away Moltzan leads from Coralie Frasse-Sombet and Magdalena Luczak. Tviberg was green at 1 and 2 but then faded a little [cross ruts?]and went 3rd; O’Brien gained to inter 1, lost a bit to 2, better at 3 and took over the lead by 0.29. Camille Rast had a terrific run, gaining time to inter 2 and then taking over the lead by 0.64 – impressive, especially given her start number! Wendy Holdener into 5th; Ana Bucik just red all the way but fast enough to take over 2nd place. Katharina Truppe did what many did on this run, nicely green to inter 3 but then fading as she hits the cross ruts and ending 2nd – Ragnhild Mowinckel was rather similar, oscillating between red and green and going into 4th. I’m not quite sure what happened to Stephanie Brunner – 0.92 in hand at the start but late in the line early on and errors on the last sector only into 5th; Sofia Goggia had a worse day – flying on the run, but she’s caught an edge and that’s a DNF. Rast had gained a good number of places but Ramona Siebenhofer had 1.13 advantage as she started – 1.40 ahead at 2, just 0.48 green at 3 after an epic on the cross ruts and eventually she took the lead by just 0.01 – great recovery! Tessa Worley went against the flow, losing time to be 0.57 red at inter 2 but then turning things around and taking the lead by a massive 0.91 – what a run! Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 2nd; and now it’s Petra Vlhova – red at 1, green at 2, greener at 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.42 – fastest run 2 so far as well. Federica Brignone gained time to 1 but ended up rather too red at 3 after a big error on the ruts to go into 4th; Sara Hector went one better by recording what ended up as the fastest time on run 2 to take the lead by 0.58 after a very impressive final sector – no wonder she’s happy!  Michelle Gisin lost half of her advantage by inter 1, pulled back to 0.57 ahead at 2, back red at 3 and into 2nd. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to go with a very healthy 1.03 advantage – she’d got that up to 1.53 by inter 2 and although she lost a little time form there she took the win by 0.86 – very impressive skiing. Shiffrin wins, her 72nd win,  from Hector and Gisin; Vlhova in 4th ahead of Worley and Maryna Gasienica-Daniel. Camille Rast ended up 9th, despite being bib 45, and with the 4th fastest time on run 2.


Courchevel – Women’s GS, 22 Dec 21: No rest for the alpine skiers it seems – this race for the women and a slalom for the men later today – when will they get their Christmas shopping done? Interesting, perhaps, that it’s Matt doing the commentary for this one. This race replaces the Killington GS; today Petra Vlhova is first away on a course set by a Swiss coach – one error but down – again she doesn’t look too happy with that. Marta Bassino green all the way and she takes over the lead by 0.20; Tessa Worley green at 1 and building on that advantage – now she leads by 0.28. Michelle Gisin 0.70 off the pace in 4th; Mikaela Shiffrin slightly green at 1 and 2 but red at 3 and she’s into 2nd, behind Worley! Federica Brignone is looking a little tired, as many of the skiers are after such a packed programme – she’s 6th.  Sara Hector green at 1 and 2 and she’s kept it clean to take over the lead by 0.11. Oh dear – Sofia Goggia a DNF again today – unusual! Fifteen away – Hector leads from Worley and Shiffrin, Bassino in 4th, ahead of Vlhova and Gisin. It seems Wendy Holdener is multi lingual; Elena Curtoni has joined the DNFs. The course seems to be cutting up quite quickly – no change to the top 10 since Ramona Siebenhofer [bib 14] went into 8th.  Camille Rast into 14th, from bib 27 – she’s having a good time here! Proof that the later starters can make it to run 2 – Katharina Huber [bib 52] has got into 17th place – very impressive! That was the last change to the top 30 though – run 2 should be interesting if the course cuts up again!
Run 2: I don’t recognise the commentator’s voice! This course set by an Italian coach – apparently very fast and technical. Ah, Matt is back! Paula Moltzan the early leader again today having displaced Holtmann; I thought Haaser might have taken over the lead, but she’s into 3rd. Ana Bucik has skied out on the final sector while looking to be well in touch; 10 away and Paula Moltzan still leads from Holtmann and Haaser. The course is beginning to cut up – it looks very easy to lose time after inter 1 and even more so from 2 onwards! Katharina Huber has gained a little to 1 and 2, but is just red at 3 and into 4th. Into the TV break – 15 away and no change to the top 3; Moltzan has gained 12 places already! At last – Camille Rast has just got past Moltzan; she’s not had time to get to the leader’s chair before Katharina Truppe takes over the lead by a massive 0.90. Next away is Stephanie Brunner and she’s taken the lead by 0.50; great skiing! Ragnhild Mowinckel red at 1 and 2 but just green at 3 and now she leads; Stephanie Brunner into 2nd. Another change - Maryna Gasienica-Daniel takes the lead; Ramona Siebenhofer into 2nd. Federica Brignone out, on a course set by her coach! Petra Vlhova on course, losing time but she’s just got enough in hand – she leads by 0.12. Marta Bassino on course, lost a little early on but she’s gaining again and a great final section gives her the lead by 0.64! Mikaela Shiffrin has gained to inter 1 and more to 2; dropped a little to 3 but she takes the lead by 0.25. Tessa Worley just red at inter 2 and it’s drifting away – she’s into 3rd. Just Sara Hector to race – she’s lost a little to inter 1 but pulled some time back to 2, and more to 3 – she’s over the line 0.35 ahead – great effort!  Sara Hector takes the win, ahead of Shiffrin and Bassino – Worley in 4th ahead of Vlhova and Gasienica-Daniel. Great race! In the GS standings Shiffrin leads on 280, with Hector up to 2nd on 202 and Vlhova third on 155. In the overall Shiffrin is now on 750, comfortably ahead of Goggia [635] and Vlhova [435]. Sara Hector is up 6 places to 5th in the overall.

Madonna di Campiglio – Men’s Slalom, 22 Dec 21: Alexis Pinturault will be the first away on a course set by a Swedish coach – safely down! Ramon Zenhaeusern is next – lots of errors today and he’s +0.84; Seb Foss-Solevaag red at 1 and 2 but green at 3 and he leads. Henrik Kristoffersen red at 1, almost green by 2 but then red again – into 3rd, +0.81. Clement Noel is 0.61 green at inter 2 and he leads by 0.53; Schwarz and Feller both DNF. Linus Strasser also out; Kristoffer Jakobsen, whose coach set this course, into 3rd. Now, it’s Dave Ryding – red all the way but into 4th, +0.73; Alex Vinatzer into 6th, pushing Kristoffersen down a place. Twenty away, 4 DNFs and no change to the top 6 since Vinatzer, who is currently being looked at to see if he straddled! Albert Popov into 9th, just behind Luca Aerni; Timon Haugen into 10th. A good effort by Johannes Strolz [AUT, bib 38] to get into 11th! The highest bib number I can see in the top 20 is Dominik Raschner [AUT, bib 52], currently 19th.
Run 2: Good to see that Laurie Taylor got a second run! I joined this a little late, with Loic Meillard in the lead, having improved by 6 places so far! This looks tricky; this course set by a Swiss coach I think. Yohei Koyama [JPN; bib 54] into 2nd; it’s amazing to see Michael Matt so far down the results and he’s only 7th on run 2 at present. Dominik Raschner next but he’s red by inter 1 and just into 9th – disappointing after such a creditable first run. Erik Read next but most of his advantage has gone by inter 1 and he’s into the red at 3 – he’s into 3rd. Giuliano Razzoli into 2nd; Simon Maurberger lost a lot between 2 and 3 but pulled some of it back to go into 4th. Meillard still leading and he’s gained 14 places so far! Ramon Zenhaeusern has 0.51 advantage at the start, just 0.10 left at inter 1 and he’s red at 2 – his training crash has understandably disadvantaged him, and he’s just 10th. Victor Muffat-Jeandet into the red at inter 3 and into 4th; Johannes Strolz has straddled – not a good evening for the Austrians. Timon Haugan also just red at 3 but he’s pulled it back and at last the lead changes; Haugan leads by 0.09! TV break over and 8 to go - awful run by his standards from Luca Aerni, just 13th; Henrik Kristoffersen next and he’s gaining time, 0.50 ahead at inter 2 but he’s straddled on the breakaway and he’s out. Alex Vinatzer must have been OK on run 1 as he’s here on run 2 and going well – green all the way and he leads by 0.59 – good run! Alexis Pinturault next and he’s gained from 1 to 2, dead level at 3 and he has gained again to the finish to take the lead by 0.16. Next on course is Dave Ryding but he’s straddled on the early turns; Kris Jakobsen red at 1, redder at 2 but then pulling the time back – he goes 2nd by just 0.01! Seb Foss-Solevaag only just green by inter 2 but he’s gained a little to 3 and he takes the lead by 0.10 – good run! Clement Noel has gained a little to inter 1 and more to 2 and 3 and he finishes, on his back just over a second ahead – brilliant stuff but he missed the final gate so that’s a DSQ – that’s really hard to bear! So, Seb Foss-Solevaag takes the win, ahead of Pinturault and Jakobsen! Vinatzer in 4th ahead of Haugan and Loic Meillard who gained 23 places in run 2. That puts Seb F-S into the joint slalom lead with Jakobsen, both on 140; Noel drops to 3rd on 100. Pinturault up 3 places to 4th in the overall, behind Odermatt, Mayer and Kilde.

Lienz [Schlossberg] – Women’s GS, 28 Dec 21: I think the course, which for once looks like something I could manage [although not at speed], has been set by an Italian coach – in fact it was Bassino’s coach. All very quiet here with no spectators. Tessa Worley first away today; she’s safely down but doesn’t seem very satisfied with the run – no Shiffrin today after a positive test and Gut-Behrami is still out. Federica Brignone is over a second off the pace; amazingly Petra Vlhova is also red at inter 1 and 2 and goes 2nd, +0.41! Michelle Gisin even more off the pace and +1.30; Marta Bassino into 3rd, +0.82. Sara Hector red at 1 but in touch and into the green at 2, back red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.12; Alice Robinson into 4th after an impressive recovery!  Sofia Goggia also not at her best today,  just 8th, +1.58; Katharina Liensberger only just faster. Meta Hrovat into 5th; 10 away and Worley still leads, ahead of Hector and Vlhova. Stephanie Brunner out; Ragnhild Mowinckel in touch at 1 and 2 – into 3rd, +0.29. That’s 20 away – no change to the top 3 since Mowinckel; Tviberg [bib 20] the highest bib number in the top 10, in 10th! The light has been very flat since the start but the visibility might be a little worse now? Camille Rast in touch on the upper sections and into 9th from bib 25; there is now some sun on the track which should improve definition – Hilma Loevblom [SWE, bib 34] has taken advantage and goes 16th! Clara Direz [bib 38] into 19th; Estelle Alphand [bib 40] has done even better and is currently 13th! That’s’ run 1 over – Alphand the highest bib number in the top 20, still 13th. Top 6 are Worley, Hector, Mowinckel, Vlhova, Robinson and Hrovat.
Run 2 – course set by a Slovenian coach: This looks a bit tougher, but conditions look good? Katharina Huber first away and over 4 seconds ahead of her time on run 1! Katharina Truppe green at 2, red at 3 but then gaining time to lead by 0.29. Sofia Goggia 0.27 red at 2, green at 3 but into 2nd, +0.19! Ten away – Truppe leads from Goggia and Huber. Coralie Frasse Sombet into 3rd; Hilma Loevblom has lost a ski – she seems OK but that’s a pity after such a good first run. Wendy Holdener has also lost a ski and joined the DNFs – again, she seems OK. Estelle Alphand into 4th – Truppe has now gained 14 places! Federica Brignone has gained time from 1 to 2, she’s over a second ahead at 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.89 – that’s the fastest time on run 2 as well. Tviberg also out but skiing down; Siebenhofer into 3rd. Camille Rast has gained to inter 1 but is red at 2 – she’s into 2nd though, +0.77. Marta Bassino almost doubled her advantage to inter 1 but was red at 2 and now she’s into 2nd; Petra Vlhova looking good – green all the way and she takes the lead, despite a late error. Ragnhild Mowinckel into 3rd; Sara Hector has gained a little to inter 1, but she’s red at 2 and redder at 3 – good final sector to go 2nd, +0.08. Just Tessa Worley to go – she too has gained a little to 1, steady to 2, still green at 3 and she’s taken the win – great result! That’s her first win of the season – well done Tessa! Petra Vlhova in 2nd, ahead of Hector, Brignone, Mowinckel and Bassino. Shiffrin still leads the GS standings on 280 but Hector is on 262 and Vlhova on 235 – it will be a pity if the final standings are determined by PCR tests! Shiffrin also leads the overall on 750 ahead of Goggia [657] and Vlhova [515].

Bormio [Stelvio] – Men’s Downhill, 28 Dec 21: This is apparently a real leg burner – several skiers have opted not to do the whole run in one go on the training runs! Some light snow falling as Vincent Kriechmayr does the first run of the day on this course; 1 second slower than the training times in the new snow conditions.  Christof Innerhofer is over 2 seconds slower; Matthias Mayer has gained time from inter 5 but not enough – he’s 2nd, +0.42. Bryce Bennett over a second red at 3 and he’s just behind Innerhofer at the finish; Beat Feuz fractionally green at inter 2, but red at 3 but he’s down – luckily not into the netting and he’s OK. That should increase the “atmosphere” at the start! Martin Cater has lost a lot between 2 and 3 and he’s the slowest so far; Aleksander Aamodt Kilde next and nicely green at 2, but red at 3 – steady to 4 and 5 and a very powerful final sector gets him the lead by 0.03 – he’s made up 0.30 from inter 5! Marco Odermatt green to inter 3 and building – he’s 0.73 green at 4 and you can hear him shouting – that was an amazing jump and he leads by a massive 0.88! That’s his first World Cup downhill win I think, if he stays in the leader’s chair. Dominik Paris is flying though – green to inter 3 and 0.56 green at 4, he’s taken over the lead by 0.24. That might be his 6th downhill win here? Niels Hintermann into 3rd, but +0.80; that’s Kilde off the podium! Ten away and Paris leads from Odermatt and Hintermann, then Kilde, Kriechmayr and Mayer. Otmar Striedinger into 7th; Urs Kryenbühl straight through a gate and out. That’s a good run from Johan Clarey, into 6th; not for long though as Travis Ganong has taken over that place. Matthieu Bailet into 10th; Daniel Hemetsberger in touch at inter 3 and a strong performance on the final sector has got him into 4th, +0.99! At present he’s the best of the Austrians! Josef Ferstl was in touch at 3 but after a major error he ends up 13th – great recovery though! A nice run from Matteo Marsaglia [bib 26] – he’s fastest so far through the final gun and into 8th; this is even better – Dominik Schwaiger [GER, bib 27] keeping in touch and he’s gaining places on the final sector – fastest through the speed gun and into 5th, ahead of Kilde! Daniel Danklemaier looked as though he was going to miss a gate but he made it somehow and he’s into 9th as well! That’s 30 away – Paris leads from Odermatt and Hintermann, then Hemetsberger, Schwaiger and Kilde. Coverage has shifted to Lienz! No changes to the top 10 from there – well done Dominik Paris – still the King of Bormio! A great 2nd place for Odermatt, ahead of Hintermann. Paris now leads the downhill standings on 227 points, ahead of Mayer, 217, and Hintermann [178] – Kilde 4th, ahead of Feuz who has lost 3 places today. Marco Odermatt still leads the overall, now on 718 points with Mayer in 2nd [427] and Kilde in 3rd [369].

Lienz [Schlossberg] – Women’s Slalom, 29 Dec 21: Not quite such a nice day; a little moisture in the air. Michelle Gisin first away today – Matt reckons she’s being a bit cautious on the soft snow. Katharina Liensberger was green all the way to inter 3 but then red at the finish. Lena Dürr green at 1 and 2 but red at 3 and she’s lost almost a second from there! Petra Vlhova green at 1, less so at 2, less still at 3 but she’s over the line 0.08 ahead – best so far in the final sector. Anna Swenn Larsson has also lost time on the final sector to go 4th; it seems very easy to lose time on the final sector – with 10 away Vlhova still leads from Gisin and Liensberger. Sara Hector nicely in touch to inter 2, but she too has lost a massive amount of time from 3 to go 8th. It looks certain that if anyone wants to get into the top 3 they are going to have to ski the final sector well – so far it’s not happening for the later starters. Laurence St-Germain actually green at 2 but a little ragged at times after that -  even so, into 4th! The Canadians are going well – Erin Mielzynski into 4th; Camille Rast is in touch too and now she’s taken over 4th place. Mina Fuerst Holtmann [bib 25] is just green at inter 3 and into 5th; Charlie Guest is green at inter 2, red at 3 but she too has lost a lot on the last sector to go 12th. Three DNFs in a row at exactly the same place; perhaps something needs attention in the TV break? That’s not a bad run from Elsa Fermbaeck [SWE, bib 33] – into 8th – good effort, and she’s one place ahead of Swenn Larsson too! Forty away – Vlhova leads from Gisin, Liensberger, Rast, Holtmann and Mielzynski. Hmm – another 3 DNFs in a row, and now another 3 – so far 28/29/30, 45/46/47, and 53/54/55! At present,  16 DNFs from 58 starts. Reece Bell [daughter of Martin] is on course for her World Cup debut – safely down but 42nd so no second run. That’s run 1 over – no change to the top 10 since Fermbaeck went into 8th!
Run 2: The course set by a Czech coach; first away is Sakurako Mukogawa – good effort to get a second run from bib 57. Leona Popovic 2.15 faster; Paula Moltzan, skiing with a broken wrist, into 2nd. Katharina Huber has taken over 2nd, just 0.01 behind Popovic; Maria Therese Sporer into 3rd. Ten away and Popovic still leads, ahead of Huber and Sporer. Katharina Gallhuber lost a bit from 1 to 2, gained to 3 and fast in the final sector to go into the lead by 0.64 – fastest on run 2 so far. Lena Dürr gaining to 2 but then losing again and she’s ended up 5th after losing the line. Sara Hector into 2nd; sadly Charlie Guest is a DNF. Katharina Truppe going well again today – she’s into the lead by 0.62. Dubovska into 4th; that’s 20 away – Truppe leads from Gallhuber and Hector. Wendy Holdener good on the opening sectors but red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.26; Laurence St-Germain has lost time from 2 to 3 and she’s into 4th at present. Erin Mielzynski can only manage 8th; Truppe is having another good race and she’s gained 7 places so far. Mina Fuerst Holtmann red at 3 and into 4th after an error just before the flatter part of the course; a similar story for Camille Rast who takes over 4th. Katharina Liensberger has lost almost 0.50 from 2 to 3 but she’s steadied it from there to take over the lead by 0.27; Michelle Gisin already red at 1, redder at 2 but she’s pulled back just into the green at 3 – into 2nd, +0.17. Just Petra Vlhova to go – she’s gained to 1, lost half of that to 2, but gained again to 3 and fast to the finish – she wins by 0.51! That gives her a 120 point advantage over Shiffrin in the slalom standings. Vlhova takes the win, ahead of Liensberger, Gisin, Truppe [fastest on run 2], Holdener and Gallhuber.

Bormio [Stelvio] – Men’s Super G, 29 Dec 21: Some suggestion that Kilde may have  a slight knee problem? Snow is forecast for later in Bormio and the light is flat again as Mattia Casse gets the race underway. He’s down, on a course set by an Austrian coach. Nils Allegre 0.90 off the pace; Travis Ganong has gained time from 3 to the finish to go 2nd, +0.25. Gino Caviezel green at 1 and 2, and into 2nd just 0.04 off the pace – very creditable for a GS specialist! Vincent Kriechmayr quite red at 1 but green at 2, green at 3 and fast from there to lead by 0.63; Dominik Paris into 5th. Now, here comes Marco Odermatt – nicely green at inter 1 but he’s slightly off line and red at 2 – he’s made an error 3 gates from home too – into 2nd, +0.58. Matthias Mayer a little off the pace and just 5th, +0.81; Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is flying – 0.77 green at 1, up to 0.97 at 3 and he’s into the lead by 0.85! Fastest in every sector too!  Ryan C-S in touch and into 3rd; Beat Feuz seems to be off the pace too – into 4th, +1.13, but that’s not bad for an out and out downhill specialist, and after a DNF yesterday. Fifteen away, Kilde leads from Kriechmayr and Ryan C-S. Alexis Pinturault into 12th; visibility seems to be getting worse too. Matthieu Bailet had some big errors but he managed to recover to go 5th – could have been rather better! Max Franz into 9th; Raphael Haaser nicely in touch all the way – he’s into 2nd, +0.72 – very impressive effort!  Stefan Rogentin into 7th; Blaise Giezendanner goes 9th. Thirty away – Kilde still leads, ahead of Haaser, Kriechmayr, Ryan C-S, Feuz and Bailet. And that’s how it ended – well done Kilde!

30 Dec - Bormio: Jury decision - due to the snow conditions, today's race is cancelled as it can't be run safely!

Key takeaway from watching all yesterday: Eurosport's English Nordic commentators are significantly better than their Alpine counterparts, who have an almost supernatural ability to predict bad splits by saying someone looks good.

Zagreb – Women’s Slalom, 4 Jan 22: I missed this one as I was busy all day – suffice to say that Petra Vlhova remained the one to beat in slalom this year – she took the win by an impressive 0.50 from Mikaela Shiffrin with Katherina Liensberger managing to hold off Wendy Holdener for the final podium place despite a big error; she was +2.11! Holdener 4th, ahead of Ali Nullmeyer and Katharina Gallhuber. Charlie Guest finished 19th – good effort!

Zagreb [Crveni spust] – Men’s Slalom, 5 Jan 22: Not a good start for run 1 – start postponed! Now the race is cancelled. Or is it? The local ski federation is lobbying the FIS to think again – however the snow surface is soft and it’s foggy in places. There isn’t much snow away from the piste and it does look a bit unsuitable for racing today – the event has now vanished from the FIS site, but there is apparently a message in the public domain saying it might be a postponement not a cancellation!? It seems to have been rescheduled to tomorrow, 6 Jan?
So, 6 Jan – Men’s Slalom! This was originally scheduled for the same time as Wednesday, which would have suited me, but it was moved forward so run 1 clashed with lunch! I managed to see a little on my phone, joining run 1 just before Dave Ryding’s run. At that stage Seb Foss-Solevaag was leading, 0.49 clear of Ramon Zenhaeusern with Clement Noel in 3rd. Henrik Kristoffersen was +2.89 and Alexis Pinturault +1.49. Something must have gone badly wrong for Ryding as he lost almost 1.5 seconds in the final sector to end up +3.08 behind Seb F-S. Sadly by the time I got home to see how things were going the race had been cancelled again, with just 19 away, so no points today! Bad luck for Foss-Solevaag but I suspect Kristoffersen and Ryding are a little happier?

Oberhof – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 7 Jan 22: Lots of fresh snow falling, which is a bit ironic as they were making snow earlier in the week due to a lack of the real stuff, which caused yesterday’s race to be postponed, and it’s quite windy too – this is going to be tricky! Conditions are such that I’d be tempted to leave my skating skis in the store and sit by the fire, but then I’m not a biathlete! No real surprise that some of the better known racers have opted for a later start today – the tracks are a little slow at present with all the snow that has fallen. One exception is Sturla Holm Laegreid, who is bib 7; Erik Lesser fastest at 1.7 Km at present, Laegreid a little slower there. Visibility is quite poor at certain points on the track – no idea of the gaps between the skiers. Anton Smolski [BLR, bib 1] in for S1 and he’s missed just 1. Olli Hidensalo was having snags with snow on his rear sight but he’s clear and away, although having lost that time he’s slower than Lesser, who had 1 miss. Laegreid unlucky with the gusting wind and did well to miss just 1; Filip Fjeld Andersen clear at S1 and out in the lead but his ski speed seems a bit off today? I think the snow is getting heavier; Antonin Guigonnat has missed 3 at S1. JoBø [bib 38] away; Bakken is clear at S1 and fractionally quicker than Andersen. Fabien Claude quick over the lap but he’s missed 2 at S1; Erik Lesser has missed 2 at S2. That’s great shooting by Laegreid – all 5 down at S2 in gusty conditions – he’s out 42.5 ahead of Lesser. Johannes Kühn at S1 in a lull but he’s missed his last shot; Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 3 at S1. Andersen has missed 1 at S2 but out 25 seconds behind Laegreid; it’s possible that the wetter snow might make the track slower rather than it getting faster as the new stuff is cleared away? JoBø very fast in for S1 but he’s missed 3 there; Bakken has missed 3 at S2. Good shooting by Tsukasa Kobonoki who is the only 10/10 so far! Back at S1 Emilien Jacquelin has missed 1 but he’s still out ahead of Bakken and Andersen. Christiansen quick to get his first shot away at S1 but he’s missed the last one; Samuelsson has missed 2 at S1. Johannes Kühn [1,1] out after S2 in 2nd some 6 seconds ahead of QFM [also 1,1]. Alex Loginov possibly lucky with the wind at S1 – clear and out 8.7 ahead of Jacquelin; JoBø 25.3 seconds to first shot at S2 and he’s [3,2] and out 18th. Meanwhile Jacquelin [1,1] is out from S2 just ahead of Laegreid; Tarjei Bø has missed 2 at S1. Kühn over the finish line just 3.5 behind Laegreid having made up almost 20 seconds on the final lap; Jacquelin has also gained time on Laegreid between 7.3 Km and 8.6 Km. Loginov has missed his final shot at S2 – out 3rd, +5.6; Jacquelin over the finish line 8.6 ahead of Laegreid. At 7.3 Km Alex Loginov has overtaken Jacquelin and is 2.7 clear; Bormolini and Babikov both 10/10 and in the top 5 at present. Loginov still 2.1 ahead at 8.4 Km; at 8.6 Km the gap is up to 4.7! Alex Loginov over the line 6.5 seconds ahead of Jacquelin; Babikov holding on to 4th and in touch with Laegreid’s time. Tarjei Bø [2,1] over the line 5th, however Babikov, who has faded a bit on the final kilometre, dropping behind Kühn, has taken over that place. Top 6 currently Loginov, Jacquelin, Laegreid, Kühn, Babikov and Tarjei Bø. Back at S2 Roman Rees [1,0] is out 5th, but +20.5; he’s gained time to 7.3 Km but lost some of it from there to 8.6 Km – he may well push Kühn down a place? Everyone through S1 – only Adam Runnalls [CAN] who was clear there looked as though he might change things but he’s missed 4 at S2. Rees has lost some time on the final kilometre; over the line in 5th, just behind Kühn. That was it – no late changes to the top 10 – well done to Alex Loginov on the win and to Jacquelin and Laegreid taking the other podium places – 2 Russians and 2 Germans in the top 6.

Oberhof – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 7 Jan 22: Tiril Eckhoff not starting today – she missed hard training due to a cold so is training now instead of racing! Franzi Hildebrand back in the German team as Franzi Preuß is injured. Chloe Chevalier first away – still cold here but the snow seems lighter although the visibility still isn’t good. Interesting to see Røiseland away bib 3 so she must feel the track will get slower? Røiseland at S1 and she’s missed 1; Kristina Reztsova is clear and out 24.4 ahead of Røiseland, who looks to have lost a little time to Chloe Chevalier on the early part of the second lap? Oh dear, Lisa Vittozzi isn’t having a good season – 3 misses at S1 today; Tandrevold clear at S1 and out 9.2 behind Reztsova. Doro Wierer at S1 – fast shoot and all clear too! Reztsova has missed her first 2 at S2, but that’s a good recovery to clear the rest; Justine Braisaz-Bouchet has missed 3 at S1. Paulina Fialkova clear at S1 and out 3rd; Elvira Öberg has missed 2 there. Doro has missed 1 at S2, out 3rd, but only 3 seconds or so ahead of Reztsova. Hanna Öberg has missed 1 at S1 despite getting a break in the wind; Marketa Davidova clear there and out 3rd. Vanessa Hinz clear at S1 but +17.1; Mona Brorsson clear and out 2nd! Elvira Öberg clear at S2 but that was a 41 second shoot; there is an asterisk by Nigmatullina’s name on the live feed – not sure why? Doro over the line in 4th, +37.9; back at S2 Hanna Sola [2,0] is out 3rd despite those misses and certainly in touch – faster than Doro. Vanessa Viogt and Susan Dunklee both 10/10 and out 6th and 7th respectively; Hanna Öberg [1,1] into 6th, +27.6. Davidova has missed 2 at S2; Sola is flying on the early part of her final lap – she’s passed Tandrevold’s time by 5.6 Kms – over the line in 2nd, +7.1, but she’s pulled back about 22 seconds on Tandrevold on that final lap! Alimbekava was clear at S1 but she’s missed 2 at S2 – still out 3rd though, +15.2 and she obviously has amazing ski speed, like Sola! At present Røiseland leads from Sola, Tandrevold, Reztsova, Hanna Öberg and Wierer. Alimbekava holding on to 3rd at present, and Tandrevold did fade on the final kilometre; Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [1,0] has sneaked in under the radar to grab 4th at present! Back at S2 Julia Simon [0,1] is out 3rd, but not that far ahead of Alimbekava, who has just crossed the finish line in 3rd. Simon is losing time on the early part of her final lap, against Røiseland, but she might get past Tandrevold and she’s also closing a little on Alimbekava? Looks like Anna Weidel has fallen on the track – she’s heading for a medical check from the look of it. Back at S1 Stina Nilsson has cleared all 5 and out +15.8; at the finish Julia Simon has found a better gear for the final kilometre and she’s into joint 2nd with Sola – that’s a great effort, very nicely judged on the last lap. Stina Nilsson at S2 and she’s got 4 of the 5 – that’s good and she’s out 13th, +34.4; she’s lost a little on the final kilometre, but she’s still 14th, just ahead of Elvira! The snow has got a lot heavier which possibly didn’t help her. That’s it – well done to Marte Olsbu Røiseland for another win, ahead of Hanna Sola and Julia Simon; Alimbekava in 4th, so a good day for Belarus, then Tandrevold and Anais Chevalier-Bouchet. Hanna Öberg in 9th, Doro 10th and Voigt the best German in 12th.

Kranjska Gora [Podkoren 3] – Women’s GS, 8 Jan 22: The course for run 1 has been set by a French coach; quite a bit of fresh snow on the course so it might cut up a bit later. Good to see Lara Gut-Behrami back today. Marta Bassino first away and safely down – Tessa Worley was red at inter 1 but she’s green at 2 and better at 3 – she leads by 0.15. Mikaela Shiffrin is bib 3 but she’s well off the pace at inter 2 and worse at 3 – she’s 3rd of 3, +1.40! Petra Vlhova is also looking a little tentative and she’s into 4th, +1.43 – what is happening? Lara Gut-Behrami is also red all the way and into 5th of 5, +1.45! Michelle Gisin less red on the early stages but there is a lot of snow being thrown up – she’s into 3rd, +0.79 after a good run on the final sector. That’s better, Sara Hector green at 1 and greener at 2; just red at 3 though but she takes the lead by 0.08 – good run! Apparently Hector is one of only 2 Swedes racing today as the rest have tested positive. Matt really is the kiss of death – just as he was suggesting that Alice Robinson might pull back time after a big error she made an even bigger one! Ten away, Hector leads from Worley and Bassino, then Gisin, Shiffrin and Vlhova. Mina Fuerst Holtmann quite red  at 3 but a good final sector gets her into 5th, ahead of Shiffrin. Meta Hrovat in touch at 3 and she’s into 4th – good work; Wendy Holdener into 6th. Good run from Katharina Truppe – gaining time from 2 to 3 and she’s into 4th. Coralie Frasse Sombet also going well – she’s into 7th, which pushes Vlhova out of the top 10. That’s interesting, Ana Bucik is making a few errors but it doesn’t seem to matter too much – she’s red but in touch and goes 7th; that’s Shiffrin out of the top 10 as well! At least Shiffrin and Vlhova will have a fresher track on run 2! The track does seem to be holding up at present – Valerie Grenier [bib 25] into 8th; Tina Robnik actually green at inter 1 but she’s lost time on the flatter section and a huge error at the last gate needed an impressive recovery – into 10th.  Thirty away, Sara Hector still leads from Worley and Bassino, but now Truppe is 4th ahead of Hrovat and Gisin; Shiffrin currently 14th and Vlhova 15th. Coverage is about to shift to Adelboden. No late changes to the top 15.
Run 2: Which sadly clashes with a biathlon mixed relay, so I’m going to have to summarise this run. Andrea Ellenberger first away and that looks good, 7 away and she’s gained 6 places already! Ricarda Haaser into 2nd just 0.04 behind; Paula Moltzan a DNF and the race has been interrupted. Ten away and Ellenberger still leads; Tviberg into 3rd; Lara Gut-Behrami well green at 1 and 2; she’s lost some time after that but still takes the lead by 0.53. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 2nd, just 0.04 back; Petra Vlhova has just 0.02 in hand at the start, but she’s red at 1 and although she pulled some time back she’s only into 5th, +0.63!  Mikaela Shiffrin is also red at 1 and just 3rd, +0.13. Twenty away, Lara G-B leads from Gasienica-Daniel and Shiffrin. Tina Robnik into 4th; Valerie Grenier [CAN] has had a great run from 2 to 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.53! Michelle Gisin into 6th; Meta Hrovat has taken over that place – Vlhova now down to 11th! Truppe into 8th; a good run from Marta Bassino – she’s lost a lot of time but had enough in hand to take the lead by just 0.07! Tessa Worley red at inter 1, but green again at 2 and building to lead by 0.36! Just Sara Hector to come and she’s gained a massive amount to inter 1 and more from 2 to 3 to lead by a massive 0.96 – great run from her! Well done to Sara Hector, she’s on form at present; Worley and Bassino taking the other podium places ahead of Grenier, Gut-Behrami and Gasienica-Daniel. Shiffrin in 7th, Vlhova in 15th. Sara Hector leads the GS standings on 362, ahead of Shiffrin [316] and Worley [307]. In the overall Shiffrin is on 866, ahead of Vlhova [731] and Goggia [657].

Adelboden [Chuenisbärgli]  – Men’s GS, 8 Jan 22: Bad news for poor Victor Muffat Jeandet – apparently he broke his ankle during the controversial attempt to have a race at Zagreb so no chance that he’ll go to the Olympics.  The commentary team aren’t too impressed by the decision to try and run that event. Now, here in Adelboden, they have a crowd! Alexis Pinturault first away; seems it’s grippy on the top section but very icy lower down, and steep too; Pinturault’s down but doesn’t look happy with that run. Loic Meillard can’t match Pinturault’s time, +1.07; Marco Odermatt red at 2 and 3 but he’s pulled back 0.67 from there to take the lead by 0.31! The crowd are delighted! Mathieu Faivre just green at 2 and slightly better at 3 but he’s losing time from there, one error and into 3rd, +0.52. Henrik Kristoffersen green at 1 and apparently happy with his set up; big error though and fairly red at 3 and he’s lost another second from there, 5th +1.84. Filip Zubcic into the green at inter 3 and he goes 3rd, +0.50. Luca de Aliprandini, whose coach set this course, green at 3 but he’s fallen and he’s in the nets. He’s skiing down, but seems in pain – hopefully nothing too serious. Looks like Marco Odermatt has hurt a finger – broken? Lucas Braathen has aborted his run, hopefully not a knee problem; that final section is really steep and icy! Ten away, Odermatt leads from Pinturault and Zubcic, then Faivre, Meillard and Kristoffersen. Manu Feller into 5th; Justin Murisier has gone joint 6th with Meillard . River Radamus has crashed 2 gates from home – he seems to be OK; Zan Kranjec out too – 5 DNFs from 15 starts. So far, after the first TV break, only Marco Schwarz [bib 16] has got into the top 10, in 10th. That was a good run from Riccardo Tonetti [bib 25] into 11th; TV break after 31 away, no changes to the top 10 since Schwarz, and that’s the way it stayed! Out of 62 starters there were 23 DNFs; Charlie Raposo did finish but won’t get a second run.
Run 2: Which starts just as the biathlon mixed relay is coming to the end. I joined this with 13 away, Dominik Raschner in the lead from Borsotti and Hofer. Gino Caviezel has been gaining time and he leads by 0.79 – that’s very  popular with the crowd! Thibaut Favrot into 2nd; Cyprien Sarrazin red at inter 2 but he’s recovered to go green at 3 and he leads by 0.39. Erik Read has got some sunshine and he’s 0.40 green at 3 but he’s lost it on the final 3 turns to go 3rd, +0.42. Tonetti has gained to 1 and 2 but massive errors on the steep and goes 14th. Marco Schwarz has doubled his advantage to inter 1 and still has a second in hand at inter 3; he’s lost some on the final sector but it’s enough to take the lead by 0.34. That final section is really causing problems! Final TV break – Schwarz leads from Sarrazin and Caviezel. Henrik Kristoffersen also has sunshine – he’s gone well on the final section too and he leads by 0.63.  Justin Murisier has taken over the lead, but not for long as Manu Feller has flown down, gaining from 1 to 2 and more to 3 – he leads by 1.29 – best time on run 2 as well! Faivre into 3rd; Zubcic into the red by 3 and he’s in trouble on the steep – into 5th. Alexis Pinturault next and he’s lost a lot of his advantage between 1 and 2, into the red at 3 – that’s a good final section though and he goes 2nd, just 0.06 behind Feller. Now, Marco Odermatt has 1.17 in hand as he starts; just 0.58 left at 3 but he’s good from there, despite 1 error,  to take the win in front of his home crowd! Odermatt wins by 0.48, ahead of Feller and Pinturault. Murisier in 4th, on his birthday, ahead of Faivre and Kristoffersen. Odermatt lads the GS standings on 480 [out of 500 possible!], ahead of Feller [261] and Kristoffersen [253]. Odermatt also has a huge lead in the overall – 845 points to Kilde’s 469 with Mayer 3rd on 447.

Kranjska Gora [Podkoren 3] – Women’s Slalom, 9 Jan 22: Course today set by a Slovakian coach – Petra Vlhova’s I think. The snow is supposed to be a bit soft, so it will be interesting to see how it holds up? I got the impression that Vlhova isn’t too happy about the conditions – she seems to have said the preparation of the piste is disastrous? That’s not a good start – Michelle Gisin first away and she’s straddled gate 3! Lena Dürr next and down; Anna Swenn Larsson red all the way and into 2nd, +0.38. Katharina Liensberger green at 1 but red at 2 and 3 – she’s 2nd, +0.32 – apparently she has been critical of the piste too? Wendy Holdener is nicely green at inter 1, greener at 2 and she leads by 0.53 – an impressive run! Now Petra Vlhova – red at 1 but just green at 2 and 3, but a slight error later gets her into 2nd, +0.08. Mikaela Shiffrin quite red at 1 and 2 but she’s pulled back some time by 3 – into 3rd, +0.25 – best time on the final 2 sectors. Sara Hector is bib 8 – she’s off the pace here though; slowest so far, +1.52. Good to see Paula Moltzan racing today after her crash yesterday; the course is already cutting up quite badly, but she’s safely down. Fifteen away; Holdener leads from Vlhova and Shiffrin – Shiffrin with bib 7 is the highest bib number in the top 6. That’s a good effort from Ali Nullmeyer, bib 19, and into joint 8th with Truppe. Nasty looking crash for Tviberg but she seems OK – possibly cushioned by all the soft snow? There’s another TV break and apparently they will lengthen that to allow more work on the course. Charlie Guest is first after the break – despite the enthusiastic commentary she’s just 17th, +2.33 but should get a 2nd run. Thirty away, Holdener leads from Vlhova, Shiffrin, Dürr, Liensberger and Swenn Larsson. Nullmeyer [bib 19] the highest bib in the top 10, in joint 8th. Coverage shifts to Adelboden. Looking at the live feed that’s a great run from Amelia Smart [CAN, bib 33] into 7th place, +0.99 – superb effort. That was the last change to the top 20.
Run 2: Which once again clashes with my preferred biathlon! One can only wonder at how much the course will have cut up before the top 10 from run 1 have their turn? Of the early starters Nina O’Brien has impressed – nicely green and she takes the early lead by 0.69. Chiara Mair has gained even more to lead by 0.81; Elena Stoffel [SUI] into 2nd and Nicole Good [SUI] into 3rd. Ten away - Holtmann has taken over the lead with Sporer in 2nd, Mair down to 3rd. Emma Aicher, the German 18 year old if I remember run 1 correctly into 2nd, with Noens now 3rd. Charlie Guest safely down and currently 5th. Erin Mielzynski has taken over the lead from Holtmann and Aicher; Katharina Huber into 2nd. Sara Hector into 2nd, but all change - Nullmeyer now leads from Truppe and Gallhuber. Good run by Ana Bucik to take over the lead. Biathlon over – back to this video coverage – Anna Swenn Larsson on course and she’s gaining on the lower sectors to take the lead. That’s the best time so far on run 2. Katharina Liensberger into the red at 1 and 2 but she’s out after a straddle. Lena Dürr into 2nd; now it’s Mikaela Shiffrin, she’s gained to 1, more to 2and over a second green at 3 but she’s straddled – that’s very unusual! The American team are in deep shock! Petra Vlhova next and she too has over a second green at 2 – she takes the lead by 1.06! Just Wendy Holdener to go and she has just 0.08 in hand; it’s still there at 1 and 2 but just red at 3- she’s into 2nd +0.23. Petra Vlhova takes a win on the piste she described as ‘disastrous’! Wendy Holdener in 2nd, Anna Swenn Larsson in the final podium slot. Dürr in 4th ahead of Bucik and Nullmeyer. Vlhova has increased her lead in the Slalom standings to 580 against Shiffrin’s 340 and Holdener is up to 3rd on 321. In the overall Shiffrin still leads on 866, but Vlhova is closing and now on 831.

Adelboden [Chuenisbärgli] – Men’s Slalom, 9 Jan 22: Well, it’s snowing, despite all the pretty pictures of the area in bright sunshine that they are showing – visibility isn’t too good either. This course set by a Slovenian coach [his first set at this level] – very tricky conditions and a real physical challenge. Seb Foss-Solevaag is the first away and he’s fallen just 4 gates from home. Being first isn’t a good thing today! Alexis Pinturault safely down, and it looked good; Clement Noel has fallen – that’s 2 DNFs from 3 races for him! Henrik Kristoffersen green at 1, greener at 2, steady to 3 but lost a lot to the finish to take the lead by just 0.02. Manu Feller in the red but in touch and he’s gone well on the steep to turn the light green by 0.09. Ramon Zenhaeusern green at 1 and 2, slightly red at 3 and into 4th, +0.16 – all very close. Marco Schwarz nicely green at 1, just there at 2, fractionally red at 3 but then into 5th, +0.44. Daniel Yule in touch and in to 6th, +0.50; next to go is Dave Ryding and he too is nicely green at inter 1, just there at 2 – Nick is getting excited, but Ryding is red at 3 and into 7th, +0.58 – in touch for run 2. Kristoffer Jakobsen green at 1, just red at 2, green at 3 and there’s a straddle and crash – he’s out. Loic Meillard into 8th; Linus Strasser has taken over that place despite a time consuming recovery! Fifteen away, Feller leads from Kristoffersen, Pinturault, Zenhaeusern, Schwarz and Yule. First away after the TV break is Luca Aerni and he’s really flying – in touch all the way and right on the edge – he’s into 2nd, just 0.05 off the lead! Fabio Gstrein nicely green at 1 and 2, full risk all the way and he ties with Feller for the lead! Brilliant run – not perfect but all the risk was rewarded. The snow looks to be getting heavier and visibility isn’t ideal. Great final section from Giuliano Razzoli pulling back time and going into 7th; Sandro Simonet [bib 29] into 11th, just behind Ryding. Thirty away, no change to the top 6 since Gstrein. The course is still holding up – Luca Braathen first away after a break and into 10th; Marc Digruber [bib 35] into 7th and then Johannes Strolz [bib 38] takes over 7th. Billy Major into 30th – probably not good enough for a second run? No, Major won’t get that run – Luke Winters [USA, bib 43] into 18th! That was the last change to the top 20 – run 2 should be interesting, some very close time gaps!
Run 2: We seem to have lost commentary! I’ve swapped channels and have it back – At present Alex Vinatzer leads from Dominik Raschner and Marc Rochat – all have gained 5 places so far. This course was set by an Austrian coach and it looks as though it’s cutting up more quickly than it did on run 1? Ten away and no changes to the top 3. Filip Zubcic has gained a massive amount from 3 to the finish to go into 2nd. Loic Meillard has done much the same – 0.59 red at 3 but he takes the lead by 0.06! Luke Winters has done the opposite – 0.33 green at 3 but into 3rd, +0.17 – that’s a great result for him. Into the TV break – Meillard leads from Vinatzer, Winters, Nef, Zubcic and Raschner. Linus Strasser first away after the break and he’s looking good – gained from 2 to 3 and he leads by 0.31. Simonet out; Dave Ryding on course – he’s straddled and that’s his 2nd DNF on a second run this season. Daniel Yule into 4th; visibility is getting worse as Marco Schwarz goes into 6th. Giuliano Razzoli next and he’s still green at 2, gained a little to 3 but then it’s gone – he’s 5th; another break – Marc Digruber only 12th after a very impressive first run. Johannes Strolz is another like Digruber who is paying for his own training after not being chosen for the team – he’s made the most of a good first run to go into the lead by 0.29. Ramon Zenhaeusern red at 1 and redder at 2 – he’s into 3rd, not his best but good for this season; Alexis Pinturault might have straddled but it’s academic as he’s fallen lower down. Henrik Kristoffersen red at 1, much redder at 2 and into 10th – he can’t believe that the time has gone! Luca Aerni red at 1, less red at 2, redder at 3 and he’s unlucky with the weather – into 4th. Strolz will be on the podium – there’s one in the eye for the Austrian federation! Manu Feller is just red at 1 and losing time slowly – a good final sector has kept him in touch and he’s into 2nd, +0.17 – his second podium here. Fabio Gstrein the last on course – red by 2 and he’s straddled! Not only has Johannes Strolz got on the podium but he’s taken his first win too – that must get him into the Olympics? Manu Feller in 2nd and Linus Strasser 3rd, ahead of Zenhaeusern, Aerni and Meillard. Alex Vinatzer ended up 7th, with the best time on run 2, having gained 21 places! In the slalom standings the two leaders Seb F-S and Jakobsen scored nothing but remain tied in the lead on 140, with Strolz now tied in 3rd with Noel on 100 points. Kristoffersen is down in 19th, just ahead of Dave Ryding! The top 3 in the overall, Odermatt, Kilde and Mayer, didn’t race here and Pinturault got no points today so the top 6 remain unchanged.

Oberhof – 4 x 7.5 Km Mixed Relay, 8 Jan 22: Two Bøs, Tandrevold and Røiseland for Norway and JoBø has spare rounds to play with. France resting both Jacquelin and QFM; Sweden racing both Öberg sisters – who will they put in the Single Mixed? Men going first today; pace a bit slow at first but Tarjei Bø has ramped it up a little, ahead of Tsvetkov, Samuelsson and Guigonnat. Conditions are much better today, the visibility is better and the wind lighter and less gusty. In for S1 – it’s completely calm – Sweden and Italy missing; Tarjei Bø clear and leading out ahead of Labastu [BLR], Stalder [SUI] – all clear, Samuelsson [1 spare], Seppala [0], and Tsvetkov [2]. Bormolini among those needing all 3 spares, no penalty loops. Tarjei and Mikita Labastu have broken away a little, about 12 seconds clear of the next chasers on the lap. Leading 2 in for their standing shoot – they have both missed 1, Bø 2; Samuelsson having a meltdown – 2 penalty loops and out 23rd! Labastu [1 spare] leads out, 5.8 ahead of Tarjei [2], Tsvetkov [0], Guigonnat [0] and Rees [0]. Heading to exchange 1 and Tarjei is working hard on his final leg – Tsvetkov gaining ground too and right on the Norwegian’s heels; JoBø out just 0.4 ahead of Povarnitsyn. Rees has handed over to Doll – out 3rd, +16.4 just ahead of Belarus [Smolski], then FIN/FRA/ITA/CZE. The leading 2 are opening the gap a little, the Russian has taken over the lead. JoBø has gone back into the lead and he’s opened the gap as they head in for S3 – both have missed – JoBø leads out after 1 spare, Povarnitsyn [2] +17.0 then Smolski [0] and Doll [1; +26.5]. Kim [KOR] the only one on the penalty loops this time – he has 2 of them to do. On the lap JoBø sems to be pushing hard, he has the gap up to 30.7 at 11.2 Kms, ahead of the chasing 3 – Povarnitsyn, Smolski and Doll. JoBø in for S4 – the wind has picked up and he’s missed 1; just 1 spare and away. Smolski clear and out 2nd, +29.1, then Povarnitsyn [0], Doll [2], then Hidensalo [0] and Windisch [1; +59.5]. Martin Ponsiluoma has got Sweden back up to 13th, +1:51.9. Exchange 2 and JoBø doesn’t seem to have opened up much on this leg early on, better later and Tandrevold has 35.7 advantage over Alimbekava as she sets out on leg 3. Behind Alimbekava it’s GER/RUS/ITA/FIN [+1:10.8]. Sweden 12th, but almost 2 minutes back. Tandrevold seems to be pulling away from everyone except Alimbekava and Hanna Öberg. Tandrevold in for S5 and she’s clear and away; Alimbekava also clear and out +34.0. Kazakevich clear and out +1:08.4; Voigt [1] about 16 seconds behind, then Wierer [2], and Minkkinen [1]. Hanna Öberg is doing 1 penalty loop; looks like she’s the only one this time? Tandrevold in for the stand shoot – 1 miss early on, 1 spare and away; Alimbekava also 1 miss and out +33.9. Behind them it’s Doro [1 spare, +1:28.7], Vanessa Voigt [0], Kazakevich [2], and Bescond [1]. Final Exchange – Marte Olsbu Røiseland has an advantage of 25 seconds over Hanna Sola, then over a minute to the next group – ITA/GER/RUS/CZE/FRA – all within 6 seconds of each other. How will Vittozzi do today after her shooting yesterday? Sola is pushing hard – she’s caught up 7 seconds by 23.1 Kms; Hinz has dropped to 6th behind Vittozzi, Simon and Vasnetcova. Røiseland in for her prone – clear and out; Sola has missed her last one and she’s out +25.0. Hinz clear and out just 3rd, ahead of Vasnetcova [1 spare], Jislova [0], Vittozzi [2], Simon [3] and Elvira Öberg [1]. At the next split Vasnetcova is up to 3rd; Røiseland in for the standing shoot – 1 miss, 1 spare and away, Sola has used 2 spares – out +26.8. Behind them it’s FRA/RUS/GER/ITA – Simon [2 ]out 3rd, with 9 seconds over Hinz [1], Vasnetcova [2] and Vittozzi [2]. Elvira [0] is close behind Vittozzi and not far off Hinz! On the lap Simon looks safe but Elvira is already past Vittozzi and now she’s got Hinz and Vasnetcova too. Røiseland [0+6] has cruised to the win, Sola gets 2nd for Belarus [0+5], Julia Simon takes the final podium for France [0+1]. Behind the podium Elvira has just about held on to get 4th for Sweden [3+10], then Russia [0+9] and Germany [0+6]. Best shooting today by China – just 4 spares!

Oberhof – Single Mixed Relay, 8 Jan 22: It’s got windy again! The race is on – men going first again, but this time only 1 of each and they go twice! Early on Christiansen leads from Fabien Claude, Nelin and Lesser; looks like Erik Lesser leading in for S1. It’s Christiansen who leads out, ahead of Nelin and Lesser, all clear, then Eder, Babikov and Giacomel – all using 1 spare. Fabien Claude and Tachizaki doing 1 penalty loop each! The leading 3 are in for the standing shoot – Lesser using 1 spare but away first just ahead of Christiansen and Dovzan [SLO], then Eder, Nelin and Babikov – straight into the exchange and Germany are 1.1 ahead of Norway, then SLO/AUT/SWE/RUS. France in 9th, Italy 22nd after Giacomel did 3 penalty loops! Franzi Hildebrand just ahead of Ida Lien and Nika Vindisar [SLO], then Hauser and Skottheim – all separated by just 4.8 seconds. Already in for S3 – Lien clear and away, ahead of Vindisar [1], Blashko [0], Hauser [2] and Franzi H [2]; Anais C-B [2] up to 6th, Reztsova doing one penalty loop and Dunklee is doing 3 loops! Lien in for her first stand shoot – 2 misses, now 3 but lost of misses elsewhere! Franzi H clear and away, ahead of Blashko [2], Reztsova [1] and Vindisar [3]. Lien used all 3 spares and out 6th, Hauser did 1 penalty loop and out 7th, Anais C-B has done 2 loops here. At the exchange it’s GER/UKR/RUS/SLO/SWE/NOR. Erik Lesser in for S5, 2 spares and away, 9.2 ahead of Dovzan [2], Nelin [1], Eder [0], Tyschenko [2] and Babikov [2]. Lesser in again – this is all very fast – 1 spare but Babikov is clear and out ahead of him. At the final exchange it's RUS/GER/UKR [+11.3]/AUT/BEL/SLO; Nelin did 2 penalty loops at S6 so Sweden are currently 12th; Dovzan and Christiansen also did 1 loop each. Reztsova in for her last prone shoot having opened a nice gap to Franzi H; 1 spare and she’s out; it’s Hauser [2 spares; +25.1] who’s out 2nd, ahead of Blashko [1] Franzi H [3] and Lien [2]. Anais C-B is doing 2 more loops – that’s a total of [5+15] for France! Last shoot- Reztsova has missed 2 already but no on else is on the mat – she’s away. Hauser missing but out with 3 spares used then Blashko [2], Kruchinkina [BLR, 0], Skottheim [2], and Lie [BEL, 3]. Russia [1+12] cruise to the win, ahead of Austria [1+13], Ukraine [0+12], Belarus [1+11], Sweden [2+12] and Belgium [0+13]. Sadly Franzi H lost a sprint to Lie and Skottheim so Germany [0+11] just 7th; China [0+7] in 10th and that seems to be the best shooting again? France [5+18] in 11th, Italy [4+17] in 14th, and Norway [4+15] in 16th!

Oberhof – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 9 Jan 22: Well, visibility isn’t that good here, a bit foggy and it’s snowing! Apparently JoBø, who starts 28th today, has more race wins than the combined total of the 27 starting in front of him? The tracks are expected to be a little slow today with all the recent snow – bad news for the first few away. The tracks don’t seem to be affecting Loginov who’s away fast, he’s doubled his advantage over Jacquelin by 1.2 Km – going too hard? He’s in for S1 with a good gap – nice shooting and he’s clear and out. Laegreid and Tarjei Bø also clear and out in that order but about 28 seconds back. Then a 15 second gap to the next group; Jacquelin and Babikov have both missed 1 and out 4/5. JoBø has missed 1 but up to 25. Certainly windy on some sections, with loose snow blowing. Loginov in for S2 – clear again and out as Laegreid and Tarjei settle – 1 miss for Tarjei, 2 for Laegreid. Some good shooting from the next group – Loginov is 49.3 ahead of Babikov [1,0], then Tarjei, Samuelsson [0,0, up from 14], Jacquelin and Lesser. Loginov still pulling away from a chasing group of 5 – the wind on the final section of that hill is really strong! Alex Loginov in for the first standing shoot – he’s had a problem with the bolt – just 1 miss though despite that. Babikov and Tarjei are missing, so are the rest of the 5, so it’s Jacquelin [1,0,0] who is out 2nd, +33.1, then Lesser [0,0,1], QFM [2,0,0], Samuelsson [0,0,1] and Serokhvostov [1,1,1]; Babikov ,missed 3 there and out 13th. JoBø [1,2,0] up to 19th. The closest chasing group of Jacquelin, Lesser, Samuelsson and QFM are about 48 seconds back as Loginov settles for his last shoot – it’s fast but 3 misses! Now what can the chasing 4 do – QFM and Samuelsson both clear – it’s QFM [2,0,0,0] who leads out just 8.1 ahead of Samuelsson with Loginov 3rd +20.1, then Laegreid, Tarjei and Lesser, who is just ahead of French Claude. Jacquelin had 3 penalty loops to do and he’s dropped to 10th. At 11.2 Km QFM leads by just 5 seconds from Samuelsson with Loginov barely ahead of Laegreid and Tarjei. Samuelsson is slowing slightly – QFM holds on to take the win from 9th at the start. Samuelsson  into 2nd from 14, Tarjei has got the final podium place by 0.1 from Laegreid, Loginov 5th and Roman Rees in 6th.  Other gainers include Fabien Claude [23 to 7], Lesser [15-8], Tsvetkov [52-12], Iliev [32-13], Doll [38-15], Leitner [50-16], Desthieux [47-19], Khalili [45-20] Nawrath [51-25], and Ponsiluoma [57-27]. JoBø [1,2,0,2] started 28 and finished 21. Going the wrong way the list includes Jacquelin [2-17], Kühn [4-22], Christiansen [16-35], Schommer [24-37], Zahkna [17-43], Cheng [12-47], Fak [18-48] and Fratzscher [22-52].

Oberhof – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 9 Jan 22: Apparently no Vittozzi today and I think I heard that Sola also won’t start? On the early lap Reztsova and Elvira Öberg are among those gaining places. Røiseland in for S1 – good group and all down; Simon has missed 2, Wierer 3! It’s Hanna Öberg out 2nd, +36.9, ahead of Eder, Reztsova, Nilsson and Leshchanka, +54.4 – all clear. Elvira has had a fall – up an d OK but that’s lost time; Røiseland in for S2, she’s missed her last one – well off centre. She still leads; Eder and Hanna Ö have both missed 1, Reztsova clear but slow – out 2nd, +25.8,  ahead of Hanna Ö [0,1], +46.6 and Alimbekava [1,0].  Nilsson missed 1 and is out 14th, Doro Wierer [3,2] down in 37th! Røiseland has gained a little on the early part of the next lap; she’s in for S3 unlucky with the first shot but lucky with 3 – 1 miss only. Reztsova has fallen foul of the commentator’s curse and missed 3, it’s Hanna Öberg [0,1,0] who’s out 2nd, +28.4 then Alimbekava [+32.7], Simon and Anais C-B, +51.6. Denise Herrmann having a bad day on the range – 2,1,3! On the lap Hanna Ö has closed a little on Røiseland, Alimbekava also a little closer. The final shoot – Røiseland a bit lucky with the first shot but it went down – rest all good so she’s away. The chasing 3 have all missed 1; Anais C-B clear here. Marte Olsbu Røiseland is 51.6 ahead after S4; behind her is an interesting tussle for the remaining podium places – Hanna Öberg is 6.4 ahead of Alimbekava with Anais C-B a further 3 seconds back and Julia Simon some 8 seconds further back. At 9.2 Km Hanna Ö has pulled away from Alimbekava and Simon is right u with Anais C-B. Røiseland [0,1,1,0] cruises to the win, Hanna Öberg [0,1,0,1] into 2nd from 9th, ahead of Alimbekava [1,0,0,1], Simon [2,0,01], Anais C-B [1,0,0,0] and Hauser [1,0,0,0; up from 18th]. The other gainers include Elvira Öberg [15-7], Brorsson [22-10], Vasnetcova [24-11], Hojnisz-Starega [47-13], Stremous [37-16, Hildebrand [46-20], Meng [54-25], Klimina [[51-26], Chu [59-28] and Lie [44-32].  Going down the standings the list includes Reztsova [7-14], Wierer [10-15], Eder [8-24], Valentina Semerenko [13-33], Dzhima [21-36], Herrmann [26-41, 8 penalties], Nilsson [14-44; 0,1,3,3], Zuk [19-45], P Fialkova [27-47], Tang [29-53] and Dunklee [28-56].

Schladming [Planai] – Women’s Slalom, 11 Jan 22: Run 1 under the lights – conditions look good. Petra Vlhova is the first away and that looked good! Mikaela Shiffrin next and green at 1 but she’s a little off her game again tonight – into 2nd, but +0.42. Lena Dürr into 2nd, Michelle Gisin looking good but she’s straddled – that’s twice in 2 races, sadly. Wendy Holdener nicely in touch at 1 and 2 and into 3rd, +0.35. Katherina Liensberger into 5th; Anna Swenn Larsson has straddled too! Good run from Ali Nullmeyer again – green at 1 and into joint 3rd, +0.35; Sara Hector into 7th, +1.30. Paula Moltzan green at 1, despite a hand injury that means she has the pole taped to her hand – into 6th, just behind Shiffrin. Fifteen away – Vlhova leads from Dürr, Nullmeyer, Holdener, Shiffrin and Moltzan. Erin Mielzynski good to inter 2 but then losing time – into 10th; Leona Popovic into 8th. Camille Rast nicely in touch and into 7th; Charlie Guest into joint 12th with Sara Hector, at present. Now that’s interesting – Maria-Therese Sporer green at 1 and 2 – sadly she’s lost time later but a great start – into 10th and she’s happy with that. That’s a good final sector from Emma Aicher to get her into 10th. That’s surely pretty much it for changes – the highest bib in the top 15 at present is Charlotta Saefvenberg, in 13th, with bib 29. That’ll teach me – Rosa Pohjolainen [FIN, bib 54!] into a very impressive joint 14th with Chiara Mair! That was the last change to the top 15 though – nice to see that Charlie Guest will get a second run, as she ended up joint 16th in run 1.
Run 2: This course set by a Canadian coach; sounds like it might be a bit challenging – very offset in places? Slightly odd to see Martina Dubovska so far down the list – only just qualified for run 2 and so first away on run 2; that looked better? Nina O’Brien green at 2 but then red and into 2nd; Maria Shkanova [BLR, bib 52] green at 2 and 3 but then losing time – into 3rd, +0.23. Laurence St-German is making the most of a course set her coach – gaining all the way and she’s 0.91 ahead at the finish! Tviberg into 2nd; Noens into 3rd, but not for long as Katharina Huber has taken over that place. Ana Bucik into the red at 3 and into 3rd; Erin Mielzynski has straddled – first DNF of run 2. Amelia Smart has had a good run though and into 2nd – Canada 1 and 2. Sara Hector has lost half of her advantage by inter 1 and red by 2 – her timing is a bit off here and she’s just 7th; not a happy Hector! Charlie Guest is safely down and into 5th too; that’s half way – St-Germain leads from Smart and Tviberg. Chiara Mair is losing her advantage but she’s pulled back a lot on the last sector to lead by 0.46 having been just 0.08 green at 3; Rosa Pohjolainen safely down into 7th, and scoring points from a start number of 54. Charlotta Saefvenberg into 5th as the course starts to get rutted; Leona Popovic is staying just green to 3 – into 2nd, +0.32. Emma Aicher also out – pity after such a useful first run; Mina Fuerst Holtmann has pulled back a bit from 2 to 3 and she’s into 3rd. Final TV break – Mair leads from Popovic and Holtmann; Guest now 9th. How Katharina Liensberger stayed on her feet after that massive error is beyond me, but that dropped her to 17th; Camille Rast has gained a tiny bit to 2, lost time from 3 but she’s dead level with Mair at the finish! Paula Moltzan has joined the DNFs; Mikaela Shiffrin has gained from 1 to 2 and she’s very fast from 3 to the finish to lead by 1.05 – fastest on run 2! Wendy Holdener red at 1 and she’s out; Ali Nullmeyer has gained to 1, red at 2 and she too has straddled. Lena Dürr next and she’s red at 2, redder at 3 – she’s 2nd, but +0.93! Just Petra Vlhova to go – 0.42 in hand – still there at 1, just 0.06 green at 2, 0.01 red at 3, she’s lost it – into 2nd, +0.15! So, Mikaela Shiffrin gets win 73, Vlhova in 2nd and Dürr with the final podium place; Rast 4th, ahead of Mair and Popovic. As a huge consolation, I gather that Petra Vlhova has already won the slalom crystal globe for this season! Shiffrin is now on 966 points in the overall against Vlhova’s 911 with Goggia in 3rd on 657.

Ruhpolding – Women’s’ 7.5 Km Sprint, 12 Jan 22: Looks very nice there! Not a great start for Avvakumova [KOR] , who is first away – she’s broken a pole on the start gate timing electronics! Ah, Tiril Eckhoff is back; at 1.7 Km the fastest so far is Hanna Sola – annoyingly the satellite feed is freezing at times! Leaders in for S1 and the flags are completely still – really ideal – Sola has missed 1 though! Despite that she’s still away ahead of 3 others who are clear; Davidova is clear and into the lead after S1, but only until Julia Simon has also cleared and she’s 18.1 seconds faster.  Mari Eder at S1 but even with no wind she’s missed 3; Tiril has missed 1 and out +24.9. Hauser is clear at S1 and out 5.1 behind Simon; Hanna Öberg now fastest at 1.7 Km. Hanna Sola is at S2 – she’s missed 2 there; Julia Simon has missed 3! Back at S1 Hanna Öberg has also missed 1, Innerhofer has missed 4! At S2 Jessica Jislova is 0,0 and fastest at present. Røiseland is at S1, clear and out ahead of Simon’s time; at S2 Eckhoff has missed 1 there. Denise Herrmann clear at S1; at S2 Hauser has also cleared all 10 but she’s 34.8 faster than Jislova. Hanna Öberg is now 1,1, but Linn Persson is 10/10 and out 14.5 behind Hauser. However, at S1 Elvira Öberg is clear and out 5 seconds ahead of Røiseland, who seems to be losing time to Simon as she heads for S2 – Røiseland is clear there too and out 14 seconds ahead of Hauser. Elvira has gained 10 seconds on Røiseland from S1 to 4.2 Km. Herrmann has missed 2 at S2, Reztsova is 1,1 but both are slower on the snow than Hanna Öberg. Well, Elvira Öberg has gone 10/10 and she’s 8.4 ahead of Røiseland as she leaves the range; Alimbekava also 10/10 and out 3rd, +14.4. At 6.1 Km Elvira has pulled out another 8 seconds on Røiseland! Nice to see Doro Wierer also 10/10; at 6.7 Km Elvira is now 21.8 ahead!! She’s over the line 21.6 ahead of Røiseland; amazing given the busy schedule! At the finish it’s currently Elvira Öberg leading from Marte Olsbu Røiseland with Alimbekava into 3rd.  Poor Lisa Vittozzi’s woes on the range continue – 4 misses at S1. That’s impressive – Doro has passed Alimbekava to take 3rd at the finish. Justine B-B at S2 and looking in touch but she’s missed her first shot – out 6th, +26.5. Mona Brorsson over the line in joint 7th, with Persson. On the final lap Justine B-B is losing time to Elvira, but she is gaining on Hauser – she’s passed Hauser’s time to take 5th.  However Mironova is 10/10 and very close to Justine on the last lap – she’s lost a bit from 6.1 to 6.7 though and she’s faded a little to 8th, behind Bescond.  Not a good day for the Germans again -Preuß still out and a few new names racing today – Franzi Hildebrand [1,0] best so far but currently 17th, +1:17.9, so her ski speed isn’t there; Denise Herrmann [0,2] currently 24th, behind Julia Simon [0,3]! That seems to be it – a truly amazing win by Elvira Öberg, 10/10 and blinding ski speed – no surprise to see she was fastest round the course, 18.7 ahead of her sister and 21.5 better than Simon. Røiseland in 2nd, then Wierer, Alimbekava, Justine B-B, and Hauser; Hanna Öberg in 11th.

Ruhpolding – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 13 Jan 22: It’s looking good on the tracks today, not much wind evident either. Quite a few names missing as they prepare for the Olympics, so there are a few IBU stars here today. Sean Doherty the first away today, but he’s missed 2 at S1 - not an ideal start. Samuelsson is in fast and he’s cleared all 5, out 7.8 ahead of Eder who was also clear. Loginov clear at S1 and out +3.2; Martin Ponsiluoma clear too and out 2.7 ahead of Samuelsson! Jacquelin has missed 1 at S1 but out +14.9; QFM clear and out +2.9, just behind the 2 Swedes. Hmm – Samuelsson has missed 2 at S2; Nawrath in for S1 in a fast time but he’s missed 2. Alex Loginov has missed 2 at S2; Ponsiluoma has missed his first and last! At present the fastest after S2 is Vytautas Strolia [LTU; 0,0] who is 10.5 faster than Eder; Campbell Wright [NZL; 0,0] in 3rd at the moment. Amazing – Jacquelin has missed 3 at S2; QFM much smoother with all 10m down and he’s out after S2 19.0 ahead of Strolia. Not sure what happened to Eder – over the finish line with his rifle hanging off – did he fall or was it just the harness breaking? QFM, on his final lap, is going past people at an impressive rate! QFM over the finish line in the lead, 33.6 ahead of Strolia with Seppala currently 3rd. That’s good work by Erik Lesser – 1 miss at S2 and over the finish line in 4th, but +43.3. Anton Smolski is going well over the snow – 1 miss at S2 but out 3rd, +26.0, just ahead of Seppala – he’s got both Seppala and Strolia beaten to go 2nd. Back at S1 Benedikt Doll is clear and out just 0.5 behind Ponsiluoma’s time; he’s clear again at S2 and out 2.3 behind QFM. No sign of Laegreid or either Bø today. At 8.7 Km Doll is now just 1.7 behind QFM but he doesn’t look as easy on the tracks. At 9.4 Km the gap between Doll and QFM has grown to 5.8 seconds, I don’t think Doll’s skis are that brilliant as Burkhalter is staying with him – Doll over the line 2nd, +7.2 – I don’t think he’s got anything left! Back at S1 Maksim Varabei [BLR; bib 107] is clear and out 3rd, +2.5 on Ponsiluoma’s time there. He’s in for S2 now, 1 miss – I’m amazed he got the last one, holding on to that breath for too long! He’s out 18th, just behind Samuelsson. David Zobel [GER, bib 116] clear at S1 but he’s missed 1 at S2 – out 16th just ahead of Desthieux. The top 10 looks unlikely to change – a great win for Quentin Fillon Maillet [0,0], ahead of Doll [0,0] and Smolski [0,1]. Strolia in a very creditable 4th, ahead of Seppala and Lesser – nice to see Erik Lesser in the top 6! David Zobel, the final athlete on course, over the line in 24th – good effort! Samuelsson ended up 18th, Ponsiluoma 14th, Jacquelin [1,3] in 53rd!

Great post

Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Super G, 13 Jan 22: Apparently the last Super G here, on the Lauberhorn,  was in 1994 – course today was set by an American coach; probably tricky to fit it in around the downhill terrain? This is the race that was cancelled in Lake Louise – it’s going to be a “new” Super G hill for today’s competitors. Anyway, what a busy schedule the speed skiers have in the run up to the Olympics – the commentary team reckon only 3 rest days in the next couple weeks. It looks nice here; apparently Mrs Beat Feuz is about to give birth at any time so Beat has a helo standing by and may not race if he gets the call! Travis Ganong is the first away – it’s a long Super G and coming after 2 days of DH training – he’s down and breathing hard! Christian Walder nicely green at inter 1and over a second ahead at 2 – he’s slow at the final gun, lost a bit to 3 and takes over the lead by 0.33. Beat Feuz is racing – slower through the speed guns, a nasty moment and into 3rd, +0.59. Max Franz green at 1, quite red at 2 but fast in the final sector to pull back some 0.60 to lead by 0.04! Vincent Kriechmayr next and he’s causing some controversy as he’s missed the downhill training but still wants to start those races – meanwhile he’s red at inter 1 on this Super G but well green at 2, less green at 3 and he leads by 0.07 – all very tight! Dominik Paris on course and green at 1, still there at 2 and greener at 3 – he takes over the lead by just 0.05! Marco Odermatt is red at 1 but only by 0.04 – he’s nicely green at 2 and more so at 3 – that’s an astonishing final sector, from 0.45 green at 3 to 0.98 ahead at the finish – that was a truly amazing run! Matthias Mayer red at 1 and getting redder – he’s into 2nd, +0.58; Romed Baumann green at 1, red at 2 but still in touch at 2 – lost more in the final sector to go 3rd, +0.61. That’s 10 away – Odermatt leads from Mayer, Baumann, Paris, Kriechmayr and Franz. First after the break will be Aleksander Aamodt Kilde – 0.41 green at 1, 0.17 green at 2and just 0.04 green at 3 after a rather ragged jump – he’s missed it, into 2nd +0.23! A useful run from Christof Innerhofer – into 6th; Stefan Rogentin goes 8th, despite getting very close to the netting! Another TV break with 20 away – Odermatt leads from Kilde and Mayer. That’s an impressive run by James Crawford [CAN, bib 22] – he’s into 5th, ahead of Dominik Paris, who has just been knocked down another place as Josef Ferstl goes 6th! Daniel Danklmaier [bib 30] was the last to change the top 10, going 10th – well done to Marco Odermatt – a brilliant effort! Kilde in 2nd ahead of Mayer, Baumann, Crawford and Festl. Kilde remains in the Super G standings lead – 380 points to Odermatt’s 319, but Odermatt now has a good lead in the overall – 945 points to Kilde’s 549 with Mayer 3rd on 507.

Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Downhill 1, 14 Jan 22: The first of two downhills scheduled for this venue – a shortened version [3 Km] today apparently and the full length version [4.4 Km] tomorrow – that’s the longest downhill in the programme! Hmm, Kriechmayr has just done the shortest training run ever, which very controversially will allow him to compete today without having done a “proper” training day – unusual but if he really did miss the training because of a positive test, perhaps it’s for the best that he does race. Now, the first forerunner did not finish so the start might be delayed. It seems Beat Feuz has the helo on standby again! OK – the track is clear; the camera man is bored and looking for recreational skiers falling over! Oh dear – the second forerunner has fallen as well! He’s back up and carrying on down. At last the race is on – Johan Clarey the first away and through the final speed gun at 150.07 kph! He’s safely down; Daniel Hemetsberger is 0.59 ahead at inter 2 and he’s keeping in the green – a great final sector too and he leads by 0.90! Fastest in 4 of the 5 sectors; now it’s Beat Feuz, so the helo is still waiting – red early on but a very unusual line through the S and now he’s green and fastest through the gun too – he leads by 0.16. Matthias Mayer just red most of the way; fastest through the gun but he’s lost a bit on the final sector to go 3rd, +0.48. Travis Ganong slow through the S, fastest through the final gun and into 5th; Vincent Kriechmayr just green at 2 but red at 3 – into 4th. It’s strange to see downhill racers doing a snowplough! Dominik Paris just green at 2, just red at 3, redder at 4 and into 4th, +0.70 – he was being bounced around on that run – it’s certainly a tough challenge! Ryan C-S going redder, but he’s fast enough for 4th, +0.66; TV break and then it’s Kilde – green at 1 and 2, still green at 3 and he takes the lead by 0.30. Marco Odermatt on course, dead level at 2 and fast out of the S, just red at 3, slightly redder at 4 and he’s into 2nd, +0.19 – he really is amazingly versatile! Fifteen away – Kilde leads from Odermatt and Feuz, then Hemetsberger, Mayer and Bennett. Max Franz just green at 1, 0.01 red at 2 but losing time from there to go 5th, +0.66; Christof Innerhofer just green at inter 2, but then off line and over a second off the pace at 4 – just 11th after just one error. Just to add to the challenge the course is getting rougher! Carlo Janka nicely in touch on what may well be his penultimate race – it’s his first race for a while, and he’s into 10th; now Martin Cater has taken over that place. Thirty away – no change to the top 10 since Cater. That’s a pretty impressive run from James Crawford – bib 43 and into 16th; highest bib number in  the top 20. Well done to Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on another win, and great to see Odermatt take another podium – what an athlete; well done to Beat Feuz too – keeping focussed despite his family concerns!

Zauchensee [Kälberloch] – Women’s Downhill, 15 Jan 22: Mikaela Shiffrin isn’t here today – she’s avoiding downhills! Ye gods – the start slope looks fairly, er, steep; and you certainly wouldn’t want to step backwards from the start hut! The steepest bit is apparently 70% and it’s a long course too!  Ramona Siebenhofer first away, 125.84 kph through the final gun -  safely down, and that compares well with the training times! Priska Nufer is +1.45; Kira Weidle is bib 3 and fast in training – green at inter 1, and still green but less so at 2 and 3, then 128.99 kph at the final gun and into the lead by 0.34! Ragnhild Mowinckel has the best time in sector 2 but there are a few line errors  - +1.56 and into 3rd. Now, Sofia Goggia and she’s the fastest so far through the speed trap at the bottom of that steep start section; green at 1, 0.41 ahead at 2, but she’s caught an edge, lost a ski and crashed into the nets – that’s quite a hit but she seems to be OK – up on her feet ; they really make them tough! Shaken, and stirred; now she’s up I suspect there have been some choice Italian expletives! Interesting – Petra Vlhova is racing today – into 6th, +2.17 – I wonder if she will get points here? Corinne Suter into 3rd; Nicol Delago in touch at 3 but then she had to put the brakes on and she’s 4th, +1.20. Bib 9 is Lara Gut-Behrami and she’s now the  fastest down the initial slope – that’s better acceleration than my car! She’s 0.21 green at 2 and building slightly to 4 – into the lead by 0.10 and fastest in sector 3 and 4. Marie-Michele Gagnon into 4th, fastest in sector 4 too. That’s 10 away, Lara G-B leads from Weidle and Siebenhofer. Jasmine Flury into 6th; Christine Scheyer just 0.02 slower so into 7th. Federica Brignone fastest in sector 4; she was 1.20 red at 3 but she’s into 5th, +0.87 – good recovery! Ester Ledecka fastest on the initial slope but she’s a bit wild at times and there were a few line errors – into 7th, and that’s her best downhill result this season. Nadia Delago is nicely in touch at 1 and 2, just 0.35 red at 3 and she goes 4th, best Italian so far! I thought Ariane Raedler might have caused a minor upset – heading perhaps for a top 6 but an error low down on the course has dropped her to 11th.  That’s 30 away – no change to the top 3, Nadia Delago now in 4th, ahead of Gagnon and Brignone; Vlhova currently 24th which equates to 7 world cup points. That’s a nasty hit for Michaela Heider, she’s standing up but holding her knee – the helo is heading in with a medical team – she’s looking better now but I suspect they’ll take no chances after such an impact. All a bit confusing – Heider has her skis back on and seems ready to ski down but the helo has arrived as well! She’s had a quick word with the medics and she’s off on her own skis, with company as backup; meanwhile poor Vanessa Nussbaumer who was yellow flagged, is on her way back to the start – she gets to do the start schuss twice! I missed that – a great run from Noemie Kolly [SUI, bib 38] into 14th!  Over to Wengen! No late changes to the top 20 since Kolly; well done Lara G-B for the win, ahead of Weidle and Siebenhofer. That moves Siebenhofer [184 points] up to 3rd in the downhill standings, behind Goggia [300] and Johnson [240], neither of whom scored points today. Petra Vlhova gained 5 more points today, so she is now just 50 points behind Shiffrin in the overall.

Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Downhill 2, 15 Jan 22: Again, the weather looks excellent – Matthias Mayer first away on the full length course; he’s down. Romed Baumann is off the pace, +1.88 at the finish; Beat Feuz is bib 3 and still here – no news from his wife presumably – he’s nicely green at inter 1, the fans are loving the run, Feuz is in varying shades of green to inter 3, fractionally red at 4, green again at 5 and he leads by 0.17 – Nick will be hoarse if he keeps that volume up! Martin Cater into 3rd, with the fastest time in sector 6; Dominik Paris next and red at 1 and 2, a bit on the tails but he’s made up some time from 3 to 4, best time in sector 4 and 5 – into 2nd, +0.10. Apparently Andy Sander has gone home saying he isn’t confident enough to race here? Vincent Kriechmayr is bib 7 and he’s fast but just in the red on the upper sectors – green at inter 4 and 5 and he’s really quick on the final sector – he leads by 0.34; cue moans from non-Austrians about whether he should have been allowed to race – Feuz doesn’t seem too upset though! Here comes Kilde – green at 1 but red at 2, well off the pace at 3 though and worse at 4 – he’s only 6th at the finish, +0.98.  Marco Odermatt in touch to inter 3, fastest out of the S, getting a little more red and he’s into 4th, +0.46. Daniel Hemetsberger is another one who isn’t going as well as he did yesterday, into 8th, just behind Kilde. Otmar Striedinger into 8th; Carlo Janka away on his final race – what a reception from the crowd, and what a career – he’s just on his feet after a near fall on the final section and listed as a DNF, but that doesn’t really matter; farewell Carlo. Max Franz can only manage 9th; Ryan C-S relatively slow through the S and just 12th.  That’s 20 away – Kriechmayr leads from Feuz, Paris, Odermatt, Mayer and Cater. That’s a good effort by Stefan Rogentin – into 8th; Daniel Danklmaier [bib 27]  into 15th and currently the highest bib number in the top 20. That’ll teach me – Bostjan Kline [bib 30] into 19th! It’s that man James Crawford again – he really is going well here, from bib 41 into 14th is quite an achievement! That’s it – well done to Kriechmayr – what a day to get on form! Beat Feuz takes 2nd, ahead of Dominik Paris, who now takes over the lead in the downhill standings, 11 points ahead of Kilde and Feuz who are tied in 2nd, just 3 points ahead of Mayer! I see they’ve amended the results so that Janka did finish!

Wengen [Männlichen] – Men’s Slalom, 16 Jan 22: Warm conditions at the top, which might be a problem. It’s a very challenging course, set by a French coach, and apparently quite tight. Henrik Kristoffersen first away – he reckons his set up is good; he’s happy for a change and that looked good. Certainly too good for Marco Schwarz, although he does still have ankle problems – he’s +0.83. Seb Foss-Solevaag can’t match his fellow Norwegian either – into 2nd, +0.58 – not bad after thumb surgery! Ramon Zenhaeusern into 3rd, +0.62; Manu Feller into the green at inter 2, just 0.02 red at 3 and that’s more like it – into 2nd, +0.11. Clement Noel next and he’s off the pace too, despite the commentary, he’s joint 4th, +0.62 with Zenhaeusern; Alexis Pinturault is even more off it today – into 7th, +1.42! Alex Vinatzer has taken over 7th, Michael Matt into 8th and the course is rutting already, which won’t help Dave Ryding, who is next. Ryding has started well but he’s getting more into the red as he goes – into 8th but +1.22. Loic Meillard is the slowest so far, +1.48, which apparently means he’s “in the chase”?? Kristoffer Jakobsen has the dubious honour of being the first DNF today – his second in succession. Daniel Yule is in touch but he lost time in the final sector to go 8th – the best time for a while! That’s 15 away, Kristoffersen leads from Feller and Seb F-S. I thought Fabio Gstrein was going to get a decent result but a big error on the lower sector cost him almost a second, into 13th at the finish. Twenty away now – no recent changes to the top 6 – obviously Henrik Kristoffersen was right about his set up! Timon Haugen has lost a pole as he leaves the gate and that’s distracted him – DNF. Stefano Gross was in touch to inter 2 but then he too is losing time – just 20th. The course is cutting up, especially on the lower sections and it’s getting warmer too – run 2 should be interesting? That’s 30 away – Kristoffersen leads from Feller and Seb F-S, Noel and Zenhaeusern tied in 4th and Schwarz 6th – Dave Ryding currently 11th. Best result by a high bib number is currently Reto Schmidiger [36] into joint 11th with Ryding! Neither Major nor Taylor will get a second run, although they did both finish, which is an achievement today!
Run 2: Course set by a Norwegian coach. With 10 away it’s still Lucas Braathen leading from Popov and Mölgg – he’s gained 8 places! Loic Meillard good to inter 2 but then he’s lost the best part of a second to go 2nd; Hirschbühl down and a DNF. What is wrong with Alexis Pinturault these days – most of a good advantage gone by inter 2, red at 3 and only 3rd, +0.56. Fabio Gstrein has kept in the green to inter 3, but he’s missed it – into 2nd; Michael Matt has lost a lot from 1 to 2 and a lot more to 3 – just 5th. That’s half way – Braathen leads from Gstrein and Meillard and he’s gained 13 places so far. TV break and Linus Strasser first away after the break – he’s straddled; Luca Aerni has fallen! That’s 3 DNFs in a row, Johannes Strolz out too – the Austrian coach is kicking things at the finish! Dave Ryding has 1.22 in hand [according to the live feed, not sure that’s right] – there’s only 0.11 left at 2 and he’s seriously red at 3 – he’s into 9th, and he lost 2.7 seconds on that run! Giuliano Razzoli much more in touch but into 2nd, +0.29; Daniel Yule just red at 3 and into 2nd – this is crazy! Alex Vinatzer losing time but his binding has released and he’s out; Marco Schwarz has lost half his advantage by inter 1 and he’s red by 3 – he’s just 7th, +1.23! That’s a huge amount of time lost. Ramon Zenhaeusern has lost half the advantage by inter 2 and he too is red by inter 3, he’s 12th; Clement Noel on course and again half gone by inter 2 and red by 3 – into 6th! Just 3 to go – Braathen has gained 25 places! Seb Foss-Solevaag has lost half a second by inter 1 and he’s red by 3 – he too has failed to take the lead and into 5th. Manu Feller massively ahead at the start but he’s lost over a second by inter 3 and he’s only 5th! He’s joined the “I don’t believe it” group! Just Henrik Kristoffersen to go and he has over 2 seconds in hand – still 1.78 left at 2 and 1.24 green at 3 and he’s straddled on the easiest part of the course, 4 turns from home! What a result – Lucas Braathen from 29th to 1st on run 2 ahead of Daniel Yule – they had to call Giuliano Razzoli back from the car park as he certainly didn’t expect to be on the podium but ended up 3rd! What an odd day – that must be one of the more bizarre races?

Zauchensee [Kälberloch] – Women’s Super G, 16 Jan 22: Quite a bit of the course, set by a French coach, is in shadow, although the weather is beautiful today! Marie-Michele Gagnon first away here – safely down but at least one error; Ariane Raedler is much quicker – over a second ahead at inter 3 and she leads by a massive 1.72. Tamara Tipler into 2nd and Petra Vlhova has gone 3rd – no Shiffrin here today either. Sofia Goggia into 4th, 0.75 off the pace, but nice to see her racing after yesterday’s crash; Lara Gut-Behrami green at inter 1, less so at 2 and red at 3 – slow through the final gun and into 2nd, +0.47. Mirjam Puchner green at 1 but then red and over 15 kph slower at the gun – into 4th, +0.59. Federica Brignone green at 2 and greener at 3 – that’s a good run and she leads by 0.17! Ramona Siebenhofer green at 1 and 2 but then red and she’s 4th; Corinne Suter also nicely green at 1 and 2, but she too is red by 3 – good final sector to go 2nd, +0.04; fastest in 3 of the 4 sectors. Tessa Worley green to inter 3 but a poor final sector has dropped her to 4th; Elena Curtoni into 5th. Marta Bassino green at 1, just green at 2 and into the red at 3 – into 4th; there’s a pause for repairs to the track. Fifteen away, Brignone leads from Suter, Raedler, Bassino, Worley and Curtoni. Wendy Holdener quickest in sector 1 but red by 2 but it’s getting away from her and she’s just 13th – pity after such a good start. It seems very easy to lose a lot of time on the final sector! Ester Ledecka more in touch than many and into 7th, ahead of Lara G-B; now that’s impressive, Laura Gauche [FRA, bib 28] into joint 5th with Worley! It can be done! Jasmine Flury was well in touch at inter 2 but it’s getting away from her lower down – into 10th. Interesting to see Alice Robinson here today, and green at 1 and 2 – red at 3 and into 7th! That was the last change to the top 10 – well done to Federica Brignone, winning from Suter and Raedler. Petra Vlhova has gained another 13 points today on Shiffrin in the overall! Goggia got just 12 points here for the Super G standings, which is hardly surprising given yesterday’s crash, so she’s now just 5 points ahead of Federica Brignone in the Super G standings.

Ruhpolding – Women’s 4 x 6 Km relay, 14 Jan 22: A bit warmer again today, just about zero! Now, I wonder who might beat Sweden if both Öbergs are here today? More to the point, how many of the other bigger names will compete today? Interesting that Vittozzi is on leg 1 for Italy – let’s  hope she can shoot well today; Røiseland on leg 1?  In for S1 quite well bunched up – Anais C-B clear and out in the lead, ahead of Cadurisch and Skottheim – all with no spares – Vittozzi n 4th after using 1 spare, ahead of Voigt [0] and Dunklee [1]. Røiseland [1] in 8th. France, Norway and Italy are just about breaking clear – in for S2; Vittozzi and Røiseland both clear this time and out close together, then a gap to Hojnisz- Starega, Voigt, Minkkinen and Skottheim. Anais C-B needed 2 spares and she’s out 8th, +19.6. Ivona Fialkova and Avvakumova both on the penalty loop. Røiseland ahead of Vittozzi with a gap of 15 seconds to the chasing group as they ahead for the first exchange – Knotten and Wierer away on leg 2 just 0.8 apart, 18 seconds back to Vanessa Hinz, then FRA/FIN/EST/POL/BLR/SWE/AUT. On the next lap Eder and Chloe Chevalier are past Hinz, but the gap to the leading two has closed a little. Stina Nilsson has closed by 10 seconds! In for S3 – Doro has missed 1, Knotten clear and out, then Doro [2 spares], Alimbekava, Chevalier, Tomingas and Hinz – all clear. Nilsson clear and up to 7th, just behind Hinz. The chasing pack are closing down the 2 leaders, at 9.4 Km the gap is less than 6 seconds. In for the standing shoot – 1 miss for all the leading 3 – it’s Doro out first [1 spare], ahead of Knotten [1], Chevalier [0], Alimbekava [1], Zuk [0] and Nilsson [1] – sadly Vanessa Hinz is doing a penalty loop; Canada and Japan doing 2 loops each. Nilsson is closing on Knotten; Alimbekava is right up with Wierer, then Chevalier; Nilsson is past Knotten. At the exchange Kruchinkina is away just ahead of Samuela Comola, with a small gap to Justine B-B and Brorsson, then 12 seconds to Erdal [NOR], then POL/EST/FIN – Germany down in 15th!  On the lap Justine B-B, Brorsson, Kruchinkina and Comola have pulled away; S5 and Justine B-B is clear and out, but just 1.3 ahead of Kruchinkina [0], then Brorsson [0, +7.6], Comola [0], Erdal [0] and Kuelm [EST, 0]. Comola is losing time on the steeper hills, as is Erdal. At S6 Justine B-B needed 1 spare, but she’s out 6.3 ahead of Kruchinkina [0] with Brorsson [0] just behind. Then a big gap to Comola [1, +34.7], Erdal [1] and Kazakevich [0]. Franzi H has shot clear at both of her shoots and has Germany up to 10th. Justine B-B is going to hand over a useful lead to Julia Simon – she’s out 13.0 ahead of Anna Magnusson, then  Hanna Sola who is the only one of the pack who is within a minute!  Next are ITA/NOR/USA/RUS/EST/GER. Simon is opening the gap a little on the lap; she’s in for S7 – 1 miss, bit unlucky I thought – 1 spare and out 16.3 ahead of the clear shooting Magnusson. Sola is on the penalty loop – very unusual, but at least it’s just 1 loop. Sanfilippo in 3rd, tied with  Femsteinevik, then Reztsova and Sola; Herrmann clear and up to 7th. Simon is pulling away again, Magnusson well clear of Reztsova, Femsteinevik and Sanfilippo. Simon in for her final shoot – all down, way to go! Magnusson used 1 spare and she’s away, that must be second place today; Reztsova [1 spare] is by far the best of the rest – out 3rd, about 24 seconds ahead of Femsteinevik [2], then Sanfilippo [2],  Sola [2] and Herrmann [2]. On the lap Herrmann is past Sola and Sanfilippo; Sola back past Herrmann. France [0+4] cruise to the well-deserved win with Sweden [0+2] and Russia [0+6] taking the remaining podium places. Herrmann past Sola again to get 4th, with Sanfilippo 6th. Norway in 7th. That’s a good result for Germany given Hinz’s performance – I suspect she pushed too hard between shoots? Well done France, Sweden and Russia.

Ruhpolding – Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km relay, 15 Jan 22: Again, the question is, how many big names will bother? The commentary team reckon Russia is in with a chance! Aleksander Fjeld Andersen taking leg 1 for Norway – he’s the brother who isn’t going to the Olympics! Erik Lesser leading at present, ahead of Andersen, Khalili and Femling. Hang on – that’s not Lesser now! In for S1 – Erik Lesser is clear and out ahead of Dovzan, Pryma and Shamaev [ROM?] – all clear. Andersen and Femling have both used 2 spares, Fabien Claude and Tachizaki are doing a penalty loop. Still quite tight at the front on the lap, Lesser ahead of Pryma and Khalili. In for S2 already – Bormolini clear here and out, ahead of Khalili [0], Doherty [0], Lesser [1], Labastu [0] and Stalder [1]. Vaclavik [CZE] is doing 3 penalty loops, Femling 1 loop, and no idea what happened to Andersen – either his rifle was duff or he felt the targets weren’t working? There were 2 targets still standing but no penalty loops shown, although he may have done 2 anyway?]. Lesser losing time on the lap as Doherty leads towards the first exchange – USA out first then ITA/RUS/BLR/GER/UKR; France in 14, Sweden 19th and Norway [shown as 2+2] are 24th, +2:36.6 – if there was a target problem they might get time back? Serokhvostov leading on the lap just ahead of Max Durtschi [USA] and Lazouski [BLR]; in for S3 – it’s Lazouski who leads out after a clear shoot, ahead of Windisch [1 spare], Serokhvostov [2], Rees [0], Christian Gow [0] and Fak [0]. Aspenes [NOR] used 2 spares and out just over 3 minutes back; Durtschi doing 1 loop. Quite a recovery by Jacquelin to get France back up to 3rd! The leading 2 are in for S4 it’s Dominik Windisch who leads out after a clear shoot ahead of Jacquelin [0], Lazouski [3], Pidruchnyi [0], Serokhvostov [0] and Gow [1]. Rees fell heading into the range and out 7th; Aspenes clear here and Norway are now shown as [0+7] – the mention of 2 penalty loops has vanished but still no news of time being given back. At the second exchange Didier Bionaz is away for Italy with a 7.7 advantage – then UKR/FRA/RUS/BLR/GER. On the lap Alex Loginov has closed up on Bionaz and Tsymbal – the leading group of 5 are just 3 seconds apart with Doll 6th +26.7 at 16.1 Km. They have adjusted Norway’s time which moves Dale up to 14th, +1:18.9. At S5 and Alex Loginov is clear and away fractionally ahead of Varabei [0], Tsymbal [0] – those 3 just 2.4 seconds apart. Then Bionaz [2 spares, +21.8], Perrot [2], Burnotte [0] and Doll [1, +37.3]. Ponsiluoma up to 10th, Dale clear and 11th after time adjustment – the commentary team reckon 2 minutes handed back? The supposition is that Sweden cross fired? Leading 2 in for S6, Loginov has missed 2 but out in the lead after 2 spares, 1.0 ahead of Varabei [1] who had problems with his rifle, Tsymbal [1; +12.2], Doll [1; +22.6], Bionaz [3] and Burnotte [3]. Dale has used all 3 spares here and out 11th. At the exchange Tsvetkov is rather late on the course and out just 0.2 ahead of Smolski; then GER [+29.2], UKR/ITA/CAN/FRA [+56.0]. At 23.6 Km QFM has got France up to 5th, but I wonder if he is also thinking of the pursuit? I see Samuelsson is on the final leg for Sweden! In for S7 – Tsvetkov is clear and away, Smolski has rushed and needed 1 spare to get out +18.5, Nawrath [0] in 3rd, +25.8. Hofer [0, +50.8] ahead of Dudchenko and Scott Gow. QFM used 2 spares and out 7th after twice thinking he’s cleared the target! Nawrath is closing down Smolski on the lap – Tsvetkov is in for the final shoot – clear and out, Nawrath also clear and out +12.6, ahead of Smolski [1], +19.6 then about 20 seconds back to Hofer who was also clear; Scott Gow has missed and has 2 penalty loops to do. At 28.6 Km Nawrath has the gap down to 6.1 seconds! At 29.2 Km it’s still 5.2 – I think Tsvetkov has realised that the gap had reduced. Russia [0+4] take the win, 7 seconds clear of Germany [0+2 – great shooting], with Belarus [0+6] getting the final podium place. Italy [0+5] in 4th, ahead of France [1+10] and Ukraine [0+6]. Sweden [1+12] managed 7th ahead of Canada [2+12]. Ah, no they haven’t – Norway were physically behind but the adjusted elapsed time puts Norway 7th, ahead of Sweden in 8th! Well done to Russia, and a great race by Germany and Belarus.

Ruhpolding – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 16 Jan 22: Well, not a lot of wind on the range at present! Elvira Öberg has a 22 second advantage over Marte Olsbu Røiseland as they start with Doro Wierer in 3rd, a further 8 seconds back. Race is on – Elvira flying and so is her big sister! Elvira in for S1 with a penalty loop in hand – there is some wind now – she’s missed her last shot. Røiseland clear and out just 2.2 behind Elvira; Wierer and Alimbekava have both missed 1 so it’s Hanna Öberg out 3rd, +25.1, ahead of Persson, Bescond and Brorsson – all clear. On the lap Elvira is just ahead of Røiseland, Hanna Öberg closing a little – of course neither Öberg was in the relay, which might help? In for S2 – Røiseland clear and away, Elvira has missed 1 again, Hanna Öberg clear and out 2nd, +14.1 from 11th at the start, then Persson, Elvira, Bescond and Alimbekava. Hanna Sola 10/10 and up from 36 to 12. Three Swedes in the chasing pack of 6 on the lap; Røiseland in for S3 – clear again and out! Both Öbergs clear – Hanna +20.6, Elvira +23.8 with Bescond 4th, +31.1. Sola has missed 2 here and 14th, Davidova 15/15 and up from 27 to 11. Røiseland has opened the gap a little at 7.4 Km, and she’s in for her final shoot – clear again and fast too – impressive shooting! Elvira clear and out, Hanna and Bescond have both missed 1. Order after S4 is Røiseland [0,0,0,0], Elvira Öberg [1,1,0,0; +33.7], Hanna Öberg [0,0,0,1; +50.5], Bescond [0,0,0,1; +58.9] then Persson, Wierer and Alimbekava. Julia Simon up from 23 to 8! Røiseland is cruising to win 6 of the season, Elvira comfortably 2nd ahead of her sister. Bescond in 4th, ahead of Persson, Alimbekava, Wierer and Simon. Gainers include Simon [23-8], Davidova [27-12], Sola [36-13], Kazakevitch [35-14], Magnusson [25-15], Minkkinen [52-18], Haecki [38-23], Dzhima [37-24], Nigmatullina [49-25], Hinz [60-26], Ivona Fialkova [48-31], Lie [58-32] and Dunklee [51-37]. Those losing ground include Vasnetcova [18-29], Knotten [12-34], Reztsova [20-36 with 7 penalties], Stremous [22-38], Ushkina [26-44], Kruchinkina [13-45], Femsteinevik [34-47] and Avvakumova [33-51]. Quite a few DNS today. Well done Marte Olsbu Røiseland – great shooting and good speed too!

Ruhpolding – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 16 Jan 22: QFM will lead away today, chased by Doll [7 seconds]and Smolski [32 seconds]; it’s a little warmer now. The race is on – QFM opening the gap a little on the lap; Ponsiluoma gaining places. In for S1 – wind light and QFM has missed 1. It’s Benedikt Dol who leads out after a clear shoot, QFM 2nd, +15.2, Seppala and Lesser both clear and out +38 or so; Windisch also clear and up to 5th. There is a queue for space on the shooting mats – will anyone be given time? QFM is closing the gap to Doll on the lap – Doll in for S2 – he’s clear and away; QFM also clear and out +10.5. Lesser clear and out 3rd, +36.1, Seppala has missed 1 but Loginov is 10/10 and out 4th, from 32 at the start, +48.1. Fabien Claude is also 10/10 and up to 5th, from 37 – Smolski [1,1] has dropped from 3rd to 17th. QFM closing the gap again, Samuelsson up to 5th just behind Loginov. In for S3 – QFM clear this time while Doll has missed 2. Lesser clear and out 2nd, +36.7 just ahead of Samuelsson, Strolia and Eder. Doll out 7th, ahead of Loginov and Fabien Claude who both missed 1. Samuelsson past Lesser and Doll back up to 4th at present. Tsvetkov up to 5th, from 21st at the start. QFM in for his final shoot – he’s missed the first one but the rest are clear – he’s out in the lead; Samuelsson has missed 2, Lesser 1, Doll 2. Vytautas Strolia is clear here and out +30.3, then Loginov, +34.0, Smolski [1,1,0,0] back to 4th, just ahead of Lesser and Desthieux. Samuelsson in 8th, just ahead of Doll. Loginov up to 2nd by 11.1 Km, ahead of Smolski and Strolia, Desthieux past Lesser and Samuelsson is gaining a lot of time. Quentin Fillon Maillet [1,0,0,1] cruising [relatively] to the finish; Alex Loginov [0,0,1,0] in 2nd from 32 at the start with Smolski in 3rd despite 2 misses. Desthieux in 4th, ahead of Strolia and Lesser. Samuelsson up from 18 to 7, just ahead of Jakov Fak [39-8]. Other gainers include Tsvetkov [21-9], Zobel [GER, 24-10], Fabien Claude [37-12], Nawrath [41-15], Bormolini [33-18], Femling [29-19], Jacquelin [53-20], Florent Claude [27-21], Vaclavick [34-24], Aspenes [52-25], Dale [40-28] and Horn [59-35]. Losing ground the list includes Doll [2-11, 4 misses], Seppala [5-13], Windisch [13-22], Ponsiluoma [14-26; 4 misses at S4], Burkhalter [10-29], A F Andersen [11-34], Perrot [8-37], Pidruchnyi [7-40], Bjøntegaard [15-45], and Tsymbal [17-46]. Well done to QFM – a well-judged race, and a great race from Alex Logonov.

Kitzbühl [Streif] – Men’s Downhill, 21 Jan 22: Not the nicest day – bit misty and overcast; there is a “marmite turn” on the course, designed to slow down the racers on the more dangerous part of the course – opinion is divided about that and the lowered start gate! It’s too windy for the full start, despite all the work clearing new snow; I think that was Marcel Hirscher doing the camera run?? Max Franz the first away on the race piste – not the cleanest of runs but he’s down! Romed Baumann is considerably faster, taking the lead by 1.57; the course seems to be shedding a little of the fresh snow as Vincent Kriechmayr goes even faster to take over the lead by 0.58. Daniel Hemetsberger is green by inter 3 and although he lost a little on the final sectors he goes into the lead by 0.21! Dominik Paris is green at inter 1, and 2 but red at 3and almost a second back at inter 6 – he’s into 4th, +0.96! Travis Ganong is red at 3 as well, but back green at 4, just red at 5, 6 and 7 but a great final sector where he gained time gets him into the lead by 0.20 – arguably the first one to get the line through the “new” turn correct. Matthias Mayer green at 2, red at 3,4 and 5, nicely green at 6 and 7, fastest through the final gun and into the lead by 0.39! Martin Cater into 5th; Beat Feuz is bib 9 and green at 1, up to 0.47 green at 2 and it’s staying green to 5 when it’s just red, but now it’s going away from him – fastest on the final sector but it’s not enough – into 3rd, +0.47. Bryce Bennett is a massive 0.70 green at 3, 0.87 green at 4 but he’s lost half of that by 5, red by 6 losing about 0.80 to go 5th, +0.66. That’s the first TV break – Mayer leads from Ganong and Feuz, then Hemetsberger, Bennett and Kriechmayr. First out after the break is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, green at 1 and 2, by 4 he’s 1.24 green although I’ve lost the live timing;  he just made that lower gate – great recovery to lead by 0.67 – what a run! Matthieu Bailet has crashed but the airbag and the nets seem to have worked; Marco Odermatt green at 2 but then half a second off the pace – he’s into a very impressive 3rd place, +0.78.  Johan Clarey very much in touch – red but not far off the pace, briefly green at 6 and he’s into 2nd, +0.42. The snow is back and the visibility is deteriorating; Niels Hintermann was unlucky with the weather and into 7th. Matteo Marsaglia did well in the conditions to go 10th; James Crawford is in touch and briefly green at 2, red the rest of the way but in the conditions that was great – he’s into 5th, just 1.02 off the best time. Daniel Danklemaier has had a ski release and he’s crashed – luckily he seems OK and he’s skiing down. Thirty away so the race result stands – it seems that downhill 2 has been moved from Saturday to Sunday, with the slalom taking over the Saturday slot. Kilde leads from Clarey and Mayer, then Odermatt, Crawford, Ganong with Feuz in 7th. That would put Kilde on 405 points in the downhill  standings, with Mayer up to 2nd on 362 and Feuz on 341 – Odermatt up to 4th [326] ahead of Paris [323]. If all stays as is, Odermatt would be on 1125 in the overall, ahead of Kilde [785] and Mayer [652]. Jeffrey Read was going well but he’s been yellow flagged as Erik Arvidsson is in the nets and receiving attention – looks like Arvidsson is skiing away from a nasty looking, twisting fall. Christian Walder looked to be on track for a good result, possibly even a podium, but he’s fallen in sight of the finish! Well, there’s a surprise – a brief window of better weather and Blaise Giezendanner [FRA, bib 43] into a hugely impressive 3rd place! Guglielmo Bosca [ITA, bib 44] into 15th! The weather is worse again – windy even at the lowered start. That’s bad luck for Jeffrey Read, going again after his yellow flag, but he’s still in touch at inter 2 – I think he’s tiring – yes he’s losing more time to go 34th, +2.71 – he’s not happy! The snow is getting heavier too. That’s the race over – Kilde wins from Clarey and Giezendanner, then Mayer, Odermatt and Crawford. Feuz 8th, Kriechmayr 13th, and Paris only 27th! Downhill standings – Kilde 405, Mayer 352, Feuz 337; overall Odermatt 1120, Kilde 785, Mayer 642. Well done to Kilde – a really superb run!

Kitzbühl [Ganslern] – Men’s Slalom, 22 Jan 22: Today should have been the second downhill, but in view of the poor forecast the organisers swapped the downhill for Sunday’s slalom and here we are! The decision to swap races seems to have been a good idea – visibility is poor and it’s snowing – the course for this first run was set by a Russian coach. Despite the recent snow the piste is apparently very icy , and the terrain is unusual – this should be a good challenge; this slope is famous for a high DNF rate according to Nick! Clement Noel first away – that snow is heavy but that run looked pretty good. Ramon Zenhaeusern red at inter 1 and redder at 2; almost a second off the pace at 3 and he’s +1.43 at the finish. Loic Meillard also off the pace, 2nd but +1.28; Marco Schwarz also in trouble at the one very icy gate – 3rd, +1.34. Seb Foss-Solevaag is fractionally green at 2 and better at 3 – risky but fast – he's missed it by just 0.01! Alexis Pinturault red all the way, into 3rd, +0.83; Henrik Kristoffersen next and quite red at 2 – that looked a bit ragged and he’s the slowest so far, +1.60. Giuliano Razzoli into 3rd, Michael Matt goes 5th; Kristoffer Jakobsen has never finished a slalom here – a big error or two today but he’s safely down, +1.12. Daniel Yule also off the pace, just 10th, +1.49; Alex Vinatzer green at 1, greener at 2 and this is looking good – he leads by 0.08! I think it’s fair to say he’s happy with that! Strasser and Aerni off the pace; Dave Ryding a bit more in touch, into 5th, +0.81. TV break – Vinatzer leads from Noel and Seb F-S, Kristoffersen in 15th! Fabio Gstrein into the soft stuff and he’s taken over the dubious honour of being slowest so far. Lucas Braathen into 7th; Tanguy Nef has straddled. Manfred Mölgg also out as is Khoroshilov; Johannes Strolz into joint 10th with Meillard. Not bad in the worsening conditions – Stefano Gross into 8th; Tommaso Sala has gone slightly better and into 7th, despite a rather negative commentary! Erik Read has straddled; that’s impressive as the visibility gets worse – Marc Rochat into 5th! Thirty away – Vinatzer leads from Noel, Seb F-S, Razzoli, Rochat and Ryding; Kristoffersen 21st so he should get decent conditions for the second run. Atle Lie McGrath has fallen and taken out a photographer, but both seem OK. That’s not at all bad – Luke Winters [USA, bib 38] into 13th. Coverage moves to the women’s downhill. Laurie Taylor a DNF; Billy Major very unlucky – safely down but into 31st so no second run.
Run 2: An Italian coach has set this course and it looks a bit of a beast, lots of hairpins! Some shots suggest the snow has eased but that might be misleading – the visibility is still poor.  Anton Tremmel first away and the snow has eased – it’s not as wet either. Zan Kranjec out early; Simon Maurberger in trouble but he’s recovered well and he’s over a second faster at the finish. We’ve had 3 DNFs already from 6 starts; now Henrik Kristoffersen and he’s nicely in the green – he’s lost a bit from 3 to the finish but he leads by 0.36. Maybe the snow is getting heavier again? Daniel Yule has joined the DNFs – 5 from 10 starts! The snow is now heavier than ever; Kristoffersen leads from Maurberger and Aerni – Raschner into 4th. Filip Zubcic into 3rd; Ramon Zenhaeusern out too. Linus Strasser into 5th, but over a second off Kristoffersen’s time; Marco Schwarz into the red at 2 and only 4th. Loic Meillard into 2nd; Johannes Strolz in trouble but recovering well – he’s 2nd, +0.15; his coach isn’t happy! Luke Winters very entertaining but he’s dropped to 6th – that’s 11 places that Kristoffersen has gained! Kristoffer Jakobsen has never finished a slalom here and today is no different; Michael Matt has kept his advantage to inter 1 but then it’s going away from him – into 2nd, +0.13. Stefano Gross out just 4 turns into his run; Lucas Braathen still well green at 2 and 3 too – at last, the lead changes as Braathen goes 0.27 ahead. Tommaso Sala into 5th; Alexis Pinturault out early after a straddle. Dave Ryding next and green at 1, still green at 2 and he’s gained time to 3 – that’s a great run and he leads by 0.38 – that was good and Nick is going into hyper mode. Razzoli red at 1, great recovery to go green at 2, just green at 3 and he’s out! Seb Foss-Solevaag going well but he too has straddled; Nick is almost incoherent, as Dave Ryding will be on the podium! Clement Noel next but that’s a massive error and he’s 15th; just Alex Vinatzer to come with 0.81 in hand – his coach set the course but he’s made a another massive error and he’s just 18th. That means that Dave Ryding has taken his first slalom victory! The first GB Alpine ski win!   Well done Dave Ryding – he wins ahead of Lucas Braathen and Henrik Kristoffersen, who had the best time on run 2 coming back from 24th to the podium. I’m not sure Ryding can believe it – nice to see Kristoffersen looking happy and leading the congratulations.

Cortina d’Apezzo [Olympia] – Women’s Downhill, 22 Jan 22: Not good news for Breezy Johnson – bad crash in training but she did manage to ski down. Conditions today don’t look so good – very windy in places even with the lowered start. That’s a nice looking course – quite attractive if you aren’t doing it at race pace! Mirjam Puchner will be first away – she’s safely down, but doesn’t look very happy with the run? Michelle Gisin was fast in training and she’s green at inter 1, greener at 2 but slower through the speed gun and she’s lost time in the final sector to go 2nd, +0.07. The wind has got up again for Ramona Siebenhofer, green all the way and she takes the lead by 0.17, but she too doesn’t look happy with her run! Lara Gut-Behrami is bib 5 and green at inter 1, windy in the middle section and just red at 2 – relatively slow through the gun and into 4th, +0.48. The picture keeps juddering which is annoying! Gagnon into 6th; Sofia Goggia unlucky with the wind and she’s off line on more than one occasion – not sure how she did it, but she leads by 0.20! Federica Brignone in touch to 2 but slow on the final sector to go 7th; Corinne Suter into 3rd. Ragnhild Mowinckel fastest in sector 2 but she’s lost time lower down to go 6th; Ilka Stuhec has gone 8th. Kira Weidle off the pace at inter 1, better at 2 but losing time on the final sector to go 8th.  Fifteen away – Goggia leads from Siebenhofer and Suter, then Puchner, Gisin and Mowinckel. A good run from Ester Ledecka with a fast final sector to go 3rd, +0.26; a number of racers are in touch on the upper section but it seems very easy to lose time on the lower sectors. A neat run from Elisabeth Reisinger [AUT, bib 25] to go 7th; Joana Haehlen down but back on her feet and just missed the netting  - hopefully OK. That’s 30 away – Goggia leads from Siebenhofer, Ledecka, Corinne Suter, Puchner and Gisin. Jacqueline Wiles [bib 36] currently the highest bib number In the top 20, in joint 14th with Elena Curtoni and Nicol Delago! Now it’s Julia Pleshkova [RUS, bib 39] into joint 20th with Gauche and now Alix Wilkinson [USA, bib 47] into 18th! That’s it over – well done Sofia Goggia, nice to see Siebenhofer and Ledecka on the podium. Goggia now has 400 points in the downhill standings, Siebenhofer up to 2nd on 264 ahead of Johnson on 240, who isn’t racing today after the training crash.

Cortina d’Apezzo [Olympia] – Women’s Super G, 23 Jan 22: I missed this one completely as I was out on the moors for a meet – bit overcast but still some great views and good company.  A good win for Elena Curtoni, just 9 hundredths ahead of Tamara Tippler with Michelle Gisin taking the final podium place. Federica Brignone in 4th, ahead of Corinne Suter and Tessa Worley. Lara Gut-Behrami in 13th, and Mikaela Shiffrin in 16th. Sofia Goggia among the long list of DNFs. That gets Federica Brignone into the lead in the Super G standings on 377 points, ahead of Curtoni [348] and Goggia [332]. In the overall Shiffrin gets 15 pints [oh dear - that should, of course, read "points"] today to boost her total to 981, ahead of Vlhova [929] and Goggia [769].


Kitzbühl [Streif] – Men’s Downhill 2, 23 Jan 22: Joined this one late - see above! As I got to my computer there was the first TV break, with 10 away – Beat Feuz leads from Marco Odermatt and Daniel Hemetsberger; Aleksander Aamodt Kilde just about to start – just green at 1, red at 2 and 3,  redder still at 4 and 5 and it’s drifting away – he’s into 5th, +1.23. A couple costly errors there. Matthias Mayer also in the red from inter 2 – he’s holding on to it and into 4th, +0.94. Dominik Paris is also off the pace today by his standards – just 7th, +1.27, just behind Kilde. Christof Innerhofer in touch at 1 and 2 but then the light is getting redder as the visibility gets less good – into 9th. Vincent Kriechmayr red at 1 and the time is going away from him; over a second off at inter 4 and only 12th. Otmar Striedinger was in touch at 3 but an error with a great recovery lost him time – he’s missed a gate lower down too. Ryan C-S has done much the same – that’s 3 DNFs so far today. The fog is getting a bit more obvious in a couple places – no recent changes to the top 10. Daniel Danklmaier unlucky with the visibility but he’s still in touch at inter 6 and into 10th – that’s the best run for a while. Importantly that’s now 30 away, so the result is legal – an impressive win for Beat Feuz, with Marco Odermatt continuing his great run of results in 2nd today, ahead of Daniel Hemetsberger. Mayer in 4th, then Clarey and Kilde. With 39 away the race is on hold due to the fog thickening again – it really looks bad on the cameras. Resumed later but no late changes – well done Beat Feuz.

Antholz-Anterselva – Women’s 15 Km Individual, 21 Jan 22: Sadly I missed the men’s race yesterday – I had an appointment and the IBU app had a data problem so no updates were available! A great result for Anton Babikov in windy conditions, shooting clear to take the win. Tarjei Bø [0,0,0,2] was in second, which was good enough to win him the Individual crystal globe – which I think is the only one missing from his collection! Said Karimulla Khalili [0,0,1,0] took the final podium place – a good day for Russia! JoBø [0,2,1,0] was 4th, ahead of Laegreid [0,1,0,2] and Desthieux [1,1,1,0]. QFM [1,0,3,1] had a day to forget, finishing 20th. Anyway, back to the women’s race – Amanda Lightfoot will be racing today after a top 10 in the IBU cup, although sadly she won’t be going to the Olympics. The weather here is much better than in Kitzbühl; for some reason Mike was transmitting on the tennis but he’s back now. Tandrevold the first away today; nice to see Tiril Eckhoff here today, with bib 6. That was good shooting by Tandrevold at S1 – slow but all targets down, which is important here as a miss involves 1 minute added rather than just a penalty loop; Julia Simon clear and out 13 seconds ahead of Tandrevold, Innerhofer also clear and has recorded the same time. Eckhoff has missed 1 at S1; what is Vittozzi doing – she’s missed 4 and seems to have left the range with 1 target remaining that she hasn’t shot at – commentators seem to agree that she only fired 4 shots? Good to see Janina Hettich clear at S1 and out 3rd, ahead of Tandrevold; Doro Wierer also clear and just 2.4 behind Simon/Innerhofer. Tandrevold in for her first standing shoot – 1 miss; Julia Simon clear and away. Innerhofer can’t match Simon this time – 2 misses; Eckhoff has missed 1 here too. Franzi Hildebrand clear at S1 and out 4th, +7.1 – good start; Justine Braisaz-Bouchet clear at S1 and fastest so far by 8.6 seconds. Poor Vittozzi has missed 3 more at S2 and has an asterisk by her name, so may get more penalties for only firing at 4 targets at S1 – it looks as though they’ve added 3 minutes? Hettich has missed 2 at S2; Doro now 10/10 and out 3.2 ahead of Simon. Tandrevold low at S3 – 1 miss and 1 a little lucky perhaps; Alimbekava has missed her final shot at S1. Davidova clear again at S2 and out 3rd; Simon has missed 1 at S3 but still leads at present. Tiril has missed 1 at S3 – 1 at each shoot; Franzi H has missed 2 at S2. Justine B-B clear again at S2 and 3 seconds ahead of Doro W; speaking of whom – Doro has missed 2 at S3 – good work by Clare Egan [0,1,0] who is out 2nd after S3. The wind has died which is causing a few misses! Tandrevold shooting slowly but she’s missed another [0,1,1,1]; Julia Simon [0,0,1,1] still looking good at present. Tiril Eckhoff [1,1,1,1,]; Davidova [0,0,1] in 2nd after S3, ahead of Egan. Justine B-B at S3, she missed 1 and had a slow final shot but better than another miss – out just behind Julia Simon. Wierer in for S4, 1 further miss and out +53.7; Clare Egan [0,1,0,1] out about 5 seconds ahead of Doro! Marketa Davidova at S4 and that’s 2 misses here; is she still a contender for the crystal globe. Clare Egan is keeping her advantage over Wierer at 13.2 Km. Justine B-B clear at S4 – slow to take the 4th shot but then very quick for the final shot – just 2 seconds! She’s out just a full minute ahead of Simon, so their ski speed is almost identical. Doro [0,0,2,1] over the line in 2nd, but only until Clare Egan [0,1,0,1] arrives! Back at S4 Mona Brorsson [0,0,1,1] out 3rd, ahead of Egan; Davidova [0,0,1,2] over the line 4th but back at S4 Alimbekava [1,2,0,0] is very close to her time. Justine B-B is losing a little time to Simon on the final lap; Brorsson losing time to Egan. At S4 Anna Maka [POL; 0,1,0,0] out 7th, between Davidova and Alimbekava! Between 13.2 Km and 14.7 Brorsson has pulled back time against Egan , and she’s over the line in 3rd at present. At the finish it’s Justine B-B, Julia Simon, Mona Brorsson, then Egan, Wierer and Davidova – Alimbekava just going 7th. Nice to see Amanda Lightfoot 10/10 and clear at S3 as well. Maka over the line in 11th; Merkushyna was in touch after S3 but 2 misses at S4 have spoilt that run. I can’t see anyone with a 20/20 score? Just 5 that I can see with 19/20 and Amanda Lightfoot has just joined them! At S3 Tereza Vobornikova [CZE] is 15/15 and out 7th. great effort – Amanda Lightfoot over the line in 20th, at present. At S4 Vobornikova has missed 2, that was the last chance of a 20/20 score today. That’s pretty much it – a good day for the French – Justine Braisaz-Bouchet a very dominant first, 51.1 ahead of Julia Simon with Mona Brorsson in 3rd. Nice to see Clare Egan in 4th, ahead of Wierer and Davidova, who I think has won the Individual crystal globe. Franzi Hildebrand best German, in 14th, despite 4 misses and Amanda Lightfoot has held on to 20th place. Doro W quickest on the range ahead of Simon and Sola; not surprise that Justine B-B was fastest around the course, with Eckhoff 2nd ahead of Simon and Innerhofer.

Antholz-Anterselva – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start, 22 Jan 22: Sounds like Mike is having problems getting the right sound! The wind on the range looks a little changeable although not too strong at present. No Loginov or Jacquelin today and I think there were a couple other withdrawals? Smolski has lost a ski but Strolia has collected it and returned it. At 2.7 Km JoBø leads having picked up the pace, ahead of QFM, Tarjei, Laegreid, Christiansen, and Bakken – 5 Norwegians in the top 6! That’s stretched the field out a bit! In for S1 – Tarjei has missed 2, Desthieux, Fabien Claude and Wright have missed  3 each; it’s Bakken who leads out, ahead of Laegreid, QFM, Kühn, Eder and Seppala – all clear. JoBø missed 1 and out 11th, +16.2, but back up to 4th on the lap. Laegreid leading in for S2 – he and Bakken have missed; JoBø clear and out, ahead of Doll, Guigonnat,  Bakken [0,1], Krcmar and Seppala [0,1]. Laegreid missed 2, as did QFM and Kühn, Latypov has missed 4 at S2. At 8.7 Km JoBø is 6.8 ahead of Doll and both of them have pulled out a good gap on Guigonnat [+32.8] and Bakken [+42.9]. In for S3 – JoBø has missed 1, Doll has missed his 5th! JoBø leads out, 9.3 ahead of Doll; Guigonnat has missed 2, so has Bakken. It’s Seppala who is out 3rd, +26.8, Laegreid clear and out 4th,+30.3 ahead of Krcmar [0,0,0] and Eder, QFM [0,2,1] in 7th. At 11.7 Km JoBø has got the gap to Benedikt Doll up to 12.4; Laegreid up to 4th just ahead of Seppala and QFM 6th, +1:07.3. Final shoot – we’ve lost sound for a while – JoBø has missed 1 but this time Doll is clear and out, 7.1 ahead of Johannes. Seppala has missed 2, QFM 3 as the wind picks up. Laegreid out 3rd but over a minute back, then 17 seconds to Seppala, Guigonnat and Krcmar. At 13.2 Km Doll is now 14.9 ahead of JoBø; Laegreid looking secure in 3rd, with now a 4 way fight for 4th as Bakken has joined them. At 14.7 Km Benedikt Doll [0,0,1,0] has the gap up to 29.2 and he cruises to a very well deserved win! JoBø [1,0,1,1] in 2nd and Laegreid [0,2,0,1] a distant 3rd. Antonin Guigonnat just gets 4th, ahead of Bakken, Seppala and Krcmar. QFM [0,2,1,3] finishes 8th despite those penalties, Tarjei Bø [2,1,1,2] in 13th. Well done Benedikt Doll – great race!  

Antholz-Anterselva – Women’s 4 x 6 Km relay, 22 Jan 22: I missed this one as I was shopping and getting some of my own exercise! Norway did well to take the win after Knotten had to do a penalty loop after her prone shoot, but she got the standing targets with just 2 spares; Eckhoff used just 3 spares in total, Lien was even better needing just 1 and Tandrevold was the same – 1 loop and 10 spares in all. Russia did well to get 2nd place despite 3 penalty loops; Vasnetcova got them off to a good start with just 4 spares in total, and Reztsova used just 3 but Kazakevitch, who used just 1 spare in prone, had to do 3 penalty loops after her standing shoot. Nigmatullina pulled things back needing just 1 spare. France took the final podium place despite doing no penalty loops – Chloe Chevalier used just 1 spare but Justine B-B, presumably tired after her Individual win, needed 3 at each shoot; Paula Botet  used 4 and Anais Bescond just 2. Italy 4th, ahead of the USA and the Czech Republic. Germany ended 8th after using a total of 13 spares – good 3rd leg by Hettich though, using just 2 spares and getting them back up to just 14 seconds off the lead.

Antholz-Anterselva – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start, 23 Jan 22: Well, due to an appointment this morning I missed the Men’s relay, dominated by Norway who were almost 2 minutes ahead of Russia with Germany 3rd, but managed to get back in time for this race. Conditions look good today; that’s a nasty looking corner, especially when the field is so bunched early on. At 2.2 Km Julia Simon leads from Reztsova, Tandrevold, Sola and Herrmann. In for S1 – prone – Hanna Sola clear and away just 0.6 ahead of Simon, then Eckhoff, Vasnetcova, Alimbekava and Reztsova [+4.7]. Doro Wierer has missed 1 and out 15th, Justine B-B [1 miss] out 21st, Herrmann has missed 2, Hauser 3 and poor Vittozzi all 5, again! Leading group in for S2 – Julia Simon clear and out just ahead of Tiril Eckhoff, Alimbekava in 3rd, +2.9 then Tandrevold, +7.6 – all 10/10. Anais C-B in 5th despite 1 miss at S1, then Egan [0,0], Bescond [1,0], and Justine B-B [1,0; +15.0]. As they head for S3 Tandrevold is ahead at 7.2 Km, with Eckhoff, Simon, Alimbekava, Justine B-B, Anais C-B and Bescond all within 10 seconds. First standing shoot – Simon has missed 1, Tandrevold 2. It’s Anais C-B [1,0,0] who leads out this time, just 1.2 ahead of Eckhoff [0,0,0] – Doro Wierer [1,1,0] out 3rd, +14.9, then Simon, J B-B and Reztsova. Alimbekava missed 1 here and out 7th ahead of Voigt [0,0,0]. On the lap Tiril Eckhoff is pushing but the French and Doro are closing. Final shoot – Anais C-B is rattling through them but Eckhoff has missed 2, so has Simon! Anais C-B [1,0,0,0] out first 4.7 ahead of Doro [1,1,0,0] and Alimbekava [0,0,1,0, +11.5]. Reztsova in 5th, +35.5 just ahead of Voigt who has cleared all 20! Eckhoff out 6th, +43.3. At 10.8 Km Wierer is just 1.9 ahead of Anais C-B with Alimbekava closing; she’s past the Frenchwoman on the hill. At 12.2 KM Doro is 4.6 ahead of Dzinara Alimbekava who has a good 5 seconds on Anais C-B who looks safe in 3rd. That’s a great race by Doro Wierer – her first win of the season! Alimbekava in 2nd and Anais Chevalier-Bouchet in 3rd. Reztsova in 4th ahead of Justine B-B and Tiril Eckhoff – Vanessa Voigt in 7th, best German today and great shooting – just 2 with 20/20 today, the other being Jessica Jislova who was 14th.

Kronplatz [Erta] – Women’s GS, 25 Jan 22: I’m not sure how much of this I’ll see – it’s a busy day! It looks a lovely day there, although there doesn’t seem to be a lot of snow away from the piste! Petra Vlhova first away and that looked good – Marta Bassino can’t match that pace – she’s +0.61. Federica Brignone dead level at inter 2 but red at 3 – into 3rd, +0.70; Mikaela Shiffrin is bib 4 and fractionally red at inter 1 and getting redder – she’s 2nd, +0.59. Sara Hector good in the opening sectors, nicely green , but red at 3 and now she’s 2nd, +0.34. Tessa Worley also good on the first sector but her timing might be a little off – into 6th, +0.82; Michelle Gisin 1.5 seconds off the pace today. Katharina Liensberger even more off the pace; Alice Robinson into 7th. There seems to be a problem with timing and graphics so there is a slight delay. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel is in touch at inter 2, a couple slight errors but into 5th, +0.65. That’s 10 away, Vlhova leads from Hector and Shiffrin, then Bassino, Gasienica-Daniel and Brignone. Katharina Truppe into 10th; 22 away now and no change to the top 10 since Truppe. Clara Direz has the dubious distinction of being the first DNF today – the course is getting shadier in places! A couple good late runs – Elisa Moerzinger [bib 33, AUT] into 13th, and Thea Louise Stjernesund [bib 39] into 14th. So far 6 DNFs, sadly including Alex Tilley. That’s run 1 over – still no change to the top /10 since Truppe.
Run 2: Well, I joined this one earlier than I expected – 5 away and Ana Bucik in the lead, having gained 3 places. It sounds as though the course is tricky as there is more of a light/dark effect this time and it’s already cutting up – easy to lose the advantage; Coralie Frasse Sombet lost to inter 2 but good middle sectors have got her into 2nd, +0.61. Camille Rast still green at 2 – looks like the timing data is still a bit odd – she’s gained to inter 3 but the final sector is slow and she’s just 4th. Paula Moltzan, still with a broken wrist, has dome much the same – gained from 2 to 3 then lost time – into 2nd, +0.58 after being 0.21 green at 3! Nina O’Brien has had a few line errors but dead level at 3 – into 2nd, +0.50; Tviberg in touch but she’s fallen on the lower section. Valerie Grenier has lost half of her advantage by 2, then gained it all back to 3 only to lose time from there to go 2nd, +0.20; Katharina Liensberger good from 1 to 2 and still green at 3 – I didn’t see much wrong but she’s lost over a second after one error on the tricky gate and she’s just 9th, +0.99! Steph Brunner also out; that’s half way – Bucik still leads [13 places gained], from Grenier, O’Brien, Moltzan, Frasse Sombet and Ellenberger. Meta Hrovat was massively ahead at inter 3 but she’s into 4th, +0.52 after a huge error; Thea Louise Stjernesund has over a second in hand and she has more at inter 3 – most of it has gone by the finish but she had enough in hand to take the lead by 0.31. Michelle Gisin surprisingly off form today – maybe tired – she’s just 15th. Mina Fuerst Holtmann into 4th; great recoveries from Katharina Truppe, pretty much uphill to make the gate but that’s dropped her to 4th. Alice Robinson into 5th; another TV break with Stjernesund still leading from Bucik and Grenier. Tessa Worley also good on the opening turns but she’s lost half on the section from 2 to 3 – good final sector though to take over the lead by 0.40. Ragnhild Mowinckel has done things differently – losing time to 2, strong to 3 but then errors and into 3rd. Federica Brignone in touch to 2, just fractionally red there and she’s into 2nd, just 0.05 off the win! Marta Bassino has lost time to 1 and she’s red by 2, still in touch at 3 though and into 4th; Mikaela Shiffrin next, just green at 1 and slightly red at 2, redder at 3 – big error, I wonder if she’s still not at full power – into 3rd. Sara Hector has gained to 1, lost a bit to 2, gained to 3 and she leads by 0.52 despite an error as the sun turns to shade – almost down but what a recovery. Just Petra Vlhova to come – dead level at 1 and 2, just green at 3 and she’s missed it by 0.15. Sara Hector takes the win, ahead of Vlhova and Worley – well done to them. Brignone in 4th, ahead of Shiffrin and Stjernesund. In the Overall Shiffrin is now just 17 points [not pints as I wrote last time] ahead of Vlhova, both well clear of Goggia. Sara Hector has increased her lead in the GS standings – she’s on 462, to Worley’s 367 with Shiffrin just behind on 361.

Schladming [Planai] – Men’s Slalom, 25 Jan 22: Joined this fractionally late – just as Manu Feller, back from a Covid break, completed his run as the first away. The course for run 1 set by Pinturault’s coach. Henrik Kristoffersen is 0.32 green at inter 1 and nearly a second ahead at 2, even better at 3 then losing a little but still 0.73 ahead at the finish! Ramon Zenhaeusern is red all the way and 2nd, +0.72; Loic Meillard is much more in touch on the upper sections but he’s only got the green light as he crosses the finish line – into the lead by just 0.03! Clement Noel red at 1, green at 2 and 0.47 green at 3 – he leads by an impressive 0.52 but can he manage a second run today? Seb Foss-Solevaag has made an error early on and into 4th, +0.80; Marco Schwarz has lost a lot from 2 to 3 and he’s only 5th. Alexis Pinturault much too aggressive out of the gate and that’s a big error – he’s made another one too and he’s out! Kristoffer Jakobsen green at 1 and 2, more ahead at 3 and a superb final sector – in fact fastest in every sector to lead by 0.67 – that was really some run! Linus Strasser into 3rd, +0.82; Zubcic out early on – that is a very slick piste! A nice run from Lucas Braathen – he’s into joint 2nd with Noel. Alex Vinatzer into 8th; Dave Ryding is bib 14 – just red at 1 but 0.50 red at 2 – into 7th, +1.40. Daniel Yule into 9th – 15 away and Jakobsen leads from Braathen/Noel and Strasser. That’s another amazing run from Giuliano Razzoli into 2nd, +0.58; Johannes Strolz green at 1, just red at 2 but he’s out. Fabio Gstrein also out; Tanguy Nef into 6th from bib 21. Alex Khoroshilov is green at 2, twisted up but back on track and he goes 6th; Albert Popov into 8th. Stefano Gross into 13th from bib 29. Thirty away – Jakobsen leads form Razzoli and Braathen/Noel. That’s a good run from Atle Lie McGrath – bib 34 and he’s into 7th; that’s Kristoffersen out of the top 10 and Dave Ryding down to 13th – oops, make that 14th as Reto Schmidiger has taken over that spot. Late news – Ben Ritchie [CAN, bib 44] into joint 11th – with Kristoffersen! That was the last change to the top 20 – run 1 over – Billy Major was in 25th, so he will get a 2nd run today; Laurie Taylor in 36th, but all 3 GBR skiers made it down, which over 30 starters didn’t manage!

I missed run 2 in favour of Burns Night - here's the FIS intro to the second run - In the first run, Kristoffer Jakobsen (SWE) had put in an incredibly powerful first run to claim first place with a 0.58-second lead ahead of Italian, Giuliano Razzoli and 0.67 seconds ahead of Lucas Braathan (NOR) and Clement Noel (FRA) both in third. However, in the second run, only two of the four manage to finish their run. Noel finished in 9th place whilst Braathen finished in 12th. Unfortunately for the leader and runner up of the first run, they didn’t manage to complete their second run. So, what did happen - well, as seems to be the norm for Slalom races these days Manu Feller, who finished 28th in run 1, was the man to beat. His time was good enough to hold off the next 20 starters, until at last Atle Lie McGrath, still recovering from a hand operation, took over the lead. Feller held off all but 1 of the next skiers to end up in 3rd place, while Linus Strasser had a storming run to pass both Feller and McGrath and take the win - another amazing and probably quite unexpected result! Kristoffersen finished 4th ahead of Vinatzer and Foss Solevaag, and Billy Major finished joint 18th with Ramon Zenhaeusern, and ahead of Dave Ryding in 20th!

Garmisch-Partenkirchen [Kandahar] – Women’s Downhill, 29 Jan 22: I did try to watch a little of the European championship biathlon before the downhill – snow falling and very strong winds – not nice! The penalty loop is busy! Aspenes takes gold – impressive shooting in those conditions, with Pashchenko [without hat and glasses, and having somehow thrown away a pole too] taking silver with Fratzscher in bronze after a superb final shoot – all 5 in a gale! Anyway, back to GAP and the downhill. Good news that Sofia Goggia is back training after her recent fall and will hopefully still go to the Olympics. Nice to see Garmisch again – many happy hours spent on that hill, although not in a race prepared state! It’s quite gloomy today, overcast and with the threat of stronger winds and maybe rain? Mich Gagnon first away today – there are some quite big curving turns on the course – 113.8 kph through the final gun and safely down. Ariane Raedler green at 2, red at 3 and 4 but only by a few hundredths, green again at 5 and she takes the lead by 0.11. Tamara Tippler red at 2, less red at 3 and 4, redder at 5 and into 3rd. Nick is right that the TV pictures don’t really do the hill justice – it’s much steeper than it looks! Priska Nufer into 3rd; Nadia Delago nicely green at 2 and even better at 3, slightly slow through the final gun though and she leads by just 0.09. Connie Hütter in touch at 2, 3 and 4 and slightly green at 5; a bit ragged in places but that’s a good finish to take over the lead by 0.07! Corinne Suter is also going well – green all the way and 0.65 green at inter 5 – she leads by a massive 0.78! Elisabeth Reisinger best through the final sector to go 4th; Kira Weidle rather off the pace and slower through the speed guns but she has pulled back time from inter 5 to go 3rd! Stephanie Venier into 8th; Ilka Stuhec slowest so far. Jasmine Flury very close at inter 4 and into 2nd, despite a couple epics – great recoveries; Ramona Siebenhofer tipped to do well today but quite red at inter 2 after a line error early on and it’s getting away from, her – 12th! At present Suter leads from Flury and Hütter – Swiss in 1 and 2 – then Weidle, Delago and Reisinger. The light is very flat today, which isn’t helping. That’s a good run from Joana Haehlen to inter 5, with a podium beckoning – then a big error, just made the gate and she’s 8th – good recovery though. Federica Brignone has apparently had a stomach bug and it shows – she’s 18th. Nicol Delago in touch to 3, then losing a bit and she’s fallen close to the finish – she’s up and moving, seems OK. It seems the snow may be softening a little; that and the flat light aren’t helping the later starters. That’s 30 away – no change to the top 6; Haehlen [bib 16] the highest bib in the top 10, in 8th. Nadine Fest [bib 23] in 19th is the highest bib number in the top 20. That’s the race over – just 41 starters due largely to the proximity of the Olympics. Well done to Corinne Suter and Jasmine Flury – top 2 podium places to the Swiss, with Connie Hütter taking the final place for Austria. Weidle in 4th ahead of Nadia Delago and Reisinger.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen [Kandahar] – Women’s Super G, 30 Jan 22: A lowered start and a slightly more turning course, set by an American coach, but arguably more like a downhill than a Super G? Once again a little warm with rain forecast for later. It seems Brignone has had food poisoning and hasn’t eaten for 3 or 4 days – not ideal given the physicality of the hill here! Mirjam Puchner is first away today – safely down so let’s see how that time stands up. Laura Gauche is over a second off at inter 2 and she’s 1.09 behind at the finish – she lost quite a bit on the flatter upper sections. Tamara Tippler is more in touch at inter 2 and 0.33 green at 3 – slower on the final sector though and she takes the lead by just 0.01! Joana Haehlen has made up some time from inter 3 to go 3rd, +0.21; Elena Curtoni fast through the upper gun but too red at inter 3 and into 4th, despite being quickest on the final sector. Nicol Delago racing today after a crash yesterday – green at 1 and 2 but then losing time to go 5th; Federica Brignone next and she’s really green at 2 and 3 – quickest through the speed guns too and she leads by 0.82 – amazing! Corinne Suter in touch at 1 but red at 2 and she’s into joint 4th with Haehlen; only briefly though as Nadine Fest has taken over that place. Odd to see Marta Bassino, a favourite for the Olympic GS a week tomorrow, still here and racing – into 10th, was it worth it? Now someone who has made today’s race worthwhile is Connie Hütter – in touch all the way and she’s tied with Brignone in first place! Fifteen away – Hütter and Brignone lead ahead of Tippler, Puchner, Fest and Suter/Haehlen - two ties in the top 6! Not any more – Romane Miradoli into 6th from bib 19. That’s a good run by Jasmina Suter [bib 27], into 7th! I thought Roberta Melesi might do something similar but from inter 2 it’s going away from her – into 14th! That’s 30 away Hütter/Brignone still leading from Tippler, Puchner, Fest and Miradoli. Good efforts by Noemie Kolly [bib 31] into 15th, Julia Pleshkova [30] into 18th where she was joined by Nadia Delago [35]. Congratulations to Connie Hütter and especially Federica Brignone – a very impressive performance with no fuel! That puts Brignone 103 points clear of Elena Curtoni in the Super G standings, on 477 points with Goggia 3rd. The top 2 places in the overall remain unchanged but Brignone is now up to 3rd, on 772 points to Shiffrin’s 1026.

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Mixed Relay, 5 Feb 22: Two 6 Km legs for the women, then 2 x 7.5 legs by the men; interesting to hear that Austria have already taken a bronze in the cross country skiathlon. This is going to be tough – minus 14 degrees here for this race and probably windy too – lots of spindrift around. Nice intro by Martin Fourcade! The race is on – everyone well wrapped up with face tape well in evidence. The Öberg sisters are taking legs 1 and 2 for Sweden, Hanna first; at 1 Km Alimbekava leads from Røiseland and Nigmatullina but the leading 10 are separated by only 4.1 seconds. The pace has slowed as they come in for S1 – conditions are not good – wind and spindrift! Røiseland having trouble with her sights; amazingly Lisa Vittozzi has cleared all 5 and she’s away in the lead, ahead of Minkkinen and Meng of China. Alimbekava in 4th after using 1 spare, then Hanna Öberg [2], +8.9. Røiseland in 10th after her problems; Voigt 17th after 1 loop, just ahead of Baserga [SUI, 1 loop], Semerenko has done 2 loops and Irena Fialkova is last after 3 penalty loops. Vittozzi in for her standing shoot – first one wide, rest down and out with 1 spare. Røiseland is clear and she’s out 2nd – great recovery, she’s just 0.5 back. Hanna Öberg [1 spare] out 3rd, +7.8; Alimbekava [1] in touch ahead of Minkkinen [0, +45.6] and Nigmatullina. Schwaiger has done a penalty loop, so has Anais C-B and Voigt is doing another loop here too. Marte Olsbu Røiseland is past Vittozzi on the lap – at Exchange 1 Norway leads Italy by a massive 16.7 as she hands over to Tiril Eckhoff, who has Doro Wierer chasing her. Belarus in 3rd, then SWE/RUS [as ROC]/SUI – France in 8th, China have dropped 12th, Germany in 15th. At 7 Km Eckhoff is 24.6 ahead of Wierer, with Sola now just 4 seconds back and Elvira Öberg has pulled back 5 seconds from the exchange. In for S3 and Eckhoff possibly hasn’t noticed that the wind has dropped – she’s missed 3 and is on the penalty loop. It’s Doro Wierer [1 spare] who leads out 13.6 ahead of Eckhoff, with Sola [3 spares] 3rd, ahead of Reztsova, Elvira [3], and Davidova [0]. Final shoot for the women – Eckhoff first into the range and she’s missed 2 already but Doro has missed 3 – the wind is playing havoc! It’s Doro Wierer [3 spares] who leads out, ahead of Julia Simon [0] with Clare Egan [USA, 0] in 3rd. Elvira Öberg [2] in 4th, +29.3, with Eckhoff [2 penalty loops] +44.3 with Hanna Sola [2 loops] in 6th. Herrmann [3 spares] is 10th. Second Exchange – Elvira and Tiril have gained some time on the lap; Simon is past Wierer – It’s France who lead away, with Jacquelin 4.1 ahead of Bormolini, then SWE/USA/NOR/BLR. At 13 Km Jacquelin has opened the gap to Bormolini and has also gained a few seconds on Ponsiluoma, 10 seconds on Tarjei Bø, who is past Doherty and into 3rd. I wonder if he’s going too hard – we’ll see at S1! So far Japan, Bulgaria and Slovenia are lapped and out. In for S1 – the wind has died, Jacquelin has all 5 with no spares and he’s away – Bormolini and Ponsiluoma both also clear and out just over 20 seconds back. Tarjei also clear, +46.1, ahead of Doherty [1 spare], who is just ahead of Loginov [0]. Ponsiluoma is past Bormolini as the leaders come in for S6; Jacquelin has missed 4 and 5 and he’s struggling to feed the rounds and the wind is up again – he’s on the penalty loop, and it’s 2 loops! It’s Loginov [2 spares] who leads out ahead of Doherty [0] and Ponsiluoma [3], +4.6; Jacquelin in 4th, +5.9, then Bormolini [1 loop] and Tarjei Bø [3 spares]. At the final exchange the Russian Olympic Committee lead – Latypov has a 17.1 second advantage over Samuelsson who is just fractionally ahead of Quentin Fillon Maillet . USA in 4th, then NOR/BLR/ITA/SUI. At the next timing point Samuelsson hasn’t closed but Johannes Thingnes Bø is gaining on QFM. Latypov in for S7 and he’s missed number 4 – 1 spare and out; QFM [1 spare] out +22.5 just ahead of JoBø [2 spares] and Samuelsson [2]; Stalder [SUI] clear and up to 5th ahead of Smolski [BLR, 2]. Schommer [USA] has done a penalty loop and dropped to 7th. On the lap QFM, JoBø and Samuelsson are all gaining, Nawrath has Germany up to 6th. Final shoot – Latypov has missed 1 – out with 1 spare but QFM is clear and just 1.9 back. JoBø used 1 spare and he’s 9.3 back with Samuelsson [0] another 5 seconds back then a big gap to Nawrath in 5th. This is all very close on the final lap – at 23 Km Latypov is just ahead of QFM and JoBø, then an 18 second gap to Samuelsson – this is going to be a great race for the line! JoBø is pulling clear and Norway [3+13] take gold, then France [3+11] in silver and Russia [ROC, 1+13] bronze. Amazing to see gold and silver going to countries with 3 penalty loops! All credit to JoBø who timed that perfectly and got Norway to gold! Sweden in 4th, then Germany and Belarus with USA in 7th. That’s 2 golds to Norway so far as Johaug won the skiathlon! Sadly the first Alpine race, the men’s downhill, is scheduled for 0400 tomorrow – I might give that a miss live!

Olympic Games – Alpine notes – day 1: As the races mainly take place in the middle of the night, I’m not seeing them live! The first result in was from the Men’s Downhill, delayed for a day because of high winds. Beat Feuz came here in fine form, after winning the Kitzbühel downhill and his run was the one to beat here too – he takes his first Olympic gold medal! I was delighted to see Johan Clarey taking the silver – he’s now the oldest medallist in alpine skiing, taking over Bode Miller’s record – Miller won at 36 years and 127 days – Clarey is 41 years and 29 days! The bronze went to Matthias Mayer, who was in the lead until Feuz took over, but he already has 2 golds from previous games, so that might be some consolation! Interesting to see James Crawford in 4th, just 0.07 behind Mayer and a personal best for him. Kilde in 5th, ahead of Dominik Paris with Marco Odermatt in 7th.

Women’s GS, run 2 – 7 Feb 22: Some real surprises on run 1, the biggest being Mikaela Shiffrin falling after just 5 turns! Run 1 was dominated by Sara Hector, ahead of Katharina Truppe and Federica Brignone. This course was set by an Austrian coach and isn’t as tight as run 1. As I was awake I thought I’d try to see run 2 live; first away was Emma Aicher – the commentary team reckoned Asa Ando might take the lead but she went into the red at inter 2 and finished +0.47. Alex Tilley not at her best and skiing in considerable pain from an ankle injury – green all the way to inter 3 but then losing time and into 2nd, +0.30. Coralie Frasse Sombet started with 0.61 in hand – up to almost a second ahead by inter 1 and she’s still gaining – into the lead by 1.92, what a run! Alice Robinson is having set up problems - she changed things after a disappointing first run but it’s not working; into 3rd, +2.22. Elena Curtoni into 2nd; Clara Direz red at inter 3 and into 2nd – France 1 and 2. Hanna Aronsson Elfman, the junior world champion, is going well but she’s missed a gate and out. Tina Robnik gained to inter 1 but then losing time – she’s into 2nd, +0.30. That’s 10 away, Coralie FS leads from Robnik and Direz. Andrea Slokar out while over a second ahead; Ramona Siebenhofer has fallen 3 gates from the finish – this grippy snow is taking its toll! Maria Therese Tviberg has lost a lot from 2 to 3 but she still has a lot in hand and at last the lead changes – Tviberg 0.53 ahead. Paula Moltzan has gained a fair amount to inter 1, two big errors, a great recovery and into the red at 2, just green at 3 and she finishes dead level with Tviberg! Ana Bucik quite red at inter 1 but she’s pulled back a good amount of that by 2 and she’s green at 3 – she leads by 0.18! Thea Louise Stjernesund has gained from 1 to 2 and still well green at 3 – she leads by exactly 1 second! Petra Vlhova next - she’s red at inter 1, and losing time all the way – into 5th and not happy with this snow. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel is more in touch than some and just back green at 3 – into 2nd, +0.22. Wendy Holdener red by inter 3 and into 3rd; Michelle Gisin in 4th and another break – Stjernesund leads from Gasienica-Daniel and Holdener. Lara Gut-Behrami didn’t start well but she’s kept it green and she’s gained from 2 to 3 – she leads by 0.48! Nina O’Brien pushing hard but she’s down almost at the finish – nasty crash and she’s not getting up – there’s a delay to the race and no real information about O’Brien yet. She’s in a sled and off to hospital. That was a long wait for Ragnhild Mowinckel – she’s gained a little to inter 1, lost a bit to 2 though and red at 3 – she’s into 2nd; Meta Hrovat into the red at 3 as well and she’s slipped to 4th. Federica Brignone next with a massive 1.09 in hand – it’s slowly slipping away but she still has 0.50 green at 3 – she leads by 0.44. Two to go – Katharina Truppe gained a little to 1 but she’s just red at 2and redder at 3 – a few small timing errors and into 3rd. Just Sara Hector to come – 0.42 in hand – she’s gained a little to 1, lost some of it to 2 and 3 but that’s a good final sector to gain time – she wins by 0.28! She’s understandably delighted – gold to Sara Hector; Federica Brignone takes silver and Lara Gut-Behrami gets bronze – good race! Now, unlike the World Cup, the run 1 racers who finished outside the top 30 now have a second run; that’s going to take a while.

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Women’s 15 Km Individual, 7 Feb 22: Another cold day – minus 11 at the start but maybe not so windy as it was in the mixed relay! Marte Olsbu Røiseland first away today; Doro Wierer away with bib 4. At 1.9 Km Røiseland is currently the fastest, and she’s in for S1 – lucky with the first, but she has missed one other one – that’s a full minute added. It’s Polona Klemencic [SLO] who is the first to go clear, but Doro Wierer has matched that and she’s 35.7 faster. Paulina Fialkova clear at S1 but 19.9 behind Doro; Denise Herrmann has just cleared S1 and out 3.1 faster than Wierer. Lisa Theresa Hauser clear at S1, +9.9 and Anais Chevalier-Bouchet is also clear and out 2nd, +2.2. Marketa Davidova clear too, +10.4; Hanna Öberg clear as well, out +4.7. Røiseland at S2 and clear this time; Tiril Eckhoff at S1 – all 5 down and out 9 seconds ahead of Herrmann. At S2 Doro has missed 1, out +18.3; Denise Herrmann clear again at S2 – the only 10/10 at present and out 41.2 ahead of Røiseland. Elvira Öberg clear at S1 and 4.2 faster than Eckhoff; Hanna Sola has missed 3 at S1 though. Anais C-B also 10/10 and just 6.6 behind Herrmann; poor Lisa Vittozzi was fine in the relay but she’s missed all 5 at S1. Davidova is also 10/10 and in touch; Hanna Öberg has missed 2 at S2, and so has Tiril Eckhoff. Røiseland clear at S3 [1,0,0]; Wierer clear at S3 and that was quite fast. Herrmann shooting slowly at S3 but she’s missed 1 and out +33.6; Elvira Öberg has missed 1 at S2. No one has cleared all 15 so far. Ah, now there is a 15/15 – Anais Chevalier-Bouchet clear and 25.8 ahead of Røiseland; Marketa Davidova also 15/15 and 10.6 behind Anais C-B. Røiseland has missed 1 more at S4; back at S3 Deedra Irwin [USA] is also 15/15 and out 4th, but only just ahead of Røiseland’s time there. Wierer has missed 2 at S4; back at S2 Dzinara Alimbekava is 10/10 and just 3 seconds off Herrmann’s time there. Speaking of Denise – she’s clear at S4 and out 15.6 ahead of Røiseland. At S3 Elvira Öberg has missed 2 more; back to S4 where Anais C-B has missed her first target. At S3 Alimbekava is 15/15 and faster than Anais C-B was there; at S2 Julia Simon is clear and out in first place. Pity – Davidova has missed her final shot, and Irwin has also missed 1 at S4. Denise Herrmann is flying on her final lap – taking time out of Røiseland and Anais C-B, although the Frenchwoman has pulled back a little from 12.9 to 13.9 – Herrmann has faded a little on the final kilometre but over the line in the lead. Julia Simon has missed 1 at S3; Anais C-B over the line just 9.4 behind Herrmann – she made up a lot from 12.9 Km! Now, Alimbekava is at S4 – her pulse is 170 – just 1 miss and out +11.9 just behind Anais C-B and Herrmann. Julia Simon has missed 3 at her final shoot, Alimbekava has lost time on her last lap – over the line 4th at present. I must have missed that and so have the commentary team – Vanessa Voigt [1,0,0,0] out after S4 in 5th place! She’s over the line in 4th at present – just 0.2 behind Røiseland; what a great race for her! That’s a pity – Reztsova in touch as she comes in for S3 but she’s missed 2 there – it did look to me like her rifle was a bit canted? I can see only one 20/20 at present – Iryna Petrenko [UKR] but she didn’t have the ski speed to capitalise on it. Nice to see Franzi Preuß back after her ankle injury – 4 misses though. That seems to be it – all the options to upset the top 6 have had snags with the final shoots, so very well done to Denise Herrmann [0,0,1,0] who wins the gold – Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [0,0,0,1] takes silver and Marte Olsbu Røiseland [1,0,0,1] gets bronze despite the 2 misses adding 2 full minutes to her time. A great race by Vanessa Voigt [1,0,0,0] to finish 4th, ahead of Alimbekava and Davidova [both with 1 miss]. A good result for Irwin too, finishing 7th. There is one other 20/20 that I can see, apart from Petrenko [who finished 11th] – Ukaleq Astri Slettemark [who races for Denmark although she’s actually from Greenland] – great shooting but she needs better skis!  Tiril Eckhoff [0,2,0,3] fastest around the course ahead of Røiseland and Herrmann. A good day for the Germans – 2 in the top 6!

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Men’s 20 Km Individual, 8 Feb 22: A nice looking, sunny day but the dry, cold conditions could make ski preparation tricky. The race is on – JoBø away bib 2 – probably not that happy about going so early? Tarjei Bø also going early – bib 5; the early starters are in for S1 – Maksim Tsvetkov is clear and out, JoBø has missed his second shot. Back at 2.9 Km looking at the timings JoBø is about 20 seconds faster than everyone so far, except Tsvetkov. Tarjei is at S1 and he’s clear but out 18 seconds behind Tsvetkov. Oh dear – Johannes Kühn has missed 3 at S1 – possibly a bit unlucky with at least 1 miss? Scott Gow clear and fast, taking advantage of a calm patch; Quentin Fillon Maillet also clear and he leads at present after S1, just ahead of Tsvetkov with G ow 3rd, +16.4. Martin Ponsiluoma was 2nd at 2.9 Km behind JoBø but he’s missed 2 at S1; at S2 Tsvetkov is clear and away, 32.4 ahead of JoBø who was clear here too. Back at S1 Pidruchnyi is clear and out 3rd; Christiansen has missed 1. At S2 again Tarjei Bø is 10/10 but he’s only 2.4 ahead of his younger brother so his ski speed is a bit off today. At S1 Emilien Jacquelin is clear and just 2.2 slower than QFM; Smolski also clear and in touch. Scott Gow has missed 1 at S2 and so has QFM; Alex Loginov fast into S1, clear and out 6.2 ahead of QFM! Seb Samuelsson in for S1 and he missed his first shot – his ski time isn’t that good either at present. Still just 3 10/10 after S2 – Tsvetkov, Tarjei Bø and Eder. Tsevtkov and JoBø are at S3 – both clear and the Russian leads out 28.3 ahead. Christiansen is at S2 and he’s missed another 2; Tarjei Bø clear at S3 but over 15 seconds behind JoBø as he leaves the range. Jacquelin has missed 3 at S2 – so has Erik Lesser; QFM [0,1,1,] and Loginov has missed 1 at S2. Laegreid at S1 and he’s missed his first target – rest clear; Eder has missed 1 at S3. At 14.9 Km JoBø has pretty much cut Tsvetkov’s advantage in half. Christian Gow at S2 – he’s gone 10/10 but that was a slow shoot. Final shoot for them – and JoBø is leading in – he’s missed 1 but Tsvetkov has missed his final shot – he’s out just 11 seconds ahead of JoBø. Back at S2 Anton Smolski is 10/10 and out 2nd, +20.7, ahead of Windisch [0,0] a further 7 seconds or so back. Tarjei is at S4 and he too has missed his final shot; at 16.9 Km JoBø has closed the gap to Tsvetkov to just 1.4 seconds! Behind them QFM [0,1,1,0] is clear and out 20.2 ahead of JoBø; Scott Gow [0,1,0,0] out 4th, comfortably ahead of Tarjei. At 18.9 Km JoBø leads but Tsvetkov has managed to stay within 1.5 seconds of him – JoBø is over the finish line and this time the gap to Tsvetkov is 3.8 seconds – that’s good. Back at S3 Loginov is clear and out 2nd, just ahead of JoBø’s time; Smolski 15/15 and faster than Tarjei there. At 18.9 Km QFM has gained time on JoBø; at S3 Benedikt Doll [1,0,0] is out 5th. At the finish QFM [0,1,1,0] is over the line 31.1 ahead of Johannes Thingnes Bø, Maksim Tsvetkov in 3rd at the moment! At S4 Loginov has missed 2 but Anton Smolski has cleared all 20 and is out 2.1 ahead of QFM. I can’t see any other 20/20 scores at present. I see Windisch missed 1 at S3, so has Roman Rees who was 10/10. Doll into S4 with a good time but he’s missed 1 there. At 18.9 Km Smolski has tucked in behind Loginov and he’s nicely clear of JoBø’s time with just over a kilometre to go. Smolski is over the line in 2nd, dropping JoBø to bronze at present. Roman Rees [0,0,1,0] clear at S4 and out 7th, just behind Doll, but he’s losing time early on the final lap. Doll over the line in 6th, just behind Scott Gow. At S4 Mikulas Karlik came in 15/15 but the pressure is immense and he’s missed 3; I think that’s the podium sorted? Laegreid [1,1,1,0], Martin Fourcade’s tip for the win, over the line in 14th – Roman Rees finishes in 7th, ahead of Tarjei Bø and just behind Benedikt Doll. I can see only one other 20/20 apart from Smolski – Vladislav Kireyev but he’s over 3 minutes back on QFM’s time. A lot of the pre-race favourites seem to have missed 3 each – Loginov, Latypov, Ponsiluoma, Laegreid, Christiansen, Samuelsson, Desthieux, Pidruchnyi and Fak. Well, that’s it – everyone through S4 and no changes to the top 10 likely barring a miracle! Very well done to Quentin Fillon Maillet – what a race given he missed 2 targets, but still took the gold medal! I don’t think he expected that given the misses but the other major contenders also missed – that’s biathlon! Brilliant shooting by Anton Smolski to get him a very well deserved silver medal, with JoBø taking the bronze by just 3.8 seconds from Maksim Tsvetkov! Scott Gow in a very creditable 5th place ahead of Doll, Rees, Tarjei Bø, Fabien Claude and Loginov. No great surprise that QFM was fastest around the course ahead of JoBø and Loginov. Ponsiluoma best of the Swedes in 12th with Windisch in 14th.

Olympic Games – Alpine notes – day 2/3: Men’s Super G 8 Feb: Well, another one for the history books;  Matthias Mayer, claimed gold in the men’s Super G to become the first male skier to win three Olympic gold medals in successive Games. Having won the downhill at Sochi 2014 and the Super G at PyeongChang 2018, the reigning Super G Olympic Champion retained his title. After a disappointing run in the downhill, Ryan Cochran-Siegle had a much better day today, finishing just 0.04 behind Mayer to take the silver medal – his first Olympic medal and his first podium finish of the season. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is having a couple of off days by his standards and lost time on the lower sector in the Super G but did enough to claim the bronze medal, +0.42 – again that’s his first Olympic medal. To my surprise both Beat Feuz and Marco Odermatt did not finish their runs; Adrian Smiseth Sejersted was 4th with Vincent Kriechmayr, the 2021 Super G World Champion,  missing out on a podium place by 0.34, ending up 5th.  James Crawford had another good day finishing 6th.  

There is an interesting report on the “artificial snow” in today’s Telegraph, which updates the Nina O’Brien crash and also mentions Dominik Schwaiger’s exit from the downhill. Apparently Schwaiger, who crashed while he was just the second skier away on the downhill course, after catching an edge, was reported to have gone through the safety netting [not very reassuring!] and slid for about 400 metres before coming to a halt on a remote section of the course; he was taken away on a toboggan and airlifted to hospital – apparently with a broken arm. I have still heard little about Nina O’Brien but it is reported that she has had surgery on a compound fracture of her left tibia and fibula and will be flying back to the USA for further treatment.

Women’s Slalom 9 Feb 22: Well, this is painful for a Shiffrin fan – for the second time in 2 races here, Mikaela didn’t complete her first run. Sadly the same was true for a number of others including Truppe, Tviberg, Hrovat and Alex Tilley. After the first run, Lena Dürr (GER) was leading the pack with a 0.03-second lead on Michelle Gisin (SUI). Sitting in third was GS Olympic gold medallist, Sara Hector (SWE) 0.12 seconds behind Dürr. Petra Vlhova was sitting in 8th. She had an absolutely storming performance in run 2 though to take over a lead which she never lost – gold medal to Petra Vlhova, and very well deserved after that comeback. After finishing 7th in her first run, Katharina Liensberger (AUT), fought back and managed to claim a 2nd place [+0.56] finish and so the silver Olympic medal. At first, Swiss skier Wendy Holdener wasn’t sure whether her performance would be enough to claim an Olympic medal. Nonetheless, the Swiss persevered and claimed the bronze, 0.07 seconds ahead of the first-run leader, Lena Dürr, who finished 4th. GS Olympic gold medallist, Sara Hector (SWE), was sitting in 2nd place after her first run. However, during her second run, the Swede skied out and didn’t finish her race; neither did Brignone and Holtmann. Charlie Guest 21st. Sigh!

Olympic Games – Alpine notes, Men’s Alpine Combined: The story of Johannes Strolz (AUT) continues to surprise and inspire. Before the 2021/22 season, the Austrian was dropped from the national team due to poor results. Nonetheless, Strolz wanted to pursue his Olympic dream so had to manage all of his equipment and training by himself. All of Strolz’s hard work and determination paid off when he claimed his first World Cup victory in the Adelboden slalom. Today, Strolz claimed his first Olympic medal and made Olympic history. In 1988, Johannes Strolz’s father, Hubert Strolz (AUT) won the gold medal in the alpine combined. The two become the first father-son duo to win Olympic medals in the same discipline. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) claims his second Olympic medal after claiming the bronze in the men’s Super G and silver in today’s alpine combined. The Norwegian placed first in the first run downhill and then put in a surprisingly strong slalom performance, which earned him 2nd place. Kilde has never competed in a World Cup slalom race and his last slalom result was in 2013 in a FIS event where he placed 14th. Canadian, James Crawford has continued his strong performance at these Winter Olympics. Narrowly missing the downhill podium after placing 4th, then placing 6th in the Super G, Crawford managed to finally claim his first Olympic podium by placing 3rd in today’s alpine combined. Finishing 2nd in the first run downhill race, only 0.02 seconds behind Kilde, Crawford was in a good spot heading into the slalom. Pushing until the end, he managed to claim his first bronze Olympic medal, which he thinks might be due to him shaving off his moustache after the Super G? Alexis Pinturault did not finish his slalom run after having a crash, while Marco Schwarz placed 5th just behind Justin Murisier (SUI). A new name to me is Barnabas Szollos [ISR], who finished 6th – only 17 competitors finished both runs! FIS report is HERE

Olympic Games – Alpine notes, Women’s Super G, 11 Feb 22: I think many expected this race to be won by an Italian, but today the best Italian, Federica Brignone, was only 7th. The Swiss skier, Lara Gut-Behrami has had quite the roller-coaster of a season but today put in a strong run to claim her first Olympic gold medal. She finished 0.22 seconds ahead of Austrian, Mirjam Puchner, and becomes the first Swiss skier to win gold in the Olympic Super G event. Gut-Behrami isn’t new to the Olympic podium, in 2014 she claimed the bronze in the downhill and a few days ago the bronze in the Beijing 2022 GS. She now holds the title of Olympic and World Champion in the women’s Super G. It was a surprising day for Mirjam Puchner (AUT) as she claims silver in her Olympic debut. Puchner’s first Super G World Cup podium only came a few months ago where she claimed 3rd in the Super G in Lake Louise. The bronze medal went to Michelle Gisin – all very close as she was just 0.08 behind Puchner and just 0.03 ahead of Tamara Tippler who finished 4th – arguably the worst position in the race! Ester Ledecka who won both this event and the snowboard PGS at the previous winter Olympics had already won gold in the snowboard event here but was unable to repeat the double, finishing 5th, with Ragnhild Mowinckel in 6th. Mikaela Shiffrin finished 9th, Sofia Goggia wasn’t racing today.

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 11 Feb 22: A bit overcast today and not so cold; Tiril Eckhoff has bib 1 and she’s away – quite a good pace too! A good number of the favourites have opted for group 1, although most of the Swedes have chosen groups 2 and 3 instead – interesting to  see how that works out? Interesting that Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is just fractionally faster than Tiril Eckhoff on lap 1. Marte Olsbu Røiseland now fastest at 1.5 Km; Eckhoff is at S1 and she’s missed 1. Justine B-B has also missed one and her final shot took 19 seconds or so! Katharina Innerhofer clear and away, but Røiseland is also clear and out 10.4 ahead! Reztsova, whose mother won a gold on this day 11 years ago, and Herrmann have both missed 1 at S1 – Reztsova has the better ski time. Tiril in for S2 and there is no data on screen about her targets – she’s missed 1 more it seems; Røiseland has cleared all 10 today and she’s away. Alina Stremous has also cleared all 10 but she’s +54.3; Justine B-B is 1,2 and Reztsova is 1,1. Back at S1 Doro Wierer has cleared all 5 and out just 4.4 behind Røiseland; Alimbekava clear at S1 but +18.2. At S2 Innerhofer has missed 2, Herrmann 1 more. At 4 Km Doro has lost almost 15 seconds to Røiseland, who is heading for the finish line. Back at S1 Hauser is clear and in touch as is Tandrevold; Paulina Fialkova was clear at S1 but missed 1 at S2. Doro is at S2 and she’s back to her fast shooting – all 10 down and out 12.9 behind Røiseland. Alimbekava has missed her 10th shot; Elvira Öberg at S1 and clear – out 0.4 ahead of Røiseland; Tandrevold has gone 10/10 and out 3rd after S2. Lisa Theresa Hauser also 10/10 and faster than Tandrevold. Doro Wierer is over the finish line, into 2nd +37.2. At S1 Hanna Öberg has missed 1; her younger sister has lost 13 seconds to Røiseland by the 4 Km timing point. Elvira is in for S2 – that’s very slow shooting but all 10 down and out +24.6. Hauser over the line and into 3rd at present, knocking Tandrevold off the podium – Tandrevold is still on the ground trying to recover! At S1 Yuliia Dzhima is clear and just faster than Hauser; Hanna Öberg is 1,2. At 6.5 Km Elvira is closing on Wierer’s time, just 1.3 behind; she’s over the line in 2nd place! There are some seriously tired athletes at the finish! Back at S2 Dzhima has missed 1; Franzi Preuß has missed 2 but it’s good to see her back. At present the podium is Røiseland, Elvira Öberg and Wierer; Hauser in 4th ahead of Tandrevold and Reztsova – there doesn’t seem any threat to those places at present?  Yes, all over with no change to the top 6 – Røiseland takes the gold medal this time, Elvira Öberg the silver and Doro Wierer the bronze – all hitting all 10. Yuliia Dzhima [bib 57] the highest bib number in the top 10, in 8th. Anais Bescond best of the French in 9th, and Vanessa Voigt [0,0] best German but +1:31.4 and just 18th. Well done to the medal winners – Røiseland 30.9 seconds ahead at the finish! Doro fastest on the range, ahead of Vittozzi and Hauser; Røiseland quickest around the course ahead of Sola and Reztsova.

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 12 Feb 22: Positively balmy at present – just minus 8, but the wind is picking up a little. It seems to be a father and son commentary team – worked well yesterday! The Swedes have again opted for Group 2, rather than Group 1 where most of the other big names are starting? Kalev Ermits [EST] is the first away; at 2.2 Km the early leader is Philipp Nawrath – at S1 Simon Desthieux is the first to go clear and lead out, Ermits has missed 2. Nawrath has missed 1, Vladimir Iliev clear and just 1.6 behind. Christiansen started slowly but has increased the pace as he heads for S1 – seemed a good plan but he’s missed 2; so has Alex Loginov – at present it’s Maxim Tsvetkov who is leading after S1. Latypov has missed 2 as well; back at 2.2 Km JoBø is fastest – 9.6 ahead of QFM. JoBø is at S1 and clear – he’s 20.1 ahead of Pidruchnyi who was leading after S1! QFM at S1 and he’s missed 1; bit lucky with a couple others too! Desthieux at S2, 2 misses; JoBø is flying – at 4.2 Km he’s pulled out another 10 seconds on Pidruchnyi and more on Tsvetkov. Nawrath is now 1,2; Iliev has also missed 2 at S2. Smolski clear at S1 and just faster than Tsvetkov there, +24.8 behind JoBø. Tsvetkov is the first to get 10/10; at S1 Martin Ponsiluoma is clear, +15.9. At S2 JoBø is in for his standing shoot – just 1 miss and after his penalty loop he’s out 30.7 ahead of Tsvetkov! QFM clear at S2 but he was 50 seconds behind as he came into the range – he’s out +28.2. Smolski has missed 1 at S2; Ponsiluoma has missed 2. Tarjei Bø is 0,1; out ahead of Pidruchnyi, Ponsiluoma and Smolski. Doll has also missed 1 at S2, out 6th. Pidruchnyi over the line 4th, QFM over too and into 2nd, + 25.5 – he’s gained time since 7.6 Km. Fabian Claude has missed 2 at S2 – the French coach isn’t looking happy! Laegreid is 1,1; Tarjei Bø over the line in 3rd, knocking Tsvetkov off the virtual podium – he’s absolutely exhausted! Doll over the line in 6th, behind Ponsiluoma who has 1 more miss. I think I missed seeing Seb Samuelsson at S1 – 1 miss there and 37 seconds off the pace; he’s at S2, clear this time and out +41.6 – can he catch Tarjei Bø? At 7.6 Km the answer seems to be “no” – he’s lost time there, and he’s looking very tired. He’s over the line in 5th, just ahead of Ponsiluoma. Looking back at the timings for S1 I can’t really see any threat to Tarjei’s bronze medal at present; I did think Mikulas Karlik might have caused an upset but he missed 3 at S2. At present I see only 4 perfect scores – Tsvetkov, Christian Gow, Rees and Ozaki – but apart from Tsvetkov none of them have the ski speed to exploit the shooting. Seb Stalder also 10/10 but over a minute back – in 17th at present! That’s everyone through S2 – well done to Johannes Thingnes Bø for the gold medal – I thought he might have pushed too hard but that worked out very well. QFM takes silver and Tarjei Bø the bronze. A good effort by Maxim Tsvetkov to finish 4th – great shooting and very close to the podium – just 1.7 behind Tarjei. Samuelsson in 5th, just ahead of Ponsiluoma. Doll best of the Germans in 8th; Stalder 27th. No real surprise that JoBø was fastest around the course, ahead of QFM and Latypov. Nice to see both Bøs on the podium again!

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 13 Feb 22: At least the women have had a day off to recover! Minus 11 today and overcast, windy with light snow; a steady climb from the start on today’s 2 Km loop. Today Røiseland will start 31 seconds ahead of Elvira Öberg with Doro Wierer starting 3rd – conditions are not good at present; did I say light snow? A lot more tape in evidence today. Røiseland in for S1 – those shots were excellent, all clear! Elvira slow but all clear, Doro also clear. Hauser away 4th ahead of Tandrevold and Persson [up from 12th] – all clear at S1. Reztsova has missed 2, as has Bescond; Hanna Sola has missed 1 but still up to 15th from 26. Marte Olsbu Røiseland in for S2 – the second prone – that was good again, clear and out. Doro is clear and out, Elvira has missed one. Hauser and Tandrevold both clear; Hanna Öberg [1,0] clear this time and up to 8th from 19. Røiseland is already in for her first standing shoot – first miss, just fractionally off the left edge but the rest down. Doro has missed 2, so has Elvira, Hauser 1, Tandrevold 1 and Hanna Öberg has missed 3. Røiseland is now 1:25.1 ahead after S3, Doro about 15 seconds clear of Hauser with Tandrevold, Eckhoff and Elvira close behind. On the lap that chasing pack have dropped back a little from Røiseland and Wierer. Røiseland in for the final shoot – slower this time, but all 5 down and away – a truly outstanding performance! Behind her everything has bunched up again; Doro has 1 miss, Elvira and Tandrevold clear and out in that order with Doro 4th, ahead of Sola [1,1,1,0] -  up from 26th! Elvira is slowly opening from Tandrevold – Sola and Eckhoff past Wierer but I think Tandrevold is safe in third? Marte Olsbu Røiseland over the line for her 4th medal in 4 races, three of them gold! Elvira Öberg [0,1,2,0] takes silver despite three misses; I’m delighted to see Tiril Eckhoff take the bronze – what happened to Tandrevold? Tandrevold has limped in in 14th, absolutely exhausted – I wonder if she’s got a serious problem? Anyway, congratulations to Røiseland for a pretty much perfect race, Elvira hanging on to silver and Tiril fighting her way to bronze from 11th at the start! Those gaining places include Hanna Sola [26 to 4], Persson [12-5], Simon [29-8], Hojnisz-Starega [16-9], Voigt [18-12], Preuß [30-15], Herrmann [22-17], Leshchanka [60-20], Hinz [55-21] and Davidova [41-28]. Those losing places include Wierer [3-6], Hauser [4-7], Dzhima [8-13], Tandrevold [5-14], Stremous [10-16], Reztsova [6-26], Bescond [9-27], Dunklee [27-40], Magnusson [7-46, 6 penalty loops], Irwin [37-47] and Tomingas [33-49]. The snow is getting heavier – it’s going to be even tougher for the men’s race! I hope Tandrevold is OK.

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 13 Feb 22: Fully dark now and snowing more heavily; this race will be hard and it’s just one day after the sprint – some very tired people even at the start! JoBø away with 26 seconds lead ahead of QFM with his brother 13 seconds further back. There is quite a lot of fresh snow around – looking at the timings JoBø isn’t taking it easy on lap 1 – at 1.5 Km the gap to QFM is up to 34.6 and Tarjei is 54 seconds back with Tsvetkov right on his heels  and Ponsiluoma and Samuelsson just 5 seconds back. The wind has picked up too – blowing the loose snow around, and possibly into the sights? JoBø in for his first prone – all 5 down which is impressive in those conditions. QFM also clear but the gap is now 41 seconds; behind him the chasing pack are missing – Latypov clear and out 3rd, +1:21.9, just ahead of Samuelsson who missed 1, and Tarjei Bø who also had 1 miss. Luka Hofer clear and 6th from 14 at the start. Ponsiluoma missed 2 as did Tsvetkov; Laegreid and Fabien Claude have missed 3 each. On the lap QFM has dropped back a little more on JoBø but he’s pulled a little time out of his chasing group; Christiansen is clear and up to 8th from 20. JoBø in for his second prone and the wind has picked up again – he’s missed his first 2 shots, rest down. QFM is having snags with his rifle but he’s clear and out just 12.7 behind JoBø. Latypov clear, Samuelsson has missed 2 and Ponsiluoma 3 and the wind has really increased. Latypov is out 3rd, ahead of Tarjei [1,0], Hofer [0,0] and Rees [0,0, up from 17]. JoBø is pulling away again, Latypov is staying with QFM, Tarjei and Hofer both dropping back and Samuelsson has lost 20 seconds from the range to 6.5 Km. JoBø in for his first standing shoot – the wind is gusty and there is a lot of spindrift – first 2 missed and 12 more; QFM is clear and away just 10 seconds ahead of Latypov who is also 15/15. Hofer and Tarjei are both clear here and out some 15 seconds ahead of JoBø who has dropped to 5th. Christiansen clear here and he’s out 7th, behind Rees; Samuelsson has missed 2 more and Ponsiluoma another 4! Amazingly Laegreid has missed 9 today. Latypov is closing a little on Fillon Maillet; Tarjei and Hofer together just over 40 seconds back. The final shoot – brilliant shooting by QFM – all 20 down and he’s away; Latypov has missed 1 but he’s out 2nd.  Tarjei and Hofer are clear this time and out close behind Eduard Latypov; JoBø has missed 2 more. Tarjei has put on the afterburners and gone past Latypov and he’s closing down on QFM. I’m not predicting anything this time after saying poor Tandrevold was secure in 3rd! Lukas Hofer is really burning energy to try and get in touch with Latypov. Quentin Fillon Maillet crosses the line to take a second gold, his 4th medal of the games – what a superb performance – all 20m targets down. Tarjei Bø takes silver with Latypov holding on to take bronze from 11th at the start. Lukas Hofer up from 14th to 4 with JoBø [0,2,3,2] over the line in 5th ahead of Roman Rees [up from 17]. Simon Desthieux up to 7th from 24 despite 3 misses! Among other gainers are Felix Leitner [46-10], Kühn [33-12], Christiansen [20-15], Fabien Claude [21-16], Scott Gow [34-20], Cheng [32-22], Dudchenko [60-23], Loginov [38-27] and Nelin [55-31]. Heading the wrong way Samuelsson [5-8], Ponsiluoma [6-11], Tsvetkov [4-17], Laegreid [7-24], Doll [8-32], Krcmar [16-34], Christian Gow [12-35], Eder [18-37], Serokhvostov [19-39], Karlik [28-42], Hidensalo [39-52] and Strolia [43-58]. Very well done to QFM – a superbly judged race and he recovered well to clear his second 5 prone targets after his rifle snags. A great effort by Tarjei Bø to get silver and nice work by Latypov to hold off a charging Hofer for bronze – good race!

Olympic Games – Alpine notes, Men’s GS, 13 Feb 22: Well, there we go – well done to Marco Odermatt for winning his first Olympic medal and it’s a gold one! After leading the first run of the men’s GS ahead of Stefan Brennsteiner, Mathieu Faivre and Henrik Kristoffersen [not de Aliprandini as the FIS report says – he was 0.49 back in 6th], Marco Odermatt (SUI) produced a solid second run to secure his first Olympic gold medal, despite a long delay in starting the second run due to the weather conditions. From what I’ve seen of it run 1 arguably shouldn’t have happened, but the race referees felt it was OK and of course they were there, not looking at a camera version? Odermatt has been dominating the GS World Cup circuit all season and today proved that he is currently the best in the world, finishing 0.19 seconds in front of silver medallist Zan Kranjec (SLO), who started his second run in 8th, with little hope of claiming a podium finish. The Slovenian outclassed everyone except Odermatt on run 2 though and finished a close 2nd. Kranjec’s best GS result this season was 3rd in the Sölden World Cup race, but he has not managed to place higher than 10th since. Finishing his first run in 3rd place, the current GS World Champion, Mathieu Faivre (FRA), held onto his position after the second run and claimed his first Olympic medal, finishing with a total difference of 1.34 seconds behind Odermatt. River Radamus, who was 9th after run 1, was 4th, ahead of Thibaut Favrot and Alexis Pinturault who were tied in 5th place. Henrik Kristoffersen was 8th after a bad error on run 2, while Luca de Aliprandini, Manu Feller and Lucas Braathen were among those who didn’t finish run 2. Conditions for run 1 looked really awful as the long list of 35 DNFs confirms – Murisier, Meillard, Windingstad, McGrath and RCS among them. All credit then to Benjamin Alexander, the first alpine skier from Jamaica to get to the Olympics, who finished both runs!

I missed the relays - some very good reports on the IBU website! Men's and Women's

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start, 18 Feb 22: This should have been tomorrow but due to the forecast it has been moved forward and is now scheduled before the men’s mass start! That makes this a bit trickier for the women as they haven’t had the planned break and these races are at altitude – anyone in the relays will probably still be feeling the effects of that race, which I missed commenting on, as I was away, although I did in fact catch the re-runs on my hotel TV! It looks nice at the venue today but still very cold – obviously no Tandrevold today as she’s back in Norway after her collapse, and Irene Cadurisch also recovering from a collapse in the relay. It’s Denise Herrmann who leads away and the pace on lap 1 isn’t fast, into a strong headwind in places. At 1.5 Km Røiseland leads from Reztsova, Justine B-B, Herrmann, Anais C-B and Eckhoff; top 10 separated by just 3.6 seconds. Yuliia Dzhima has fallen; there seem to have been a lot of falls here in both biathlon and cross country. Heading in for S1, wind blowing left to right – Herrmann has missed her 5th, the penalty loop is busy! Ironically, given her problems in the relay, it’s Tiril Eckhoff who leads out, just ahead of Hanna Öberg, Røiseland, Simon, Persson and Haecki – all clear and separated by 4.9 seconds. Elvira and Franzi Preuß among those who missed 1, Wierer, Reztsova and Brorsson among those with 2 misses. At 4 Km Eckhoff and Røiseland are slightly opening; Persson up to 3rd ahead of Hanna Ö. In for S2 and the wind is really up this time – Eckhoff clear and away, just ahead of Røiseland – both 10/10; Julia Simon in 3rd, 0,1 +22.7; Persson has missed 2, Hanna Öberg 3, Haecki 3, Reztsova 2,1; Sola 2,2; Wierer 2,2. The 2 Norwegians are in for S3 – still very windy, Røiseland has 2 misses, Eckhoff has yet to shoot – 2 misses for her too. Røiseland leads out tied with Justine B-B [2,1,0], then Elvira Öberg [1,0,0], Davidova [1,0,1], Eckhoff [0,0,2], and Innerhofer [1,0,2]. Doro is now 2,2,2; Haecki 0,3,3. On the lap Justine B-B has pulled out 15 seconds on Røiseland by 8.4 Km; Elvira has lost 12 seconds. In for the final shoot – Justine B-B has missed her first, rest down fast and the wind has picked up as she leaves the range, Elvira has missed 3, Eckhoff 2, Røiseland 2, Davidova 2. Justine B-B [2,1,0,1] is away, a massive 48.5 ahead of Eckhoff [0,0,2,2] +48.5, Røiseland [0,0,2,2], Davidova [1,0,1,2] +55.2. There are a lot of tired people here – Justine B-B missed the pursuit so she has one less race in her legs; interesting to see Eckhoff is pulling away from Røiseland on the first part of the final lap. Crucially Davidova isn’t catching the Norwegians. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet takes the gold medal with 4 penalty loops, which I think is the most for a winner at the Olympics? Tiril Eckhoff gets silver – she’s won a medal in the Mass Start in 3 successive Olympics, which I think is another record? Marte Olsbu Røiseland takes the bronze – a medal in every race here. Only 2 Norwegians here today and both on the podium. Davidova in 4th ahead of Reztsova and Simon; Preuß [1,1,1,1] best German in 8th, ahead of Elvira Öberg and Hanna Sola who just got into the top 10 despite 8 penalty loops! Well done to all – especially the podium places – a difficult day!

Winter Olympics, Beijing – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start, 18 Feb 22: An interesting point – what will become of this very impressive facility in future? A little colder now and lots of tape in evidence; the video feed is a little jumpy at present. This is a harder start than I saw in the women’s race; JoBø leads QFM by 0.6 at 19 Km – top 10 separated by 8.2 seconds. In for S1, QFM and JoBø among those missing 1 – Samuelsson leads out ahead of Christian and Scott Gow, then Tarjei, Pidruchnyi and Nawrath – all clear. JoBø in 8th, +16.2; Loginov, Jacquelin, Christiansen and Eder among those missing 2. On the lap it’s Scott Gow in the lead, ahead of his brother and Seb Samuelsson, then Nawrath, Doll and Pidruchnyi – JoBø has pulled back 10 seconds by 4.9 Km and is right on his brother’s heels in 8th. In for S2 – and JoBø leads! Scott Gow has missed 4, Pidruchnyi 3; JoBø clear and out ahead of Christian Gow, then Samuelsson, Nawrath and Doll – all clear at S2; QFM is 1,1 and +32.8 in 8th. At 7.9 Km JoBø is 2.9 clear, ahead of Nawrath with Ponsiluoma some 16 seconds back, then Doll, Samuelsson and C Gow. In for S3 – JoBø got the first 4 down quickly but missed the 5th, Nawrath has missed 3, Doll 2, but Ponsiluoma is clear, as is QFM this time. JoBø away but only 6 seconds ahead of Martin Ponsiluoma, then QFM +15.9, C Gow [who fell leaving the mat], Samuelsson and Doll, +47.1. JoBø is flying – he’s 21.7 clear of Ponsiluoma at 9.9 Km. By 10.9 Km the gap is up to 25.4 Km, with QFM just past Ponsiluoma, then over half a minute to Samuelsson, C Gow and Doll. Final shoot and JoBø has a penalty loop in hand; the wind is light and JoBø has missed 2, so has QFM so far and it’s now 3 misses. JoBø [1,0,1,2] away and he’s 17.8 ahead of Ponsiluoma [1,0,0,1] with Christiansen [2,0,1,0] +45.3. QFM [1,1,0,3] in 4th over a minute back ahead of Windisch and Eder. C Gow missed 3 at S4 and dropped to 8th, Samuelsson has missed 3 and Doll 4. JoBø hasn’t eased off – he’s almost doubled his advantage over Ponsiluoma by 12.9 Km and Christiansen is now over a minute back but QFM hasn’t gained much on him. Johannes Thingnes Bø over the line for his 4th gold medal here, plus a bronze. Martin Ponsiluoma claims the silver and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen the bronze. They have 10 days to recover before the World Cup races start again! QFM [1,1,0,3] in 4th, ahead of Windisch and Laegreid; Doll best German in 8th despite 8 penalty loops, Samuelsson 11th; Christian Gow ended up 13th. Great race by JoBø – amazing ski speed! That’s the biathlon complete, 1 day earlier than expected.

With the Olympics over, what did you make of the competitions/conditions overall? Do you see anything lasting coming from this, or does it quickly become a fleeting memory all round?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Men’s Slalom, 26 Feb 22: No rest for the alpine skiers it seems – they are back on the World Cup circuit already; men for this slalom and the women for a downhill, so they’ve been training for a couple days! Not much of a break after the Olympics! This race on the piste near the ski jump arena – the only part of the GAP ski area that I’ve never tried. Tricky conditions today for run 1 , set by a Croatian coach– it’s relatively warm; Henrik Kristoffersen the first away and that looked good, although he doesn’t seem happy with it? Seb F-S into the red early on and he’s straddled; Manu Feller red at inter 1 as well and almost a second off the pace at 2 – he’s pulled back time from there but still 0.42 behind at the finish. The Austrian coach is shaking his head! Linus Strasser into 3rd; Loic Meillard much more in touch and he’s gained time on the final sector to go 2nd, +0.01! Marco Schwarz well off the pace and 5th; Clement Noel also over a second adrift on the course, which is already getting rutted – into 6th. Alexis Pinturault is only a little better – into 5th, +0.82; Johannes Strolz goes 6th.  Alex Vinatzer is bib 10 and into 9th; Kristoffersen leads by 0.01 from Meillard with Feller in 3rd, + 0.42 – some good names over a second back! Daniel Yule has shown that the course is just about holding up by going into 3rd, +0.40; oh dear, Dave Ryding the slowest so far. There’s a TV break and the course workers are trying to repair the gates, which seem to be trying to get out of the warm snow! Filip Zubcic’s coach set this pattern but it hasn’t helped him – he’s joint 13th with Dave Ryding!  Not much change to the important places – 10th has swapped around but nothing below that position since Yule went 3rd from bib 11. Another TV break – Kristoffersen leads from Meillard and Yule; Ryding down in joint 19th! Fabio Gstrein into 21st; McGrath into 10th which was a great effort! Good grief – there’s a massive surprise – Tanguy Nef not only in  touch from bib 25 but into the lead by 0.07! The coverage shifts to Crans Montanan; I’m beginning to worry about whether Dave Ryding will get a second run? He’s currently joint 25th, +2.15. Sandro Simonet [bib 32] has had a very good run to go 7th. That’s also a good run from Joaquim Salarich [ESP, bib 50] into 13th! Billy Major safely down but won’t get a 2nd run; Ryding now 29th! Now he’s joint 30th – if he holds that he’ll be a very early starter on run 2 – obviously not what he wanted but it might be very useful in the warmer conditions? Yep – run 1 over and Dave Ryding has held on to joint 30th – could be useful?
Run 2:  Even warmer now and the light is rather flat! Well, let’s see how many places Dave Ryding can gain with a start on smooth, fresh snow – he’s first away – safely down but almost missed the final gate! Filip Zubcic green at inter 1 and he’s gaining time - he’s a massive 0.69 ahead at the finish; that was a very neat run! Timon Haugan into 3rd; Steven Amiez [FRA, bib 60!] has gone into 2nd. Erik Read has gone into 3rd, so that’s Dave Ryding off the podium already – pity. Alex Khoroshilov going well but he’s straddled; quite a lot of work being done on the ruts around the final tricky gates. That’s a good run from Alex Vinatzer – taking full advantage of that repair work to take over the lead by 0.36. There’s a lot more work going on at a few more gates! Istok Rodes into 2nd; that’s 10 away – Vinatzer leads from Rodes and Zubcic, Ryding currently 6th. A good run from Stefano Gross too – he’s into 2nd; Michael Matt has taken that place away from him – Vinatzer leads from Matt and Gross, then Rodes, Zubcic and Sala. That’s a good second run from Joaquim Salarich [ESP, bib 50] into 2nd, just 0.07 off the lead. The last 3 turns are looking in a very poor state – not like a World Cup race! Clement Noel in all sorts of trouble – great recoveries but he’s out. McGrath into 4th; Marco Schwarz just red at inter 2 and it’s going away from him – into 9th. Johannes Strolz is losing his advantage but he’s keeping in the green to take over the lead by 0.28 – good skiing and fast recoveries! The whole course looks a bit of a mess – Alexis Pinturault away after the TV break – just 10th; Linus Strasser has gained time from 1 to 2, big errors though and he’s into 2nd, +0.25. Manu Feller losing time to inter 2 but he’s gained a little back by 3 – more gain to the line to lead by 0.25 – lots of risk but he leads! Daniel Yule into 3rd; Loic Meillard is gaining time to inter 2 – he’s lost some of it from there but he leads by 0.37. That’s very impressive on this course – starting early wasn’t as much of a bonus as Dave Ryding must have hoped! Henrik Kristoffersen on course – a big error and red by inter 1 but he’s pulled it back to go 0.27 green by inter 3 – what a recovery – he takes a very well deserved lead! Tanguy Nef keeping in the green but he’s straddled! So, Kristoffersen wins, ahead of Meillard and Feller; Strolz in 4th then Yule and Strasser. Some very impressive skiing in very tricky conditions; Dave Ryding ended up 20th. That gets Kristoffersen up to 2nd in the slalom standings just 1 point behind Braathen on 256 points, with Meillard now 3rd on 247. Braathen, Seb F-S, Jakobsen and Noel all scoring zero points today!

Crans Montana [Mont Lachaux], Women’s Downhill, 26 Feb 22: Conditions look better here – less windy than it was yesterday so this will be the full length downhill. Lara Gut-Behrami the first away and she’s missed a gate after the jump – the coaches are unimpressed! Tamara Tippler next and she is safely down; Mirjam Puchner in touch early on and nicely into the green by inter 4 and she leads by 0.22. Ragnhild Mowinckel was fast in training and she’s into the green by inter 2; fast through the final gun too and she leads by 0.77! Corinne Suter into 4th; Joana Haehlen into 3rd, +0.90 though. Sofia Goggia is bib 7 and rather off the pace – into 6th and perhaps not fully fit after her crash before the Olympics? Ester Ledecka is green all the way and she leads by 0.21 – what a run! That’s 10 away; Ledecka leads from Mowinckel and Puchner; Haehlen in 4th ahead of Gisin – Mich Gagnon into 6th. Federica Brignone next – there is apparently a lot of controversy about what her mother [a journalist] has been saying about Sofia Goggia! She’s into 13th, behind Goggia who is 10th! That’s a nice run from Cornelia Hütter – in touch all the way and into 3rd from bib 19! Petra Vlhova is racing today, trying for points while Shiffrin isn’t racing – she’s into 17th at present. That’s another good run – Priska Nufer into 4th and best of the Swiss! I think that might be a personal best for her? Keely Cashman has done her fellow American, Mikaela Shiffrin, a favour by pushing Vlhova down another place! I actually thought that Petra Vlhova’s run was pretty good but some of the later starters have found a bit of speed and she’s ended up 29th – just 2 points from her effort, so now just 15 behind Shiffrin in he overall. Congratulations to Ester Ledecka on her win today – great results for Ragnhild Mowinckel in 2nd with Connie Hütter taking the final podium place ahead of Priska Nufer who had an impressive run into 4th! Good race.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Men’s Slalom, 27 Feb 22: A nice day – it’s all very green apart from the actual piste! Quite different conditions today though – a lot of salt used overnight and it’s icy. Manu Feller will be the first away today on a course set by an Italian coach – it’s probably a tougher challenge than yesterday? Henrik Kristoffersen away bib 2 – well green at inter 1, less so at 2 and just red at 3 – into 2nd, +0.08. Loic Meillard is almost half a second ahead at inter 1 but unlike Kristoffersen he’s continuing to gain time – over the line 0.80 ahead! Linus Strasser into 4th; Daniel Yule has taken over that slot – but he’s over a full second off the pace. Seb Foss-Solevaag is having a nightmare on the upper section – his skis don’t seem to be gripping; better lower down and into joint 2nd with Feller, but +0.80! Clement Noel is a DNF again; Marco Schwarz into 7th! A better run by Johannes Strolz, into 2nd, +0.51. Ramon Zenhaeusern had a bad day yesterday but he’s more in touch today – into joint 2nd with Strolz. Lucas Braathen a massive 1.65 off the pace in 9th; Dave Ryding into 9th now, +1.41. Alexis Pinturault into 4th; Alex Vinatzer also off the pace – 15 away now; Loic Meillard leads by 0.51 from Zenhaeusern and Strolz tied in 2nd, then Pinturault, with Seb F-S and Feller tied in 5th. Kristoffer Jakobsen has DNF’d again; Luca Aerni and Albert Popov are also in the DNF group. Tanguy Nef hasn’t repeated his first run charge of yesterday – into joint 8th with Yule. Time to shift to Crans Montana. Meanwhile Istok Rodes has had a good run into 8th; Marc Digruber [bib 38] into 9th – run 1 complete, Dave Ryding now 19th. Billy Major a DNF; Laurie Taylor safely down but won’t get a second run. Because I was focussed on the women’s downhill I missed Joaquim Salarich [ESP, bib 49] who had another good day – he managed to ski into 4th!
Run 2: This run set by a British coach; quite offset and a tough challenge – Lena Dürr and Felix Neureuther doing the camera run – very impressive. Very springlike for run 2; Dominik Raschner first away and out at gate 2 – that top section really is a beast – 58% gradient with a lot of side to side movement. Fadri Janutin [SUI] next and he’s down safely; Paco Rassat another DNF – 2 from 3 starters! Del Campo out too; odd to see Marco Schwarz so far down on run 1 but he’s making this course look fairly straightforward – until he dropped a pole – even so he leads by 1.22. Tommaso Sala into 3rd; that’s a great final sector from Lucas Braathen to pull back time and take the lead by 0.02. Alex Khoroshilov into 3rd; Erik Read looked pretty good but he’s lost time all the way and into 4th. Next is Dave Ryding and he’s gained to inter 1 – his advantage is almost double there and better still at 2 – lost a bit from 2 to 3 and more to the finish but he had enough in hand to lead by 0.14. Alex Vinatzer isn’t enjoying the course – into 4th; Linus Strasser going well – green still at 3 but he’s lost time on the final sector to go 2nd. TV break – Dave Ryding leads from Strasser, Braathen and Schwarz. A slight delay to repair some of the gates; Daniel Yule has joined the DNF list and so has Tanguy Nef. Much though I’m delighted for Dave Ryding, Nick’s constant cries of “he’s seen off another” is getting a bit tedious! Istok Rodes into 6th; Henrik Kristoffersen has 0.53 in hand as he starts – just 0.29 left at inter 1, just green at 2 but he’s gained a lot from there to 3 and he leads by 0.35. Manu Feller all over the place and into 13th! Seb F-S has straddled and that’s 2 DNFs for him this weekend; Alexis Pinturault off the pace again and just 11th. Now, next away is Joaquim Salarich – red at inter 1, back green at 2, red at 3 and into 7th – that’s another good run from him. Johannes Strolz out; Ramon Zenhaeusern looking very diffident early on and he’s crashed out – that’s a big hit on his hip but he’s up and apparently OK. I don’t believe it – Loic Meillard with 0.88 in hand is a DNF – the Swiss coaches are not happy! That’s a full 200 points for Henrik Kristoffersen this weekend and it gives him the lead in the slalom standings on 356; Braathen drops to 2nd on 307 then Strasser [278] and Ryding [262]. No change to the overall where Marco Odermatt is 375 points clear of Kilde on 1200 points – Kristoffersen up to 4th on 659. A great result for Dave Ryding in 2nd with Linus Strasser taking the final podium place. Braathen in 4th, ahead of Schwarz and Razzoli; Salarich ended up 7th.

Crans Montana [Mont Lachaux], Women’s Downhill, 27 Feb 22: Another lovely day – Mirjam Puchner first away and safely down. Priska Nufer has a much earlier start today and she’s flying – 0.71 green at inter 3; into the lead by an impressive 0.69 – that’s popular! Ramona Siebenhofer can’t match either of them and now it’s Petra Vlhova – chasing points again – she’s into 3rd, +0.99. Corinne Suter has made an early error but she’s pulling back some of the time to go 2nd, +0.27. Jasmine Flury into 4th; Sofia Goggia on course and in touch but remaining in the red; she’s into 2nd – ahead of Suter! Mich Gagnon into 4th; good to see Keira Weidle racing today after her bad crash in training on Friday – safely down. Elena Curtoni into 6th; 10 away – Nufer leads from Goggia and Suter. Federica Brignone is having a better day today – into 4th; Ester Ledecka in touch again and into 2nd, +0.11. Connie Hütter in touch but she’s fallen on the last jump, within sight of the finish – she is up and hopefully OK apart from some minor [?] cuts! Lara Gut-Behrami a bit off the pace today – she’s finished today but she’s currently 12th. Petra Vlhova is now 10th – looking better than yesterday at present! A good run from Michelle Gisin into 6th; Ragnhild Mowinckel just green at inter 1 but red at 2 – in touch at inter 5 but she’s lost time on the final sector to go 5th. Romane Miradoli in touch but a mistake on the final jump has dropped her to 10th; meanwhile Stephanie Venier has nipped into the green at inter 4, but now back to red and 5th. Petra Vlhova still hanging on to a good haul of points – she’s now 15th which would give her the overall lead by 1 point! TV break with 30 away – Nufer still leads from Ledecka and Goggia; Suter in 4th ahead of Venier and Mowinckel. That’s a nasty looking crash for Keely Cashman but she’s standing up with a bit of help – she’s got all her kit back and she’s skiing down! Now, Mikaela Shiffrin will be buying a drink for Isabella Wright who has just skied into 10th place, dropping Vlhova to 16th, which would leave her tied with Shiffrin in the overall! That’s it – no late changes so Priska Nufer takes her first World Cup podium and it’s the top step! Well done to her – a great result. Ester Ledecka gets a second podium this weekend and 180 points out of a possible 200 with Sofia Goggia in third and, crucially, ahead of Corinne Suter who was 4th. That means Goggia leads the downhill standings on 482 to Suter’s 407, with Siebenhofer on 311 just ahead of Ledecka! In the overall Shiffrin and Vlhova are tied on 1026 each, with Goggia 3rd on 851. Back to the slalom!

Kontiolahti – Women’s 4x6 Km relay: Almost forgot this as it’s been a busy couple days! Luckily my new watch reminded me – interesting to see that Røiseland is on leg 1, with Tandrevold the anchor! Even more interesting that JoBø has decided to end his season now to regroup and spend some time with his family! Anyway – back to the relay – the final one in the season for the women. At 1.3 Km Bescond leads from Røiseland and Persson but it’s all very tight – just 4.4 seconds between the top 10. In for S1 – Susan Dunklee clear and leading out ahead of Zdouc [AUT] and Elisa Gasparin [SUI], then Bescond, Oja [EST] and Comola [ITA] – all using no spares. Røiseland in 8th after 1 spare; Persson in 13th after 2 spares; Bendika and Eder on the penalty loop – 1 each. On the lap Bescond leads from Zdouc and Dunklee – Røiseland up to 5th. Persson has fallen but back up. In for S2 – Røiseland has missed, so has Bescond and she needs 2 spares. Røiseland leads out 3 seconds ahead of Zdouc; Persson clear this time and out 3rd, ahead of Bescond and Dunklee. Germany down to 13th as Voigt needed all 3 spares. Exchange 1 and Røiseland will be handing over to Tiril Eckhoff with a handy lead – Tiril out 12.4 ahead of Magnusson, then FRA/AUT/SLO/USA. I missed it but Latvia have done 3 penalty loops. At 6.9 Km Tiril has pulled out a little on both Magnusson and Anais C-B; Lena Haecki up to 5 from 9 at the exchange. S3 already and Eckhoff is clear and out; Anais C-B is doing 2 penalty loops! Hauser [1 spare] away in 2nd, ahead of Magnusson [0] and Hinz [0]; Haecki [2 spares] has dropped to 9th, Wierer [0] up to 7 from 13 at the exchange. Anais C-B down to 12th and +1:30.5. Magnusson and Hinz losing a bit of time, so is Wierer as they head for S4 – 1 spare for Eckhoff and she’s out; Hauser has missed 2 and she’s on the penalty loop! Magnusson is clear and out 2nd, +34.2, ahead of Hauser, +57.6, Haecki Wierer and Reid. Hinz shown as doing 2 loops but I thought she only needed 1? Whatever – out 15th, +2:05.4. Tiril flying on the final sector – the gap to Magnusson is 48.9 seconds at 11.3 Km with Wierer in 3rd. Ida Lien away for Norway, 58.4 ahead of Hanna Öberg, then SUI/ITA/AUT/USA. France in 8th, +1:49.3, Germany 15th, +2:31.9. Hanna Ö has pulled back some 7 seconds by 12.9 Km, Sanfilippo up to 3rd ahead of Aita Gasparin; Justine B-B in 7th, +1:42.3. Lien in for her prone shoot – she looks a bit scared and the wind has picked up – bit lucky with 2 of them but all5 down and she’s away. Hanna has missed her 5th and she needed all 3 spares – out 3rd, behind Sanfilippo who was clear. Justine B-B [3] out 9th ahead of Preuß [0]. Hanna Ö is pulling back time again; Lien in for her standing shoot – 1 miss, 1 spare and out. That’s a good shoot from Hanna Ö, all 5 and out +29.2; Gasparin [2] out 3rd, just ahead of Sanfilippo [2]. Rats, a phone call just as it moved to exchange 3 – Tandrevold out 28.6 ahead of Elvira Öberg, then ITA/SUI/CZE/AUT. Julia Simon in 9th, +2:04.3 but there is an asterisk against France – not sure why at present. Germany in 10th as Denise Herrmann take sover, +2:04.9. Patrick doesn’t know what the asterisk is for either! Tandrevold clear and out; Elvira has missed her first and 1 more – 2 spares and out +45.0. Vittozzi [1] in 3rd, +1:07.5, Selina Gasparin clear and 19 seconds back on Italy. Herrmann clear and up to 7th, Julia Simon also on the penalty loop and out 10th, +2:55.1. Elvira not closing much to 21.3 Km; it seems Justine B-B’s shooting is under review? Tandrevold in for her standing shoot – all 5 down and she’s away, nice shooting! Elvira is only just in – missed number 5, 1 spare and out +50.8 with Vittozzi using 1 spare too and out 3rd, +1:05.4. Selina Gasparin in trouble, 1 penalty loop; Herrmann [1] out 4th but over a minute back on Vittozzi. Great recovery by Denise – up from 10th at the exchange. Julia Simon [1] out 6th but with the review to come later, which might gift the relay globe to Sweden? Norway [0+4] take a very well deserved win, I suspect Tandrevold is glad to be back on form after her collapse. Sweden [0+8] in 2nd with Italy [0.7] taking the final podium place. France are shown as DSQ – no details. Germany [2+9] taking 4th, ahead of Switzerland [1+12] and Austria [2+11]. USA in 7th; Julia Simon over the line but not shown – not sure Pat and Mike have seen the DSQ detail? Still no explanation for the France DSQ at present so that’s the globe to Sweden and coverage is over. Ah, from the IBU report “The French team was disqualified when third leg Justine Braisaz-Bouchet used a spare round from a magazine instead of hand-loading it, which is not allowed according to IBU Rules” – very careless and her mistake cost them the globe!

Kontiolahti – Men’s 4x7.5 Km relay, 4 Mar 22: I missed the early stages of this on Eurosport as we were out for lunch, although the very useful IBU app let me keep up with the race progress. I was delighted to see Erik Lesser, who is retiring after Kontiolahti, lead at the first exchange after a great standing shoot. I picked up the Eurosport coverage as leg 3 finished. Final exchange – QFM away just fractionally ahead of Seb Samuelsson with Christiansen very close behind and Nawrath also within 1.9 seconds! At 23.5 Km the order for the leading 4 is the same and they are separated by just 1.5 seconds – Lemmerer [AUT] in 5th +20.1. In for the final prone – leading 3 all clear and out Samuelsson, Christiansen, QFM, then Nawrath [1 spare]; Lemmerer has also used 1 spare and out +42.7. At 26.8 Km Christiansen is just ahead of Samuelsson, QFM closing and bringing Nawrath with him – that’s quite a pace before the final standing shoot though! The pace has eased a little and the lead 4 are all together as they enter the range. Christiansen has cleared the lot and he’s away 9.3 ahead of QFM [1 spare] then Samuelsson [2] who is only just ahead of Nawrath [3]; Lemmerer [1] is a full minute back. What has happened to QFM – he’s lost time to Christiansen who is still trying to shake off Nawrath – those 3 close at 28.5 Km. At 29.3 Samuelsson is just past QFM. Norway [0+7] take another good win which gives them the crystal globe for the Men’s really. Samuelsson has taken second place for Sweden [0+10] and QFM has just held off Nawrath to take the final podium place for France [0+7]! Just 13.4 between the top 4 at the finish – good race!

Kontiolahti – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 5 Mar 22: Conditions look good – but 4 Norwegian technicians have tested positive so it will be interesting to see how that affects the ski preparations? Quite a nasty climb to the 1.8 Km timing point – the early leader there is Anais C-B; Haecki first away today and in for her prone shoot – the wind has increased and she’s missed 2. Anais C-B has missed just 1; Paulina Fialkova has gone clear. Tandrevold has missed her first two – it’s awkward to adjust the sights if you are left handed; I wonder why they can’t make it easier? Elvira Öberg is 20 seconds ahead as she enters the range – missed 1 and lucky with another. Even so she’s out just 2.8 behind Fialkova. Justine B-B has cleared all 5 at S1 and she leads at present by 11.5 seconds. Anais C-B clear at S2; Tiril Eckhoff clear at S1 but lucky with 1! At present it looks like Justine B-B is skiing faster than Elvira? Justine B-B has missed 2 at S2, out joint 3rd, +18.2. Hanna Öberg has missed 1 at S1, so has Røiseland. Denise Herrmann clear at S1 and out just ahead of Justine B-B; at S2 Vanessa Voigt is 10/10 and out just 1.9 behind Anais C-B. Doro Wierer [2,0] 7th after S2; Tiril has missed her 1st at S2 but she’s still out 4.6 ahead of Anais C-B, who has crossed the finish in the lead. Elvira over the line 2nd, and looking very tired; the captions look odd at S2 – hard to see how many have been missed or not? At present Eckhoff [0,1] leads after S2, ahead of Anais C-B [1,0] and Voigt [0,0]. The captions are miles off – they show 5 misses for Hanna Öberg but have her out 2nd – meanwhile Denise Herrmann is shown as 0,2 but out 4.8 ahead of Eckhoff [0,1]. At 6 Km Herrmann has lost a little to Eckhoff, Hanna Öberg still shown as 1,5 but 3rd, +7.6? Røiseland over the line 5th, just behind Elvira. Now, Herrmann is shown as 0,1 rather than 0,2 and Hanna Öberg as 1,0! At the finish it’s now Denise Herrmann, Tiril Eckhoff and Hanna Öberg on the podium, ahead of Anais C-B, Voigt and Elvira Öberg. Røiseland in 7th at present. Back at S2 Vanessa Hinz is 10/10 but +21.5 in 6th; over the line in 10th at present. Back at S1 Stina Nilsson is clear and out just 2.2 behind Herrmann! Knotten is 10/10 and out from S2 in 5th, just ahead of Voigt. Stina Nilsson has cleared 4 of her final 5 and out 6th, just 11.0 behind Herrmann but she too was a cross country skier! At 6.0 Km Nilsson is up to 3rd, ahead of Hanna Öberg and just 6.4 back. At 6.8 Km she’s 2nd, +5.7 as Nilsson passes Eckhoff! That’s a superb race – Stina Nilsson drives for the line and over in 3rd, missing Eckhoff’s time by just 0.2. I think that must be it – Herrmann leads from Eckhoff and Nilsson, then Hanna Öberg, Anais C-B and Voigt! Røiseland in 8th at present. That’s the race over – well done to the podium team and thanks for a great race! Delighted to see Denise Herrmann take another win, and nice to see Voigt in 6th. Impressive stuff from Nilsson too!

Kontiolahti – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 5 Mar 22: Neither Bø here today – Johannes has finished his season and Tarjei has a cold. The temperature is plummeting apparently, so starting in the first group might be a good idea? Roman Rees first away; of the early starters Simon Desthieux is currently fastest at 1.5 Km. Emilien Jacquelin now 2.4 quicker; Laegreid fractionally faster still as Rees starts his prone shoot – 1 miss. Desthieux clear at S1; Kobonoki also clear but 15.7 slower, Jacquelin has missed 2, fiddling with his sights possibly didn’t help? Kühn has missed his 4th – quite a miss too! Hidensalo clear and out 2nd; Laegreid missed his first but the rest were excellent. Krcmar clear; Seppala has missed 2. Samuelsson in for his prone and 14 seconds ahead as he enters the range – that was fast shooting and he’s cleared all 5. He’s out 17 seconds ahead of Desthieux; Rees in for S2 – clear and fairly fast too. Back at S1 QFM is clear and out 6.4 behind Samuelsson. Johannes Kühn is making up time on the lap. Jacquelin clear at S2 and out ahead of Desthieux; Christiansen in for his prone but he’s missed 2. Hidensalo has missed 2 at S2; Kühn clear at S2 and out just 0.9 behind Jacquelin. Laegreid has missed 2 at S2, Ponsiluoma has missed 2 in prone. Doll has missed 1 at S1; QFM is 18.6 slower than Samuelsson at 5.9 Km. However Samuelsson has missed 2 at S2; Erik Lesser clear at S1. That’s good – Paul Schommer [USA] 10/10 and currently 5th after S2, but he doesn’t quite have the ski speed. QFM in for S2 and that was excellent – all down and fast too. That gives him 29.2 seconds lead over Seb Samuelsson. Felix Leitner also 10/10 and out +32.4; oh dear – Jesper Nelin [3,3]. Bakken going well at present – clear at S1 and just faster than QFM at 5.9 Km. Great skiing by Johannes Kühn as he crosses the line just in the lead! Bakken in for S2 – slow and steady but he’s missed 1; out 2nd just 0.1 ahead of Samuelsson. Speaking of Seb he’s slowing on the final lap – he was ahead of Kühn’s time at 9.3 Km but ended up 2.7 seconds behind him at the finish! That was some final lap from the German! Quentin Fillon Maillet over the line and 29.7 ahead of Kühn with Samuelsson in 3rd. On the final lap Bakken [0,1] is fractionally behind Samuelsson [0,2] at 8.2 Km; at S2 Filip Fjeld Andersen is 10/10 and out 2nd, 6 seconds ahead of Bakken, who has just crossed the line 1.2 ahead of Samuelsson! At present the podium is QFM, Kühn and Bakken! Andersen holding the pace at 8.2 Km and still ahead of Bakken and Samuelsson. Peppe Femling [0,0] over the line 7th, between Hofer and Eder! That is a brilliant lap from Andersen – obviously his skis are running well despite 4 technicians being in isolation – he’s over the line in 2nd, ahead of Kühn and Bakken! Top 6 at present QFM, FF Andersen, Kühn, Bakken, Samuelsson and Jacquelin. Philipp Nawrath [1,0] into 7th; he looks to be the highest bib number in the top 10! That’s it – well done QFM, a brilliant run by FF Andersen into 2nd and Johannes Kühn having a superb final lap to take 3rd. Bakken in 4th, ahead of Samuelsson and Jacquelin – odd to see Ponsiluoma, Laegreid, Christiansen and Doll with 3 penalty loops each!

Kvitfjell, Men’s Downhill, 4 Mar 22: Stacking logs yesterday and missed this one live – a tie for first place between Niels Hintermann [SUI] and, a new name to me, Cameron Alexander [CAN, bib 39]. In third was Matthias Mayer. Beat Feuz took 4th ahead of Kilde and Clarey. That leaves Kilde leading the downhill standings on 490 but by just 3 points as Feuz in now on 487! Apparently conditions changed later on to let the higher bib numbers get back into the mix! The FIS report is HERE.

Lenzerheide [Beltrametti], Women’s Super G, 5 Mar 22: Odd – we saw part of the camera run but no commentary! Conditions look good, it’s cold and the snow sounds hard; Marjam Puchner the first away and she’s missed a gate – DNF! Still no commentary so it seems Eurosport are having problems with the connections again. Can Ariane Raedler do any better – well she got further down the course but she’s out too. Tamara Tippler is bib 3 – third starter lucky?  No, she’s fallen – looks like maybe a binding released? Anyway she looks OK but that’s three DNFs in a row – all Austrians! Is that Roger Federer in the finish area? Race interrupted – it would be nice if Eurosport could use the break to find the commentary! Well done Tessa Worley – the French do what the Austrians haven’t managed yet and reach the finish! She looks tired so this is obviously a really testing run – no idea who set the course as there is no sign of Matt? Elena Curtoni has joined the DNFs – 4 out of 5 haven’t finished! Ester Ledecka slow on the first sector and getting further into the red all the way – safely down but +2.89! Federica Brignone is more in touch into 2nd, +0.83 but Romane Miradoli is going further green as she heads down the hill – she leads by a massive 1.37 – well done the French! Understandably she’s happy with that! Lara Gut-Behrami next and just red at inter 2 – over the line 2nd, +0.88! Alice Robinson also a DNF; TV break with 10 away and only 5 through the finish! Corinne Suter down in 5th; Ramona Siebenhofer on course and at last we have Matt Chilton back; many thanks to the Eurosport live chat facility – Siebenhofer just 7th! It seems the course was set by Petra Vlhova’s coach – many of the athletes say it’s the toughest of the season so far! That’s a better run from Ragnhild Mowinckel into 3rd, +0.94. Vlhova next and 0.50 red at inter 1 and a full 2 seconds red at 2 but her main effort will surely be to finish ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin – she’s down in 6th, +3.31! I’m not sure Vlhova thinks her coach has done her any favours! Shiffrin next – just green at 1, slightly red at 2 and still well in touch at 3 – over the line in 2nd, just 0.38 off the pace! That was a great run, she’s beaten Lara Gut-Behrami! Wendy Holdener has also lost time from 1 to 2 and over the line 7th; Marta Bassino more in touch and into 4th, just 0.02 behind Gut-Behrami. Joana Haehlen into 9th; Michelle Gisin just green at 1 but she too has lost time between 1 and 2 – there’s a tricky turn on that section which is proving a real test – she’s 7th. Jasmine Flury just 12th and it's the next TV break – 15 down of 20 starters. Kira Weidle first away after the break and the section from 1 to 2 has slowed her too – into 7th though and she’s happy. Cristine Scheyer another DNF; so is Noemie Kolly. As things stand Federica Brignone should take the Super G globe today as Elena Curtoni hasn’t finished and Goggia isn’t here – apparently she will be the first Italian woman to win that title. Priska Nufer into 12th and getting a good reception after her win last weekend! Gagnon also a DNF; Laura Gauche into joint 9th with Brignone - that’s 3 French in the top 10! Stephanie Venier into 13th and amazingly she’s best of the Austrians today at present. Their press won’t be very positive about today! Apparently the two Austrian coaches – for both men and women, have said they aren’t going to continue next season. Grenier and Reisinger both DNF; Ricarda Haaser into 12th! Bella Wright was nicely in touch at 2 but she’s lost time from there and only 24th. Karoline Pichler is 13th at present; Roger Federer very much in demand for selfies with the skiers – he seems to have the whole Swiss team with him now! Time to shift to Kvitfjell for the 2nd Downhill of the weekend. That’s the race complete – well done to Romane Miradoli on her first world cup win; Mikaela Shiffrin with a very impressive 2nd with Lara Gut-Behrami in 3rd. Marta Bassino in 4th ahead of Mowinckel and Worley. Petra Vlhova ended up 18th, so just 13 points to Shiffrin’s 80 so the American leads the overall by 67 points. The Super G globe has indeed gone to Federica Brignone – congratulations to her – first Italian to win it!!

Kvitfjell, Men’s Downhill, 5 Mar 22: Another nice day – the globe is still up for grabs – all very close as we start the penultimate downhill of the season. Max Franz first away and down, but he doesn’t seem happy with that run. Romed Baumann better and into the lead by 0.15. That’s a good run from Daniel Hemetsberger to take over the lead by an impressive 0.40!  Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on course and green at inter 1 – building as he continues down the course and at the finish he’s a full second ahead! That’s popular! Travis Ganong into 2nd, but +0.87; Beat Feuz next – red at 1 but he’s often a slow starter – yes he’s less red at 2, a little redder at 3, 4 and 5 and he goes 2nd, +0.26. Ryan C-S next and in touch at 1 – that’s a good run into 3rd, +0.51. Dominik Paris green at inter 2 and fast through the top gun too, more green at 3 and 4 too and 0.25 ahead at 5, that’s a superb final sector and he leads by 0.55! That would move Paris up to 3rd in the standings if the podium stays as it is, with just 1 race to go. Vincent Kriechmayr into 5th; Matthias Mayer just 7th. It seems the weather is getting a little nasty – visibility not as good as it was? Marco Odermatt is bib 15 and currently leading the overall – he’s a little off the pace and the poor light isn’t helping – into 9th at present. Niels Hintermann still in touch at inter 3 but getting further into the red – he’s into joint 3rd, +0.81 with Feuz -another shared podium perhaps? Yesterday’s [joint] winner, Alex Cameron, on course but conditions aren’t in his favour today and he’s into 13th. Currently the “top 3” are Paris, Kilde and Feuz/Hintermann; Odermatt is in 10th.  Max Muzaton into 7th – good effort in the conditions. Josef Ferstl into 9th from bib 29. Over to the biathlon! A late change – Jeffrey Read [CAN, bib 42] into 7th – what an effort! That’s it – well done to Dominik Paris for a pretty faultless run, Kilde is 2nd despite that very impressive run and Niels Hintermann gets the second shared podium in 2 days sharing 3rd with Feuz! Ryan C-Sin 5th ahead of Kriechmayr. That leaves Kilde on 570 in the downhill standings, Feuz now on 547 and Mayer on 486. Marco Odermatt leads the overall on 1236, ahead of Kilde on 950 and Mayer on 776!

Lenzerheide [Beltrametti], Women’s GS, 6 Mar 22: Run 1 – Another lovely looking day – course set by a Swedish coach. Mikaela Shiffrin is first away and safely down. I see Lara Gut-Behrami was bib 1 bit doesn’t start! Oh, there’s a shock – Petra Vlhova a DNF from bib 3. Federica Brignone on course but red all the way and into 2nd, +0.89. Tessa Worley nicely in touch and well green at 2, still green at 3 but Shiffrin was very quick from here – Worley into 2nd, +0.05. Marta Bassino out early and taking part of a gate with her. Slight delay and then it's Sara Hector and she’s well ahead at inter 1 – this course was set by her coach – less green at 2 but 0.45 ahead at 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.11. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel is almost out where Bassino had problems – into 5th, +2.24. The upper section looks very steep and icy – tricky stuff! Ragnhild Mowinckel into 5th, +1.69; fifth place seems popular – Michelle Gisin has taken over that place, +1.32. Alice Robinson survived one scare but a DNF after the second; a nice run from Meta Hrovat into 4th. Katharina Truppe into 6th; Anna Bucik also a DNF as is Val Grenier. Twenty five away – Hector leads from Shiffrin and Worley; Hrovat in 4th ahead of Brignone and Truppe. The course is getting rutted, which won’t help the later starters. That’s a good run from Tina Robnik, bib 28, into 8th. Over to Kvitfjell! Nice to see Romane Miradoli racing again – she’s 15th! Run 1 over – no late changes – Robnik the last one to get into the top 10.
Run 2: Arguably a more technical course this time? Katharina Huber the early leader on a course set by her coach. Roberta Melesi [ITA, bib 42] even faster on run 2 and into the lead by 0.46; Andrea Ellenberger has gained to inter 1 and is going well but she’s crashed 3 gates from home. She seems to be OK; Simone Wild into 3rd as the course begins to cut up. That’s a good run from Paula Moltzan building on her advantage to inter 2 and she takes over the lead by 0.58. Andreja Slokar into 2nd; Camille Rast has taken over that place – good run. That’s a great effort by Coralie Frasse Sombet – red at 2 and 3 but she’s pulled it back on the final sector to lead by 0.13. Half way – Frasse Sombet leads from Moltzan and Rast. Romane Miradoli next and she’s green all the way to inter 4 but she’s lost time and into 4th. Tviberg has gained a lot to inter 1 but it’s going away again – she’s into 5th; Katharina Liensberger steady all the way and a good final sector gives her the lead by 0.67. Ragnhild Mowinckel into 2nd, just 0.08 off the pace; Wendy Holdener just red at 3 and into 3rd. Tina Robnik out – hopefully OK; Michelle Gisin has gained to inter 1 and she’s staying well green from there – she leads by 0.66 – that’s the fastest time on run 2 as well. That’s very popular! Federica Brignone has gained time from 2 to 3 and she’s gained even more in the final sector to lead by 0.95 – a brilliant run. Nasty fall for Meta Hrovat after she hooked a ski in a gate – she’s taken a big hit but at least she is sitting up now. She’s been helped to the side of the course so hopefully nothing broken. Tessa Worley next to go – she’s lost a little time to inter 1 but she’s back by 2 and still nicely green at 3 – she’s lost over half by the finish but still takes the lead by 0.29! Mikaela Shiffrin just green at inter 1 but red at 2 and redder still at 3 – over the line in 3rd so not necessarily on the podium today! Sara Hector red at 1 and losing time all the way she’s into 3rd, Shiffrin off the podium! Well done to Tessa Worley for the win, ahead of Brignone and Hector; Shiffrin in 4th, ahead of Gisin and Liensberger. Fastest time on run 2 for Brignone. Sara Hector still leads the GS standings on 522, ahead of Worley [467] and Shiffrin [411]. In the overall Shiffrin is on 1156 with Vlhova on 1039 after a DNF today, Brignone 3rd on 931. Back to the biathlon.

Kvitfjell [Olympiabakken], Men’s Super G, 6 Mar 22: The course here was set by a Swiss coach – quite technical but a little constrained by the terrain. The camera run was interesting – I thought we’d had a faller already! Travis Ganong first away and down; Gino Caviezel red all the way – 2nd, +1.31. Ryan C-S green at inter 1, fractionally red at 2, green at 3 and 4 and he leads by 0.43. Max Franz into 3rd, +0.87; Vincent Kriechmayr very nicely in touch – green at 2 and building – he leads by 0.27. Josef Ferstl into 4th; Kilde on course trying to secure the Super G globe – green at inter 1, 0.67 ahead at 2 but maybe pushing too hard – he’s muscling his way down and he leads by 0.73 – what a run! Matthieu Bailet in touch and into 4th; Marco Odermatt on course – a very wild jump and he’s over a second off at inter 2 – into 7th, +1.68. Dominik Paris is charging – he’s gained time from 2 to 3 to be just 0.06 red there – into 2nd, +0.21 – he’s having a good weekend! Andreas Sander into 5th; that’s a good run from Stefan Rogentin to take over 5th place; Matthias Mayer in touch all the way and he’s into 2nd, +0.12. A great run from Mayer; Kilde is happy too! Beat Feuz on course and he’s close all the way to inter 4 – lost a bit from there and he’s 4th, +0.31. Romed Baumann into 6th; hells bells that was a jump from Raphael Haaser, he’s spent a fair amount of time in the air on that run – into 15th. James Crawford just green at inter 2 and better at 3; just 0.02 ahead at 3 and he goes 2nd, +0.07 – the Canadians are having a great weekend! Sadly not so good for Brodie Seger who skied out. Johan Clarey also out but he’s up and seems OK. At present Kilde leads from Crawford and Mayer; Paris 4th ahead of Feuz and Kriechmayr – Odermatt in 19th. Nils Allegre well in touch at 1 and 2 and fast through the speed gun – losing time to 4 though and he’s caught an edge in sight of the finish – 15th, +1.31. Nice run from Justin Murisier into 6th; that’s very impressive from him, a PB I think. Stefan Babinsky into joint 10th with Ryan C-S – another PB; Niels Hintermann [bib 34] going well again and into 9th – he’s had a good weekend as well. Short of a huge, late upset it looks as though Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has not only won his first Super G on Norwegian snow but he’s got the Super G globe with one race to spare! Crucially for the overall title Marco Odermatt is currently 26th; make that 28th, which is worth just 3 points. So in the overall Odermatt is now on 1239, Kilde up to 1050 and Mayer on 836. Great race – and a superb run from Kilde.

Kontiolahti – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 6 Mar 22: I hope those bears aren’t too cold! This is going to be close! Tiril Eckhoff in a Swedish sandwich as Stina Nilsson is past her and Hanna Öberg has closed the gap to her. At 1.3 Km Tiril is back to 2nd, Elvira up 1 place as she’s past Voigt. That’s a nasty looking hill! Denise Herrmann in for S1 with Eckhoff and 2 Swedes. Herrmann 1 miss, same for Nilsson and Hanna has missed 2, Elvira 1. Eckhoff clear and out 22.9 ahead of Herrmann with Nilsson another 4 or so behind, then Voight, Persson and Knotten [all clear]! Herrmann and Nilsson have pulled a little time back by 3.3 Km. Tiril in for S2 – all 5 down and she’s off; Herrmann also clear this time, Stina Nilsson has missed 1, Elvira 2 and Hanna Öberg another 2. Tiril out 21.3 ahead of Herrmann, Anais C-B up to 3rd, +38.8, then Voight [0,0], Nilsson [1,1]and Simon [0,0 – up from 18th]. Tiril on that hill for the third time; Denise Herrmann has closed a little, Simon up to 4th. In for the first standing shoot – Eckhoff on form and that’s 15/15, Herrmann 1 miss, Anais C-B clear despite the wind getting up. Simon has missed 2, Doro Wierer also 15/15 as is Vanessa Voigt. Eckhoff out 43.7 ahead of Anais C-B, Herrmann +44.4, Wierer 54.0 and Voigt 55.4 back. Røiseland [1,1,1] in 8th; Hanna Öberg clear this time and 10th, while Elvira [1,2,1] is 19th. Tiril Eckhoff in for her final shoot with a healthy lead – she’s missed the first and the last but she’s off like a rocket. Herrmann has missed the last, Anais C-B 2. Doro clear and out 2nd, +14.0 with Herrmann 3rd, +22.2. Then Knotten [+45.2], Røiseland [1,1,1,0] and Anais C-B. Franzi Preuß 20/20 and up to 8th from 32. On the final lap Herrmann is only closing slowly on Doro Wierer – I think the podium is settled? Tiril Eckhoff [0,0,0,2] takes the wi, Doro Wierer [0,0,0,0] up from 17th to 2nd with Herrmann on the podium again. Røiseland up to 4th from 8, ahead of Knotten [11 – 5th] and Anais C-B in 6th. Other gainers include Preuß [32-8], Zdouc [19-10], Bescond [21-13], Haecki [37-16], Franzi Hildebrand [28-17], Tandrevold [33-21], Hettich [40-27], Irwin [39-29], Lunder [49-32], Egan [51-37] and Sanfilippo [58-41]. Those losing places include Voigt [6-11], Hanna Öberg [4-18], Hinz [12-19], Nilsson [3-20], Todorova [15-28], Justine B-B [14-31], Lien [16-34, Eder [9-42] and Magnusson [31-46]. Good race – well done to the podium.

Kontiolahti – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 6 Mar 22: Maybe a bit more overcast as they start – QFM away, 2.6 ahead of FF Andersen at 1.8 Km with a big pack another 10 seconds back. In for S1 – QFM clear and Jacquelin has also cleared to go out 2nd, +18.3, just ahead of FF Andersen, Kühn, Hofer and Lesser – all clear. Samuelsson missed 1 as did Femling and Doll among others – Bakken has missed 2. On the lap Jacquelin is closing down QFM, who is now coming in for S2 – wind has died away; QFM clear and away but just 7.2 ahead of Jacquelin who is also clear; Kühn and Andersen have both missed 1 so it’s Lesser [0,0] out 3rd just ahead of Christiansen who also has all 10 down and is up from 24th! Leitner, Samuelsson and Kühn about 50 seconds back from the lead. On the lap Jacquelin is right up with QFM although he’s lost a little on that hill. The leading 2 Frenchmen are in for the first standing shoot – Jacquelin shooting faster but he’s missed 1, QFM clear. The gap is now 19.3 as they leave the range. Samuelsson has missed 2, Lesser clear as is Christiansen. Out in order QFM, Jacquelin, Hofer +51.6, Christiansen, Lesser and Laegreid + 1:10.8. At 9.3 Km QFM is now 27.4 ahead of Jacquelin, Hofer is 3rd, +56.1 just ahead of Christiansen and Lesser. QFM in for the final shoot – he’s missed the final 1 and away. Jacquelin has also missed 1 and out +25.6 – Hofer [0,1,0,0] clear +32.0, Christiansen [0,0,0,0] + 34.0, Lesser [0,0,0,0] +37.9 but Laegreid [0,1,0,1] in 6th is +1:02.2. At 11 Km Lukas Hofer is up to 2nd, just ahead of Jacquelin and Christiansen with Lesser just hanging on. At 11.8 Lesser has just got past Hofer, Jacquelin and Christiansen dropping back a little on the hill. QFM cruises to the double, Erik Lesser has won the race to 2nd, with Hofer 3rd. Jacquelin in 4th, ahead of Christiansen and Laegreid. The list of those gaining places includes Lesser [12th to 2nd], Hofer [8-3], Christiansen [24-5], Laegreid [22-6], Rees [20-9], Desthieux [17-10], Doll [25-11], A F Andersen [26-15], Burkhalter [46-25], Hidensalo [38-29], Bionaz [53-34], Brandt [47-37] and Nordgren [52-39]. Those losing places include Bakken [4-7], FF Andersen [2-8], Nawrath [7-12], Kühn [3-13], Eder [10-16], Bormolini [13-23], Samuelsson [5-24, 5 penalty loops], Femling [9-33], Guigonnat [11-36], Jaeger [28-44], Stvrtecky [23-47] and Buta [35-53]. Well done to Quentin FM – winning both the sprint and the pursuit; lovely to see Erik Lesser on the podium as retirement looms and nice to see Lukas Hofer back on the podium.

Flachau [Hermann Maier] – Men’s Slalom, 9 Mar 22 – Run 1: This looks a tricky course, set by a German coach. Henrik Kristoffersen first away today; Dave Ryding is bob 3. Kristoffersen did look pretty good until a big error on the very final sector – he isn’t happy! Seb Foss-Solevaag next and he’s matching Kristoffersen on the upper sections and he’s made a similar error at that same gate – a better recovery has given him the lead by 1.32! Dave Ryding into the red and 0.60 off the pace at inter 3 but he’s got that tricky gate right to take the lead by 0.26. Manu Feller has also got through that gate to go 2nd, +0.13. Clement Noel green at 1 but red at 2; back green at 3 and he leads by 0.09. Loic Meillard into 5th, I think but the live feed has frozen! Linus Strasser now 5th – feed still frozen! Alexis Pinturault has taken over 5th; Johannes Strolz green at inter 1 and better at 2 – that was astonishing – he's a full second ahead at the finish! Marco Schwarz away and red at 1, and 0.77 off at 2 – he's into 6th. Lucas Braathen over a second back at 3 – into 5th – very close to a straddle but just inside! Ramon Zenhaeusern into 11th, just over 2 seconds adrift. Daniel Yule into 3rd ; Alex Vinatzer slowest so far! FIS data feed is still stuck on bib 6 as we go to a TV break after bib 15! The course is starting to get rutted; at last the data is back! The course set is really taking a toll of some very good slalom skiers! Oh dear – yet another DNF for Jakobsen – that’s his 8th in a row; that really is a shame. Atle Lie McGrath more in touch than most and a superb final sector gets him into 2nd, +0.97. That’s 22 away – Strolz leads from McGrath, Noel, Yule, Ryding and Feller. This is looking good from Joaquim Salarich – he’s into joint 10th with Pinturault. Grief – Kristoffersen is down to 24th at present! It’s Manfred Mölgg’s last World Cup race and he’s getting a superb send off from both the crowd and the other skiers! We seem to have stopped for a party! No late changes to the top 10 but nice to see Laurie Taylor getting a second run – he’s the highest bib number [55] to qualify, and in 17th. Henrik Kristoffersen only just qualified for run 2, in 29th place, but it does mean, of course, that he goes on a new, well prepared piste!
Run 2: Eight more gates on this set, from a French coach, but it’s arguably a bit easier? Henrik Kristoffersen away second and hugely green at inter 1 against Matej Vidovic’s time – he’s 1.45 faster at the finish! Erik Read has gained a lot from inter 2 to the finish – into 2nd, +0.09 but that was better than Kristoffersen on the lower sector. Giuliano Razzoli has gained from 2 to 3 but he’s a DNF – very acrobatic; Samuel Kolega is red at 2 and 3 but he’s had a much better final sector and he leads by 0.22. Luca Aerni has gained from 1 to 2 and he's almost doubled that to 3 – he leads by 0.11. Ten away, Aerni leads from Kolega and Kristoffersen. Luke Winters has gained to 1, same at 2 and still green at 3 – he leads by 0.18 – good effort from bib 34. Laurie Taylor red at 1 but steady – he’s down and into the nets; up and skiing down – pity after such a good first run! Timon Haugan into 3rd; Fabio Gstrein goes 4th. Linus Strasser still green at 2, gained a bit to 3 and inti 2nd, +0.15. Winters has gained 6 places, Aerni 8! Alexis Pinturault just 0.01 red at 2 but he’s losing time – into 7th; Joaquim Salarich 0.64 ahead at the start but red by inter 1 and he’s off the pace today – just 16th. Marco Schwarz just slipping into the red at inter 3 but he’s pulling it back on the last sector and he leads by 0.14! Seb Foss-Solevaag has only 0.03 in hand at the start and it’s gone by 1, redder at 2 but back green by 3 – into 3rd; Lucas Braathen already red at 1 – just 10th, but that has pushed Kristoffersen into 11th. Six left, Manu Feller next – red by inter 2, back green at 3 – into 2nd, +0,07. Dave Ryding next – 0.27 green at the start, good to inter 1 but he’s straddled – that’s a massive missed opportunity for the slalom title. Daniel Yule steady to inter 2 and he’s gained a lot to 3 [0.70 ahead], lost almost all to the finish but he’s nicked it by just 0.05! Ironically the best time on run 2 still belongs to Kristoffersen, currently down to 13th. Clement Noel just red at 2, 0.01 green at 3 but that’s a great final sector to lead by 0.35. Atle Lie McGrath away , red at 2 but nicely green at 3 and he now leads by 0.29 – great recovery! He’s very happy! Just Johannes Strolz to come and he has 0.97 in hand – he’s a bit late in the line and red by inter 3 – he’s not on the podium, just 4th – a bit nervous! So, McGrath takes the win, ahead of Noel and Yule, then Strolz, Schwarz and Feller. Kristoffersen in 16th, so he gets just 15 points today but it’s enough to leave him leading the slalom standings still on 371 points. Luckily for him Braathen only got 16 today so he’s on 323 with Linus Strasser on 307. Feller on 301 and Yule 283 so all to play for in the final race! Very well done to all the podium, but especially McGrath!