Alpine Skiing & Biathlon 2023/24 Season

Women’s Giant Slalom – Sölden: 28 Oct 23. Well, first a bit of rather surprising news – Lucas Braathen has had enough; very disenchanted with the Norwegian authorities and he’s announced his retirement! I missed run 1 of the Women’s GS – Federica Brignone was fastest, ahead of Sara Hector [+0.50] with Petra Vlhova 3rd, +0.63 – then Lara Gut-Behrami [+0.73], Mikaela Shiffrin [+0.75] and Franzi Gritsch [+1.19].
Run 2: Clara Direz [FRA] the first away, amazingly the only French skier in this competition today. Melanie Meillard [SUI] is fractionally faster; Paula Moltzan [USA] better still. Zrinka Ljutic [CRO] into 2nd despite a small stumble out of the start; with 10 away Moltzan still leads, ahead of Ljutic and Meillard, and the ruts are starting to form. Sofia Goggia [ITA] had to pull up on run 1 as there was a marshal on the track, and walked back up to re-start – she’s into 3rd place despite that extra effort. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel [POL] is away just before the half way break – she’s into 2nd; Paula Moltzan has now made up 12 places! Stephanie Brunner [AUT] first away after the break – it’s certainly getting rough but she’s into joint 3rd with Ljutic; Ana Bucik next and she has more than 0.80 in hand – it’s slipping away but she’s into a tie for first place with Moltzan. Alice Robinson [NZL] has made a great start – building on her advantage to get to 0.50 ahead at inter 2; she takes the lead by 0.19! It seems the FIS have banned fluoride in the preparation of the ski base – that caught out Ragnhild Mowinckel who has been DQd; I suspect it will be a tricky time for the tech teams as they try to check everything to make sure there is no contamination. Mina Fuerst Holtmann [NOR] has had a great final section and she leads by an impressive 0.48 – some good news for the team. Valerie Grenier [CAN] has built on her advantage to inter 3, and she takes the lead by 0.55 – impressive stuff! Marta Bassino has gained a lot from inter 2 to 3; she’s lost a bit later but that was enough to take the lead by 0.26! Franzi Gritsch into 5th; Mikaela Shiffrin next and she’s lost a little to inter 2 – just red by 3 and she’s into 2nd, +0.21 after a fast final sector. Lara Gut-Behrami has 0.52 in hand as she starts – she’s 0,81 ahead at inter 2, very fast through the speed gun and she leads by a massive 1.19 – what a phenomenal final sector! Petra Vlhova just red at inter 1 and into 2nd, +0.14; Shiffrin off the podium. Sara Hector also red at inter 1 and she’s losing a lot of time – into 3rd but +1.10. just Federica Brignone to come – 0.73 in hand as she starts; till green at 2 but she’s lost time and it’s just red at 3 – she’s over the line in 2nd, just 0.02 off the pace. What a race! Lara Gut-Behrami [SUI] takes the opening race of the season, ahead of Federica Brignone [ITA] and Petra Vlhova [SVK]. Hector in 4th ahead of Bassino and Shiffrin.
Sadly on the Sunday the weather won and the Men’s GS was cancelled.

11/12 Nov 23 – Zermatt & Levi: Well, first the bad news – as Downhill training in Zermatt was cancelled due to the weather, so was the scheduled race on 11 Nov. However the Women’s slalom in Levi on 11 Nov is going ahead – I missed run 1, which was won by Petra Vlhova, ahead of Lena Dürr [+0.18] and Mikaela Schiffrin [+0.42], then Liensberger, Huber and Hector. Surprised to see Anna Swenn Larsson in 27th!
Run 2 – Slalom: Not a good start – Hanna Aronsson Elfman recorded as a DNF after a straddle! This is apparently a trickier set than run 1; it was set by Shiffrin’s coach!? Martina Peterlini [ITA] has got down safely, and she’s just faster than Anna Swenn Larsson [SWE], who was the next on the course! Lara Colturi [ALB] into 3rd; that top 3 are holding on – 10th away is Leona Popovic [CRO] and she’s green all the way – she takes over the lead by 0.67! Next away is Ali Nullmeyer [CAN], who has gained all the way to inter 3 – she’s lost a little from there but she leads by 0.33. Emma Aicher [GER] out after a straddle; Wendy Holdener [SUI] into 3rd. That’s 15 away – Nullmeyer leads from Popovic and Holdener. The course between inter 2 and 3, over the roller, is a great place to lose time! Martina Dubovska [CZE] into 4th; Paula Moltzan [USA] goes 5th. Twenty away, no recent changes to the top 3 – Nullmeyer leads from Popovic and Holdener. Just as I write that Melanie Meillard [SUI] goes into 2nd, by just 0.02! Another TV break – just 8 to come. Zrinka Ljutic [CRO] had 0.68 in hand as she started but it’s slipping away – into 3rd, +0.20. Maria Therese Tviberg has lost even more time – into 5th; that’s 13 places that Nullmeyer has gained. Sara Hector [SWE] still green at inter 3 and she’s kept it that way – she leads by 0.37! Katharina Huber [AUT] into 4th; she’s the third Austrian Katharina to ski this second run, and Liensberger is the fourth, going next – she’s gained from inter 1 to 2 and is 0.96 green at inter 3 – Katharina Liensberger leads by 1.05 and that was a great run! Mikaela Shiffrin next with 0.60 in hand; lost a bit to inter 1, has it back by 2, just into the red at 3and she’s into 2nd, +0.15. No reindeer today! Lena Dürr [GER] on course – she’s lost a little to inter 2, dead level at 3 and now she leads by 0.14 – good final section. Just Petra Vlhova [SVK] to come – she’s gained to inter 1, and more still to 2; a massive lead of 1.30 at inter 3 – she takes the win by a very dominant 1.41 having started just 0.18 ahead! What a run – hugely impressive – that will be reindeer number 6! So, Vlhova takes the win ahead of Dürr and Liensberger; Shiffrin in 4th, then Hector and Nullmeyer.

12 Nov 23: Sadly the weather has caused the second Downhill in Zermatt to be cancelled as well! Due to being distracted by a back problem I missed run 1 of the Women’s Slalom from Levi as well – Petra Vlhova again the winner there with Shiffrin a fairly remote second ahead of Hector. I joined run 2 of the slalom with 10 away – Martina Peterlini [ITA] leading from Marie-Therese Sporer [AUT] and Estelle Alphand [SWE] – Peterlini has so far gained 8 places! Ana Bucik [SLO] into 3rd, although one graphic has her as 6th; Thea Louise Stjernesund {NOR] still green at inter 2 but it’s the course from there that seems to be causing problems – she’s only 9th. Here' a new name to me – Bianca Bakke Westhoff [NOR]; apparently she used to race for Netherlands but is now in the Norwegian team [Norwegian father] – good run too as she’s into 3rd! That’s half way – Peterlini leads from Sporer and Westhoff; that’s 12 places that Peterlini has gained on run 2. Katharina Huber [AUT] has gained time from inter 1 to 2 and still green at 3 – she takes the lead by 0.09! Chiara Pogneaux [FRA] into joint 3rd with Sporer; Katharina Liensberger [AUT] in touch – red at 2, but green again at 3 and she’s actually managed to gain time from there to lead by 0.53 – a great final sector! Zrinka Ljutic [CRO] still green at inter 3 and she’s into 2nd by just 0.04; Martina Dubovska [CZE] has gained to inter 2 but it’s gone wrong to 3 and she’s only 8th. Laurence St-Germain [CAN] going well to inter 2, lost a bit to 3 and briefly lost a pole, but still green and she leads by just 0.09. Final TV break – St-Germain leads from Liensberger and Ljutic. That was a good run from Mina Fuerst Holtmann [NOR] – nicely green at inter 3 and she takes the lead by 0.09 – all very close! Wendy Holdener [SUI] just red at 3and she’s into joint 3rd with Liensberger, good run; Ali Nullmeyer was 6th yesterday but she’s red by inter 2 – a good final sector though and she’s pulled back time – into 2nd by just one one hundredth! At present it’s Norway, Canada and Canada. Leona Popovic [CRO] has gained a good lot of time to inter 3 and she’s still gaining – forget the hundredths, she leads by a massive 1.05 – brilliant! Lena Dürr [GER] red at 2 and 3 but still in touch - - she goes 2nd, +0.12, that’s another good result; Sara Hector [SWE] also just red at 2 and losing a little from there – into 3rd by 0.48. Just 2 to go; Mikaela Shiffrin [USA] on course with 0.43 in hand – just 0.28 left at 2, 0.06 at 3 but a better final sector gets her the lead by 0.18. Petra Vlhova [SVK]away in search of yet another reindeer – 0.76 in had as she starts; she’s got that to 1.06 ahead by inter 2 – there’s a huge shock, she’s straddled so Shiffrin gets the reindeer – that’s her 7th win here. So, Mikaela Shiffrin gets her 89th World Cup win, ahead of Leona Popovic and Lena Dürr. Hector in 4th, ahead of Holtmann and Nullmeyer. Amazingly that’s apparently only the 2nd time that Vlhova has had a DNF when leading after run 1?

18/19 Nov 23 – Gurgl [Men] & Zermatt-Cervinia [Women]: Saturday first and the Men are racing Slalom on the Kirchenkar slope at Gurgl, while the Women are racing Downhill on the Gran Becca at Zermatt-Cervinia! I see Lara Gut-Behrami is there, but not Shiffrin or Vlhova, although I see the start of the Downhill has been postponed, which isn’t good news! Even worse – the listing seems to have vanished from the FIS web page – not looking good? Yes, it's confirmed “Due to the strong wind and the unfavourable forecast for the day today women’s downhill has been cancelled” Zermatt 3 – skiing 0! Oh well, at least the Slalom looks to be happening.
Slalom – Run 1 18 Nov: Sunny, very little wind and minus 9, and it’s a new slope! Dave Ryding goes at number 11, Billy Major 33 and Laurie Taylor 47. Right – race on and first away is Linus Strasser [GER]; a slightly ragged start, but more settled later and he’s safely down. Ramon Zenhaeusern [SUI] next and he’s 1.06 faster at inter 1; that advantage is slipping away though – just 0.18 at inter 3 and he leads but by just 0.27. Manu Feller [AUT] on course and he’s gained time from 1 to 2, a massive 1.20 ahead at 3 and he leads by 1.40 – I think it’s fair to say he’s happy with that! Clement Noel [FRA] can’t match that – into 2nd, +0.94; now, what can Henrik Kristoffersen [NOR] do – he’s off the pace today and just 4th, +1.54. Daniel Yule [SUI] into 5th, +1.63; Loic Meillard [SUI] a bit more in touch and into 3rd, +1.10. Fabio Gstrein [AUT] is using his local knowledge to get into 3rd, +0.99; now 10 away – Feller leads ahead of Noel and Gstrein, then Meillard, Zenhaeusern and Timon Haugan [NOR]. Dave Ryding [GBR] just green at inter 1, but red the rest of the way – just 10th, +1.71. On the plus side – fastest so far in sector 1. Marco Schwarz [AUT] is aiming to do all the races this year – he’s into 5th; he’s not lonely there though as Alexander Steen Olsen [NOR] has gone joint 5th. That’s 15 away, first TV break – Feller, Noel and Gstrein remain the top 3. AJ Ginnis [GRE] has the dubious distinction of the first DNF today after a straddle. Not bad from Marc Rochat [SUI] – into 8th; even better, Kristoffer Jakobsen [SWE, bib 20] into 7th. Kristoffersen currently 11th, Ryding 15th with 22 away. That’s quite a rut that is starting to build up. Billy Major {GBR] into 23rd, +2.89 with 33 away; Laurie Taylor [GBR] also safely down and currently 27th – a chance for run 2 but with more than 20 still to come.
Run 2 – well the good news is that all 3 GBR skiers get a 2nd run, with Laurie Taylor 3rd to go. This course set, by an Italian coach, looks a bit trickier! Tanguy Nef [SUI] the early leader; Laurie Taylor faster to inter 3 but then he straddles – DNF and sadly no points. Luca Aerni [SUI] into joint 1st; Juan del Campo [ESP] into 3rd. Billy Major also fast to inter 2, lost a bit to 3 but he’s safely down and into the lead by 0.44; best time on run 2 so far. Sadly Tobias Kastlunger [ITA] is next and 0.08 faster; Dominik Raschner [AUT] into 3rd. Well, Major is gaining places, including such names as Seb Foss-Solevaag and Alex Vinatzer! Filip Zubcic [CRO] into 2nd by just 0.01; Michael Matt [AUT] is the last to go before the half way point – he starts with 0.95 in hand and finishes with 0.94 left to take the lead – fastest in the final 2 sectors as well. So, Matt leads from Kastlunger and Zubcic; 15 to go. TV break over and Dave Ryding is next to go with 0.21 in hand – he’s gained to inter 2 but is losing time from there – he's into 2nd, by just 0.01! Seb Holtzmann [GER] into 5th; Linus Strasser has gained a little to inter 2 but he’s red at 3 and into 3rd, +0.51. Daniel Yule has also gained to inter 2 but he’s lost time to 3 – he’s now into 3rd, +0.03 – all very close and Ryding holds on to 2nd. Now, Henrik Kristoffersen has 0.38 in hand as he starts; he’s gained to inter 1 but he’s lost time to 2 and that’s just 4th, +0.15! Ten to go, Matt leads from Ryding and Yule! Timon Haugan has a very similar setup to Kristoffersen, and he too has lost time between inter 1 and 2 to go 4th, ahead of his fellow Norwegian! Marc Rochat the last before the second TV break but he’s well off the pace and into 13th! Matt has gained 8 places, Ryding 5 – 8 to go! Break over and it’s Ramon Zenhaeusern on course – he’s losing time from the off and that’s not his best – he’s 16th!! Kristofer Jakobsen was nicely green at inter 2 but it’s all gone wrong from there and he’s just 8th after a big error – one of the Swedish coaches is punching his smart phone! Marco Schwarz gained to inter 1 and he’s going well – he takes over the lead by an impressive 0.82! There’s a delay while some “activists” are disrupting the finish area – Henrik Kristoffersen would obviously like to take some direct action! Alexander Steen Olsen seems to have been affected by the delay – he’s 2.07 off the pace. An early straddle by Loic Meillard and he’s out; Fabio Gstrein also not in touch after the disruption and he’s into 7th; Clement Noel also suffering from the state of the piste and he’s just 11th -= Dave Ryding still holding on to 3rd! Just Manu Feller to go – with 1.16v in hand – he’s still got 0.78 at inter 2 but the light conditions aren’t good – still green at 3 and he takes the lead by just 0.23! Lovely to see him take that win after the changing conditions and the delay! It’s a clean sweep for the Austrians – Feller wins ahead of Marco Schwarz and Michel Matt. Great effort by Dave Ryding to end up 4th, having gained 11 places, ahead of Daniel Yule and Timon Haugan. Billy Major ended up 16th, having gained 8 places on run 2. No Men’s race planned for Sunday.

Sunday – well the cancellations at Zermatt continue – no Women’s race today, again due to strong winds and a poor forecast!

Östersund – Mixed Relays – 25 Nov 23: The start of a new season, with several new names mixed in with the old guard! This year the rules have changed so that in a Mixed Relay all team members ski the standard 2Km loop 3 times; there is also a fluor ban in the preparation of the skis, which will involve considerable testing, both before and after each race. Today’s races start with the Single Mixed Relay – it’s minus 11; Patrick has a new commentary partner – Ian Woods? Men going first today - Sturla Holm Laegreid going for Norway; Seb Samuelsson for Sweden and he’s paired with Hannah Öberg. Race on – at 1.1 Km it’s Laegreid just ahead of Niklas Hartweg [SUI] and Lukas Hofer [AUT], then Fabien Claude [FRA], Samuelsson and Simon Eder [AUT]. First shoot of the season – Simon Eder leads out, ahead of Strelow [GER], Harjula [FIN], Tyshchenko [UKR] Doherty [USA] and Rastorgujevs [LAT, +6.7] – all clear. Laegreid also clear and 7th, +6.8 but back up to 3rd by 2.6 Km. Already in for the standing shoot – and from here it’s straight to the exchange – Eder clear and out ahead of Strelow, Tyschenko, Jakob Fak [SLO], Harjula and Laegreid, who used 1 spare. So, first exchange – AUT/GER/UKR. Poor shooting by Samuelsson, 4 spares in this leg – Sweden are 17th at the exchange +35.4. Lisa Theresa Hauser leading early on ahead of Kebinger [GER] and Arnekliev [NOR]. At the prone shoot it’s Julia Simon who leads out ahead of Baserga [SUI], Minkkinen [FIN] and Merkushyna [UKR]; Hannah Öberg clear and up to 10th. Hauser and Kebinger have both used all 3 spares. This is a short race – Julia Simon in for her standing shoot – 1st shot missed and 1 more but she’s still out first ahead of Arnekliev with Hannah Ö clear again and up to 3rd. At the exchange it’s FRA/NOR/SWE/SUI/GER/FIN & UKR tied. Men on their second 2Km loop – Claude leads in for S5, ahead of Laegreid and Samuelsson – Seb Samuelsson clear this time and he leads out ahead of Niklas Hartweg – Laegreid 3rd after 1 spare but Claude was on the penalty loop and out 29.3 behind in 9th. Seb in for S6, with a good gap - he’s clear again; Hartweg has 3 misses but Laegreid is clear this time and also away. At exchange 3 it’s SWE/NOR/GER/UKR/SUI/AUT. Fabien Claude has done another loop so France are 10th at the exchange; Hartweg also on the penalty loop after S6. Hannah Ö is pulling away a little – she’s at S7 and she’s missed number 5 – 2 spares to recover but Juni Arnekliev is clear and out just 1.0 behind with Hanna Kebinger 3rd, but +27.9 after 1 spare. Arnekliev is staying with Öberg on the lap but Kebinger is losing time as are the chasing group. In for S8 – quite a few spares from the leading pair – 2 each and out with the Norwegian 6.8 behind! Julia Simon out 3rd, just ahead of Kebinger. And now it’s a race to the finish – at 13.1 Km Öberg is 13.2 ahead of Arnekliev; Simon holding 3rd, with Polona Klemencic [SLO] past Kebinger with Hauser in 6th. That’s it – Sweden takes the win despite Samuelsson’s poor first leg, Norway in 2nd ahead of France, who are on the podium despite Claude’s shooting!! Slovenia up into 4th, then Austria and Switzerland. Germany slipped to 7th.

Mixed Relay – 25 Nov 23: Missed the start – thought I had time for a walk but it was such a nice day that I went further! I joined at about Exchange 1 with Tarjei Bø just leading from SUI/FRA/GER/CZE/ITA. On to leg 2 – Johannes Bø leading; there’s a surprise! In for S3 – JoBø has missed 2; Emilien Jacquelin [FRA] has used 1 spare which he didn’t really need, against JoBø’s 2 – out pretty much together; Philipp Nawrath [GER] in 3rd, +4.1 then Mikulas Karlik [CZE], Tommaso Giacomel [ITA] and Jeremy Finello [SUI]. In for S4 – that’s odd – JoBø has used no spares but the graphic showed 1 target missed? Anyway Nawrath out 2nd, ahead of Giacomel [1 penalty loop], Karlik, Jacquelin [1 penalty loop] and Martin Ponsiluoma [SWE]. Exchange 2 and Karoline Offigstad Knotten will take over from JoBø – she has 17.9 seconds in hand, ahead of Sophia Schneider [GER]. Then Doro Wierer [ITA] +46.4 ahead of CZE/FRA/SWE. At 12.8 Km Knotten is 24.5 ahead of Schneider; Justine Braisaz-Bouchet [FRA] has got up to 3rd, ahead of Marketa Davidova [CZE], Doro Wierer and Anna Magnusson [SWE, +1:08.0]. Knotten in for S5 – she’s clear and away; Schneider also clear and out +34.2 ahead of Doro who was also clear, +47.7 and just ahead of Justine B-B who also cleared all 5. On the lap Justine B-B and Davidova are closing the gap a little and are past Doro. Right – S6, Knotten has missed 2, one rather unlucky. All 3 spares used but she’s out – however Justine B-B has cleared all 5 and is out +7.3; Schneider [1 spare, +24.4] then Doro [1 spare, +28.8], Davidova [2] and Magnusson [1, and +1:13.3]. Exchange 3 and Justine B-B has got past Knotten; France ahead by 8.6! Norway in 2nd, then German +30.0 ahead of CZE/ITA/SWE, but Magnusson has lost a bit more so is 1:38.8 behind – that’s a lot for Elvira Öberg to try to pull back! At 18.8 Km Lou Jeanmonnot [FRA] is just 4.4 ahead of Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold [NOR] with Vanessa Voight [GER] +34.5 and only fractionally ahead of Jessica Jislova [CZE] and Lisa Vittozzi. I’m not a fan of the fact that this season all races except World Championships count for the World Cup points! Anyway – S7 – Jeanmonnot clear and out, but Tandrevold is also clear and +2.9. Jislova clear and out 3rd, ahead of Vittozzi [1] and Voight [1]. Elvira has also missed 1 and is 1:48.2 back in 6th. All very close on the lap where Tandrevold is just ahead as they head for the final shoot – commentary team reckon Jeanmonnot looks more relaxed – they may be right as she’s 5/5 and away; Tandrevold uses 1 spare and out +13.3. Vittozzi is also clear and out +28.6, nicely ahead of Jislova [1, +49.9] and Voight [1, +59.4]. Elvira has used 2 more spares and is now over 2 minutes back – she has a 15 Km race tomorrow so I suspect she eased off a while back? So, Lou Jeanmonnot crosses the line to give France [1+5] the win, ahead of Norway [0+7], Italy [1+9], Germany [0+8] and Czechia [0+9]. Again, two of the podium nations did a penalty loop! Odd to see Sweden so far back given [0+9] – ski snags, but they were fast in the Single?? Nice start to the season.

Östersund – Individuals – 26 Nov 23: First race today is the Women’s 15 Km Individual – we saw yesterday that Hanna Öberg looked in good form; hard to tell about Elvira as I think she had eased back? Justine B-B will be first away this morning, followed by Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold [now ILT, for ease]. Justine B-B still fastest at 1.5 Km, with some quite big gaps there already – she’s at S1 now , clear and away! Good by ILT too, clear and out +7.8; Vanessa Voight and Aita Gasparin both also clear; remember that for the Individual there are no penalty loops – just a full minute added for each target missed! Oh dear, Anna Magnusson has missed 2 at S1 – audible groans from the home crowd! Lisa Vittozzi clear at S1 and just +6.5; that was quite a slow shoot by Doro Wierer’s standards but she too is clear at S1. At 4.5 Km Justine B-B is opening some bigger gaps, but it’s early on the race. Justine B-B at S2 and she’s missed 2, as has Tandrevold – maybe they didn’t have the pacing right? Back at S1 Marketa Davidova is clear and just 3.3 behind the best time; Voight has gone 10/10 – the first to do so, so far. Julia Simon is clear at S1 – fast shooting and +4.6; Tamara Steiner [AUT] also 10/10 but quite slow on the tracks. Hanna Öberg clear at S1 too and +3.6, so she is going well! Vittozzi is 10/10 and 25.5 faster than Voight! Elvira Öberg at S1 but she’s missed 1; Doro Wierer has gone 10/10 but she’s 23.2 slower than Vittozzi. That’s a pity – Davidova has missed 2 at S2; Voight now 15/15 – solid shooting! Julia Simon at S2 – that was very quick and she has 10/10 and out tied with Vittozzi! Hanna Öberg has missed 1 at S2 and Elvira 2 more there; very annoying – Vittozzi has missed her final shot at S3 and out +21.9 against Voight; Doro has joined the 15/15 club and is 2.7 faster than Voight. Back at S2 Knotten is clear and in touch, just +10.3; at S4 Justine B-B has missed 2 more, but ILT is clear this time – just 2 misses so far. I missed Davidova at S3 – she’s now [0,2,1]; excellent stuff, Voight is 20/20! Julia Simon has missed 1 at S3, but still only +19.5 so faster than Vittozzi. Knotten has also missed 1 at S3; Susan Külm [EST] is 15/15 but slower on the skis; Hanna Öberg now [0,1,1] and Elvira [1,2,1]. At S4 Vittozzi has gone [0,0,1,0] and she’s fractionally quicker there than Voight, despite the 1 miss; meanwhile Doro has missed 2 at S4. Karoline Offigstad Knotten has cleared S4 [0,0,1,0] and is faster than Hauser who cleared all 20! Voight over the finish line in the lead but Vittozzi has been gaining time on the lap; Simon is at S4 and having problems with feeding the rounds – she’s missed 3 there! Vittozzi over the line and 10.1 faster than Voight. Hang on – we haven’t seen that, Sophia Schneider at S3 and [0,0,0] but crucially just +0.9, so faster than Voight! At the finish the podium at present is Vittozzi, Voight and Knotten. I’m really happy to see the amazing Franzi Preuß go 15/15 and leave S3 3.3 faster than Doro W. Some of the later starters are going well – Anna Maka [POL] also 15/15; sadly at S4 Schneider has missed 1, out in 5th though! Just behind her is Marthe Krakstad Johansen [NOR; 0,0,1,0], it’s not over yet! On the final lap Schneider has gone ahead of Hauser’s time. Brilliant, lovely to see Franzi Preuß go 20/20 after such a hard time last year! She only has 11.8 in hand against Vittozzi though after S4. Maka has missed 1 at S4; Schneider over the finish line and currently 4th. At 13.5 Km Preuß is still ahead of Vittozzi but the gap is now just 5.5; at 14.5 Km the gap is down to 2.2! Oh that’s cruel – Franzi Preuß over the line 0.1 behind Lisa Vittozzi’s time! That’s great skiing by Vittozzi, an impressive win! Talking of great skiing, I see Stina Nilsson [SWE] still hasn’t got her shooting up to standard – she’s obviously very fast but [2,1,1,3] isn’t good if she wants to continue with biathlon. The top 6 are settled now, Vittozzi [ITA], Preuß [GER], Voight [GER], Knotten [NOR], Schneider [GER]. Hauser [AUT]. Three more Norwegians in the top 10 – Tandrevold [7], Johansen [8] and Skogan [10] – Maka [POL] a very creditable 9th.

Men’s 20 km Individual – 26 Nov 23: Emilien Jacquelin [FRA] first away – let’s hope the French men shoot better than the women did today. Seb Samuelsson seems to be starting quickly – fastest so far to 2.8 Km . Jacquelin at S1 and he’s clear; so is Samuelsson and he’s 11.2 faster. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen and Simon Eder both clear at S1 but Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 1. Good to see Benedikt Doll fit enough to race today! That’s very poor from Quentin Fillon Maillet [aka QFM] – 3 misses at S1. Tommaso Giacomel and Andrejs Rastorgujevs both clear at S1 and in touch; Justus Strelow has just joined them. , Sturla Holm Laegreid has also missed 1 – unusual; meanwhile at S2 Jacquelin has missed 2! Good grief, so have Samuelsson and Christiansen! JoBø has missed 1 at S1 as well; Simon Eder the only one so far with a 10/10 score. Ponsiluoma clear at S2, so out just 29.0 behind Eder. Fabien Claude clear at S1, but Doll has missed his final shot. Back to S2 and both Rastorgujevs and Giacomel are clear and out 1st and 3rd respectively. Laegreid clear at S2, pity about the 1 miss at S1; Tarjei Bø clear at S1. Good shooting by Seb Stalder [AUT] to go 10/10 and out +8.0, meanwhile JoBø has cleared at S2 with a very fast shoot! Samuelsson has missed 1 more at S3, but Eder is now 15/15. Ponsiluoma now [1,0,1] but at S2 Claude is 10/10 and 28.6 faster than Rastorgujevs! Speaking of Rastorgujevs he has just gone 15/15 and out 14.1 ahead of Eder, but Giacomel [0,1,0] is only +27.1 despite that 1 penalty minute. That’s odd – Laegreid clear again at S3 but he’s slower than Jacquelin who has one more penalty? Still at S3 Seb Stalder is also 15/15 and just 5 seconds behind Rastorgujevs – BUT JoBø [1,0,0] is only +18.2. Back at S2 Roman Rees is 10/10 but 21.6 slower than Claude; at S4 Eder has missed 2 – game over! Still at S4 Samuelsson is the present leader, faster than Christiansen despite having one more penalty; Ponsiluoma has missed 3 on his final shoot. That’s good from Pavel Magazeev [0,1,0,0] who is out of the range in 3rd; even better by Giacomel [0,1,0,1] – briefly ahead but Rastorgujevs is faster despite missing 1 here [0,0,0,1]. All change again though as Justus Strelow [0,1,0,0] is 4.2 quicker! Oops – Fabien Claude has missed 2 at S3, but Rees is 15/15 and now quickest at S3. JoBø has missed another at S4 [1,0,0,1] but still +15.8! Stalder has also missed 1 at S4 so no 20/20 so far. At 18.8 Km Rastorgujevs is 21.2 ahead of Samuelsson’s time; Strelow just quicker there! At 19.5 Km Strelow is gaining time on Rastorgujevs who is also losing time to Samuelsson – amazing that Seb is still holding the lead with 3 misses! Not for much longer though as Strelow has taken the lead with Rastorgujevs into 2nd. However, at 18.8 Km JoBø is +9.3; at 19.5 he’s past Rastorgujevs but is now 11.1 behind Strelow, and he’s broken a pole too. Current podium is Justus Strelow, JoBø +12.9 and Rastorgujevs + 17.0. Stalder in 4th and Samuelsson in 5th. However, back at S4 Roman Rees is [0,0,0,1] and 5.3 faster than Strelow, and at S3 Endre Strømsheim [NOR] is 15/15 but +31.5. Felix Leitner [AUT] is the first to get 20/20 but he's 47.5 off the pace; Strømsheim has missed 1 at S4! Looks like Rees is flying on his last lap – at 18.8 Km the 5.3 gap after S4 is now 13.8! The gap is now 14.6 at 19.5 Km – a very good effort, and he’s over the line in the lead – currently a German 1, 2! JoBø’s amazing run of wins has ended today. There might yet be a change to the top 10 – Emilien Claude [FRA] is one of the 20/20 team [I can only see 2] out from S4 in 9th but he looks to be losing time – the tracks are quite cut up now – he’s managed to hold on to 10th – great effort! Well, that’s it - a first win for Roman Rees, I think with Justus Strelow 2nd and Johannes Thingnes Bø in 3rd. Then Rastorgujevs, Stalder, Strømsheim, Samuelsson, Giacomel, Doll and Emilien Claude.

25/26 Nov 23 – Killington [Superstar] – Woman’s Giant Slalom: Run 1 – Joined a bit late as I was watching the biathlon. Sara Hector leading, ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami [+0.06], Marta Bassino [0.08], Mikaela Shiffrin and Federica Brignone. There is, for some reason, no video on Eurosport! Alice Robinson [NZL] has just taken the lead by 0.06; Petra Vlhova now down to 8th – Eurosport have given up waiting for video and pulled the plug on coverage of this first run! There seems to be something wrong with the FIS ticker too as nothing seems to be changing? Let’s hope they have the gremlins out for run 2? The ticker seems to be working rather intermittently – looks like Julia Scheib [AUT] is the best of the later starters at present – into 9th from bib 23? Hard to keep up though – the ticker says TV break after bib 22 but we are already on bib 29 – people who are already down, apparently, keep showing up as on course – this is a real mess! As far as I can tell, the top 6 haven’t changed for a good while – Robinson leads from Hector, Lara G-B, Bassino, Shiffrin and Brignone. And that was how run 1 ended – highest bib number to get a 2nd run was Zrinka Ljutic [CRO] who was 22nd from bib 50!
Run 2: Sadly scheduled just as I was cooking! On the plus side, we seem to have video? Franzi Gritsch [AUT] first away and safely down. It’s quite windy at times; Wendy Holdener arguably a bit unlucky with conditions and off the pace; Lara Colturi [ALB] much more in touch and she takes the lead by 0.61. Katharina Liensberger [AUT] has gained to inter 1, lost a little to 2, got it back by 3 and leads by 0.19. Zrinka Ljutic into 3rd; I’m off to finish dinner!
Back from supper – Val Grenier [CAN] has just taken the lead from Julia Scheib with Paula Moltzan in 3rd – she’s made up 6 places! Federica Brignone on course – she’s gaining time here; 0.64 ahead at 2 but just red at 3 and an error - she’s into 2nd, +0.33 – how did she hold on to that? Next is Mikaela Shiffrin, with 0.31 in hand as she starts – she’s well ahead at inter 2, lost a bit to 3 but then gained again to the finish – she leads by 0.63. Marta Bassino away and only 2 hundredths ahead of Shiffrin – going well to inter 1 but she’s down – back on her feet right away, hopefully just bruised? Lara G-B next and she has a 0.15 lead – she’s doubled it by 1, still there at 2 and more ahead at 3 – that was brilliant, she leads by a massive 0.81! Fastest in 3 of the 4 sectors too! Sara Hector red at inter 1 but not by much; much redder at 3 and she’s into 3rd, +1.06. Just Alice Robinson to go – just red at 1, bit redder at 2 but only 0.13 off the pace, more red at 3 – she’s held it together from there to go into 2nd, +0.62. So, another win for Lara Gut-Behrami; Alice Robinson in 2nd having set the best time in the final sector, with Mikaela Shiffrin 3rd. Hector in 4th, ahead of Grenier and Brignone. Sheib in 7th, then Moltzan, Goggia and Vlhova, who had a disappointing 2nd run. Good work by Lara G-B who has won both GS races so far!

Women’s Slalom 26 Nov: A busy day so I missed run 1! Mikaela Shiffrin fastest, ahead of Lena Dürr [+0.19], Petra Vlhova [+0.28], Wendy Holdener [+0.37], Leona Popovic [+0.49] and Paula Moltzan [+1.21]. Charlie Guest was among the DNFs.
Run 2: Nice to see Lara Colturi [bib 57] and Marion Chevrier [bib 59] getting a second run! This run once again clashes with cooking, but I hope to see enough, possibly on catch up? With 5 away Katharina Truppe leads from Bianca Bakke Westhoff [NOR] and Marion Chevrier. Melanie Meillard was red at inter 2, but back green at 3 and she leads by 0.27 – fastest in the final 2 sectors. Colturi can only manage 6th; Camille Rast has gained from 1 to 2 but lost from 3 – even so she now leads by 0.07! Katharina Gallhuber into 5th; Ali Nullmeyer goes 2nd, and slightly confusingly, Katharina Huber takes over the lead! Huber, Rast, Nullmeyer top 3 at present. All change; Andreja Slokar takes over the lead, Sara Hector into 2nd and now Marta Rossetti [ITA] takes over the lead! Michelle Gisin quite red at inter 2 but better from there to go into 2nd. That’s pretty much how it stayed until Wendy Holdener took over the lead, but next on course was Petra Vlhova – gained to inter 2, gained more to 3 and she leads by an amazing 1.04 – she really is on fire on this run! Just 2 to go – Lena Dürr red by inter 2 , redder at 3 and she’s almost doubled the deficit from there to go 3rd, +1.23. So, just Mikaela Shiffrin to go – 0.28 in hand – down to 0.14 at inter 1, but 0.17 at 2; up to 0.35 at 3 and Mikaela Shiffrin takes yet another win – fastest in both runs! She’s going to have to work for it this year though as Vlhova is certainly on form – 3rd on run 1 and second fastest on 2, just 0.05 off the pace. So Shiffrin wins, Vlhova 2nd ahead of Holdener, then Dürr, Rossetti and Gisin.

Östersund – Relays – 29/30 Nov 23:  First, on Wednesday, the Women’s 4 x 6Km relay. It seems both Öberg sisters are racing today,  on legs 3 and 4; Mike Dixon is back too! The weather looks horrible; windy with high humidity and it looks to be snowing?  No Schneider in the German team today and no Vittozzi; three fallers in the tight bunch just after the start. At 0.8 Km Lou Jeanmonnot is just ahead of Anna Magnusson and Marthe Krakstad Johansen – just 8.2 seconds between the top 10. In for S1 – some great shooting here, the first ten out are all clear with no spares used – Johansen just ahead of Magnusson and Jeanmonnot, then Tereza Vobornikova [CZE],  Rebecca Passler [ITA] and Janina Hettich-Walz [GER, +5.5]. Only Latvia on the penalty loop. First standing shoot – Johansen and Passler are away with no spares,  Jeanmonnot third ahead of Vobornikova  and Janina H-W [+11.2], all with 1 spare used. Magnusson among those using 3 spares and out 8th, +28.9. Poor Ziva Kelmencic [SLO] is doing 3 penalty loops; perhaps she was still on the range when that squall went through? As they head to the first exchange Jeanmonnot, Vobornikova, Johansen and Passler are pulling out a slight gap – then GER/SUI/SWE/POL/ROM/SVK.  Cloe Chevalier away for France on leg 2, at 6.8 Km she leads from Juni Arnekleiv [NOR], Jessica Jislova [CZE] and Doro Wierer. Then a gap to Selina Grotian, who has taken Schneider’s place?  As they head for S3 Linn Persson is past Grotian; at S3 – it’s Chevalier who leads out [1 spare], ahead of Jislova [1], Arnekleiv [2], Doro [1], Linn Persson [0] and Amy Baserga [SUI, 1].  Grotian in 7th, after using 1 spare, +25.5. As they head to S4 Arnekleiv is leading – it’s windy!  That’s great shooting by Arnekleiv – clear and out!  Jislova [2, +21.1] in 2nd, then Doro [0, +29.3] and Persson [1, +46.3]. Grotian in 5th ahead of Baserga – Chloe Chevalier has done a penalty loop and is 7th, +1:51.1. Anna Maka [POL] has also done a penalty loop. Exchange 2 – Norway leading as Karoline Offigstad Knotten  takes over, with 37 seconds in hand. Then the Czech Republic and Sweden [+47.8] – followed by GER [+49.6], ITA [+50.8] and SUI [+1:24.5]. At 12.8 Km Marketa Davidova has closed a little on Knotten, as has Elvira Öberg, who has gained 9 seconds by 13.6 Km. In for S5 – Knotten has missed 1 but she leads out; Davidova missing but Elvira is clear and out +23.1, Vanessa Voight also clear and +29.6 and that’s it for anyone within a minute of the leader! Davidova on the penalty loop and out 5th, just behind Samuela Comola [ITA].  Justine B-B has avoided the loop but used all 3 spares – out 10th.  On the lap Elvira continues to close; in for S6 and Knotten has missed 2, and used all 3 spares – meanwhile Elvira has cleared all 5 with no spares and she’s out 18.3 ahead of Knotten with Voight [0] +19.5. Then a big gap to Davidova and Aita Gasparin [SUI], with another big gap to Justine B-B. Poor Comola is doing 2 penalty loops and out 10th. Final exchange – Elvira has handed over a 23.4 second lead to big sister Hanna; Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold for Norway in 2nd and Franzi Preuß away 3rd +29.4. Then CZE [+1:35.8]/SUI [+2:20.0]/FRA [+2:46.0]. On the lap Hanna is holding Tandrevold with Preuß losing a little. In for S7 – Hanna has missed 1 and was very lucky with another – out with 2 spares used; Tandrevold is clear and out +10.1, Preuß also clear and +35.9. Lucie Charvátová [CZE] doing 2 penalty loops, which has let Lena Haecki-Gross [SUI] and Julia Simon past. Final shoot and Tandrevold has closed a little – too hard? So, S8 – Hanna has missed her first 2, now 3 misses, now 4 – melt down! Tandrevold leads out with 2 spares, Preuß [1 spare] out +35.4 but Hanna Öberg is out +36.4 after her penalty loop! Great final shooting by Hanna to limit that disaster to just 1 penalty, by cleaning 3 remaining targets with the 3 spares! Lena H-G out 4th, then Simon and Charvátová. On the lap Hanna isn’t closing on Tandrevold, but is past Franzi Preuß. That’s it – well done Norway [0+9], what a great result for them. Sweden [1+9] in 2nd, quite a surprise, and Germany [0+4] in 3rd. Great work by Arnekleiv and Tandrevold, and also Voight and Preuß. So, Norway win ahead of Sweden and Germany; Switzerland [0+10] just holding off France [1+10] with the Czechs [3+13] in 6th.  Cruel of the TV director to show the Swedish fans faces at S8!

Östersund – Relays – 29/30 Nov 23: Thursday, the Men’s 4 x 7.5Km relay: More fairly vile weather! Out for lunch so joined this on leg 3 just as JoBø came in for S5 – JoBø and Benedikt Doll in very close; 1 spare each and away with Doll +2.3. Felix Leitner [AUT] is clear and out +20.5 ahead of Fabien Claude [2 spares, +27.5] and Lovro Planko [SLO, no spares used by the team so far, +54.5]. I see Sweden have done 2 penalty loops [legs 1 and 2] so far! JoBø in for his standing shoot – very quick and he’s clear and away; Doll has used all 3 spares and out +29.8 ahead of Claude [1 spare, +44.2], and Leitner [1, +52.7]. No one else within a minute of Johannes – that really was a superb shoot! Final exchange; Norway ahead and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen has 38.5 seconds in hand; Johannes Kühn going out 2nd ahead of Quentin Fillon Maillet [+47.9], then AUT/SUI/ITA. At 23.8 Km Kühn has lost a little time and is now just 5 seconds or so ahead of QFM. Next 3, Jakob [AUT], Finello [SUI] and Hofer [ITA] have all lost time. Here we go for S7 - Christiansen is clear and out, nice; Kühn has used 2 spares and out +59.8, while QFM needed all 3 spares and he’s out +1:09.0. Jakob clear and 25 seconds back on 3rd place, while Hofer [1] has passed Finello [3]. Final shoot – not quite JoBø II as Christiansen has missed his 5th – 1 spare and out! Kühn missing twice while QFM is clear and away in 2nd. Kühn is on the penalty loop but he’s away at last and has some 32 seconds in hand ahead of Jakob [1], who has about the same gap to Hofer [3]. Finello has problems – he's also on the penalty loop and out just 4 seconds ahead of Seb Samuelsson [2 spares] and 7th. Christiansen is cruising, QFM and Kühn secure in 2nd and 3rd respectively, Jakob and Hofer also look safe but Samuelsson is up to 6th by 29.5 Km. So Norway [0+7] take the win, France [0+11] in 2nd with Germany [1+16] taking the final podium place. Jakob has just held off Hofer so Austria [0+2] get 4th ahead of Italy [0+16] with Sweden [2+16] taking 6th – poor shooting in front of the home crowd!

Östersund – Sprints – 1/2 Dec 23: Again it’s the Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint first, on Friday. Arguably better weather – it’s drier, very little snow/wind but minus 15! Race on and Hanna Öberg is first away – not sure that will suit her? Hanna Öberg in for S1, she’s missed her 5th shot!  Back at 1.3 Km Elvira Öberg is currently fastest ahead of Franzi Preuß, who has just missed 1 at S1 after being fastest into that range!  At present Vanessa Voight [0] is the fastest after S1, 7.4 ahead of Preuß [1]. Lisa Vittozzi clear at S1 [bit lucky with one!] and out +3.0; meanwhile Elvira has also missed 1 but out +8.2 so she’s fast!  Hanna Ö at S2 – 1 miss here too. Anna Magnusson going fast at S1 but she’s missed 1; Tandrevold clear and 14.4 ahead of Voight’s time – Arnekleiv also clear at S1 and out +3.0. Voight has missed 1 at S2 as well, but at present she’s fastest out of S2 at present and 25.6 faster than Hanna Ö [1,1]. Rats, Franzi P has also missed at S2 [1,1] but she’s faster than Voight even so – she’s 27.1 quicker than Hanna Öberg who has the same number of penalties – very odd? Lisa Vittozzi the first to go 10/10, but she exits S2 just 2.2 ahead of Franzi P; Elvira has missed 2 at S2!  Back at S1 Janina Hettich-Walz and Lou Jeanmonnot are both clear and in touch; at S2 Tandrevold has missed 2 – Arnekleiv has missed 1 there but she’s out 12.4 ahead of Vittozzi. Meanwhile Knotten [1,0] is out of S2 +2.1 – the commentary team reckon the course is getting quicker? Vittozzi is losing time on her final lap, so I wonder if she’s fully recovered? Mona Brorsson clear at S1 and in touch; Elvira over the finish line in 4th at present despite 3 misses. This is interesting – Jeanmonnot also 10/10 and out just 9.3 ahead of Arnekleiv, who is losing time to Knotten on the lap.  At the finish Karoline Offigstad Knotten [1,0] is over the line in the lead,  9.1 ahead of Juni Arnekleiv [0,1] with Franzi P [1,1] 3rd, +9.8; Voight 4th [0,1] ahead of Tandrevold [0,2] and Vittozzi [0,0]. All change – Lou Jeanmonnot [0,0] over the line to take the lead by 8.5 seconds – her first World Cup win, if it stays that way. Mona Brorsson has revived Swedish hopes – 10/10 and +12.5 after S2. However Johansen is also 10/10 and +14.5. I did wonder what happened to Janina H-W – she missed 2 at S2; Linn Persson [0,1] over the line 9th in an Öberg sandwich. Brorsson is losing time on her final lap – so is Johansen; over the finish line in 9th [best Swede] and 7th respectively. Lou Jeanmonnot looks like she’s got frost nip on her nose – I thought it was tape or cream but it’s not – nasty! Given the relatively poor shooting by some of the better known French biathletes it’s nice to see Gilonne Guigonnat join Jeanmonnot in the 10/10 club!  She’s out +20.0 after S2, and she’s over the line in 8th, +32.8. That’s it – congratulations to Jeanmonnot! Knotten in 2nd and she’ll apparently be in yellow for Sunday’s Pursuit [according to the commentators, but another source says Preuß], then Arnekleiv making it 2 Norwegians on the podium. Franzi Preuß 4th, ahead of Voight and Tandrevold, then Johansen, Guigonnat, Vittozzi and Brorsson. Elvira fastest for course total time, ahead of Lampic, Tandrevold and Preuß.

Men’s 10 Km Sprint – 2 Dec: Firstly the women’s yellow bib issue – it seems Knotten and Preuß have the same points so both will be in yellow on Sunday! Minus 15 today with light snow – still a good crowd there! At 2.1 km the early leader is Quentin Fillon Maillet, an impressive 8.7 ahead of Martin Ponsiluoma. Justus Strelow clear at S1 and away; Roman Rees also clear but 11.9 slower than his teammate. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen pretty much the same time at 2.1Km as QFM, but Emilien Jacquelin is 2.4 faster than them! QFM just a little unlucky with his final shot at S1, so that’s a penalty loop; unusually Simon Eder has also missed 1, and so has Ponsiluoma. Andrejs Rastorgujevs is clear at S1 and out +6.2 in 2nd. However, Christiansen is also clear and out 8.6 ahead of Strelow! Didier Bionaz [ITA] clear and in touch, but Jacquelin has missed 2. Strelow has missed 1 at S2; Rees has lost time to him on the lap and he’s missed 3 at S2 as well – is he fully fit I wonder? QFM is now [1,1]; JoBø has missed 2 at S1, both high left. Martin Ponsiluoma clear at S2 and fractionally ahead of Strelow. Christiansen is at S2 and that might well be a world record slow shoot [44 seconds behind a good time!] – he’s got all 5 eventually but he’s just 1.4 ahead of Ponsiluoma; Bionaz clear and 6 seconds ahead of Christiansen. Back at S1 Seb Samuelsson is not only clear but 22.2 faster than Christiansen. Seb Stalder [SUI] has joined the 10/10 club and he’s faster than Bionaz too. Tarjei Bø clear at S1 but +18.1 against Samuelsson’s time. JoBø has missed 1 at S2 as well; at the finish Christiansen is over the line 1.8 ahead of Ponsiluoma, with Bionaz into 3rd. At S2 Samuelsson has missed 2 but he’s still 19.4 ahead of Stalder and crucially 28.7 ahead of Christiansen! Doll [0,1] out of S2 but ahead of Christiansen’s time – Endre Strømsheim [NOR] 10/10 and just 7.4 behind Samuelsson. Stalder over the finish line into 3rd; interestingly Tarjei Bø is 10/10 and out 10.7 ahead of Samuelsson – does he have enough speed though? Samuelsson over the line 30.8 ahead of Christiansen despite his 2 penalties – incredible ski speed; I bet Christiansen regrets that amazingly slow second shoot! Benedikt Doll over the line into 3rd, but Strømsheim is coming – he’s into 2nd at present. Back at S2 Philipp Nawrath is 10/10 and he’s 27.0 ahead of Samuelsson’s time. That’s something I missed – Johannes Dale-Skjevdal [1,0] has pulled back some time from S2 to 8.8 Km, up to 4th there! Meanwhile Tarjei Bø has had a good final lap and he now leads by 8 seconds ahead of Samuelsson! Johannes D-S over the line in 3rd; that’s a good final lap! Meanwhile Nawrath is also flying – he’s over the line to take the lead by 18.7 seconds; currently the podium is Nawrath, Tarjei Bø and Samuelsson. Christiansen currently +57.5, so if you take 40 seconds off he would have been on the podium! Meanwhile Vebjørn Sørum [NOR] was 10/10 and just 2.2 seconds off Samuelsson’s time after S2 – he's had a very good final lap too and he’s into 3rd, having taken time off Samuelsson! Johannes Kühn [0,1] into 8th, just behind Fabien Claude [1,0]. So, Philipp Nawrath [0,0] wins, ahead of Tarjei Bø [0,0] and Vebjørn Sørum [0,0]. Good effort and great shooting! QFM [1,1] ended up 16th, JoBø [2,1] 18th and Laegreid [1,0] 20th, which looks odd! Fastest around the course – no surprise it was Samuelsson, who was 20.8 faster than Nawrath with Dale-S 3rd.

1 Dec 23 – Beaver Creek [Birds of Prey] - Men’s Downhill: Not a promising omen – due to yesterday’s snowfall the start has been slightly delayed. Possible start from the reserve start but that decision has been delayed again.  Not good – yet another one cancelled!
2 Dec 23 – Beaver Creek [Birds of Prey] - Men’s Downhill: Race cancelled due to the weather situation with heavy winds and snowfall throughout the night

2 Dec 23 Tremblant [Flying Mile] – Women’s GS: Run 1 – Start delayed by fog! It seems this one will go ahead after a slight delay, but the visibility doesn’t look good! Lara Gut-Behrami first away – it seems the World Cup haven’t been here for 40 years!  Course set by a French coach. This is tricky – the top 8 gates are in thick fog! That looks wrong – Val Grenier shown as over a second green at inter 3 but it’s been amended; she’s into 2nd, +0.42. Mikaela Shiffrin doesn’t sound impressed by the visibility as she starts – into 2nd +0.12.  Federica Brignone well in touch to inter 2, just green at 3 and a great final sector to lead by 0.35. The fog has eased quite noticeably as Sara Hector starts – no surprise she’s green all the way to inter 3 – not such a good final sector though and into 2nd +0.11. Petra Vlhova also lucky with visibility on the upper section – she’s green at inter 3 but again loses it on the final sector to go 4th, +0.40. Marta Bassino is in touch at inter 2 but it’s wrong from there – 7th, +0.96.  The fog is back – Ana Bucik a DNF – she’s up and by the side of the course, so hopefully OK. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel and Alice Robinson both off the pace – it looks as though the sectors from  inter 2 are a great place to lose time. That’s 15 away – Brignone leads from Hector, Lara G-B, Vlhova, Shiffrin and Grenier – top 6 are bib numbers 1 to 6, although not in numerical order!  Sofia Goggia [bib 18] currently the highest bib number in the top 10 in 9th. TV break – no recent changes to the top 6. I think the fog is getting worse, and it seems to be going further down the hill?  That was wild from Britt Richardson [CAN] – into 11th from bib 31! Well, that was impressive – Clara Direz [FRA, bib 42] into 10th – it can be done! That’s run 1 over – no change to the top 10 since Direz.
Run 2: Course set by a Slovenian coach?  Still foggy but it looks less dense! Not a good start – Elisa Platino [ITA] first to go and an early DNF; next is Elisa Moerzinger [AUT] who has gone out at the same place! Katharina Truppe is past that gate but it looks very tricky – safely down, perhaps not being called Elisa is a help? Wendy Holdener also having trouble with that gate, and she’s off the pace too. Elizabeth Kappaurer [AUT] still green at inter 3 but an error on the flat means she’s into 2nd, +0.75. Kristen Lysdahl [NOR] going well to inter 3 but  she too has lost time – she’s 2nd, +0.20.  This might be popular – Cassidy Gray [CAN] nicely green at 3 but she too has lost from there – now she’s 2nd, +0.02! Ricarda Haaser [AUT] green at 3 but she’s skied out. Julia Scheib [AUT] building to inter 2, still well green at 3 and she takes over the lead by an impressive 0.58! However Steph Brunner is even quicker, taking over the lead by 0.53! Ragnhild Mowinckel into 2nd; Maryna Gasienica-Daniel quite red at inter 1 but she’s pulled back a lot to inter 3 – into 4th. Zrinka Ljutic [CRO] red at 1, green at 2, greener at 3 and she’s taken over the lead.  Katharina Liensberger in touch and into joint 2nd, +0.25; that’s 15 away – Ljutic leads from Liensberger who is tied with Brunner! That’s a storming run from Thea Louise Stjernesund – building all the way from inter 2 to take over the lead by 0.66! Alice Robinson into 2nd, +0.62; Britt Richardson goes 4th. Paula Moltzan very neat past “that” gate but just red at 3 and into 3rd. Another nice run from Clara Direz – into 2nd, +0.11; Sofia Goggia next, with 0.79 in hand – she’s up to 1.18 green at inter 3 – she leads by 0.62. Franzi Gritsch [AUT] into 4th; Marta Bassino building to inter 2 but she’s lost a lot to 3 – fastest over the final sector to lead by 0.58! Val Grenier a bit untidy through “that” gate and she’s into 3rd. Mikaela Shiffrin on course, losing time slowly to inter 2, but she’s gained a lot to 3 and she leads by 0.75! Petra Vlhova has 0.07 in hand – just red at 2, just 0.03 red at 3 – this is going to be close – Vlhova leads by 0.08!  Fastest in the final two sectors as well! Lara G-B building slowly to inter 2, red at 3 though and she’s into 3rd. Sara Hector neat through the gate, still green at 2, just red at 3 and now she’s into 3rd. Just Federica Brignone to come – gaining time to inter 2, lost a bit to 3 but she’s done enough – a win for Brignone! Vlhova in 2nd, Shiffrin taking the final podium place – exciting stuff! Well done Federica!

3 Dec 23 Tremblant [Flying Mile] – Women’s GS: Run 1. The second GS of the weekend; apparently Brignone set an “oldest” record with her win yesterday! The bad news is that, yet again, the men’s race [a Super G] at Beaver Creek has been cancelled due to strong winds and snowfall. Brignone reckons today will be faster; the course for run 1 has been set by Petra Vlhova’s coach. Well, the view is a lot better today, as Lara Gut-Behrami starts her first run – safely down. Val Grenier is green at inter 1, greener at 2 – massive error and that’s on a flatter bit of the course – she’s +1.24. Federica Brignone slightly red at 1 and 2 but she’s made a mistake at the same place as Grenier - +0.93. Mikaela Shiffrin next, green at 1 and 2 but slightly red at 3 – fastest in the final sector to lead by 0.24. Marta Bassino nicely green at 2, red at 3 and losing time from there – into 3rd +0.90. Petra Vlhova red at 1, just red at 2, just red at 3 – she leads but by just 0.05! This is close! It’s getting windier – Sara Hector has been unlucky and just 6th, +1.38. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel has skied out - DNF; that’s 10 away – Vlhova leads from Shiffrin and Lara G-B, then Bassino, Brignone and Hector. Thea Louise Stjernesund into 6th; Alice Robinson made a very odd start, pushed hard to recover and she’s skied out. Mina Fuerst Holtmann into joint 6th; that’s better – no change to the top 6 for a while, but Zrinka Ljutic into 5th from bib 23! And, that was the last change to the top 10!
Run 2: Well that’s a change – gloomy visibility, windy and light snow – better at the finish! This course set by an Austrian coach. Hilma Lövblom [SWE} first away and safely down. Another tricky gate quite early on; Elisa Platino [ITA] into 2nd. It’s getting a bit windier at times – Paula Moltzan green to 3 and she leads by 0.26. Emma Aicher [GER] into 2nd – great recovery from inter 3; good final sector from Elizabeth Kappaurer [AUT] to go from 0.15 red at inter 3 to 0.06 green at the finish. Roberta Melesi [ITA] not having much luck with the weather in to 6th; some great recoveries! That’s 10 away – Kappaurer leads from Moltzan and Aicher. Good middle section from Kristen Lysdahl [NOR] – green to inter 3 but then an error and she’s 4th. That wind really is getting up – the gates are moving! AJ Hurt [USA} has built to inter 3 and the wind has eased – she leads by 0.48! Steph Brunner into 2nd – that’s half way – Hurt leads from Brunner and Kappaurer, then Moltzan, Aicher and Lysdahl. Katharina Liensberger into 2nd; Clara Direz also not lucky with the weather but she’s gaining time – very impressive and she leads by 0.95! No wonder she’s happy – very brave stuff! Race interrupted while some of the gate panels are replaced – that’s windy and the snow is getting heavier!! Visibility looks as bad as yesterday; this is getting a bit ridiculous. Even so Val Grenier has got into 2nd – they really are a tough bunch! Sofia Goggia in touch at 2 and she’s into 4th; Sara Hector off the pace and just 6th. Stjernesund also having problems with the wind and visibility and she’s 18th! Her comment “that’s crazy” pretty much sums it up. Mina Holtmann can only manage 16th; Federica Brignone has gained time to inter 2 and more to 3 – she’s a real legend and she leads by 0.45 – what a run, fastest in the first 3 sectors too! Zrinka Ljutic into 4th; I can barely see Marta Bassino at times – she’s into 5th. Lara Gut-Behrami has lost half her advantage by inter 1 and she’s red by 3 – into 2nd after a good final sector – she arguably had the very worst of the wind? Mikaela Shiffrin losing time on the course but still green at 2, into the red at 3 and she’s 3rd. Direz off the podium; just Vlhova to come with 1.22 in hand; just 0.17 left at 2, 0.60 red at 3 and even she can only manage 5th. Federica Brignone has pulled off the double – well done the “old” racer! Lara G-B takes 2nd, and Mikaela Shiffrin 3rd. Brignone fastest on run 2 ahead of Clara Direz who ended up 4th, then Vlhova and Grenier. Not exactly a fair race but, as they keep telling us – it’s an outdoor sport!!

Östersund – Pursuits – 3 Dec 23: First race today is the Women’s 10 Km; race on and there is a lot of tape on the faces! All looks quite close; amazing to see Marketa Davidova so far back! Ian, Tiril Eckhoff has retired! At 1.6 Km Lou Jeanmonnot is 10.9 ahead of Voight, who started 5th, then Knotten, Preuß, Tandrevold and Arnekleiv [+13.1]. Elvira Öberg up to 7 from 11, Hanna 8 from 14th. In for S1 – Jeanmonnot clear and out, as are Preuß [+4.0], Arnekleiv [+5.4], Tandrevold [+6.1] and Voight [+8.1]. Elvira now 6th +17.6 but Hanna has missed 1. Knotten has missed 2 as has Marthe Krakstad Johansen. On the lap Tandrevold and Preuß are in front, but only just – 1.6 seconds between first and 6th. In for S2 – 5 of the leading group are clear but Elvira has missed 1. Out in order Preuß, Arnekleiv, Tandrevold, Voight and Jeanmonnot [+4.1], then 28 seconds to Elvira [0,1] and about 8 more seconds to Hanna Öberg [1,0]. Knotten out 11th, clear at S2. Leading 5 still very close as they come in for S3, Elvira has slipped back a little. S3 – Tandrevold and Preuß have missed 1, the other 3 are clear and out – Hanna clear but Elvira has missed again. Out Arnekleiv, Jeanmonnot, Voight [+3.2], Preuß [+24.2], Tandrevold [+25.6] and Hanna [+35.0]. On the lap Jeanmonnot has fallen back a little and Preuß and Tandrevold are within 20 seconds of the leading pair. Final standing shoot – leading pair have both missed 1 but Jeanmonnot [0,0,0,0] is clear and out; Preuß [0,0,1,0] also clear here and out +6.8, ahead of Arnekleiv [0,0,0,1] and Voight [0,0,0,1, +19.4]. Then Tandrevold [0,0,1,1, +32.7] and Hanna [1,0,0,1, +53.3]. Elvira has missed 2 more. On the lap Preuß is just ahead but Jeanmonnot is still close; Voight is past Arnekleiv, who is losing time to Tandrevold. This is going to be a sprint finish – Jeanmonnot has gone early and she’s pipped Preuß by 0.3! Great race – well done to both of them. Voight takes the final podium place, up from, 5th. Then Arnekleiv, Tandrevold and Hanna Öberg [14 to 6]. Others who gained significant places include Julia Simon [16 to 7], Sophie Chauveau [FRA, 20-12], Janina H-W [19-13], Justine B-B [24-15], Davidova [37-18], Tomingas [28-19], Maka [46-22], Jislova [56-23] and Gandler [45-24]. Those going the “wrong” way include Knotten [2,0,0,1; 2 to 8th], Johansen [7-17], Brorsson [10-20], Passler [18-29], and Lie [23-42, 7 penalties]. Great tactics from Jeanmonnot, not to push too hard into S4 and go at her pace – worked well, and she was one of only three 20/20 today, the others being Tomingas and Maka.
Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit: JoBø starting number 18 – but he’s gone back as he started too early! At 2.1Km Nawrath is 26.1 ahead of Tarjei Bø, then Vebjørn Sørum, Samuelsson and Strømsheim and Dale. Nawrath in for S1 – he’s clear and out, good shooting! Samuelsson and Sørum have missed 1 each, but Tarjei is clear and +31.5; Fabien Claude clear and out 3rd up from 7th. Christiansen also clear and up to 4th from 9th; JoBø clear but he hasn’t closed. On the lap Samuelsson has gained some 15 seconds; Nawrath in for S2 – clear again and out; Samuelsson has missed another – Tarjei out 2nd, +40.3 ahead of Sørum 1,0], Christiansen [0,0] Claude [0,0] and Samuelsson [1,1, +57.2]. Bionaz 10/10 and up from 13 to 7; JoBø also 10/10 but still +1:37.0. On the lap the gaps are opening a little from Nawrath but fairly static between the chasers although Samuelsson has bucked the trend by gaining another 10 seconds – that’s 3 hard laps. S3 – and 1 miss for Nawrath; chasing group in and Samuelsson clear this time and out +16.8, Tarjei 15/15 +19.6 ahead of Fabien Claude [15/15] and Christiansen +40.7. Sørum has missed 2. JoBø [0,0,1] and + 1:19.8. On the lap Samuelsson is 10.8 behind at 8.8Km; down to 7.2 at 9.6. Final shoot – Samuelson and Nawrath have both missed 1, so has Tarjei – Christiansen clear here. Out Seb Samuelsson, Nawrath +1.4, Christiansen +7.9 and Tarjei +19.1. Ponsiluoma [1,0,1,0] up from 11 to 5, +36.5. Claude missed 2 at S4, QFM up from 16 to 8. How can Samuelsson go that fast with 3 penalties and so many hard laps? Seb Samuelsson over the line to take the win; Nawrath has closed a little to go 2nd – Christiansen taking 3rd from 9th at the start. Others gaining places include Ponsiluoma [11 to 6], QFM [16-9], Zobel [30-16], Anton Vidmar [SLO, 27-18], Eder [36-22], Mukhin [KAZ, 33-26], Hartweg [50-31], Vaclavik [CZE, 54-34] and Christian Gow [51-38]. Going the “wrong” way the list includes Sørum [3-7], Doll [10-19 with 4 penalties], Krcmar [25-37], and Strolia [21-47, 5 penalties]. Impressive race by Samuelsson – he’s had a busy week!

Lenzerheide – Pursuits – 16 Dec 23: Well, I’ve been away in Berlin, so I missed a few interesting looking races – nice to see Benedikt Doll take the Sprint win, although he wasn’t far ahead of JoBø who had one penalty. Women’s 10 Km Pursuit first race today – Justine B-B first away, pursued by Tandrevold and Vittozzi. Good to see Diedre Irwin away 8th! It looks lovely there – Elvira Öberg closing the gap quite early, she’s pulled back some 9 seconds by 1.4 Km. First shoot – the leading 3 have all missed 1; Julia Simon the first to hit all 5, Elvira has missed 2! Out Justine B-B, 9.4 ahead of Simon with Tandrevold third, then Vittozzi, Skogan and Persson. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in for S2 – clear this time and out 6.0 ahead of Julia Simon [0,0]. Tandrevold has missed 1 and out +37.1. Oh dear – Lisa Vittozzi has missed 3, Skogan 2. Elvira clear this time and out 4th, but +1:13.2. Janina Hettich-Walz 10/10 and 5th, from 12th, ahead of Petrenko [UKR 0,0] who is 6th from 17 at the start. This is quick – Justine B-B in for S3 already – she’s missed her last one, but Simon has missed 2 and she’s out +31.2. Tandrevold has missed 3 here; Janina H-W is 15/15 and out 3rd, +1:07.2, ahead of Iryna Petrenko [0,0,0], Franzi Preuß [1,1,0] and Marit Ishol Skogan [0,2,0]. Tandrevold 7th, ahead of Elvira, Vittozzi in 9th. Final shoot – Justine B-B has missed 1 and away; Julia Simon is clear this time and +7.5 – impressive shooting! Skogan [0,2,0,0] is out 3rd, just ahead of Preuß [1,1,0,0] with Janina H-W [0,0,0,1] also in touch. Vanessa Voight [0,0,0,0] 6th, but with Linn Persson [0,1,1,0] close behind. Petrenko has missed 1 at S4 and out 11th; Tandrevold [1,1,3,2] in 15th! A good race – Justine Braisaz-Bouchet takes the Pursuit to add to her Sprint win, ahead of Simon, with Skogan taking the final podium place, just ahead of Franzi Preuß. Elvira Öberg has somehow managed 5th despite 4 missed targets! Those gaining places include Persson [13-6], Voight [21-7, with 20/20], Janina H-W [12-8], Davidova [18-9], Merkushyna [16-10], Haecki-Gross [19-11], Petrenko [17-12], Steiner [25-17, 20/20], Chevalier [45-27], and Kapustova [SVK, 41-28]. Those heading in the wrong direction include Vittozzi [3-14], Tandrevold [2-15], Arnekleiv [10-19], Vobornikova [9-20], Irwin [8-21], Tomingas [11-25], Chaveau [27-35] and Lampic [14-37; 3,3,2,3!].
Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit: Now, how long will it be before JoBø goes past Benedikt Doll? Doll still just ahead of JoBø at 1.4Km, then Nawrath, Horn, Laegreid and Kühn. In for S1 – JoBø clear and out, Doll has missed 1 and out +17.7; Laegreid and Kühn both clear and out about 30 seconds back. Nawrath and Horn have missed 1 each and out 5 and 6. Dale-Skjevdal and Christiansen clear and gaining places; QFM and Ponsiluoma 2 misses each and losing places. On the lap JoBø is opening the gap; at 4.2 Km he’s 31 seconds ahead of Doll! In for S2 – prone again – one miss for JoBø but Doll has missed 2. Laegreid and Kühn both 10/10 and out almost together +23, then Dale [0,0], Horn with Doll +47.6. Top 10 places at present are all Norway or Germany! In for the first standing shoot – JoBø has missed his first 2! Sturla Holm Laegreid is 15/15 and he’s out 3.9 ahead of JoBø, but Horn has missed 1 and Kühn 2 – so it’s Endre Strømsheim [1,0,0] who comes out 3rd, from, 12, just ahead of Christiansen [0,1,0] from 16! Horn [1,0,1], Kühn [0,0,2] and Dale-S [0,0,2], all about 45 seconds back. Final shoot – JoBø is clear and out, Laegreid has missed 1 and out +19.9, Strømsheim, who seems to have dropped a magazine, 1 miss +37.6 and Ponsiluoma [2,0,1,0] is somehow 4th, just ahead of QFM who also has 3 misses in total! Strelow with just 1 miss is up to 6 from 18, just ahead of Horn. Doll and Nawrath both have 7 misses and are 17/18. JoBø [0,1,2,0] is cruising to the finish but Strømsheim [1,0,0,1] is closing on Laegreid [0,0,0,1], and – he’s got 2nd with Laegreid 3rd – a Norway podium! So, those gaining places include Strømsheim [12 to 2nd], Dale-S [15-5], Strelow [18-10], Jacquelin [36-15], Rastorgujevs [34-22], Hofer [47-23], Stalder [42-24], and Fak [38-28]. Now, going backwards the list includes Doll [1-17], Nawrath [3-18], Planko [9-21], Nelin [21-33], Doherty [27-37], and Eder [17-39]. Well done JoBø! A good run from Strømsheim; I think they said that was his first World Cup podium? Good top see Laegreid getting a bit back to his previous form.

16 Dec 23: Val d’Isere [W] and Val Gardena [M]. As I was away last week I missed a few things, including Mikaela Shiffrin winning a Downhill at St Moritz, just 0.15 ahead of Sofia Goggia! Earlier this week in Val Gardena Aleksander Aamodt Kilde logged a Downhill time just 0.02 faster than Marco Odermatt and looked set for a 4th win here, but Bryce Bennett [bib 34] stole it with an even faster run! Only his second Downhill victory. Next day Vincent Kriechmayr won a very tight Super G, pipping Daniel Hemetsberger by just 0.02, with Odermatt third – just 0.15 between the top 6! Anyway, back to real time and today the women will be first away with a Downhill on the OK slope at Val d’Isere, although I don’t see Shiffrin’s name this time. So, Women’s Downhill – apparently Goggia isn’t feeling well today? Ragnhild Mowinckel first away; safely down but I’m not sure she’s happy with that run. Joana Haehlen is 0.40 ahead at inter 3 and 1.17 ahead as she crosses the line, so Mowinckel was a little slow. Connie Hütter in touch, just green at 3 and 4; hard to bear, she’s into 2nd by 0.02! Jasmine Flury having a few “moments” but she’s recovered well and even better she’s taken the lead by 0.22. Lara G-B into 4th; Mirjam Puchner in touch to inter 3 but she’s lost time from there – into 4th. Corinne Suter in touch early on, lost time, recovered and she’s into 4th. That 4th place is popular – now Ilka Stuhec has taken it! Federica Brignone a bit off the pace despite being fastest in one sector – into 5th; Sofia Goggia more in touch but maybe not fully fit – she’s taken over the popular 4th spot! That’s 15 away – Flury leads from Haehlen, Hütter and Goggia. Priska Nufer [bib 19] in touch, fastest in sector 4 and into 6th. A nasty crash for Stefanie Fleckenstein [CAN, bib 23] – race on hold and no updates yet. At present Flury [SUI], leads from Haehlen [SUI] and Hütter [AUT]; last change to the top 6 was Priska Nufer into 6th. Good run from Ariane Raedler [AUT] into 7th from bib 27. That was the last change to the top 10 – well done to Jasmine Flury for the win, and Joana Haehlen and Connie Hütter for the podium! Goggia in 4th, so useful points there!
Over to Val Gardena for the Men’s Downhill on the full length Saslong. Nice weather here too but it’s going to be shady for the early starters. Nils Allegre first away; Adrien Theaux is over a second slower. Stefan Rogentin into 2nd, +0.90 with Josef Ferstl into 3rd. Now, here comes Aleksander Aamodt Kilde – green at inter 1 but just red at 2 but green again lower down – very aggressive and he leads by 0.43! Fastest in all but one sector – a good recovery after a disappointing Super G. Florian Schieder [ITA] into 3rd; next away is Vincent Kriechmayr, a couple error but he’s into 3rd, but +0.87. Marco Odermatt in the red but well in touch until Ciaslat and he’s into 3rd, +0.48. Good run from Mattia Casse [ITA] and into joint 3rd with Odermatt. James Crawford is flying – 0.45 green at inter 3; just red at 5 and he’s into 2nd, +0.23! This is impressive stuff – a wild run from Dominik Paris but very quick – he takes the lead by 0.44 to the delight of the crowd! Fifteen away, Paris leads from Kilde and Crawford, then Allegre, Casse and Odermatt. Good run from Bryce Bennett again – in touch all the way and into 3rd. Twenty away – Paris, Kilde, Bennett, Crawford, Allegre and Casse/Odermatt the top 6! Nice to see Marco Schwarz in 8th! Now, I’m going over to the biathlon pursuits! There’s the first upset – Cyprien Sarrazin [FRA] into 4th from, bib 25. No further changes to the top 10, but Franjo Von Allmen [SUI] managed 12th from bib 42 – great effort! So, very well done Dominik Paris, a very well deserved win, ahead of Kilde and Bennett, both of whom have got 2 podiums here. Sarrazin in 4th, ahead of Crawford ands Allegre.

21 Dec 23:  Well, first off, I was out last Sunday and missed a few things – in the women’s Super G a tricky course saw a number of DNFs including Shiffrin;  great run from Federica Brignone to take the win ahead of Kajsa Vickhoff Lie and Sofia Goggia – Hütter in 4th ahead of Gisin and Haehlen. In the Men’s GS in Alta Badia the amazing Marco Odermatt took another win, ahead of Filip Zubcic and Zan Kranjec; Marco Schwarz in 4th ahead of Joan Verdu and Alexis Pinturault!! That was his second win in 24 hours, and his 6th GS win in a row! Now, back to today.
Courchevel [Stade E. Allais] Women’s Slalom: Run 1; Course set by a Slovakian coach and it’s apparently a tricky one! Mikaela Shiffrin first away and down, Petra Vlhova [bib 2] into 2nd, +0.17.  Paula Moltzan [bib 3] into 3rd, but +1.63; that’s how it stays for a good while! Sara Hector into 4th, +1.96; Katharina Truppe [9] into 4th now.  That’s’ more like it, Katharina Liensberger into 3rd, +1.06; Ali Nullmeyer over the line on her back and shown as a DNF, although the commentators think she might have been the right side of the last gate?  Yes, she’s OK and that run does count.  However the live data feed seems to have crashed now – not that impressive! It’s back and not much has changed – top 6 are Shiffrin, Vlhova, Liensberger, Moltzan, Truppe and Gallhuber. Highest bib number in the top 20 looks like Kristin Lysdahl [45] in 17th.  That’s how it stayed – some discussion about whether the course will take a second run!!
Run 2: Which, of course, clashes with Only Connect – how inconsiderate! This looks another tricky course, set by a Swiss coach, and to add to the problems it’s now foggy, and wet!  With five away it’s Thea Louise Stjernesund who leads. Good run from Franzi Gritsch – 0.37 red at inter 2 but she’s pulled it back to lead by 0.13! Katharina Huber has tied with Gritsch; the fog in the middle section seems to be getting thicker? Poor Marta Rossetti has straddled the first gate. Another nice run from Kristin Lysdahl to take over the lead by 0.45 – from, bib 45 too! Andreja Slokar into 2nd; not for long though as Leona Popovic has taken that place. A great recovery – Michelle Gisin 0.23 red at inter 2 after starting 0.49 ahead, but she’s pulled it back to lead by 0.06!  Second TV break, 8 to go – Gisin leads from, Lysdahl and Popovic. Mina Fuerst Holtmann into 3rd;  Katharina Gallhuber has gained to inter 2, lost a bit from there but enough gained to lead by 0.33. Katharina Truppe has gained all the way from inter 2 to lead by an impressive 0.56!  Paula Moltzan into 3rd; huge error from Katharina Liensberger and that’s her chance gone. Petra Vlhova next with 1.49 in hand – she’s gained to inter 3 and more from there to lead by 2.06! Fastest so far on run 2; just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – she’s lost a bit to inter 1, just red at 2, +0.20 at 3 and she’s 2nd, +0.24. So, well done Petra Vlhova, another good podium for Mikaela Shiffrin – 2nd in run 2 with Katharina Truppe in 3rd. Gallhuber 4th, ahead of Moltzan and Gisin. That leaves Shiffrin 143 points ahead in the overall and 50 in the slalom standings.

22 Dec 23: Madonna di Campiglio [Canalone Miramonti], Men’s Slalom – run 1: This will be tricky as we will be out for run 2, so I’ll have to summarise that. Anyway, run 1 - that’s steep and icy in places; the course is relatively straight and fast apparently [according to Kristoffersen], set by a Swedish coach. Sixty nine starters! Loic Meillard first away – the course doesn’t look that straight to me – he’s safely down. Ramon Zenhaeusern off the pace at inter 3, but he's recovered some of the time, to go +0.41. Henrik Kristoffersen into 3rd, +0.51; Clement Noel green at 1, red at 2, back green at 3 and he leads by 0.37. Manu Feller in touch to 3, but a poor final sector and he’s 3rd, +0.68; Daniel Yule now goes 3rd, +0.47. Marco Schwarz into 4th; Dave Ryding going with bib 13 – still in touch at 2 but he’s 11th, +0.98. A similar story for Alex Vinatzer – green at 2 but redder from there to go 10th, +0.91. That’s better – Timon Haugan into joint 2nd, +0.37 although his final sector was a bit disappointing – 15 away, Noel leads, ahead of Haugan/Meillard, Yule in 4th ahead of Schwarz and Steen Olsen. After the TV break Albert Popov goes into 4th, +0.42; Kristoffer Jakobsen the first DNF, ironically on a course set by his coach! Good effort by Filip Zubcic, into 8th from bib 24; 30 away now – no change to the top 6 since Popov. Pity – Billy Major out at the gate that has had more than its share of DNFs; highest bib number in the top 20 at present is Anton Tremmel [39]. Laurie Taylor has straddled! At that point we left, so missed …
Run 2: Which must have been really interesting! ~Marco Schwarz took the win, after starting run 2 in 6th, ahead of first run winner Clement Noel. Dave Ryding had one of his second run charges to go from 15th to 3rd, claiming the final podium place, with the second fastest time on run 2. Timon Haugan was 4th, just 0.02 behind Ryding, then Feller and Kristoffersen making up the top 6. Daniel Yule was a DNF, Zubcic was a DSQ and Popov was 11th. Full FIS report HERE

28 Dec – Lienz [Schlossberg] – Women’s GS AND Bormio [Stelvio] – Men’s Downhill: I missed run 1 of the Women’s GS, which was won by Mikaela Shiffrin, ahead of Sara Hector [+0.63], Ragnhild Mowinckel [+1.03] and Lara Gut-Behrami [+1.49]. Petra Vlhova 18th, +2.23!
Run 2: Very little snow away from the course! Lara dell Mea first away and down safely; Franzi Gritsch is 0.94 faster! Neja Dvornik [SLO] just green at 3 and into the lead by just 0.03; Melanie Meillard into 3rd. Lara Colturi [ALB] still just green at inter 3 but 3rd at the finish, +0.12. Roberta Melesi [ITA] into the lead by 0.11; not bad with a hand injury from run 1! Ten away, Melesi leads from Dvornik and Gritsch. Camille Rast barely green at 2 but she’s gained a little to 3 and now she leads by 0.13; Petra Vlhova on course with just 0.03 in hand – she’s fast to inter 1 and gaining all the way – she takes the lead by a massive 0.91! AJ Hurt in touch and into 2nd, +0.53; Zrinka Ljutic pushing hard and she’s taken over 2nd, +0.22. Julia Scheib [AUT] has gained to inter 2 and more to 3 – she leads by 0.50 and that’s the new fastest time on run 2 – that’s very popular. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 5th; Sofia Goggia next – still green at 2 but she’s lost some time – red at 3 and into 3rd. Second TV break – Scheib leads from Vlhova and Goggia; 8 to come. Val Grenier [CAN] still just green at 3 and she leads by 0.17; Federica Brignone has gained from inter 1 to 2 and she’s taken the lead by 0.25, with the new fastest time on run 2 – Vlhova off the podium. Brignone really is a joy to watch! Alice Robinson into 6th; Lara G-B red at inter 1 and she can only manage 4th. Ragnhild Mowinckel has lost almost half of her advantage by inter 1 and red by 2 – big loss to 3 and just 11th. Sara Hector away with 1.00 in hand – good to 2 but she too has lost time to 3 – into 2nd, +0.07. Just Mikaela Schiffrin to come – she has an advantage of 1.63 as she starts, gain to inter 1, a bit lost to 2 and even she has lost time to 3 – only the 17th fastest time on run 2 but she had enough in hand and that’s another win for Shiffrin – she wins by 0.38, her first GS win this season? So World Cup win 92 for Shiffrin, Brignone in 2nd and Hector 3rd; Grenier 4th, ahead of Scheib and Gut-Behrami. Brignone has taken over the lead in the GS standings on 400 points, ahead of Lara G-B [365] and Shiffrin [320]. In the overall Shiffrin is on 800, ahead of Brignone [637] and Vlhova [527].

I joined the Men’s Downhill just as Aleksander Aamodt Kilde began his run – nicely in touch but he’s out – what on earth happened there? So that leaves Cyprien Sarrazin leading ahead of Marco Odermatt [+0.09!] with Cameron Alexander [CAN, + 1.23]. Currently Vincent Kriechmayr in 4th then Mattia Casse and Niels Hintermann. Ryan Cochrane-Siegle off the pace and only 11th. Marco Schwarz into the nets after a crash – he seems OK; will he be able to race tomorrow? Later - it might be that he has a knee injury? There are also some reports of racers hitting a stone – Kriechmayr is reported as saying he did have that issue and it’s ruined a good pair of skis! No idea whether that also happened to Kilde – if so I wonder why he didn’t try to continue and get at least some points. Poor Jared Goldberg is due to go next, after the interruption. Meanwhile – Kilde apparently did hit a rock, higher up than the point at which he stopped, and felt that although he tried to continue the damage to the ski was so considerable that it was impossible to finish the run safely! Jared Goldberg away and into 11th, but not for long as Stefan Rogentin has taken over that place – no recent changes to the top 10. Ah, Adrien Theaux [bib 24] into 9th, +2.83! A good run from Alexis Monney [SUI] into 8th, but not for long as Miha Hrobat [SLO, bib 26] now into 8th, despite a very athletic recovery! Now that was impressive – Justin Murisier [SUI, bib 29] into 4th, +1.81. With the top 30 gone, it’s still Cyprien Sarrazin who leads from Odermatt, Alexander, Murisier, Kriechmayr and Casse. It’s not quite over though – Marco Kohler [SUI, bib 35] into 9th; now Nils Alphand [FRA, bib 46] has gone 9th. That’s how it finished – well done Sarrazin - over to Lienz.

29 Dec – Lienz [Schlossberg] – Women’s Slalom AND Bormio [Stelvio] – Men’s Super G: OK, I’m ready for the Women’s Slalom Run 1, set by a Slovenian coach – Anna Swenn Larsson first away and down. Leona Popovic next and +2.75! I doubt Petra Vlhova will be that slow, but even she is having slight snags in that hairpin – amazing, she’s into 2nd but +1.09! Paula Moltzan looking good here – building to inter 2, then not quite so fast but still into the lead by 0.18; guess who will be on the other end of her radio call! Lena Dürr into 3rd, +0.52; Sara Hector maybe a bit too harsh on her run – she’s 4th, 0.20 ahead of Vlhova. Mikaela Shiffrin next – slightly red at inter 1 but green at 2, greener at 3 and a blindingly fast final sector to lead by 1.14! Fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4. Hanna Aronsson Elfman the first DNF; Andreja Slokar 7th, but only 0.07 behind Vlhova. That’s a neat run, Michelle Gisin into 4th despite not a lot of slalom training; Katharina Liensberger into 6th – she was too ill to attend the bib draw yesterday so that’s impressive. Fifteen away – Shiffrin leads from Moltzan, Swenn Larsson, Gisin, Dürr and Liensberger. The later starters seem to be losing a lot of time on the lower sectors. Melanie Meillard into 10th from bib 22; bib 30 is Nicole Good [SUI] and she’s into 9th – well done! Rare slalom appearance by Federica Brignone, but she hasn’t finished; meanwhile Leona Popovic [bib 2] now shows as DSQ so it seems she did miss a gate? Charlie Guest nicely in touch at inter 3 but she’s lost a lot of time in the final sector – into 30th, so a nervous wait to see if she gets a second run. Sadly she’s already down to 31st. Over to Bormio!
Run 2 – set by a Swedish coach, and it looks to have more swing. Highest bib number on run 2 is Caitlin MacFarlane [69, and the last starter on run 1], who despite the name is French! She’s safely down; Dzenifera Germane [LAT] is 0.19 faster – not in the lead for long though as Cornelia Öhlund [SWE] is 0.42 quicker. Thea Louise Stjernesund into 2nd; Amelia Smart [CAN} lost a bit to inter 1 but after that she was gaining time – into the lead by 0.47. Ana Bucik into 2nd; Katharina Gallhuber in touch all the way – nicely in the green and fastest in the final sector to lead by 0.50. Ten away – Gallhuber leads from Smart and Bucik. Kristin Lysdahl into 3rd, +0.62; Katharina Huber has lost almost half her advantage by inter 1 but has most back by 2 – slower on the final sector but into the lead by 0.12. Ali Nullmeyer into 3rd; Franzi Gritsch just red at 3 and into 4th. Melanie Meillard into 6th; now it’s Petra Vlhova and she’s actually lost a little to inter 1, still slowly losing her advantage to 3 but a better final sector gets her the lead, but by just 0.07. Her body language suggests this isn’t a good day! Nicole Good still green at inter 3 but a relatively poor final sector has dropped her to 4th; Katharina Truppe red by inter 1 and into 5th. Sara Hector into the red at 2 and just 7th; Katharina Liensberger next – nicely green at 3 but slower in the final sector [illness yesterday having an effect?] and into 4th. Lena Dürr has gained to inter 1 and she’s pretty much kept that gap – she leads by 0.90 – 4th fastest on run 2; a really good effort today. Michelle Gisin 0.01 red at 2, a little redder at 3 but she’s into 2nd, +0.11 – very impressive given she’s skiing 4 disciplines this season. At present Dürr, Gisin and Vlhova with 3 to go. Anna SW just red at 2 and into 3rd; Vlhova off the podium. Paula Moltzan on course – she’s gained to inter 1 but lost a lot to 2, more to 3 and she’s out – pity after such a good first run. Mikaela Shiffrin has 1.66 in hand, it’s up to 2.13 by inter 2 – that’s win 93 by a massive 2.34 seconds – truly amazing! So, Shiffrin wins again, ahead of Lena Dürr and Michelle Gisin – well done to them for the podiums! Anna Swenn Larsson in 4th ahead of Vlhova and Huber.


Bormio – Men’s Super G: Course set by a German coach – supposed to be fast and dynamic! Dominik Paris first away and he hasn’t got that far – seems OK but his kit is all over the place! Loic Meillard on course – that’s a big jump and he’s down. At one speed gun he was clocking 116.62kph. Jeffrey Read into 2nd; that’s something of a shock – Cyprien Sarrazin, after his win yesterday, has missed a gate. Stefan Rogentin [SUI] into 2nd; I thought Alexis Pinturault had retired but it seems he’s switched to speed events – he’s into 2nd, +0.01! Aleksander Aamodt Kilde next – nicely green at inter 2 and he leads by 0.51. Scrappy but fast from James Crawford into 6th; this is a superb run from Raphael Haaser [AUT], fast through the speed guns and he leads by 0.33. Vincent Kriechmayr green at inter 1 but red at 2 – he’s into 3rd, +0.47; now it’s Marco Odermatt, fast through the top speed gun and nicely green at 2, fastest through all the speed guns and he leads by a massive 0.98! Justin Murisier into 5th; Nils Allegre [bib 19] into 6th. Twenty away – Odermatt leads from Haaser, Kilde, Kriechmayr, Murisier and Allegre, who has just been joined in joint 6th by Stefan Babinsky. Riley Seger [CAN] nicely in touch at inter 3 but he’s out; nasty looking crash for Christof Innerhofer – he’s on his feet, which is good news, but obviously not undamaged and he’s off to hospital via helicopter. Long interruption, so coverage has moved to Lienz. Good run from Daniel Danklmaier [bib 33] into 11th. Also worth a mention – Marco Kohler [SUI, bib 46] into joint 13th with Jeffrey Read. Well done to Odermatt – a very dominant win, ahead of Haaser and Kilde – Kriechmayr in 4th, then Murisier and Babinsky/Allegre.

Oberhof – Sprints, 5 Jan 24: Men’s race first, postponed from yesterday. I joined this very late, with Benedikt Doll [0,1] leading just 1.8 ahead of Sturla Holm Laegreid [0,1] with Endre Strømsheim [0,1] in 3rd. JoBø [1,1] in 4th ahead of Jakov Fak [0,0] and Johannes Kühn [0,0]. Tarjei Bø in 7th, despite 2 misses in S2, Martin Ponsiluoma 8th, despite 3 penalty loops. Samuelsson 10th with 0,2 – not as fast as he usually is? That’s it – no late changes; hopefully I’ll be able to see the whole of the women’s race.
Women’s Sprint: Not a lot of snow there and it’s windy! Race on, Julia Simon away bib 2 – at 1.1 Km the fastest so far is Elvira Öberg. Ooh – Julia Simon at S2 and she’s missed 2; Samuela Comola is clear but poor Juni Arnekleiv has missed 4. Elvira has missed 1, sister Hanna has missed 2. Janina Hettich-Walz clear and out in the lead, but just 13.7 ahead of Elvira. Karoline Offigstad Knotten clear too and 6.2 faster than Janina H-W, but the amazing Franzi Preuß is 1.9 faster than that! Local girl Vanessa Voight clear at S1 and out joint 4th; Deedra Irwin clear and 6th. Julia Simon is clear at S2 and very quick; Justine B-B at S1 and she too has 2 misses. Comola is 10/10 but only 1.2 ahead of Simon; back at S1 Lou Jeanmonnot clear and in touch. Elvira has missed another 1 at S2; Janina H-W also 10/10 – very neat and she’s away. Hanna Öberg [2,2] isn’t having a good day but Preuß is 10/10 which means she’s 32.6 ahead of Knotten, who missed 1 at S2. Back at S1 Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold is clear and 3.2 quicker than Preuß; Voight has joined the 10/10 club but she’s out behind Simon. Justine B-B clear at S2 and quicker than Knotten as she leaves the range. At the finish Julia Simon is leading but is only just ahead of Elvira who has flown round the final lap! Lisa Vittozzi [1,0] out from S2 about 3 seconds ahead of Jeanmonnot [0,0]; Preuß over the finish line in the lead but Justine B-B is also flying on her final lap. Tandrevold at S2 and she’s missed her first shot and two more – her coach doesn’t look happy! At 6.7 Km Justine B-B is just 2.1 behind Preuß, having been +24.1 as she left S2 – she’s over the line 4.4 ahead, despite the 2 penalties!! At S1 Anna Magnusson is clear and 10.6 faster than Tandrevold there; Jeanmonnot over the line 5th, but only briefly as Vittozzi is almost 8 seconds faster. That’s interesting – Anna Magnusson 10/10 and out 5.7 behind Preuß’s time – the crowd have gone silent! Sophie Chauveau [1,0] in touch after S2 and the French women seem to be skiing very fast on the final lap. Magnusson seems to be losing a little time, particularly to Justine B-B and Chauveau; at 6.7 Km she’s behind both of the French women with Chauveau closing on both Preuß and Justine B-B. That was close – Chauveau over the line in 3rd, only 0.2 behind Preuß – top 3 separated by just 4.6 seconds. Good work by Jeanne Richard [FRA, 0,0] out from S2 in 7th! She’s over the line in 8th, just ahead of Jeanmonnot! The tracks are getting quite slushy and cut up; at present Justine Braisaz-Bouchet leads, ahead of Franzi Preuß and Sophie Chauveau – Magnusson 4th ahead of Janina H-W and Knotten. That’s it – no late changes – Elvira in 11th, just behind Simon, Tandrevold 17th, Arnekleiv 36th with 4 misses and Hanna Öberg 52nd with 4 misses!

Oberhof – Pursuits, 6 Jan 24: Men’s 12.5 Km race first, which sadly clashes with the Women’s GS alpine event at Kranjska Gora! It’s all looking a bit sad in Oberhof – quite warm by biathlon standards. Benni Doll away first but only 0.2/0.5 ahead of Laegreid and Strømsheim respectively. JoBø seems to be in a good mood – smiling at the start and looking very relaxed. That track looks very narrow in places – a thin white line over the green. At 1.1 Km the gap between the leading 3 is 1.1 seconds, Laegreid just leading, with JoBø +9.2 and looking very easy. Leading 4 in for S1 - Sturla Holm Laegreid clear and out, just 2.4 ahead of Endre Strømsheim; Benni Doll has missed 3, so the crowd are a little silent! JoBø clear and +6.8; Martin Ponsiluoma clear and out 4th, from 8 at the start, +21.4. Seb Samuelsson has missed 1, as have Tarjei Bø, Nawrath, Dale and Quentin Fillon Maillet, among others. By 3.6 Km JoBø has the gap closed to the leading 2, who are just in for S2, prone again. JoBø clear and out, just 0.4 ahead of Strømsheim, who was also clear, as was Ponsiluoma who is out +19.0 just ahead of Laegreid who missed 1. Doll has missed 2 more! Kühn 10/10 and 5th, just ahead of Samuelsson who was clear this time. Fabien Claude 10/10 as well and 11th from 28 at the start. JoBø and Strømsheim in for S3; Strømsheim clear and away but JoBø has missed 1 and out +26.2. Laegreid has missed 1, out 3rd but Ponsiluoma has missed 2 and is 5th, letting Samuelsson [1, 0, 0] through to 4th. Right, Strømsheim in for S4 - two misses! JoBø has missed his first by a mile, and 2 more! Strømsheim leads out, but Laegreid [0, 1, 1, 0] clear this time and just 6.0 behind. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal [1, 0, 0, 0] out 3rd, +42.8 from, 13th when he started. JoBø 4th, +47.8, then Ponsiluoma +56.9 and Tarjei Bø, + 58.6. At 11.1 Km Laegreid is just past Strømsheim but Dale has pulled back over 20 seconds. At 11.7 Strømsheim is back in the lead and Dale has slipped back again. I think that’s it – yep, Strømsheim has won the pursuit, his first World Cup victory! Sturla Holm Laegreid in 2nd and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal 3rd, from 13th at the start. Tarjei Bø in 4th, just ahead of brother Johannes with Fabien Claude 6th – the only non-Norwegian in the top 6 and a great gain from 28th! Others gaining places include Giacomel [25 to 11], Horn [24-13], Jacquelin [37-21], Rastorgujevs [36-25], Perrot [45-26], Nykvist [39-27], Krcmar [43-30], Badacz [AUT, 47-35], Wright [58-37] and Marecek [CZE, 50-38]. Going the wrong way the list includes Doll [1-12], Stalder [9-17], Fak [5-18], Nawrath [11-22], Mukhin [16-28], Hartweg [17-29], Eder [22-34], Hofer [21-41], Birkentals [LAT, 27-42], Invenius [FIN, 30-44], and Finello [33-47] with 8 misses.
Women’s 10 Km Pursuit: I think this might have been slightly delayed? Race on – very damp conditions. At 1.1 Km Justine Braisaz-Bouchet 9.7 ahead of Sophie Chauveau who is just ahead of Franzi Preuß; Anna Magnusson gaining time, Elvira Öberg up to 6th from 11th. Justine B-B in for S1 – clear and gone; Chauveau has missed 1, so has Preuß and it’s Elvira who is out 2nd, clear and +30.6 and just ahead of Knotten, Hettich-Walz and Vittozzi. Chauveau 6th, just ahead of Preuß. Magnusson has also missed 1 and dropped to 11th. Justine B-B in for her second prone shoot – clear again and out; Elvira also clear and +23.4, with Knotten +38.3, then Chauveau, Richard and Vittozzi [+40.0]. Julia Simon up to 4th on the lap. Justine B-B in for her first standing shoot – 1 miss and out, Simon [1,0,0] is out +10.5, ahead of Jeanne Richard [15/15, + 29.8]. Elvira [0,0,1] +33.3 then Preuß [1,0,0], Chauveau [1,0,1], Vittozzi [0,0,1] and Knotten [0,0,1]. Tandrevold [0,0,1] is gaining places; out from S3 in 9th from 17. Final shoot – Justine B-B has missed 2, Simon just 1 so she leads out by 10.6! Preuß out 3rd despite 1 miss at S4, just ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot [0,1,0,0] Then Tandrevold [0,0,1,1], Knotten [0,0,1,1] Elvira [0,0,1,2] and Richard [0,0,0,2]. Preuß fading on the lap while Elvira Öberg is gaining places despite 3 missed targets! Julia Simon cruising to the win, from 10th, ahead of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and lovely to see Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold outsprinting Elvira for the final podium place, from 17 at the start. Jeanmonnot in 5th, then Knotten, Preuß, Vittozzi and Richard. Among the bigger gainers are Hanna Öberg [52-20], Kebinger [33-22], Lucie Charvatová [49-23], Kapustova [SVK, 39-25], Juppe [53-35], Külm [44-36] and Davidova [59-38]. Going the “wrong” way the list includes Preuß [2-7], Hettich-Walz [5-11], Magnusson [4-12], Chauveau [3-13 with 5 misses] and Ermits [25-40].

6 Jan 24 – Kranjska Gora [Podkoran 3] – Women’s GS: Missed run 1, which was won by Petra Vlhova, ahead of Brignone [+0.02], Gut-Behrami +0.15], Grenier, Hector and Stjernesund. Mikaela Shiffrin in 7th, +0.98, just ahead of Marta Bassino. Sadly run 2, set by a Canadian coach, clashes with the biathlon from Oberhof! From the live feed, with 10 away Steph Brunner leads from Katharina Liensberger and Emma Aicher. Good run from Clara Direz to take over the lead, which has just been taken over by Alice Robinson as I join video coverage from a very exciting biathlon race. Good run from Franzi Gritsch who had an unsettling wait after the interruption after Julia Scheib’s crash, which hopefully wasn’t too serious. Paula Moltzan out and very nearly colliding with a course worker – that was athletic! Marta Bassino just red at inter 3 and into 3rd – Gritsch leads from Robinson and Bassino. Now Mikaela Shiffrin – 0.24 in hand, gain to inter 1 but only just green at 2 and just red at 3 – she’s into 3rd, +0.19. Thea Louise Stjernesund is much more in touch with this course – a great run to go into the lead by 0.51 – best time on run 2 still with Liensberger. Sara Hector into 2nd; Val Grenier, whose coach set this course, is really flying – she leads by a massive 1.18 and that is the fastest time on run 2! Lara Gut-Behrami next and she’s gained a little to inter 2; most gone by 3 and she’s into 2nd, +0.37. Just 2 to come – Federica Brignone has gained a little to inter 1, lost a bit to 2 and just red at 3 – she can only manage 3rd, +0.51. That final sector is really tricky! Petra Vlhova starts with 0.35 in hand – she too has gained to inter 1, lost time to 2, just red at 3 and she’s also lost time on the final sector to go 4th – that’s a real shock! Valerie Grenier takes the win ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami and Federica Brignone; Vlhova in 4th, Shiffrin 9th. In the GS standings Brignone leads by just 15 points ahead of Gut-Behrami with Shiffrin 3rd, 111 points behind. In the overall Shiffrin leads by 231+1, ahead of Brignone with Vlhova 307 behind.

6 Dec 24: Adelboden [Chuenisbaergli] – Men’s GS: Again, I missed run 1 due to a clash with biathlon – no surprises here as Marco Odermatt won that run, ahead of Stefan Brennsteiner, but I was delighted to see Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in 3rd, albeit +1.15. Manu Feller 4th, ahead of McGrath and de Aliprandini. The course for run 2 set by a French coach ; first away is Fredrik Møller and he’s safely down. Visibility not that brilliant, but it’s good enough for Giovanni Borsotti to take over the lead by 0.05. I sometimes think TV coverage “flattens out” some pistes but this looks really steep! Zan Kranjec has had a great final sector going from 0.46 red at inter 3 to take the lead by 0.01! That’s a good run from Christian Borgnaes [DEN] to take the lead by 0.61 – best time so far on run 2. Not for long though as Justin Murisier is faster and into the lead by 0.16. Sam Maes [BEL] into 3rd; a great run from River Radamus to lead by 0.54. Good from Alex Schmid to go 2nd; that’s the TV break – Radamus leads from Schmid and Murisier. I think the vis is getting worse? Alex Vinatzer into 3rd; not the fastest on run 2 but Filip Zubcic has taken the lead by 0.12. There’s a surprise – Henrik Kristoffersen into 3rd, despite a very impressive final sector. Rasmus Windingstad potentially top 3 at inter 3 but into 5th; no changes to the top 3 since Kristoffersen. Manu Feller still green at inter 3 but then a massive error and he’s into 24th. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde next and nicely green at 3 – hugely powerful on the final sector and he leads by 0.51 despite the fog – he’s guaranteed a podium – his first in GS! Brennsteiner off the pace and into 18th; just Marco Odermatt left – he’s lost a little to inter 2 in thickening fog and he leads by 1.26! That’s 3 in a row – very impressive. So Marco Odermatt wins again, Kilde in 2nd, and Zubcic 3rd after making up 9 places. Radamus in 4th, gaining 16 places then Kristoffersen and Steen Olsen. Difficult conditions! Slaloms tomorrow?

7 Jan 24 – Kranjska Gora [Podkoran 3] – Women’s Slalom: Again I missed run 1, which was won by Petra Vlhova, ahead of Lena Dürr, Leona Popovic, Sara Hector, Paula Moltzan and Katharina Liensberger. Charlie Guest did finish but won’t get a second run. To my amazement, Mikaela Shiffrin was among the DNFs after a very rare straddle! The last was apparently in Jan 22! Run 2 is going to clash with the biathlon relay, so I joined with 13 away – Chiara Pogneaux [FRA] leading from Dzenifera Germane [LAT] and Lara Colturi [ALB]. Andreja Slokar into 4th; that’s an excellent run from AJ Hurt to take the lead by 0.81. It seems she’ll be in the leader’s chair for a while as conditions aren’t good and the later starters are losing lots of time! That’s a good effort by Camille Rast to get into 2nd, +0.30; Michelle Gisin into 4th. Ana Bucik has straddled; Katharina Huber was 1.14 ahead as she started but she can only manage 4th, +0.89! Amazing. Top 3 remain Hurt, Rast and Pogneaux. Katharina Liensberger is 1.20 ahead but she too is losing a lot of time – into 3rd, +0.66. Five to go – Paula Moltzan 0.96 green at inter 2 but just 0.33 at 3 and now she’s 3rd, +0.36. This looks like it’s going to be an odd set of results – plenty of personal bests! Sara Hector still 0.48 green at inter 3 but she’s lost nearly a second from there to go 4th. Leona Popovic apparently crossed the line on run 1 after a crash – sadly just 9th. A J Hurt will get her first slalom podium whatever happens. Lena Dürr starts with 1.83 in hand and has 1.05 left at inter 3 – she leads by just 0.15 – that’s the 11th fastest time on run 2. So, just Petra Vlhova to come – steady to inter 2, gained to 3 and she’s gained again where everyone lost time on the final sector to take the win by a massive 0.72; very impressive. So, Vlhova wins from Lena Dürr and A J Hurt, who still has the best time of run 2 and gained 13 places. Camille Rast 4th, then Moltzan and Hector.

7 Dec 24: Adelboden [Chuenisbaergli] – Men’s Slalom: Again, I missed most of run 1, joining as Samuel Kolega [bib 25] went into joint 6th place with Henrik Kristoffersen. At that stage Alex Steen Olsen was leading ahead of McGrath [+0.05], Sala, Strasser and Feller [+0.45]; Dave Ryding in 16th. Billy Major safely down and currently in 26th! Sadly Billy is now 32nd so no second run and Laurie Taylor was a DNF! No late changes to the top 10.
Run 2: That looks a tricky course, and the visibility isn’t good! Joaquim Salarich [ESP] first away and safely down. Ben Ritchie is 0.09 faster; River Radamus next, he was the highest bib number [70] to qualify for run 2 and he leads by 0.50. Istok Rodes has taken over the lead, but not for long as Tobias Kastlunger is just 0.07 faster. Erik Read into 4th; that’s a good run from Loic Meillard, building to inter 3 and he leads by 0.78 – best time on run 2 so far. That’s a neat run from Steven Amiez [FRA, bib 46] – red at inter 1 but better after that to lead by just 0.03. Here comes Dave Ryding – just red at inter 2 but it’s gone wrong from there – into 8th, +1.28. Dominik Raschner [AUT] making the most of the track post the TV break to take the lead by a massive 0.74! Luca Aerni into 2nd; Timon Haugan goes 3rd. Now Daniel Yule into 4th; another TV break and Marc Rochat into 2nd. Ramon Zenhaeusern just red by inter 3 but a big error has dropped him to 9th; Henrik Kristoffersen much the same but an even bigger error and he’s 23rd. Samuel Kolega steady from inter 3 to go 3rd; Manu Feller just green at 3 but amazingly he’s gained time from there to lead by 0.23. Linus Strasser just 0.03 green at inter 3 – into 3rd, +0.30; Tommaso Sala next and red by inter 2 – he’s into 6th. Just two Norwegians to come – Atle Lie McGrath has gained from 2 to 3 – that’s very close, he’s second by just 0.02! Finally, Alex Steen Olsen with 0.45 in hand, red by inter 1 and he’s out! Manu Feller wins – he’s delighted and it’s lovely to see a vintage Feller performance - back on form. Atle Lie McGrath in 2nd with Dominik Raschner 3rd – first podium and still with the fastest time on run 2 and having gained 13 places. Congratulations to all the podium places – impressive in bad conditions. Dave Ryding ended up 21st.

Oberhof – Relays, 7 Jan 24: Men’s event first – cold and misty! Endre Strømsheim taking leg 1 for Norway and currently setting the pace. In for S1 and we are assured that the vis isn’t as bad as it looks; it’s windy too! Fabian Claude clear and out ahead of Jaakko Ranta [FIN] and Roman Rees [GER] – all 3 with no spares used. Strømsheim has used 2 spares and out 9th; quite a few teams have used all 3 spares but no penalty loops – yet! On the lap Florent Claude [BEL] is up to 2nd, ahead of Strømsheim and Rees. Fabien Claude in for his standing shoot – 1 spare and out but he’s dropped a ski pole; Florent also 1 spare and +10.9 with Strømsheim [1 spare] +12.0. Nykvist [SWE, 1] in 4th ahead of Pryma [UKR] and Rees who used all 3 spares, +44.7. Exchange 1 – Fabien C in the lead for France, Strømsheim has got Norway up to 2nd +4.7 with Florent C over the line 3rd for Belgium, +22.0. Then GER/UKR/SWE. At 8.6 Km Laegreid is just past Eric Perrot with Thierry Langer [BEL] holding on to 3rd; Doll has lost a little time and Nelin is up to 5th. Leading pair in for S3 – very windy; Perrot out 5.1 ahead of Laegreid, both using 2 spares. Doll [2] +34.4, then Langer [1 penalty loop] and Nelin [2]. UKR/KAZ/FIN among those doing a penalty loop. USA currently with 4 loops and 7 spares! At certain places on the course conditions really are poor. Leading pair in again for S4 – Sturla Holm Laegreid clear here and away; Perrot has done a penalty loop and +39.8. Benni Doll [3] has just avoided a penalty so +54.8 but he’s only just ahead of Jesper Nelin who was clear here. Jakov Fak [0] up to 5th, ahead of Langer [2]. On the lap Doll is closing on Perrot, Nelin losing a little time. Exchange 2 – Laegreid handing over to Tarjei Bø who wasn’t exactly ready!! Emilien Jacquelin has a gap of 42.6 to make up, with Nawrath just 4.2 back. It seems there might be some problems with the ski checking area as a few of the leg 3 athletes are late getting to the exchange box? Ponsiluoma away in 4th, then SLO/BEL/ITA/CZE. At 16.1 Km Philipp Nawrath is just into 2nd and making up time – I wonder if he’s gone too hard? Conditions are getting even worse; Tarjei Bø in for S5 – 2 spares, but Nawrath is clear and out 0.8 ahead. Ponsiluoma [2] out 3rd but +1:07.5 and 20 seconds ahead of Lovro Planko [SLO, 0] who has nipped past Jacquelin [2 loops] with Marek Mackels [BEL] in 6th. Leading 2 in for the standing shoot – Tarjei clear and out, Nawrath on the penalty loop and out +47.1! Ponsiluoma slow and deliberate – 1 spare and out +1:33.0 with Hofer [ITA, 0] +1:57.1 just ahead of Planko, who has used no spares on this leg – very good shooting. Final exchange and JoBø has 59.0 in hand as Philipp Horn starts his leg, with Seb Samuelsson another 40 seconds back. Then ITA/SLO/SUI/FRA/CZE. Jacquelin didn’t have a good leg – France started with 1+6 and after his leg they were 5+12, so he did 4 loops and used all 6 spares! JoBø in for his prone shoot – all down and he’s away; Horn has used 1 spare +1:13.1, Samuelsson has used 2 spares and +2:05.3. Then Giacomel [3], Finello [1] and Anton Vidmar [SLO, 2], but he’s only just ahead of Hornig [CZE, 0]. JoBø in for his final shoot – first couple a bit messy but then better and he’s clear and out. Horn in and he’s missed his first shot, unlucky with a second miss too – all 3 spares needed. Luckily for him Samuelsson has missed 4 and is doing a penalty loop. That has let Giacomel [2] through into 3rd, with Samuelsson [1 loop] some 33 seconds back. Good shooting from Vitezslav Hornig [CZE] who has used no spares on this leg and is in 5th, ahead of Finello [3]. QFM has France in 7th with Vidmar 8th. So, an easy win for Norway [0+7], ahead of Germany [1+15] with Italy [0+16] taking the final podium. Then Sweden [1+11], Switzerland [1+15] and Czechia [0+10]. France [5+14] in 7th ahead of Slovenia [0+7]. Hopefully better conditions for the women?

Women’s Relay: Just about made the start after a very exciting men’s slalom from Adelboden! Norway have put Juni Arnekleiv on leg 1 – interesting choice perhaps? At 1.1 Km Vanessa Voight is fractionally ahead of Arnekleiv and Lou Jeanmonnot – all very icy. Then Magnusson, Comola and Baserga [SUI] – all still very close early on. In for S1 and the clouds are lifting a little – Natalia Sidorowicz [POL] out first ahead of Deedra Irwin and Tereza Vobornikova [CZE] –leading 3 with no spares used. Then Arnekleiv [1], Voight [1] and Magnusson [1]. Bulgaria and Latvia both on the penalty loop. It’s Arnekleiv who leads in for S2 – two misses for her but she’s not alone. Lou Jeanmonnot clear this time and she leads out, 2.4 ahead of Anna Magnusson [1], Arnekleiv [3] +12.0, Voight [1], Irwin [3] and Samuela Comola [2, +36.9]. Sidorowicz among those on a penalty loop after S2. At exchange 1 Linn Persson takes over with a lead of just 1.3 ahead of Justine B-B with Marit Ishol Skogan going for Norway, +2.3. Eurosport have lost the video feed! Janina Hettich-Walz for Germany starts +16.2, then USA/CZE/ITA/FIN. The leading 3 are very close on the lap, with Justine B-B leading them in for S3 – Linn Persson clear and away, Skogan [1] +9.8, Justine B-B [1] + 11.8. Then Janina H-W [2, +31.1], Dickinson [USA, 0] and Davidova [1, +1:02.0]. On the lap Justine B-B is just past Persson as they approach the range for S4 – Justine B-B has missed 2. Linn Persson [1] is away 20.5 ahead of the French woman [3] with Skogan [1] +26.0. Janina H-W [2] +54.0 but she has over 30 seconds to Lena Haecki-Gross [3] who is only just ahead of Dickinson [2]. At exchange 2 Justine B-B is handing over to Sophie Chauveau with a 4.3 second lead over Hanna Öberg; Karoline Offigstad Knotten away 3rd, +25.3 with Sophia Schneider +58.3 and Aita Gasparin +1:22.9. Then ITA/USA/CZE/UKR/POL. On the lap Knotten has lost a little time, as has Schneider. Even Hanna Öberg isn’t closing. First shoot of leg 3 – a bit windier – 1 miss for Chauveau and away. Knotten [1, +32.1] and Hanna Öberg is on the penalty loop – out +50.1. Schneider has missed 3 and she’s on the penalty loop. It’s Liza Vittozzi [0] who is out 4th, +1:33.2 then Gasparin [1], Schneider [1+3] and Jackie Garso [USA, 0]. Amazing to see Hanna Öberg losing time on the lap. Chauveau in for S6 – 3 misses in succession, but she’s avoided the loop. Knotten [2] out +27.1 and Hanna Öberg needs just 1 spare and +34.5. Vittozzi [1] out 4th; Gasparin is doing a penalty loop but still out before Schneider [2]. Final exchange and Sophie Chauveau is handing over to Julia Simon with a gap of 21.9 to Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold. Elvira Öberg is 46.8 back with Michela Carrara +1:18.2 then SUI/GER/USA/CZE. On the lap Elvira is working hard; Simon is in for S7 – all clear with no spares. Tandrevold also clear and out +27.4; Elvira has missed 1, +51.9. Carrara has put all 5 rounds pretty much through the middle of the prone target, lovely shooting, but she’s lost some 20 seconds since 18.6 Km. Franzi Preuß [1] up to 5th, but over 3 minutes back. Amazing that Austria [3+14] are lapped and out. Julia Simon in for her last shoot – all 3 spares needed! Tandrevold [1] + 12.0 with Elvira Öberg [0] +28.0. Sadly Carrara isn’t so good in the stand and that’s 3 penalty loops. She’s safe though as Franzi Preuß has done 2 loops and out just 10m seconds or so ahead of Elisa Gasparin [2]. So France [0+12] take a well-deserved win, ahead of Norway [0+10] with Sweden 1+8] in the final podium place. Italy [3+11] in 4th ahead of Germany [3+15] and Czechia [2+16]. Well done France!

Ruhpolding – Relays: Women’s 4 x 6 Km – 10 Jan 24: No Hanna Öberg today apparently, nor will Justine B-B be racing – she’s replaced by Jeanne Richard. No Wierer, no Voight either. Race on – 19 teams away; Lou Jeanmonnot leading them out.  At 0.9 Km Jeanmonnot is slightly ahead of Marit Ishol Skogan , Anna Magnusson. Elisa Gasparin, Janina Hettich-Walz and Samuela Comola [+2.9].  Heading in for S1, with Deedra Irwin in the lead – no wind! It’s Iryna Petrenko [UKR] who leads out ahead of Janina H-W, Slogan and Magnusson – all with no spares. Jeanmonnot [1] in 5th; Estonia and Bulgaria on a penalty loop. Skogan  leading in for S2 – still nice and still; Petrenko 10/10 and out ahead of Magnusson , Jeanmonnot, Lunder and Vobornikova [CZE]. Comola [2] out 6th, then Janina H-W [2]. Amazing – Skogan is doing 2 penalty loops; very disappointing for Norway especially in such good conditions. First exchange – Sweden just 0.7 ahead of France, with Ukraine 3rd, +3.5.  Linn Persson, Jeanne Richard and Yuliia Dzhima respectively taking the next leg. Then CZE/ITA/GER/CAN/POL/AUT/FIN. Norway in 16th, +1:36.0, so that’s a lot for Knotten to make up. Leading 4 coming in for S3; it’s Lisa Vittozzi [0] who leads out, ahead of Richard [0], Dzhima [0], Persson [1], Haecki-Gross [0] and Charvatová [0, +18.9]. Sophia Schneider clear and 7th, but Knotten has used 1 spare and is +1:43.7. In for S4 – Vittozzi has used 2 spares but she’s reloading very fast – she’s out 6.7 ahead of Persson [0], Dzhima [0], Schneider [0], Haecki-Gross [2] and Richard [1, +17.3]. Knotten clear this time and out +1:43.9.  Exchange 2 – Vittozzi hands over to Rebecca Passler with 8.6 seconds over Switzerland [Aita Gasparin] – a good final lap from Haecki-Gross!  At 12.9 Km Sophie Chauveau is just 0.9 ahead of Franzi Preuß, then Passler +1.7, Mona Brorsson +2.0, Merkushyna [+3.1] and Gasparin +3.6. Then a gap of over 28 seconds to the chasers – AUT/CZE/FIN/POL. Juni Arnekleiv in 13th,  +1:42.6. In for S5 – Preuß clear and out but only 0.5 ahead of Brorsson [0], then Chauveau [0, +3.9], Passler [0, +4.5] and Gasparin [1, +13.4]. Merkushyna [2] is +22.8; Arnekleiv has used 1 spare and she’s now + 2:02.1. Preuß, Chauveau and Brorsson are pulling away a little on the lap; in for S6. Franzi Preuß clear and away, but only 1.2 ahead of Mona Brorsson [0] with Sophie Chauveau [1, +4.5] –  Passler [2] +19.9, then Gasparin [1, +32.4] and Merkushyna [1, +37.0]. Arnekleiv has used 1 more spare and out +2:25.9. This is going to be interesting - Hanna Kebinger has the final leg for Germany but against Julia Simon and Elvira Öberg.  Good sprint from Preuß to hand over just in the lead, but Kebinger is just 0.4 ahead of Öberg with Simon +6.1. Then ITA/SUI/UKR/AUT/CZE/CAN/FIN.  At 18.9 Km Elvira is just past Kebinger with Simon +5.9, then a gap to Carrara, + 52.0.  In for S7 – Julia Simon [1] out ahead of Kebinger [0, +3.8] and Öberg [2, +17.9]. Carrara also clear [+59.2] and in a small group with Baserga and Dmytrenko [+1:07.8].  Tandrevold clear but over 3 minutes back. Öberg past Kebinger on the lap; Julia Simon in for the final shoot – clear and away – that was fantastic shooting! Öberg also clear and +13.6, Kebinger has used 1 spare and +29.9. Amy Baserga [0] out +1:18.7 with a good gap to Dmytrenko and Carrara. So, France [0+4] take a very well deserved win, ahead of Sweden [0+3] with Germany [0+3] in the final podium place – good race, and a good effort by Kebinger on the anchor leg. Switzerland in 4th, ahead of Ukraine and Italy.  Final insult for Norway [2+6] on a disappointing day – Anamarija Lampic has passed Tandrevold to take 9th for Slovenia [0+8]!

Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km – 11 Jan 24: JoBø not racing today as he isn’t well - Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen will be taking the anchor leg for Norway. Race on - Sturla Holm Laegreid away for Norway – weather cooler than forecast. At 1.2 Km Laegreid and Justus Strelow together just ahead of Miha Dovzan [SLO], Eric Perrot, Elia Zeni [ITA] and Campbell Wright [USA, +1.8]. In for S1 – Wright clear and out ahead of Dominic Unterweger [AUT] – both clear; Strelow [1] +2.4. Laegreid [1] in 7th after a slow shoot, Perrot [1] in 11th, just ahead of Nykvist [1]. Artem Pryma [UKR] the only one on the penalty loop. Pat and Mike discussing foresight size in poor vis – it seems to be a bit of a saga? In for S2 – Strelow clear this time and out, ahead of Unterweger [0], Zahkna [EST, 0], Mukhin [KAZ, 0] and Wright [0]. Laegreid [1] in 7th, +10.7, Perrot [2, +14.3] – Nykvist [3, +39.8] in 13th. Zeni [2] down to 16th. Exchange 1 – Strelow hands over to Johannes Kühn just 0.3 ahead of Emilien Jacquelin with USA 3rd, just 0.9 back as Sean Doherty takes over. Then NOR/KAZ/EST/CAN/ AUT. Italy in 12th, Sweden 16th! At 8.7 Km Johannes Dale-Skjevdal has already closed down the gap, although Kristo Siimer [EST] has passed him into 3rd – maybe too fast? In for S3 – Nikita Akimov [KAZ] leads out, just ahead of Doherty – both clear. Kühn [0] + 2.1, just ahead of Dale [0], Simon Eder [0], and Christian Gow [0]. Siimer [2] down to 7th, Jacquelin [2] out 9th, Jesper Nelin [1] 12th, +42.1. Leg 2 standing shoot – it’s Doherty [1] who leads out, ahead of Jacquelin [1] and Kühn [1, +7.0]. Simon Eder in 4th ahead of Gow and Dale [3, +24.4]. Siimer on the penalty loop and 13th, Nelin has done 2 penalties and out 21st, +1:45.2. On the lap Kühn and Jacquelin are very close, Dale up to 3rd, ahead of Doherty. Exchange 2 – Benni Doll out just 1.0 ahead of Fabien Claude; Dale has got the gap down to just 3.8 as Tarjei Bø takes over. Jake Brown away 4th, +8.9 for the USA, then AUT/CAN/BEL/CZE. Sweden 20th, +1:53.2 as Martin Ponsiluoma starts leg 3. In for S5 – Doll clear and out, ahead of Claude [0, +0.8] and Tarjei [0, +2.9]. Niklas Hartweg 0] in 4th, +31.6, then Leitner [0] and Marecek [CZE]. Brown is doing 2 penalty loops, Ponsiluoma has used all 3 spares and out +2:08.5. S6 – leading 3 in, Tarjei clear and away, Hartweg [0] in 2nd, +24.2 ahead of Claude [1 penalty loop]. Leitner in 4th, ahead of Fak and Hofer – Doll in 7th, after doing 2 penalty loops, +59.8 – what a mess! By contrast Ponsiluoma is clear this time and out 12th. Final exchange – Hartweg has lost a lot to Bø, who hands over to Christiansen who is away 41.8 ahead of Quentin Fillon Maillet with Jeremy Finello out 3rd. Then SLO/ITA/GER [+1:06.6], so Doll has lost time; a tough task for Nawrath. In for the final prone shoot – Christiansen [2] away; QFM clear and out +31.9 with Nawrath [1] up to 3rd, +45.4. Giacomel [1] close behind the German, with Finello [2] in touch. Samuelsson clear and up to 9th. QFM losing time on the lap – not his usual speed and Nawrath is up with him. Final shoot – Christiansen [1] away before anyone else is in. Nawrath [1] out +38.8, QFM [1] +47.4 but Giacomel [1] +47.8 and the Frenchman isn’t looking as fast as usual. Samuelsson clear and out 8th. At 28.7 Km Nawrath has lost a little, but he’s faster than the chasing pair – and Giacomel is past QFM. That’s it – Norway [0+8] take yet another win even without JoBø; Germany [2+7] get 2nd, despite Doll’s loops with Italy [0+10] taking the final podium place. France [1+10] in 4th, ahead of Austria [0+2] and Slovenia [0+2] – great shooting by both of them. Sweden [2+11] recovering from early snags to get into 8th, USA [2+7] in 10th.

11 Jan – Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Downhill: A shortened track today, presumably due to weather?  Some grumbling from the racers about the conditions on the Kernen-S. Not sure who is commentating with Ed Drake, but it seems Nick Fellows is now the Director of the new FIS streaming platform, so it isn’t him! It’s Charlie Groom I think. Otmar Striedinger first away and safely down – 1:44.57, so this is a Wengen “short” course, which is not far off some other full length downhills. Bryce Bennett into 2nd; Andreas Sander goes 3rd. Nils Allegre fastest out of the Kernen-S so far but he can only manage 3rd; Justin Murisier also quick and he’s into 2nd.  Next is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who apparently isn’t fully fit – well green at 2 though and still there at 3 and 4 – he leads by 0.44, great job given his relative lack of fitness today. Florian Schieder in touch and into 2nd, +0.13, fastest in the last 3 sectors where Kilde was fading a little. Now, Marco Odermatt – fast out of the Kernen-S, green at 2 and building – he leads by a massive 0.81, fastest in 4 of 5 sectors. Dominik Paris into 4th; good run from Cyprien Sarrazin to go into 2nd. That’s the top 15 away – Mattia Casse into 6th – so top 6 at present Odermatt, Sarrazin, Kilde, Schieder, Paris and Casse – no TV breaks today.  Good run from Ryan Cochrane-Siegle [in future just Ryan C-S, or RC-S] into 6th. At present RC-S is the highest bib number [16] in the top 10. Not bad from Alexis Monney [SUI, bib 25] into 11th; 30 away, no recent changes to the top 10. Now, that’s good – new Dad Alexis Pinturault [bib 31] into 9th – very impressive! It’s suddenly got very misty – race interrupted. More interruptions as someone I missed [Marco Kohler?] is taken off course after a crash – hopefully OK.  That was it – no late changes to the top 10 – well done to Odermatt for another win, ahead of Sarrazin and Kilde – same order in the Downhill standings. In the overall Odermatt is now 372 ahead of Schwarz.

12 Jan - Altenmarkt-Zauchensee [Kälberloch], Women’s Super G: First thing I noticed – no Mikaela Shiffrin – apparently she has had a cold and decided to miss these races and “focus on building energy back and prep for the upcoming (packed) weeks with Flachau, Jasna, Cortina, and Kronplatz!".  Laura Pirovano [ITA] the first away and she’s safely down – bit of a mixed blessing going first – immaculate snow but no chance to watch others on the course. Kira Weidle is 0.41 faster, nice run; Laura Gauche into 2nd, +0.19. That’s a superb run from Marjam Puchner – building all the way and into the lead by 0.74 – fastest in every sector. Steph Venier is quite red at inter 2 but better from there – briefly green at 3 and into 2nd by just 0.01 – fastest in sector 3!  Ragnhild Mowinckel into 4th; Corinne Suter into 3rd, but +0.67. Cornelia Hütter nicely green at inter 3 and she’s over the line 0.56 ahead – she’s now fastest in all the sectors too – Austria have all the podium places at present!  Marta Bassino 0.45 red at 2, but +0.02 at 3 and into 2nd, fastest in sector 3 but slower in 4. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie green at inter 3 and now she’s 2nd, +0.09 – now she’s the best through sector 3.  Lara Gut-Behrami green at 2 and 3 but a slight loss of balance lower and she’s into 3rd, +0.21. That’s a real surprise – Sofia Goggia out, trying to recover from a 0.49 deficit at inter 3. Federica Brignone just green at 3 but she’s had a slower sector 4 and only 4th.  That’s 15 away – Hütter leads from Lie, Gut-Behrami, Brignone, Bassino and Puchner. Jasmine Flury [bib 19] into 9th – highest bib in the top 15 at present.  Val Grenier in touch to inter 3 but she’s lost a lot from there – into 10th, but from bib 21. The Austrians are having a good day – Ariane Raedler [bib 23] in touch all the way and into 6th; nasty crash for Nadine Fest – she is sitting up but maybe has some leg/knee problems? She’s back on her feet which is good news, but not at all comfortable – helo on its way, hope she’ll be OK.  Emma Aicher had a long wait – looked to be in touch at inter 3 but she’s a DNF. There is a suggestion that during the long interruption the snow might have got a little slower? With 30 away, there has been no change to the top 6 since Raedler went into 6th. Looks like Stephanie Jenal [SUI, bib 29] is the highest bib number in the top 15, in 12th; Maryna Gasienica-Daniel [bib 42] has just gone into 20th.  That was the last change to the top 20 – well done to Connie Hütter for the win, Lie and Gut-Behrami on the podium, ahead of Brignone, Bassino and Raedler. That moves Hütter up 2 places to lead the super G standings, 35 points ahead of Brignone, with Lie up to 3rd, ahead of Goggia.

12 Jan – Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Super G:  A similar course to yesterday’s shortened DH but with a lot more gates, set by an American coach! As the upper sectors are narrow there’s not a lot of flexibility to make that bit more like a Super G! Kilde maybe a little better today, but still not 100% fit. Jeff Read first away – timing data showing but no data from the speed guns – safely down.  Gino Caviezel nicely green at inter 4 but a huge error means he’s into 2nd, +0.76! Cyprien Sarrazin is on form at present and he’s massively green and building all the way – he takes the lead and by an impressive 3.09!  Stefan Rogentin into 2nd, but +1.58; Guglielmo Bosca better and into second, but still off the pace, +1.16. Alexis Pinturault has made a few errors but is still in touch at inter 4 – then, that’s  a big crash – not nice to see. It’s almost certainly going to mean a long delay while a helo takes him to hospital. The course workers seem to be trimming that section to reduce the lip; not sure that’s entirely fair to those who have already finished, but if it is really considered dangerous I suppose they have no choice. If that is the case, I do wonder why wasn’t it noticed earlier though, by the forerunners? Anyway, let’s hope Alexis is as well as he can be.  Poor Justin Murisier is the first away after the interruption – he’s in touch at inter 2, but he’s clipped the softer snow – into 3rd, but +1.38. Stefan Babinsky has taken over 3rd, but still +1.28 off Sarrazin’s time. Marco Odermatt on course now – bit slow through the first 2 speed guns and 0.50 red at inter 3 – into 2nd, +0.58. A less than fully fit Kilde is on course  and slightly green at inter 2 but he’s fading a little – into 3rd, +1.00 – amazing for someone who isn’t 100%! Vincent Kriechmayr can only manage 9th; Dominik Paris into 4th. Twenty away – Sarrazin leads from Odermatt and Kilde; Paris in 4th, ahead of Bosca and Babinsky. Now 30 away and no recent changes to the top 10 – what a run from Cyprien Sarrazin! No late changes to the top 10 – well done Cyprien, he’s beaten the amazing Marco Odermatt into 2nd, delighted to see Kilde on the podium.

13 Jan - Altenmarkt-Zauchensee [Kälberloch], Women’s Downhill: Emma C-A seems enthused about this course – it certainly looks fast and steep; camera run by Nicole Schmidhofer! Because of the “extra” Super G yesterday, replacing one cancelled earlier in the season, there has only been 1 DH training run. Nicole Delago first away – safely down and faster than the best training time. Isabella Wright [USA] in touch to inter 3 but she’s lost a lot in sector 4 – 2nd but +1.11; Priska Nufer much better in sector 4 and she’s 2nd, +0.77. Laura Gauche better still, into 2nd +0.66; there’s a headwind as the course begins - Ragnhild Mowinckel just 5th. Good run from Kira Weidle to do 2nd, +0.12 – meanwhile Federica Brignone, who was fastest in training, is just 5th, despite being quick in sector 4. Sofia Goggia green at inter 2, greener at 3, slightly less at 4, fast through the final speed gun and into the lead by 0.34. Jasmine Flury into 6th; Corinne Suter a DNF but no crash, thankfully. That’s 10 away – the fastest sectors list is interesting – sector 1 to Delago, who also claims sector 4; Goggia takes 2, Suter took 3 before the DNF, and Weidle was quickest in 5. A good run from Marjam Puchner – nicely in touch and quickest through sector 5 to go joint 2nd with Delago, +0.34. Lara Gut-Behrami next and just green at inter 1, red at 2, 3 and 4 and a little slow at the final gun – into 5th; fastest in sector 1. Fifteen away – Goggia leads from Puchner/Delago, Weidle, Lara G-B and Gauche. Michelle Gisin into 6th; Stephani Venier looking good and green at inter 3, just red again at 4 and into 2nd, +0.10 and fastest in sector 3. Interesting - Italy in 1st and joint 3rd, Austria in 2nd and joint 3rd. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie has crashed – at least she’s managed to stand up and get herself clear of the netting – amazing, she’s going to ski down! With 25 away there has been no change to the top 6 since Steph Venier went 2nd. Good run from Ariane Raedler, who had a good day yesterday too – she’s fastest in sector 2 and into 7th, +0.64. Emma Aicher into the nets but she’s up and will ski down. One of the German coaches is going with her – very relaxed, no poles! Sabrina Maier [bib 32] into 20th. Not quite all over as Jacqueline Wiles [bib 39] has gone into 14th – highest bib in the top 20 at present. That was it – no late changes to the top 20 – nice to see Goggia winning again, ahead of Venier and Puchner/Nicol Delago.

13 Jan – Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Downhill: This will be the full length version – the longest in the season – 4.27 Km. Great camera runs – no wonder the athletes are tired today after 2 races here already. Adrien Theaux first away and safely down – 150.37 kph at the final speed gun! Nils Allegre 0.17 slower; Jared Goldberg +1.35! Otmar Striedinger into 3rd, +0.54; Justin Murisier has crashed but thankfully he’s up and seems OK – yes, he’s skiing down and getting good support from the crowd. Mattia Casse in touch early on but a little slow out of the Kernen-S, into 3rd, +0.44. Good start by Bryce Bennett, green at 1 and 2 but red at 3 and into joint 3rd with Casse. Marco Odermatt next – 5.58 kph faster through speed gun 1 and 81.56 kph out of the Kernen-S, at inter 3 he’s 1.43 ahead – this is amazing stuff – he leads by, wait for it – 2.55 seconds! Fastest in sectors 2, 3, 4, 5, 6! Cyprien Sarrazin green at inter 1 and 2, bit too close to a gate, slower at Kernen-S so back to red – he’s late on the final jump – into 2nd, +0.59, fastest in sector 4. Dominik Paris a bit off the pace today but he’s managed 3rd, although he’s +1.92. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on course but still not at full fitness – in touch to inter 5 but he’s crashed just short of the finish – nothing left in the legs! This might be a long interruption – looks like a right leg problem? This is certainly a demanding programme here – not just a very serious set of races but a lot of media interviews, bib draws etc; maybe too much? Anyway, Kilde on his way to hospital and the forerunners are getting ready – hopefully he isn’t too badly hurt? On which topic Alexis Pinturault apparently has a ruptured ACL and will be out for the rest of the season. Race back on – James Crawford into 19th; Florian Schieder out but he’s saved it. Vincent Kriechmayr going well early on – lost a lot in the final sector, into 4th, but +2.49. There is some comment about the snow getting slower due to the long delays – maybe Paris might stay on the podium? Ryan C-S into 8th; Alex Cameron has crashed too but luckily he’s up and seems OK – Andi Sander has been yellow flagged. An interview with Sarrazin – he feels that the programme is too tough and arguably might have contributed to Kilde’s crash? With 21 away there are already 6 DNFs. Stefan Babinsky has crashed into the Kernen-S but he’s up again and skiing down. Poor Sander on his way back to the start by helo – that’s going to be tough as he’s going to do one and a half downhills today! That’s good - Adrian Smiseth Sejersted [bib 24] into 4th, +2.20. So, Odermatt leading, ahead of Sarrazin, Paris, Sejersted, Kriechmayr and Theaux. Andi Sander has finished his second run, but he’s very tired – into 19th. I’m over to watch the biathlon sprint. No late changes to the top 10 – another very impressive win for Odermatt, with Sarrazin getting another 2nd, so a good weekend for them, both. Well done to Paris for his third – I suspect he didn’t expect to hang onto that?

Ruhpolding – Sprints: Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 12 Jan 24: Vanessa Voight first away; at 1.1 Km it’s Tandrevold who is fastest at present. Voight in for S1 – 1 miss and away. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold the first to go clear at S1; Yuliia Dzhima and now Lena Haecki-Gross are also clear, although Dzhima’s ski time isn’t that brilliant. Joanna Jakiela [POL] also clear +15.8; Elvira Öberg has missed 2. Tandrevold is 10/10; back at S1 Justine Braisaz-Bouchet has missed 1 after a stumble – hopefully no damage. Hanna Öberg has also missed 2 at S1; Knotten [2,0] currently 2nd after S2, but over a minute back. Dzhima also 10/10 but +43.4; Lena H-G has missed 2 at S2. Back at S1 Jeanmonnot, Arnekleiv and Vittozzi are clear and well in touch; Elvira clear at S2 and out +33.4. At S1 Franzi Preuß is clear and 4.4 faster than Tandrevold; Janina Hettich-Walz goes 10/10 but she’s 26.3 behind Tandrevold. Justine B-B has missed another at S2; Julia Simon clear at S1 and +2.3, Linn Persson +3.6. Mona Brorsson has joined those clear at S1; Lou Jeanmonnot 10/10 but +16.3 – however Lisa Vittozzi is better – 10/10 and +12.3. Gloom – Preuß has hit the first 3 at S2 very fast but then she missed the last 2! Out 7th,  +38.2; Persson is 10/10 but +18.8. Simon has also missed 2 at S2. Tandrevold must have had a superb final lap – she still holds the lead, ahead of Vittozzi and Jeanmonnot. Looking back at S2 Brorsson is clear and out +9.4; still in touch at 6.1 Km and gaining time on Vittozzi and Jeanmonnot. Brorsson’s over the finish line 2nd,  just 0.8 ahead of Vittozzi! Way back at S1 Lucie Charvatová clear and +10.2 and Julia Tannheimer [GER] who is at her first World Cup event is also clear but +22.4.  Sadly Charvatová has missed 1 at S2 but that’s good for her, out +40.5. Tannheimer has gone 10/10 and out 14th, +45.4. It looks as though the top 6 are set – Tandrevold takes a well-judged win, ahead of Brorsson, Vittozzi and Jeanmonnot – all of them, 10/10. Elvira Öberg in 5th, despite 2 misses with Janina H-W [0,0] in 6th. Great result for Charvatová taking 8th, just ahead of Preuß – Simon 10th, Justine B-B 12th; Tannheimer in 15th and looking delighted! That’s it – well done all!

Ruhpolding – Sprints: Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 13 Jan 24: Very glad to see a Brit [Marcus Webb] on the start sheet! Race on, JoBø away bib 13. Andrej Rastorgujevs in for S1 and clear. At 2.0 Km Martin Ponsiluoma is fastest, just ahead of Seb Samuelsson. At S1 QFM has missed 1 target; Endre Strømsheim clear and out in the lead. Jesper Nelin has missed 2 at S1, Ponsiluoma has missed 4, Samuelsson 2 – what has happened to the Swedes, 8 misses from 15 shots? JoBø has missed one – well off to the left. Johannes Kühn clear at S1 and out +2.1; Rastorgujevs has missed 1 at S2. Good work by Niklas Hartweg at S1 – clear and out 0.6 ahead of Strømsheim, who has just missed his 5th at S2. Benni Doll has missed 1 at S1; Timofei Lapshin {KOR] is clear and quicker than Hartweg. Nelin has missed 1 at S2, Ponsiluoma clear here, Samuelsson has missed his last shot. JoBø is clear at S2 and out 2.0 ahead of Strømsheim – that was very fast shooting! Kühn has also missed 1 at S2 – still no one has cleared all 10. Ponsiluoma is fast on his skis – between S2 and 8.7 Km he’s gained about 12 seconds! Christiansen and Perrot clear at S1 and fast – Hartweg has also missed 1 at S2 but out almost 8 seconds ahead of JoBø; Tarjei Bø the first to get 10/10 and he leaves S2 8.2 ahead of Hartweg. Now that’s odd – Tommaso Giacomel [1,0] out from S2 3.5 ahead of Tarjei! Hartweg only 1.0 ahead of JoBø at 8.7 Km and he’s now 19.7 behind Tarjei! At the finish JoBø 1,0] leads ahead of Strømsheim [0,1] with Kühn [0,1] third. Perrot has missed 2 at S2 and so has Lapshin; back at S1 Strelow, Jacquelin and Horn are all clear and well in touch. At S2 Christiansen is 10/10 an d 17.3 faster than Giacomel. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal clear at S1 and +7.2; Giacomel over the finish line 3.2 ahead of Tarjei, JoBø off the podium! Philipp Horn has missed 2 at S2. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen over the line in the lead, but he’s lost time to Giacomel! Back to S2 again – Jacquelin 10/10 and out 5.4 ahead of Christiansen. Laegreid [0,1] over the line 6th; Dale has missed 2 at S2. I missed that – Seb Stalder [SUI] 10/10 and just over the finish line in 4th, behind Tarjei Bø. Jacquelin has lost 13.4 seconds to Christiansen by 8.7 Km; Justus Strelow has missed 1 at S2 but out just ahead of Giacomel, who had a stunning last lap. Emilien Jacquelin has nothing left – over the line in 4th, 0.9 behind Tarjei. Strelow over the line 5th; not for long though as Johannes Dale-Skjevdal is 5th now despite his 2 misses. So, at present the top 6 are Christiansen, Giacomel, Tarjei Bø, Jacquelin, Dale-S and Strelow. JoBø currently 9th, Laegreid 10th, Doll [1,1] 19th, Ponsiluoma 25th! Viktor Brandt [SWE] was clear at S1 and in touch, but he’s missed 3 at S2. I think that’s the excitement over! Well done to the podium team, especially Giacomel – a superb race. Not sure what happened to JoBø and I suspect the post-race discussion in the Swedish team will be interesting! Should be a good pursuit tomorrow but I suspect I’ll miss it as I’m out.

Antholz-Anterselva – Short Individuals – Men’s 15 Km, 18 Jan 24: Apparently the visibility isn’t that good today and the weather is “variable”  so there might be a little bit of luck affecting today’s results?  Race on – Quentin Fillon Maillet first away; Tommaso Giacomel bib 3 and in form at the last event.  QFM in for S1 – all clear, which is good as this event has no penalty loops, just 45 seconds added for each miss [not the 1 minute as it’s a “short” individual]! Giacomel also clear and 3.2 faster; Philipp Nawrath has missed 1, so has Eric Perrot. The fog has reached the range – Didier Bionaz clear +15.7; Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 1 and so has Emilien Jacquelin. Justus Strelow has missed 3 at S1, and QFM has missed 3 at S2 – that fog has got a lot thicker.  Seb Samuelsson has missed 2 at S1, Giacomel also unlucky with the vis and he’s missed 2 at S2. However Johannes Dale-S is clear at S1 so it can be done; JoBø also clear there, as is brother Tarjei. Now here’s a turn up – Ponsiluoma [1,0] clear at S2 and out 41.9 ahead of Giacomel [0,2]. No one has got 10/10 so far. QFM has missed another 1 at S3; Samuelsson has missed 3 at S2, that’s 5 misses so far.  Dale-S has missed 2 at S2; JoBø the first 10/10 – slow to get the first away but then very quick! Fabien Claude and Johannes Kühn clear at S1; Tarjei has missed 1 at S2. Ponsiluoma at S3 and he’s missed 1 more; Bionaz now [0,2,1]. Jesper Nelin 10/10 but out +53.6 on JoBø. The fog has cleared, after S3 it’s Giacomel, Ponsiluoma + 4.2 and Dale-S +8.7 – all on 2 misses. Well, that’s soon out of date – JoBø 15/15 and out 1:25.1 ahead of Giacomel. Back at S2 Kühn is 10/10 and much quicker than Nelin; Tarjei [0,1,0] but over a minute back on JoBø. Ponsiluoma has left S4 [1,0,1,1], back at S2 Rastorgujevs also 10/10 +31.2.  Nelin 15/15 but out behind Tarjei who has missed 1; back at S1 Sturla Holm Laegreid  was clear and fractionally faster than  JoBø and he’s just gone 10/10 and out 6.9 ahead!  At S4 Dale-S has missed 1 more and out +7.5 against Ponsiluoma – both with 3 misses. That was awesome – JoBø 20/20 and over 2 minutes ahead of Ponsiluoma; Kühn 15/15 and just 15.4 behind JoBø there. At S4 Tarjei has missed his last shot – out and he’s out some 15 seconds ahead of Ponsiluoma, who seems to be losing time to Dale-S on the final lap. Pity – Rastorgujevs has missed 2 at S3; and Nelin 2 at S4. Seb Stalder [1,0,0,1] still in touch for a top 6? Johannes Dale-Skjevdal has gained some 18 seconds on Ponsiluoma on that last lap! At the finish JoBø leads, with brother Tarjei currently 2nd, then Dale-S, Ponsiluoma, Giacomel and Perrot. Now, Laegreid could have been a threat but he’s missed 2 at S3, Kühn missed 2 at S4 and out 3rd, 8 seconds ahead of Christiansen [1,1,0,0]. At S3 both Adam Runnalls [CAN] and Otto Invenius [FIN] are 15/15 but a little off the pace, although Runnalls is out ahead of Tarjei. The fog is back, and Laegreid has missed 3 more in his final shoot! Runnalls has missed 2 at S4; Invenius shooting very well at S4 in thick fog – just 1 miss and out 9th. I missed Roman Rees at the shoots – he’s [1,1,0,0] – out 12th at S4 but gaining places in the early stages of the final lap.  This is nasty – the fog is very thick, hopefully they won’t have to cancel? Good effort from George Buta [ROM] who is 20/20 and out from S4 in 12th; Artem Pryma [0,0,1,0] has cleared at S4, in the fog, and out 7th. Not for long as Danilo Riethmüller [GER 0,1,0,0] is quicker – he only had a short notice call for this race, however he seems to be having snags with the rifle harness which isn’t going to help his last lap. Kühn over the line 3rd, Christiansen in 6th, Pryma 8th ahead of Rees and Invenius. Runnalls currently 15th. Riethmüller has taken 7th at present – brilliant result given his late call to replace Horn who was taken ill. So, an impressive day out for JoBø [0,0,0,0], with brother Tarjei [0,1,0,1] in 2nd ahead of Johannes Kühn [0,0,0,2].  Dale-S [0,2,0,1] in 4th, then Ponsiluoma [1,0,1,1] and Christiansen [1,1,0,0]. Riethmüller 7th ahead of Giacomel, Pryma and Rees. Invenius 11th, Rastorgujevs 13, Oscar Lombardot [FRA, 0,1,0,1] best of the French in 16th! Runnalls ended up 17th, Buta [0,0,0,0] 22nd, Laegreid [0,0,2,3] 25th, QFM 28th, Strelow 30th, Bionaz 49th and Samuelsson [2,3,1,1] 59th! Interesting race – I’m sure some suffered from the conditions, but there was some brilliant shooting even when the fog was at its worst.

Antholz-Anterselva – Short Individuals – Women’s 12.5 Km, 19 Jan 24: It might be windier today, especially for the early starters? Good to see Doro Wierer back in the start list and away bib 3; a steady start as she’s 12.3 behind Elvira Öberg’s time at 0.8 Km. Interesting – Sophie Chauveau now fastest at 0.8 Km; meanwhile Elvira has missed 1 at S1. Yes, Doro clear at S1, and that was pretty quick too. Merkushyna also clear and 5.4 faster; Vittozzi fast on the opening lap but she’s missed 1 too. So has Chauveau, although she was quick on the lap, so only +19.5. Marit Ishol Skogan very unlucky with a strong gust which lifted the snow – 2 misses. Lisa Theresa Hauser has missed 1; Lena Haecki-Gross is clear and out 13.3 ahead of Merkushyna. At S2 Elvira has missed 1 more, Doro clear! Back at S1 Anamarija Lampic has actually cleared all 5 and out 4.3 ahead! Vittozzi has also gone [1,1], Merkushyna 10/10 and 6.5 faster than Doro. Chauveau has missed 2 more at S2; at S1 Vanessa Voigt and Johanna Puff [GER] are both clear and in touch. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold at S1 – clear and 2.0 faster than Lampic! Knotten clear at S1; at S2 Lena H-G is 10/10 and out 29.5 ahead of Merkushyna. Elvira in for S3, clear this time; back at S2 and Lampic has missed 2. Doro is 15/15 and over a minute ahead of Elvira; that was another good, fast shoot by Merkushyna who is out 8.9 ahead of Doro; back at S1 Franzi Preuß is clear and out ahead of Tandrevold, but Julia Simon is even faster! Voigt is 10/10 but 23.8 behind Lena H-G; oh dear, Tandrevold has missed 3 at S2! Justine B-B has missed 1 at S1; Lena H-G in for S3 and she’s clear again and out 46.2 ahead of Merkushyna – that’s a full miss in hand. Back at S2 Janina Hettich-Walz is clear and just 1.4 behind Lena H-G; Elvira clear again at S4 [1,1,0,0]. Doro has missed 1 at S4 and out just 19.1 ahead of Elvira; Franzi Preuß has missed 2 at S2. Merkushyna has also missed 1 in her final shoot but out 6.5 ahead of Doro. Voigt in for S3 in variable wind but she’s clear and out 27.6 behind Lena H-G and ahead of Merkushyna. Julia Simon has missed 1 at S2; what superb shooting – Lena Haecki-Gross 20/20. Knotten is 15/15 and out half way between Lena H-G and Voigt. On the final lap Elvira is past Doro; back at S2 Lou Jeanmonnot is 10/10 and leading, 14.1 ahead of Juni Arnekleiv who is also 10/10. At present Elvira leads at the finish ahead of Merkushyna and Doro Wierer but Haecki-Gross is going to be a long way ahead – she’s over the line 1:55.8 in front of Elvira, who only had 2x45 second penalties! At S4 Voigt is also 20/20 and out +32.0; Knotten [0,0,0,1] is +58.4. At S4 Janina H-W has missed 2, which was a shame as at S3 she was just 0.1 behind the new leader there, Juni Arnekleiv [0,0,0,]. At S4 Julia Simon [0,1,0,1] is out +43.1, Preuß [0,2,0,0] is away +1:31.3, quite a way back on Janina H-W. Tandrevold [0,3,0,0] over the finish line 4th, just 3 seconds off Elvira, who had one less penalty. Knotten into 3rd, Julia Simon past Voigt on the final lap. Arnekleiv has missed 1 at S4 but she’s still just 2.4 behind Voigt and she’s ahead of Simon. Good work by Jeanmonnot [0,0,1,0] out just ahead of Voigt. Just a note on Lampic -
she’s missed 2 targets at S2, 3 and 4. This is all close for the places – I thought Arnekleiv and Jeanmonnot might have caught Voigt on the final lap -  in fact Arnekleiv didn’t make it but the French woman is into 3rd. So, Lena H-G leads, ahead of Simon and Jeanmonnot, then Voigt, Arnekleiv, Knotten, Hettich-Walz, Preuß, Elvira and Jislova, who was also in the 20/20 club. The only late change might be from Ida Lien [0,2,0,0] – she’s over the line in 9th, only just behind Preuß and pushing Elvira down to 10th – she’s about 30 seconds faster than Elvira with the same number of penalties! Odd to see Justine B-B well down the list with 6 penalties! All credit to Ukaleq Astri Slettemark who was one of only 4 athletes to shoot the perfect 20/20 today. Congratulations to Lena Haecki-Gross, what a day to shoot 20/20 and match it with good ski speed! Julia Simon in 2nd, despite 2 penalties and another good performance from Lou Jeanmonnot. Voigt best German in 4th, with Janina H-W and Preuß also in the top 10.

19 Jan – Kitzbühel [Streif] – Men’s Downhill: Not a good start – the race has been rescheduled after overnight rain followed by snowfall! Luckily it seems to be going ahead, just an hour later than planned. Not surprisingly it is reported that Kilde is recovering but will be out for the rest of the season. It seems to be snowing during the various interviews but is apparently improving! Race on, and running from the top – Stefan Rogentin first away and safely down. Daniel Hemetsberger a bit off the pace and skimming the nets, fastest in sector 6 and 7, but +2.39; Andi Sander into  2nd, +1.82. Cameron Alexander much more on the pace – building his advantage and he leads by 0.90 – great effort, fastest in sectors 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7! Nils Allegre in touch and risking it - he’s into 2nd, +0.67; Dominik Paris next – green early, just red at inter 5, more so at 6 and 7 – a great final sector, fastest in 5 and 7,  and he’s 2nd, +0.12.  Vincent Kriechmayr 0.57 green at inter 2, it’s reducing slightly, slower at the 4th speed gun and just red at inter 7 – he goes 3rd, +0.14, just 2 hundredths behind Paris. James Crawford into 6th; Marco Odermatt on course and nicely green at inter 2; just green at inter 5 – fractionally red at 7 but very quick through the final gun – that was a very brave run – into the lead by 0.12!  A bit scrappy and only fastest in sector 7 but it’s given him the lead – is it enough? Ryan C-S on course and nicely green at inter 4, still green at 7  - you just can’t get closer – he’s 2nd by just 0.01!!  That was much more like it – glad to see him back. Florian Schieder also nicely green at inter 4 and 5; still green at inter 7 and now he's taken the lead, by 0.29!  This is a great race! Cyprien Sarrazin in touch but in the red from inter 2 – just 0.02 off at inter 7, and a great final sector – he leads by 0.05 – all very tight. Ironic that Ryan C-S is off the podium after his best run this season! Fifteen away, Sarrazin leads from Schieder and Odermatt, then RCS, Alexander and Paris. Justin Murisier in touch at inter 4 but just 8th at the finish; a similar story for Otmar Striedinger but slow through speed gun 4 and losing time from there to go 12th. Again Daniel Danklmaier in touch at inter 5, but slow through gun 4 and now he’s fallen – a lucky escape – he’s made an impressive recovery from a tricky place!  Max Muzaton into 10th; the fog seems to be rolling back in. That fog is really getting thick in places – time for me to swap to biathlon coverage! Good effort by Matthieu Bailet [bib 30] to go 11th; Simon Jocher [32] into 12th. That’s an impressive run from Elian Lehto [37] into 10th. Even more impressive Arnaud Boisset [SUI, bib 53] got into 9th – by far the highest bib number in the top 10. That’s it – well done Cyprien Sarrazin; Florian Schieder in 2nd and Marco Odermatt taking yet another podium! Ryan C-S in a very creditable 4th,  ahead of Cameron Alexander and Dominik Paris.

20 Jan – Jasna [Lukova 2]: Women’s GS: I joined run 1 a little late, so I missed the early upsets, initially caused by a forerunner crashing – might have been Nicole Hosp, doing a camera run? As I joined the early leader was Sara Hector, who was an amazing 2.97 ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami, Grenier and Bassino, who was 8.21 off the pace, so she must have had snags? First away was Federica Brignone, who was a DNF after skiing out on a course which isn’t that steep but is very icy,  and Petra Vlhova also didn’t finish run 1 – sadly it seems that she had to be stretchered off the course! Bib 7, Mikaela Shiffrin had just started – she produced a good looking run, but even that was only good enough for 2nd, a full second back – what did Hector do to be so far ahead? Ragnhild Mowinckel in touch until a noticeable error but even so into 3rd, but +2.92.  Zrinka Ljutic into 3rd, +2.61; Thea Louise Stjernesund is currently into 6th. Alice Robinson is in touch, red all the way but much closer to Hector’s time – that’s a good run, she’s into 3rd but just 0.05 behind Shiffrin! That’s 15 away – Hector leads from Shiffrin and Robinson, then Ljutic, Mowinckel and Gut-Behrami. No update yet on Vlhova. Clara Direz into 9th, but +4.38 – amazing; Ana Bucik into 8th, only for a short while though as she’s been replaced by Ricarda Haaser. A J Hurt now into 7th, +3.13; that’s more like it – Camille Rast [bib 27] into 5th, +2.87! Nasty looking crash for Britt Richardson, who hit a control gate; looks like she hit something else before the nets too. That’s a relief – she’s upright and seems to be moving around.  Since then no changes to the top 10, the 2 highest bib numbers there are Rast [27] in 5th and Hurt [23] in 8th. Quite an odd race – 3.65 seconds between 1st and 10th! There are currently 13 DNFs as Carmen Haro crashes – not good as she’s holding her knee; meanwhile Lisa Nyberg [bib 65!] has crossed the line in 23rd and is guaranteed a start in run 2.  Also good from Caitlin McFarlane [FRA, bib 68] into 24th. Over to Kitzbühel.
Run 2: Set by a Norwegian coach. This is going to be a bit sketchy as it clashes with the biathlon single mixed relay. With 10 away Val Grenier leads from Nyberg and Meillard. That order stayed for a while – as I re-joined from a very exciting biathlon race  Louise Stjernesund has taken over the lead, 1.12 ahead of Kasja Vickoff Lie with Grenier still 3rd, having gained 11 places. A J Hurt first away after the TV break – still green at inter 3 but ragged in places – she’s into 2nd, +0.20. Very close – Lara Gut-Behrami red at inter 3 and into 2nd +0.09! Ragnhild Mowinckel has lost half her advantage by inter 1 and red at 2 – she’s into 4th. Camille Rast has lost almost 2/3rds of her advantage by inter 1 and into 5th; Zrinka Ljutic has lost time but she had enough in hand to take the lead by 0.07.  Three to come – Alice Robinson starts with 1.56 advantage, she’s gained to inter 1 and steady from there – she leads by 1.62! Fastest in sectors 1 and 3. Mikaela Shiffrin has just 0.05 to play with, she’s up to 0.42 ahead at inter 1, more at 2, a full second at 3 and she leads by 1.19. That was truly amazing. Just Sara Hector to come – she’s held her lead to inter 1 and gained to 2, steady to 3 and that’s brilliant skiing to win by 1.52; she’s taken time out of Shiffrin! Her first win of the season and really well deserved. Shiffrin 2nd, with Robinson 3rd – a great 2nd run by all 3 of the podium! Ljutic 4th ahead of Stjernesund and Gut-Behrami. Lara G-B takes over the lead in the GS standings, 25 ahead of Brignone with Shiffrin 3rd, -56. Shiffrin now 307 ahead of Vlhova in the overall with Lara G-B -320 and Brignone -322. Still no updates on Vlhova.

20 Jan – Kitzbühel [Streif] – Men’s Downhill: Colder and probably even icier than yesterday; a very “interesting” camera run – this is going to be tough. Andi Sander first away – 140.4 kph through the final gun and safely down. Daniel Hemetsberger green early on, red at inter 4 – back to green at inter 7 and into the lead by 0.24; Romed Baumann into 3rd. Adrien Theaux oscillating between just red and just green but redder at inter 6/7 and he’s taken over 3rd; Justin Murisier well in touch but he’s missed the lead by 0.18. Good run again from Ryan C-S – quite risky stuff and into the lead by 0.08; next is Marco Odermatt and although it’s not error free he’s carrying amazing speed – he’s gaining from inter 4 and he leads by a massive 1.31, that was astonishing skiing! And it keeps on being amazing Cyprien Sarrazin is over 1 second ahead at inter 4 – he’s on amazing form – he leads by 0.91 and understandably he’s celebrating! Sarrazin fastest in all sectors except the first, which currently belongs to RC-S.  Florian Schieder off line early on – he won’t be on the podium today – amazingly, given the big time gaps, he’s actually into 3rd; what do I know? Dominik Paris more in touch today and now he’s into 3rd, +1.44 after a fast sector 5. Vincent Kriechmayr in touch and into 4th, +1.73; Mattia Casse into 5th. Nils Allegre nicely in touch at inter 5,  losing a little and he’s now 5th, +1.76. Adrian Smiseth Sejersted shown as very green at inter 1 but that was an error – he was gaining time and potentially 2nd at inter 3 but he’s down – amazingly he’s managed to get back up and ski down. Stefan  Rogentin into 6th; 20 away now – Sarrazin leads from Odermatt and Paris, then Kriechmayr, Allegre and Rogentin. That’s a good run from Stefan Babinsky – he’s into a very impressive 4th, after a bad day yesterday! Alexis Monney [SUI] into a creditable 6th; Max Muzaton in touch at inter 4 but he’s not as fast from there – into 5th though, +1.72. All very close behind Paris – 4th +1.69, 8th +1.76! Franjo von Allmen very close to the nets there, but he’ s going well – a potential 3rd at inter 6 but he’s missed a gate.  For me, coverage shifts to Antholz for the biathlon. Good run from Sam Morse [bib 33] into 13th, and even better,  Christopher Neumayer [AUT, 34] has gone 10th. Blaise Giezendanner into 7th; Elian Lehto [FIN, bib 38] into 11th. Good run from Guglielmo Bosca [bib 41] into joint 13th with Casse.  That’s it – very well done to Cyprien Sarrazin for the double; Odermatt on the podium again and Paris taking the final place. Then Babinsky, Muzaton and Kriechmayr.

21 Jan – Jasna [Lukova 2]: Women’s Slalom: First – some sad news – Petra Vlhova has ruptured an ACL and another ligament in her right knee so she’s out for the rest of the season. Run 1 set by a Canadian coach; Anna Swenn Larsson first away and safely down. Leona Popovic has skied out after a straddle and has the dubious distinction of being the first DNF today. Katharina Liensberger 1.58 off the pace; Lena Dürr a bit better and +0.71. Mikaela Shiffrin next and green at inter 1 – apparently the Americans refer to this type of charge as “full send” and it is - she leads by 1.38 – fastest in all 4 sectors. Michelle Gisin into 3rd; Sara Hector into 2nd, but +1.36. Andreja Slokar out; Katharina Truppe into 5th. Nice run from Camille Rast to go into 5th; Zrinka Ljutic much more in touch all the way – she’s into 2nd +0.52 – that’s more like it! Looks like another poor day for the Austrians – Truppe their best so far in 7th, no others in the top 10. Melanie Meillard into 3rd, +1.35, just 0.01 ahead of Hector. Dzenifera Germane [LAT, bib 30] more in touch than many of the recent competitors – into 10th. Thirty away, Shiffrin leads from  Ljutic, Meillard, Hector, Swenn Larsson and Gisin. That’s a good run from Marie Lamure [FRA, bib 32] into 9th. Honourable mention for Martina Peterlini [ITA, bib 38] into 13th.  No late changes to the top 10.
Run 2: Difficult for me – it clashes with the first Mass Start biathlon at Antholz!   Lovely weather – what an odd camera run, the camera is too depressed so no view of the slope, just the skis and the occasional pole. Luckily it seems Nicole Hosp is OK after her crash while doing the camera run on yesterday’s GS. Course set by an Austrian coach. Emma Eicher away first and looking a bit tentative; Katharina Huber 1.54 faster. Hanna Aronsson Elfman into 2nd, but +1.26; Elena Stoffel into 3rd. Martina Dubovska [CZE] on course and green all the way to inter 3 – she’s into 2nd, +0.22 – shame about the final sector; better still from Neja Dvornik [SLO] who is into the lead by 0.04! Chiara Pogneaux into 3rd; soon replaced by Peterlini.  Dzenifera Germane has taken over the lead, but only briefly as Lena Dürr is 0.12 faster. Huber holding on to 4th, and she’s gained 17 places so far. Camille Rast into the lead by over a second; Michelle Gisin into 2nd. Anna Swenn Larsson has pinched the lead by 0.09; Sara Hector can only manage 6th. Melanie Meillard into 3rd, but not for long as Zrinka Ljutic has taken over the lead by an impressive 0.67!  Mikaela Shiffrin on course and she’s lost time to inter 3 where she’s just 0.02 ahead – fastest through the final sector and she takes win 95 by just 0.14! Massive congratulations to Shiffrin, and also to Ljutic with a 2nd place ahead of Anna Swenn Larsson.  Rast in 4th, ahead of Meillard and Gisin, Germane 8th, Huber best Austrian in 11th. Best time on run 2 was Camille Rast! That puts Shiffrin 125 points ahead in the slalom standings, but that’s to Vlhova – Dürr in 3rd, 228 points back. In the overall Shiffrin is now 420 ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami in 3rd.

21 Jan – Kitzbühel [Ganslern] – Men’s Slalom: Looks like another nice day! I think the course has been set by an Italian coach; apparently Ramon Zenhaeusern will not race today as his back injury has reappeared? Henrik Kristoffersen first away and safely down, was he shaking his head in the finish? Daniel Yule next and over a second green at inter 2, he’s over the line 2.46 faster than Kristoffersen, so that’s why the Norwegian wasn’t happy! Manu Feller just red at inter 1 but still in touch – 2nd, +0.18; Atle Lie McGrath a DNF. Linus Strasser green at inter 2, but quite red at 3 and it’s 3rd, +0.35 for him; fastest in sectors 2 and 4. Clement Noel in touch – just green at 2 but similar errors to Strasser drop him to 4th, +0.37. Marc Rochat into 5th; Timon Haugan 6th but +1.54. Tommaso Sala takes over 6th; Fabio Gstrein out at the hairpin which is causing several problems – and I’m sure he was warned of that by a coach? Dave Ryding next – in touch early on but slow in the final sector – 6th, +1.18.  Loic Meillard into 5th, +0.94; fifteen away – Yule leads from Feller, Strasser, Noel, Meillard and Rochat – 4 DNFs so far. A J Ginnis into 9th; that’s a really good run from Kristoffer Jakobsen, back on form and into the lead by 0.05 – and from bib 20 too! Dominik Raschner [25] into 8th; the number of DNFs is growing – 30 away and 11 DNFs, 1 DSQ! At this rate Kristoffersen might get a second run! Nice run from bib 31 – Steven Amiez [FRA] – into 7th, +1.00! That’s also a good run from Billy Major with a very fast final sector – he’s actually tied with Dave Ryding in joint 10th! Laurie Taylor into 24th, +2.42 – nervous wait time, will he get a 2nd run? We are up to 24 DNFs, but Laurie Taylor is now 29th! Up to 31 DNFs now – the plus side is that Henrik Kristoffersen does get a 2nd run from 30th place, so Laurie Taylor also gets to start run 2.
Run 2: Henrik Kristoffersen first away again – tidy but not what we would expect from him. Laurie Taylor has gained time to inter 1 and he’s nicely green – he leads by 0.89  so, no offence to Laurie,  Kristoffersen really is having problems today! Anton Tremmel into 3rd; Istok Rodes looking good and gaining time to inter 3 – he leads by 0.63, but Taylor has already gained 4 places. Seb Holzmann into 4th; Alex Vinatzer maybe a little too cautious – into 2nd. Fabian Ax Swartz [SWE] into 4th; Timon Haugan a DNF – it doesn’t seem to be a good day for Norway here, unlike the biathlon! Good final sector from Paco Rassat [FRA] to go 2nd, just +0.03. Eirik Hystad Solberg into 4th, so Taylor now 5th; Armand Marchant [BEL] has also had a great final sector to go into the lead by 0.30 – sadly not as he straddled, DSQ. Adrian Pertl into 3rd; another good final sector for Johannes Strolz to pull back enough time to go 3rd, +0.17. A J Ginnis a little scrappy on the upper section and into 3rd; that’s 11 places that Rodes has gained! Tommaso Sala has gained to inter 1, lost a bit to 3 but he’s held it from there to lead by 0.27. Dave Ryding next – good gain from inter 1 to 2, and 1.00 ahead at 3 and he’s kept that gap to the line – he leads. Ed Drake will be hoarse! Billy Major on course – red at inter 1 but in touch, less close by 2 and he’s into 5th, +1.37. Dominik Raschner into 2nd; Marc Rochat into 4th. Now it’s Steven Amiez – into 2nd, so Ryding has gained 3 places; Loic Meillard can only manage 4th. Clement Noel has again failed to finish – just 4 to go! Linus Strasser has gained to inter 1, more to 2, a slight loss to 3 and he leads by 0.96 – best time on run 2 so far. Manu Feller has lost from 1 to 2, he’s into 2nd; not for long though as Daniel Yule has taken that, just 0.20 behind Strasser. Just Kristoffer Jakobsen to come – 0.40 in hand – he’s quite red at 2, better at 3 and he’s taken 2nd, +0.14. That was a good run for Jakobsen, equalling his PB. Great win for Linus Strasser, ahead of Jakobsen and Yule; Feller in 4th, ahead of Dave Ryding and Steven Amiez. Billy Major in 13th, Laurie Taylor in 19th - great effort!

Antholz-Anterselva – Single Mixed Relay, 20 Jan 24: Which will clash with run 2 of the Women’s GS from Jasna! Interesting to see which nations have gone all out for this one, and which have prioritised the Mixed Relay this afternoon. Good conditions at present – light wind and sunshine. Brorsson and Samuelsson for Sweden, Simon and Jacquelin for France, Tandrevold and Christiansen for Norway, Voigt and Strelow for Germany. In for S1 and it’s Vanessa Voigt who leads out, just 0.9 ahead of Julia Simon. Hauser has used 1 spare and +10.0, Brorsson [1] + 10.8, Tandrevold [1] +14.3. That’s a bad start for Rebecca Passler [ITA] who is on a penalty loop. In for S2, Julia Simon has used 2 spares but still away just ahead of Voigt [0] and Deedra Irwin [0 at S2], Hauser 4th ahead of Gasparin and Tandrevold. At the first exchange it’s France leading, then GER/USA/AUT/SUI/NOR. Charvatová and Bendika doing loops after S2. This is all very fast – in for S3 already – Strelow clear and out 2.3 ahead of Christiansen with Eder in 3rd; Jacquelin [1 spare] out 6th +15.0. On the lap Christiansen and Strelow have opened up the gap – in for S4, Strelow clear again and away! Christiansen has used 2 spares and +19.7, Eder clear +21.3. Jacquelin [2] out 6th +37.0 an straight to the exchange – GER/NOR/AUT/USA/EST/FRA. Sweden having a bad day – 1 penalty lop on leg 1 for Brorsson and Samuelsson has done 1 on leg 2 – 24th at exchange 2 over 2 minutes back. In for S5 and Voigt is again clear – lovely group and out 20.6 ahead of Hauser [0] with Tandrevold also clear +21.9 with Simon [1, +38.5]. Tandrevold past Hauser on the lap. Voigt in for S6, clear yet again and off to the handover. Hauser [1] +21.6, Simon clear and +29.4 with Tandrevold [3] +48.1. So at the last exchange GER/AUT/FRA/NOR/USA/EST. Christiansen closing down on the lap – it’s S7 already, Strelow clear and out, very quick too. Eder clear +28.8 but Christiansen also clear +36.3 ands out just ahead of Jacquelin [1]. Final shoot – Eder, Christiansen and Jacquelin in a chasing group of 3 – Strelow has missed 1 but he’s used just 1 spare and away. Now for the real race, for the podium places – Eder [1] out but only just ahead of Christiansen [1], Hofer [0] away 4th but 20 seconds back from the chasing two. Jacquelin doing 2 penalty loops and 7th as he leaves the range. Good to see Rastorgujevs in 5th just ahead of Invenius. A very well deserved win for Germany [0+1], their first in this event. Norway [0+8] second ahead of Austria [0+4]. Good recovery by Italy to finish 4th, ahead of Latvia and Finland. France a distant 7th and Sweden 17th.

Mixed Relay 20 Jan 24: This is the one with 2 of each! Sweden have Magnusson, Elvira, Nelin and Ponsiluoma, Norway Arnekleiv, Knotten and a pair of Bøs to finish. Interesting to see France have put QFM on the anchor leg. Race on – Lou Jeanmonnot pushing ahead, that’s quite a gap! She’s clear at S1 too and out 3.9 ahead of Doro Wierer with Magnusson +4.8 = all with no spares, then Steiner [AUT], Jakiela [POL] Tomingas [EST] and Janina H-W [+7.5], all with no spares. Arnekleiv [2] 15th, +17.6, Romania and Latvia doing a penalty loop. Jeanmonnot going well towards S2, Arnekleiv back up to 2nd leading the chasing pack. Jeanmonnot needs 1 spare and out just 0.5 ahead of Magnusson [0] and 1.6 ahead of Doro [0]; then 9.7 to Arnekleiv [1 here] with Janina H-W [2], +14.9. Jakiela on the loop, Finland doing 2 this time as are Lithuania. On the lap Arnekleiv has closed down and is 3rd, with Doro down to 5th. First exchange, Jeanne Richard out just 0.6 ahead of Elvira with Knotten +3.0, Schneider +12.1, Lena H -G +18.1 and Vittozzi + 18.9. Then UKR/CZE/AUT/BEL. Perhaps predictably Elvira Öberg is leading, but doesn’t look stressed, Lena H-G gaining a little on Schneider. In for S3, Vittozzi clear and out 4.5 ahead of Knotten [1], Lena H-G [1] +12.0, then Elvira [1], Richard [1] and Schneider [1, +25.0]. Lampic is doing a penalty loop, so is Ermits. Vittozzi leads in for S4, incredible shooting speed but just 1 spare and away, 9.0 ahead of Knotten [0], Lena H-G [1, +14.6], then Davidova [1], Elvira [3!], Schneider [1, +41.9]. Richard has used all 3 spares and out 9th. On the lap Lena H-G is just past Knotten; Öberg up to 4th. At the second exchange Didier Bionaz leads out 8.4 ahead of Burkhalter with Tarjei Bø close behind. Nelin away +30.4, Marecek [CZE] +32.1 with Kühn +51.4. Then AUT/UKR/FRA/SLO. On the lap Tarjei is past Burkhalter. At S5 – Bionaz [1] out 6.2 ahead of Tarjei [2] with Nelin clear and up to 3rd, +14.3. Marecek [0] just 15.5 off the lead, Kühn also clear and 5th ahead of Burkhalter [3!]. Nelin back to 4th as they head for S6 – Bionaz [1] out just 1.1 ahead of Tarjei [1], good work by Burkhalter [0] to get back to 3rd, +36.6. Nelin [3!] +50.3, ahead of Marecek [1 loop], with Perrot [0] up to 6th. Unusual to see Kühn on the loop, and +1:33.4. Tarjei Bø past Bionaz on the hill and he hands over to brother JoBø with a 5.3 gap over Tommaso Giacomel; Ponsiluoma 1:02.2 back, just fractionally ahead of Mikyska {CZE], Stalder and QFM who is some 20m seconds ahead of Benni Doll. I think Ponsiluoma is safe in 3rd, but he might not want to push too much with a Mass Start tomorrow? At S7 JoBø has missed 1, maybe a little unlucky, and out 6.3 ahead of Giacomel [0]. Ponsiluoma and Stalder both clear and out 3 and 4 respectively. QFM clear and 5th, Mikyska [3] 4.5 seconds back on the Frenchman. Doll is on the penalty loop and out 8th! JoBø in for the final shoot – that was very quick and accurate and he’s away. Giacomel [2] looking safe in 2nd, Stalder clear and out 0.9 ahead of Ponsiluoma [2] who is quick! QFM clear but about 15 seconds back. Gold and silver are set, but bronze is up for grabs – not a surprise that Ponsiluoma is past by 23.7 Km. Norway [0+8] cruise to the win, with Italy [0+5] delighted with 2nd here and Sweden [0+9] taking the final podium place. Switzerland [0+8] in 4th, ahead of France [0+6] and Czechia [1+10]. Disappointing from Germany [2+12] and 8th. Eleven countries lapped including Canada and USA>

Antholz-Anterselva – Men’s 15Km Mass Start, 21 Jan 24: Looking nice here too – race on and the pace is easing a little as the lap develops. At 1.3 Km Benni Doll is just ahead of Christiansen and JoBø – just 2.6 between the top 10 there. Laegreid now pushing the pace up a little – JoBø has stumbled, bad pole placement, which I’m pretty much an expert at doing, but back up and still 5th. Here we go – S1 – Christiansen out 3.0 ahead of Strelow, then Jacquelin, Dale-S, QFM and Giacomel [+5.9] – all clear. Doll, Nawrath and Hofer among those missing 1, JoBø has missed 2 and Laegreid 3! On the lap Johannes Dale-Skjevdal is leading – Christiansen, Giacomel and Jacquelin within 1.6 at 5.7 Km, with Kühn, QFM and Strelow well in touch too. In for S2 – Strelow leads out just ahead of QFM and Kühn, then Dale-S, Strømsheim and Samuelsson – all 10/10. Christiansen and Jacquelin have both missed 1, JoBø clear here and out 19th, +33.3. Ponsiluoma has missed 2 here, Laegreid another 1 and Giacomel 4! Johannes Dale-Skjevdal again in the leading group on the lap with Strelow and Kühn, with Christiansen and QFM close behind. In for S3 – QFM goes 15/15 and out 2.1 ahead of Christiansen [0,1,0], then Vebjørn Sørum [0,0,0], Jacquelin [+19.4], Tarjei Bø and Dale-S. Strelow missed 1 and out 8th, ahead of Samuelsson [0,0,1] with JoBø 11th after another 1 miss. Kühn missed 2 here and Ponsiluoma 1 more. At 11.7 Km Christiansen is 12.0 ahead of QFM with Sørum +12.6; Dale-S is 21.5 back with JoBø up to 6th, just behind brother Tarjei! At S4 and that was excellent shooting by Christiansen, who is out 9.9 ahead of QFM who has 20/20. Sørum has missed 1 and +29.6, with Dale-S +42.4 then Tarjei [0,0,0,1] and JoBø [2,0,1,1, +46.6]. At 14.7 Km Christiansen is 17.2 ahead of Dale-S, who is past Sørum and QFM who seems to be fading a little. That’s it Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen [0,1,0,0] takes an epic win, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal [0,0,1,1] has pulled back an amazing amount of time to go 2nd, ahead of Sørum [0,0,0,1] – an all Norwegian podium! QFM [0,0,0,0] 4th, ahead of JoBø [2,0,1,1] and Tarjei [0,0,0,1]. Nelin 7th, ahead of Stalder, Strelow and Invenius. A disappointing day for, among others, Doll, Kühn and Laegreid who all missed 4; Giacomel missed 8 [0,4,1,3]!

Antholz-Anterselva – Women’s 12.5Km Mass Start, 21 Jan 24: No Doro today – resting to get some more recovery from recent flu. Race on – at 2.2 Km Julia Simon leads just ahead of Justine B-B and Vanessa Voigt – just 5.5 seconds separating the top 10. In for S1 – Simon fast and clear – out 7.7 ahead of Lena H-G with Voigt, Brorsson, Hanna Öberg and Knotten all clear and within 10.4 seconds. Justine B-B, Magnusson, Chauveau, and Persson among those with 1 miss – Elvira Öberg has missed 2 as have Davidova and Skogan among others. In for S2 – Julia Simon clear again and out 8.0 ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot with Lena H-G also clear and +15.5. Hanna Öberg in touch ahead of Knotten and Tandrevold – all of them 10/10. Justine B-B out 7th despite a miss at S1, Voigt clear but +25.4. At 7.2 Km Justine B-B is up to 3rd, +13.1, Hanna Öberg in 7th although her gap to Simon is the same. In for the first standing shoot – Simon has missed 1; Jeanmonnot clear and out in the lead, 4.2 ahead of Simon with Vittozzi 15/15 and 3rd, +9.0. Voigt 15/15 and 4th, ahead of Knotten [1 miss] and Haecki-Gross [0,0,1] and Justine B-B [1,0,1]. Tandrevold missed 2 here, as did Hanna Öberg and Juni Arnekleiv. Sad to see Marketa Davidova [2,2,2] so far back, with Skogan [2,0,3]. Final shoot – Julia Simon [0,0,1,0] clear again here and out 8.5 ahead of Jeanmonnot [0,0,0,0], then Lena H-G [0,0,1,0], +13.7, Voigt [0,0,0,0] a further 7 or so seconds back, then Vittozzi who missed 1 and Knotten [0,0,1,1]. Justine B-B missed 2 at S4 but still 7th, while Tandrevold [0,0,2,2] is back in 17th. Now, Simon is probably safe but Lena H-G is pulling away from Voigt but has faded by 12.2 in her attempt to catch Jeanmonnot. Julia Simon cruises over the line for a very impressive win, ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot – good day for some of the French. Lena H-G taking the final podium place. Vanessa Voigt 20/20 again and 4th again, then Knotten and Vittozzi. Justine B-B in 9th, Elvira [2,0,0,0] finishes 11th, just ahead of Hanna [0,0,2,0], Lampic in 14th despite 6 misses, Tandrevold down in 17th. No Swedes in the top 10, despite relatively reasonable shooting – ski problems? Julia Simon fastest at every visit to the range – that’s fast shooting.

23 Jan – Schladming [Planai] – Men’s GS, night event: Run 1 – Filip Zubcic first away and safely down – looked pretty good? Alex Schmid is 0.26 slower; Gino Caviezel green at inter 1 and 2 but just red at 3 and he’s missed a gate.  It does look quite icy – Marco Odermatt on course, but that was a massive error – he’s pulled back time from inter 3 to go 3rd, +0.59. Zan Kranjec just green at inter 3 and he leads by 0.09; Loic Meillard 0.65 green at 2, but lost a bit – enough in hand to lead by 0.20 though. Henrik Kristoffersen in touch today and into 2nd, +0.09; Manu Feller just green at 2, still there at 3 and he leads by 0.10 – all very close! That’s a bit better from Alex Steen Olsen – into 6th, +0.41. Fifteen away – Feller leads from, Meillard and Kristoffersen, then Kranjec, Zubcic and Steen Olsen. Thirty away – no change to the top 6, highest bib in the top 10 is Thibaut Favrot [22] in 8th. And that’s how run 1 ended – sadly no 2nd run for Charlie Raposo.
Run 2: Cooler, and this course is straighter. Erik Read first away, with father Ken at the finish! Albert Ortega [ESP, bib 67!] over half a second up at inter 2, and he leads by 0.85! He’ll need to be in the chair quickly though as Seigo Kato is flying – he’s 2.00 faster! Tommy Ford red at inter 3 and 2nd,  but +0.83; Sandro Zurbruegg [SUI] has taken over 2nd, +0.31. Alex Vinatzer building from Inter 2 and he leads by 0.59 – rapid changes in run 2; that’s close – Luca di Aliprandini into 2nd, just 0.07 behind his fellow Italian. Atle Lie McGrath has gained a little to inter 3 but he’s lost a lot from there – he does lead but only by 0.08. Hannes Zingerle much better in the final sector to lead by 0.49; that’s very impressive,  Joan Verdu [AND] building, and finishing with a fast final sector to lead by 0.76. Timon Haugan into 2nd, but +0.66; Stefan Brennsteiner into 4th. Right, Marco Odermatt on course – 11th on run 1; he's built to inter 2, steady to 3 and a good final sector – he leads but will a lead of 0.82 be enough? Filippo della Vite into 3rd; seven to go – Odermatt leads from Verdu and della Vite. Alex Schmid into 5th; Alex Steen Olsen just 0.04 green at inter 3 and into 2nd, +0.33. Filip Zubcic just red at 2, redder at 3 and into 3rd; Zan Kranjec has lost a lot to inter 2 but still green; steady to 3 and now he’s 2nd, +0.29. Henrik Kristoffersen has 0.79 in hand as he starts, almost half gone by inter 1 and just red at 2, and he’s lost a huge amount from there to go 7th.  Odermatt will be on the podium! Loic Meillard with 0.88 advantage but he lost time from 1 to 2 and o.01 red at 3 – that’s only good enough for 4th! Just Manu Feller to come and he’s 0.98 ahead in the hut – he’s lost almost half by inter 2 but better to 3 – he’s into 2nd by 0.05!  So, Odermatt wins yet another race, Feller in 2nd with Kranjec taking the final podium place! Who’d have thunk it!? From 11th, +0.98 after run 1 to another GS win!

24 Jan – Schladming [Planai] – Men’s Slalom, night event: Run 1 – a bit warmer today, currently 6 degrees at the top, so the course, set by a French coach, is a bit less icy, salted and relatively straight. It sounds as though the surface may deteriorate, especially with 74 starters. Ramon Zenhaeusern first away, presumably happier about his back injury today – he’s down and an DNF. I hope that hasn’t exacerbated the injury? Clement Noel next – he’s down; Linus Strasser green at inter 3 and he leads by 0.36 – faster through sectors 3 and 4. Loic Meillard off the pace - +1.31; it’s raining as Henrik Kristoffersen starts, in touch to inter 2 but he’s lost more to 3 and he’s +0.98. Now, Manu Feller – quite red at inter 2 and worse at 3 – he’s +1.04; Daniel Yule next and in touch at 2 – he too has lost time to 3 but into 3rd, +0.78. Bib 8 is Dave Ryding – lots of umbrellas at the start, he’s 0.49 red at 2 and these conditions aren’t his favourite - +1.62 in 7th. Alex Steen Olsen more in touch to 2, but then he’s losing time - +1.16; it looks very easy to lose a lot of time from inter 2. That’s better – Atle Lie McGrath into 3rd, +0.62; better still is Timon Haugan who is just +0.10 at the finish and into 2nd – the Norwegians seem to be happier than most in these conditions? That’s 15 away – Strasser leads from Haugan and Noel, then McGrath, Yule and Kristoffersen. Dave Ryding currently 13th. There’s a quite noticeable groove forming which isn’t helping, but Alex Vinatzer is in touch to inter 3 and he goes 5th, +0.67 – great effort from bib 18. No change to the top 10 with 30 away; best later starter in the top 20 is Steven Amiez [bib 28] in 17th, Dave Ryding holding on to 14th place. Billy Major into 28th, with lots to come – sadly no second run as he’s already 31st. Laurie Taylor down safely but 34th, which is now 1 place better than Major. Worth mentioning Jett Seymour [USA, 37] who is currently in joint 17th with Amiez.
Run 2: The good news is that Dave Ryding will do just after the half way break! A bit cooler now, so hopefully the course will hold up, but conditions are still very tricky as the rain is back and it’s heavy. This course is much more varied and offset, I think it was set by a Norwegian coach? Seb Foss-Solevaag first away and down; Samuel Kolega green at 2 and 3 but +0.26 at the finish. A good start from Johannes Strolz, already good to inter 3 and he’s doubled the advantage from there to lead by 0.70. Sam Maes [BEL] also in touch to 3 but he’s lost a lot from there – 2nd, +0.64; nice work by Fabio Gstrein, gaining to inter 3 and a steady finish to give him the lead by 0.46. Austria in the top 2 places. A J Ginnis oscillating between red and green - red at the finish and into 2nd, +0.28; Albert Popov fast from 2 to 3 and into 2nd, +0.10. Dominik Raschner in touch at 2 and 3 but he’s straddled; Stevan Amiez into 5th. That’s half way - Gstrein leads from Popov and Ginnis, then Strolz, Amiez and Holtzmann – 5 DNFs so far. Luca Aerni into 4th; Dave Ryding starts with almost a second, almost all gone by 3 and he’s into 4th, +0.34 – not his day, and in poor conditions. Gstrein has now gained 12 places! Tommaso Sala has lost over a second to inter 2, but he’s pulled a little back to 3 and that’s a good final sector too – he leads by just 0.01. Loic Meillard has actually gained to inter 2 but he’s back red at 3 and can only manage 7th. Kristoffer Jakobsen has gained a lot to inter 2, lost a little to 3 and he leads by 0.40 – very impressive! Marc Rochat also on form in run 2 – gains from 2 to 3 and he leads by 0.21. Alex Steen Olsen can only manage 5th; final break, Rochat leads from Jakobsen and Sala. Manu Feller very red at inter 3 but somehow he’s pulled back 0.70 to the finish to go 2nd, +0.06! Incredible!! Henrik Kristoffersen next and red at 2 – again a good final sector and he’s into 3rd, +0.07! Daniel Yule into 5th; Alex Vinatzer has straddled – very athletic though; McGrath also a DNF, fairly early on. Clement Noel starts with 0.90 in hand, just red at inter 3 - great final sector to lead by 0.06 – good effort! Two to go – Timon Haugan has gained a little to inter 1 and more to 2, a bit better still to 3 and that’s a great run – building all the way to lead by 0.74! Linus Strasser has gained a little to 1, steady to 2, greener at 3 and he takes the win by 0.28 – well done Linus! Great runs from Haugan and Noel – 2nd and 3rd respectively. Rochat 4ht ahead of Feller and Kristoffersen. Some impressive stuff, but for me Manu Feller’s final sector takes it for today! Dave Ryding in 14th.

26 Jan – Cortina d’Ampezzo [Olympia della Tofane] – Women’s Downhill 1: Conditions look excellent! Kasja Vickhoff Lie first away on this very striking course – 115.8 kph at the first gun and safely down – this year there seems to be a lot of time airborne? Laura Pirovano red at the intermediates but faster through sectors 3 and 5 and she leads by just 0.03. Ester Ledecka is not starting today [illness?]; Priska Nufer has hit the nets – she’s up but in pain. Ragnhild Mowinckel into 3rd, but replaced there by Cornelia Hütter. Kira Weidle living dangerously but safely down and 5th; Mikaela Shiffrin also down  - same place as Nufer I think? No, perhaps not. It seems to be taking a while to get help to Shiffrin, I do hope that isn’t her season over. She is up, but her left leg seems unable to take any weight? The helo is on its way - race interrupted; that’s two crashes so far – only 1 practice run too, so maybe there’s a glitch? The feeling is that as the day warms the course will get slower, which might help? A forerunner is now on the course; Lara Gut-Behrami next after a long wait – a good run too despite the delay – she leads by 0.52! Federica Brignone past the stage where Shiffrin crashed, but it seems she has fallen where Nufer had her crash – luckily she seems OK but annoyed. Interruption, then Corinne Suter next and she’s a DNF too – being taken off by quad after landing heavily – not into the nets though. That did look like the place where Shiffrin crashed – 11 away, 4 DNFs, 3 with injury! At least Brignone seems to be OK, chatting to Lara G-B at the finish. An unnamed forerunner on course; meanwhile it seems Zak Carrick-Smith has won 2 golds and a silver skiing at the youth Olympics in Korea! So, Jasmine Flury gets the race re-started – maybe a bit cautious, which is hardly surprising – into 5th. Mirjam Puchner into 5th; Sofia Goggia on course – unusually off the pace early on but a great final sector gets her into 2nd, +0.32. Fifteen away, Lara G-B leads ahead of Goggia and Pirovano, then Lie, Hütter and Puchner. Stephanie Venier nicely in touch and fractionally green at inter 4 – fast through the final gun and a great final sector so she’s into the lead by 0.39 – what a run! Fastest in sectors 4 and 5 too. Michelle Gisin has crashed at the Brignone/Nufer corner – she’s up but maybe has a left leg snag? I think she’s aiming to ski down, but one of her skis is badly bent! Marta Bassino on course, briefly green at inter 3, but she’s slow from there and only 9th. Isabella Wright in touch at the top but 14th; Emma Aicher the latest to crash at the Nufer/Brignone corner – I think she’s OK. A good run from Christina Ager [bib 24] into joint 3rd with Goggia. Stephani Jenal also a DNF – no contact with the nets but a nasty couple of minutes and her airbag has inflated. Thirty away, 7 DNFs and 1 DNS. Venier leads from, Lara G-B and Ager/Goggia. Well, third place seems to be popular – it's now occupied by 3 racers with the same time, as Val Grenier has joined Ager and Goggia! Good effort by Lauren Macuga [USA, bib 46] into joint 16th with Weidle – highest bib number in the top 20. Hang on a second – bib 53 is Ricarda Haaser who is just +0.15 at inter 3 – sadly it got away from her a bit and she’s just 25th - even so, a great effort by the last racer on course. No updates yet on the injured. Well done to the crowded podium – Venier taking the win, Lara Gut-Behrami runner up and Grenier/Ager/Goggia in joint 3rd.

27 Jan – Cortina d’Ampezzo [Olympia della Tofane] – Women’s Downhill 2: Now, Ester Ledecka is apparently going first today, despite her illness yesterday. It seems that Mikaela Shiffrin hasn’t ruptured her ligaments and might be back in a couple weeks?? Ledecka is out – no contact with the nets but she’s missed a gate. Meanwhile the race is on hold as the wind is too strong in the middle part of the course.  Laura Pirovano safely down but next away is Isabella Wright and she’s crashed at what looked like the same place as two of the crashes yesterday. That was another long flight off the jump, then no time to get the turn started, just like several crashes on Friday. Apparently Suter is out for the season, Aicher isn’t racing today as her foot is too swollen to get into the boot and Gisin is absent too. Helo on the  way for Wright. Laura Gauche has got a turn in early to avoid the problems we’ve seen and she takes the lead by 0.62; that’s the way to do it! Kasja Vickhoff Lie in touch all the way and into 2nd, +0.17; Lara Gut-Behrami next and fractionally red early on – redder at inter 3 and into 2nd, +0.12, fastest in sectors 4 and 5. Jasmine Flury also in touch – green at 2, red at 3, less red at 4 but she’s lost time to the finish – 4th, +0.40. Connie Hütter into 3rd, +0.15; Federica Brignone is bib 9, nicely green at 2 and really tight on the delta jump but into the red at 4 and she’s just 6th. Keira Weidle out but unhurt; seems to be angry but not in pain; Stephanie Venier dead level at inter 3 but red at 4 and slower at the final gun – she’s into joint 2nd with Lara G-B; Sofia Goggia green at 3 and 4 - 1.47 kph slower through the final gun – she’s fast enough to lead though by 0.15! So, Goggia leads at her “home” downhill – it’s popular with the crowd!! Joana Haehlen has had to make a couple extra turns to avoid course workers and I think that’s hurt her?  Seems Isabella Wright might just have superficial cuts? Amazing – Priska Nufer is starting today, despite her crash yesterday – great news, or it will be if she’s allowed to go - the race is interrupted again – this time because of strong winds. The inflatable finish arch has moved! Race back on, and Priska Nufer is safely down and into 11th. at present Goggia leads, ahead of Laura Gauche with Venier and Lara G-B tied in 3rd, ahead of Hütter and Lie. Another pause to repair a control gate and remove bits of vegetation from the track. Meanwhile, racing has started at Garmisch. The delay in Cortina has been extended, and again by another 10 minutes. There is a forerunner ready, but that’s a long delay. No, it’s interrupted again. At last Nicol Delago is away but understandably off the pace after hanging around so long and just 13th. Ragnhild Mowinckel into the green at 3 and she leads by 0.44 – I hope they manage to complete this race as she really deserves a win, if she can hold on. Marta Bassino into the red at 4 and she can only manage 8th after a great start. Valerie Grenier has also started well but she’s a DNF – no idea how as I have the Garmisch video running. That’s a great run from Jacqueline Wiles – she’s into 2nd, +0.35; that’s 30 away, the results will stand – Mowinckel leads from Wiles and Goggia, then Gauche, Venier/Gut-Behrami, Hütter and Lie. More interruptions – this is taking ages! I do hope there are no serious injuries today. At last it’s finished – the final 2 didn’t start. Very well done to Ragnhild Mowinckel – great to see her take the win – Jacqueline Wiles in 2nd and Sofia Goggia taking the final podium place. Laura Gauche taking a very creditable 4th, ahead of Lara G-B and Stephanie Venier in joint 5th.  A Super G tomorrow.

27 Jan – Garmisch [Kandahar 1] – Men’s Super G 1: All very green outside the finish, and overcast here with mist on the upper sections of the course. It’s been wet and warm – a very famous cross country race nearby, scheduled for the first weekend in February, has had to be cancelled. Jeffrey Read first away and safely down; Mattia Casse has had a great final sector to lead by 0.13.  Dominik Paris green at inter 2, greener at 3 at he leads by 0.46. Ryan C-S in touch and 0.12 green at 3 – into 2nd, +0.09 – fastest in sector 3 but only 3rd in sector 4. Loic Meillard is 0.52 green at 2 and 3 and leads by 0.29; Justin Murisier into 4th.  Vincent Kriechmayr is bib 9 is well in touch and into 2nd, just 0.07 off the lead! Raphael Haaser into 6th; next is Marco Odermatt, red at inter 2, less so at 3 and into 2nd, just 0.03 behind! Looking at the sector times Haaser best in sector 1, Meillard in 2, Odermatt in 3 and Paris in sector 4! Cyprien Sarrazin into 6th; Stefan Rogentin is 4th, +0.23. Guglielmo Bosca nicely in touch – green at inter 3 and he leads by 0.07! Not for long though as Nils Allegre is quicker and takes the lead by 0.18; that’s Odermatt’s run of podiums broken! Sejersted into 6th; the snow really looks dirty in places. River Radamus [34] the highest bib number in the top 20, in 16th. At least the mist has cleared. Simon Jocher [GER, bib 42] into 17th and obviously the new highest bib in the top 20. And, Otmar Striedinger [43] into 20th – even better Franjo von Allmen [SUI, 44] into a very impressive 9th! Fastest in sector 4 too – if he holds 9th or just drops 1 place, that will be his first top 10, I think. And, that’s how it finished – an odd looking Super G podium – Nils Allegre taking his first World Cup win, I think [in fact, his first podium] ahead of Guglielmo Bosca [his first podium?] and Loic Meillard. Odermatt in 4th, then Kriechmayr and Sejersted. Tough conditions but a good race.

28 Jan – Cortina d’Ampezzo [Olympia della Tofane] – Women’s Super G: Course set by an American coach today; bib 1 is Ester Ledecka but she isn’t starting today. It’s therefore Laura Pirovano who is first on the course – she’s down but didn’t look that impressed? Ilka Stuhec has missed a gate; Kira Weidle in touch all the way and she takes over the lead by just 0.02. Ariane Raedler has missed the same gate as Stuhec; Lara Gut-Behrami is flying again – almost a second ahead at inter 3 and she leads by 1.33, fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4. Sofia Goggia just green at 2 but 0.51 red at 3 – into 2nd, +0.58; Federica Brignone into 3rd, but +1.30. Marta Bassino has taken over 3rd, +0.75; Stephanie Venier nicely in touch at inter 1 and 2 and she’s into 2nd, +0.21. She’s going well here! Ragnhild Mowinckel into green at 2, fractionally red at 3 but she’s slightly late and wide – into 3rd, +0.53; Connie Hütter quick in Sector 1 but a bit scruffy lower down and she’s missed “that” gate where Raedler and Stuhec skied out. It looks very easy to go wide at the Delta turn too – Kasja Vickhoff Lie has fallen but she’s up and skiing down. Fifteen away Lara G-B leads from Venier and Mowinckel. After the TV break Romane Miradoli into 3rd; Roberta Melesi has fallen, at about the same point as Lie I think – straight through a control gate – it’s taking a while for anyone to reach her; luckily she’s on her feet and making her way down! Valerie Grenier has had a nasty fall – support there quickly; while we wait there is an interesting interview with the TV director about how they treat crashes. This is a long break, no news of Grenier. Stephanie Jenal on course but she too has crashed so there is another interruption. There have been an astonishing number of crashes here this weekend – I’m swapping my video feed to Garmisch. Seven DNFs so far today! The race is back on, but no one has yet got into the top 10; Lena Wechner another DNF, so another interruption – I hope there aren’t any serious injuries today – that’s a serious number in one weekend. That’s 30 away – no change to the top 10 since Alice Robinson [bib 19] went into 8th. All credit to Isabella Wright for starting today after her crash yesterday – safely down. Ricarda Haaser [36] trying to be the highest bib in the top 20 as she goes 15th! Oops, Nicol Delago [37] into 17th; even better Noemie Kolly [SUI, bib 41] into a very creditable 15th! Some of the later starters are going well – Elvedina Muzaferija [BIH, bib 46] into 14th, Vicky Bernardi [ITA, bib 50] currently 18th! race over – well done to Lara G-B for the win, ahead of Venier and Miradoli; Mowinckel in 4th then Goggia and Bassino.


28 Jan – Garmisch [Kandahar 1] – Men’s Super G2: Joined this slightly late with Mattia Casse [bib 2] leading; Jeffrey Read into 2nd. It’s a slightly nicer day, no mist and some sun; course set by a Norwegian coach. Adrian Smiseth Sejersted pushing hard and he takes over the lead by 0.20; Stefan Babinsky into 2nd, +0.08. Brave run from Vincent Kriechmayr and he gained time in the final sector too to take the lead by 0.24; Guglielmo Bosca in touch to inter 3 but just 6th. Now, Marco Odermatt on course – lovely skiing early on – a bit late in the line lower down but it doesn’t seem to matter and he leads by 0.64; how does he do that despite some quite noticeable errors? Cyprien Sarrazin has skied out! Nice run from James Crawford into 3rd; Raphael Haaser even better and he’s into 2nd, +0.30 – fastest in sector 3 as well. Fifteen away, Odermatt leading from Haaser and Kriechmayr, then Crawford, Sejersted and Babinsky. Ryan C-S into 7th; Franjo von Allmen really pushing – into 3rd after a good final sector – Odermatt looks delighted! Lukas Feurstein has straddled! Arnaud Boisset in touch and he’s into 7th, which I think will be a PB if he stays there – he did! River Radamus best of the later starters, going from bib 34 into 8th. Congratulations to Marco Odermatt, great 2nd place for Raphael Haaser and special congratulations to Franjo von Allmen in 3rd; his first World Cup podium in just his 12th race!

30 Jan – Kronplatz [Erta] Women’s GS, Run 1: I joined this slightly late, with Ragnhild Mowinckel safely down and Marta Bassino 0.55 off the pace due to a slow final sector. Course set by Alice Robinson’s coach. Sara Hector away bib 3 and she’s slightly green all the way, fastest in sectors 1, 2 and 4 to lead by 0.09. Federica Brignone next and she’s green at 1 and building – 0.38 green at 3 but she’s lost time from there – just 3rd, +0.16. Lara Gut-Behrami is bib 5 - she’s got a 0.57 green light at 3 and she leads by a massive 0.68! Fastest in sectors 3 and 4. Alice Robinson into 2nd, +0.59; the next 4 are all over 1.5 seconds off the pace. With 10 away Lara G-B leads from Robinson and Hector; Mowinckel in 4th ahead of Brignone and Bassino. Paula Moltzan into 7th, +1.52; not for long though as Maryna Gasienica-Daniel has gone 7th, +1.37. Interesting to see Sofia Goggia racing today – into 8th and potentially useful points in the overall – slow final sector though. Twenty two away – no change to the top 10 since Goggia; Austria having a bad day in places 18 to 22! Best of the later starters in the top 20 is currently Magdalena Luczak [POL, bib 28] in 12th! That’s a good effort – Kasja Vickhoff Lie [bib 31] into 10th! The cut-off for run 2 looks to be about +2.5. That’s run 1 over – no changes to the top 10- since Lie went 10th; Lara G-B has a useful 0.59 advantage for run 2. Elisa Moerzinger [AUT, bib 45] the highest bib numer to get a 2nd run, from 26th. There is an update on poor Valerie Grenier after her crash at Cortina – fractured humerus, torn ACL, partial MCL tear – I suspect that’s her out for the season too – Cortina was costly!
Run 2: Course set by an American coach. Steph Brunner first away and down – Katharina Liensberger can’t match her fellow Austrian and is +0.52. Elisa Platino [ITA] into 3rd; Elisabeth Kappaurer [AUT] red at 3 but she’s had a good final sector to take the lead by 0.31. That’s a shame – Elisa Moerzinger a DNF after such a good start. That’s a nice run from Julia Scheib – building all the way to lead by 0.79; Asja Zenere [ITA] into 2nd, +0.76. Ricarda Haaser best of the Austrians after run 1 but she can’t quite match Scheib – into 2nd, +0.48; Ana Bucik into 3rd. Lara Colturi has had a good run – into 2nd, +0.39; Camille Rast in touch, just red at 3 but she’s pulled back time from there to lead by just 0.08! I thought Roberta Melesi was going to take the lead but a poor final sector has dropped her to 5th; 15 away, Rast leads from Scheib and Colturi. A J Hurt going well at inter 2 but she’s fallen – up fast but into 15th; that’s good from Zrinka Ljutic, just red at 3 but fast from there and into the lead by just 0.03! Not a good day for Norway – Stjernesund in 13th at present, Lie 15th and Holtmann a DNF. Paula Moltzan into 4th; Sofia Goggia has built from inter 1 and she’s 0.90 green at 3 – into the lead by 0.54! The crowd like that, a really wild run but it worked! Marta Bassino into 5th; Federica Brignone still green at 3 and into 2nd, just 0.06 behind Goggia – fair to say she’s not happy with that run. That’s a good final sector from Ragnhild Mowinckel to pull back a little time and take the lead by 0.16 – some good news for Norway! Sara Hector just red at 2, back green at 3 and she’s taken the lead by 0.14; Alice Robinson dead level at inter 3 and she’s still there at the finish – she’s tied with Hector. Just Lara G-B to come, she’s gained time from 1 to 2 and more to 3 – she takes another win by a massive 1.09! That gets her to just 95 points off Shiffrin’s total in the overall! She’s 85 ahead of Brignone in the GS standings as well. Alice Robinson and Sara Hector in joint 2nd, then Mowinckel, Goggia and Brignone. Julia Scheib gained 16 places in run 2 to end 9th – some better news for the Austrians.

4 Jan – Chamonix [Verte], Men’s Slalom: I have meetings this morning so haven’t really been able to concentrate on this first run – this race is all that is left of the World Cup this weekend after the speed races here and at Garmisch were cancelled. Run 1 wasn’t good for the GB skiers – at the stage where I had a look at the ticker Billy Major was already 33rd, so no second run and Dave Ryding was 27th so even for him the prospect of a second run was far from certain. Clement Noel was leading, ahead of Timon Haugan [+0.23] and Manu Feller [+0.40], then McGrath, Meillard and Raschner. Kristoffersen in joint 7th, but +0.94, and Zenhaeusern in 10th. Run 1 over – no late changes to the top 10 – Dave Ryding held on to 27th, so he will get a 2nd run; Taylor and Major were 42nd and 46th respectively.
Run 2 – some impressive scenery, especially in the sunshine. The lack of snow away from the slalom course probably shows why the speed races didn’t happen – for some reason the start has been delayed. This course set by an Austrian coach; it’s getting warmer so starting early might be quite an advantage? Seems that there might be an issue with the timing? Right – race on and Daniel Yule is safely down. Joshua Sturm [AUT, bib 47] the highest bib number in run 2 almost a full second off Yule’s pace; Tanguy Nef not much better but just into 2nd. Dave Ryding next – apparently a bit under the weather and he’s into 2nd, +0.50. A J Ginnis into 3rd; Dave Ryding has held onto 2nd and so far he’s gained 4 places! Johannes Strolz best of the later racers so far, into 4th. Alex Vinatzer into 2nd, but he lost a lot of time on his run; a good run by Sam Kolega into 2nd but again he lost almost a full second on his run. This is almost ridiculous – Linus Strasser can only manage 7th; Luca Aerni started with 0.71 in hand and ended up 12th, +0.90 – unlucky to be the last of the first half – TV break now and the course will be cleaned before the final 15. Daniel Yule has so far gained 14 places; Ryding still in 4th, and he’s gained 8 places so far! The break hasn’t done any good – Jakobsen has lost over one and a half seconds and is just 10th; at last someone has changed the top 6 – Steven Amiez into 3rd. Ramon Zenhaeusern starts with 0.95 in hand and ends ++0.72 – just 11th. Henrik Kristoffersen next and 0.99 ahead from the first run – that’s pretty good, into 2nd, +0.37. At present Yule is still in the lead, he’s now gained 23 places, ahead of Kristoffersen and Kolega; Dave Ryding in 6th and he’s gained 15 places. That’s a nice run from Dominik Raschner – he’s into joint 2nd, +0.37; not for long – Loic Meillard still just green at inter 3 and now he’s 2nd, +0.16. Atle Lie McGrath has 1.28 in hand – it’s down to just 0.31 green at inter 1 and then a huge error between 2 and 3 drops him to last! Manu Feller into 3rd and that will help him against Strasser in the slalom standings; Yule will be on the podium! Timon Haugan just red at inter 3 and can only manage 7th; just Clement Noel to come – 1.93 ahead at the start, 1.14 remains at inter 1, just 0.21 left at 3 and he’s into 3rd, +0.18! That’s FIS slalom history – never before has someone gone from 30th to first on run 2! So, an amazing run from Daniel Yule to take the historic win, ahead of Loic Meillard and Clement Noel! Manu Feller in 4th, so he’s on 490 points in the slalom standings, 164 ahead of Linus Strasser; Yule has gained 5 places to go 3rd in the standings. Raschner and Kristoffersen joint 5th, ahead of Sam Kolega, with Dave Ryding in 11th, having gained 16 places on run 2.

Nove Mesto Na Morave – World Championships – 4 x 6 Km Mixed Relay, 7 Feb 24: I suspect that this will be the only race in the championships I get to comment on, at least for a while, as real life is intruding – maybe I’ll have more luck next week?! Now, this is the race with 2 men and 2 women, not the one with 1 of each going twice!! It’s a bit damp there [# understatement] – a good crowd but getting seriously soaked; this venue is relatively low, so we have a ribbon of snow over a lot of greenery! Norway have the two Bø brothers taking the opening two legs, then Knotten and Tandrevold – that’s quite a team! Race on – leg 1 is going to see the best of the conditions, I suspect. Didier Bionaz the early leader ahead of Seb Samuelsson and Eric Perrot – it’s going to be test on the hills for the heavier athletes. In for S1 – Justus Strelow clear and out, 4.4 ahead of Seb Stalder, then Tarjei Bø, Vincent Bonacci [USA] – all with no spares. Samuelsson needed 2 spares and 16th; Perrot has used all 3 spares and out 13th, Bionaz also used all 3 but he’s 19th, +28.0 – poor Michal Krcmar is doing 1 penalty loop – home nation pressure? Leaders coming in for S2 – Strelow clear again and away, Perrot clear this time and +just 3.9 – great recovery, and good shooting after a fast lap. Stalder clear again and 3rd; Tarjei used 2 spares and 5th, Samuelsson needed all 3 this time and 12th, +51.6, Krcmar need 2 more, +1:33.1 but Bionaz has even more problems – another loop and 24th. Stalder is losing time as they head for exchange 1, but Tarjei is pulling time back, as is Samuelsson. At the exchange Strelow hands over to Philipp Nawrath, who is out just behind QFM with JoBø 3rd, +16.7, just ahead of Hartweg [SUI]. Then KAZ/USA/SWE/AUT. QFM and Nawrath close on the lap, JoBø and Martin Ponsiluoma among those gaining a bit of time. In for S3 – Nawrath clear and away, QFM 1 spare and +13.2, JoBø [1], +22.7. Hartweg [1] out 4th, then Pidruchnyi [0] and Eder [1]. Ponsiluoma [1] out 7th, just over a minute back. Tomas Mikyska [CZE] clear and up to 18th. Poor Italy – Giacomel has also done 1 penalty loop; 1 per shoot so far. Nawrath in for S4 – he’s used 3 spares and out just 6.4 ahead of QFM [1], with JoBø [3] +27.3 and only just ahead of Hartweg [0] with Ponsiluoma [0] +48.1 and Simon Eder [0] 6th. That’s better for Giacomel – just 1 spare and 21st and almost 3 minutes back. At exchange 2 Franzi Preuß is away 8.3 ahead of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Knotten +28.8, then SUI/SWE/AUT/BEL/UKR. On the lap Justine B-B is catching Preuß, Knotten has lost a little, Hanna Öberg past Lena Haecki-Gross, but the Swiss has got back past. In for S5 – 2 misses each for the leading 2 – the wind has dropped, Preuß [3] out but just 9.4 ahead of Knotten [0], with Lena H-G [0] +17.7. Hanna [2] +38.6 and just ahead of Justine B-B [1 penalty loop]. On the loop Preuß has opened her lead slightly but Lena H-G is just past Knotten; Justine B-B just past Hanna. S6 – 2 misses for Preuß and she’s doing a penalty loop! It’s Knotten [0] who leads out 6.5 ahead of Lena H-G [2], Justine B-B [ 1] +12.1, then Hanna [0], + 18.3. Preuß out 5th, +28.4. As they head for exchange 3 Justine B-B is leading just ahead of Lena H-G and Knotten; Hanna and Franzi losing a little. At the final exchange Julia Simon is away 6.4 ahead of Amy Baserga with Tandrevold +8.0 Elvira Öberg in 4th, +22.8 then Vanessa Voigt [+37.4] No one else within a minute and a half – BEL/UKR/AUT/USA/CAN, Italy in 13th, +3:08.6. On the lap Elvira is past Voigt who seems to be struggling with the wet snow? Now she’s past Baserga too, seems a little odd as she’s a relatively big, strong athlete and these conditions shouldn’t suit her?? Julia Simon clear at S7 and out 24.0 ahead of Tandrevold [1], then Baserga [0], Elvira [0] and Voigt [0]. It seems the rain is turning to snow? Final shoot – Julia Simon in and away clear – that was very quick shooting! Tandrevold [1] out +46.8, ahead of Baserga [0], +57.7. Elvira [2] +1:09.2 some 9 seconds ahead of Voigt [0]. Simon looks safe in the lead, Elvira is past Baserga at 22.8 Km but Tandrevold is matching Simon’s pace at present. The French [1+9] take a well deserved win, despite that 1 penalty loop – great recovery! Norway [0+8] holding on to silver with Sweden [0+10] just marginally ahead of a fast finishing Switzerland [0+3]. Germany [1+9] in 5th ahead of Austria [0+7]. Then Austria and Ukraine, Belgium [0+4] having a great race into 8th; Italy [3+15] in 10th.

Nove Mesto Na Morave – World Championships – Women’s 15 Km Individual, 13 Feb 24: Well, back from a very interesting trip – looking at the results congratulations to Sturla Holm Laegreid for winning the Men’s Sprint, although JoBø got things back to normal in the Pursuit! Meanwhile Julia Simon has taken 3 golds from 3 races!  Anyway – back to proper coverage and the Women’s Individual, the temperature is dropping fast, but at present the tracks are apparently wet and slow? Amy Baserga first away – and there are no penalty loops in this event, just a full minute added to the time for every miss. For obvious reasons the crowd are very vocal supporting Marketa Davidova, who is away bib 3; at 0.8 Km Hanna Öberg is fractionally faster than sister Elvira, who is now at S1 – clear and away. Davidova also clear and in touch; Vanessa Voigt also clear but slow – out +17.8. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold at S1 – good shooting but out +14.6; Lisa Vittozzi has a snag with the rifle but she’s clear, +21.4. Hanna Öberg has missed 1 at S1, so has Doro Wierer, but Lou Jeanmonnot is clear and just +3.3 – that’s good. Now, Julia Simon is at S1, that was quick and accurate – out in the lead by 7.4 against Elvira. Franzi Preuß has missed 1 at S1; Elvira has done the same at S2 and Davidova is also [0,1]. Voigt is 10/10 but quite a slow second shoot; back at S1 Lena Haecki-Gross has missed 1. Not good news for Tandrevold – 3 misses at S2 and she’s suffering; meanwhile Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is clear at S1 and 13.4 faster than Simon. Vittozzi clear at S2 as well and 23.0 quicker than Voigt and she’s a massive 55.2 ahead of Elvira Öberg [0,1].  Hanna Öberg is [1,2]; Jeanmonnot at S2 and she’s gone 10/10, plus which she’s 14.8 faster than Vittozzi! However, Julia Simon has just gone 10/10 after an amazingly fast shoot – out 16.7 ahead of Jeanmonnot! Back at S1 Janina Hettich-Walz is clear and +15.8; Elvira is at S3 and she’s missed 1, the silence tells me that Davidova has done the same but she’s 10.0 faster than Elvira; Voigt the first to go 15/15. Oops, Justine B-B has missed 2 at S2; Tandrevold clear at S3, which might help settle her confidence – let’s see how the final standing shoot goes? Vittozzi also 15/15 and out 37.4 ahead of Voigt; Janina H-W 10/10 and +8.7, nicely ahead of Jeanmonnot and in touch with Simon. Speaking of Lou Jeanmonnot she’s 15/15 and 7.0 faster than Vittozzi; Simon also 15/15 and 27.0 ahead of Lou J!! Lotte Lie [0,1,0] briefly 4th at 9.8 Km, At S4 Elvira has missed 2 more, Davidova 1 more; Vanessa Voigt is 20/20 – wonderful! Now that’s good – Tandrevold has cleared at S4, after those 3 misses in the last prone – that should help her for the next race. Very impressive stuff from Lisa Vittozzi who is 20/20 and almost a full minute ahead of Voigt! Janina H-W 15/15 and out from S3 just ahead of Jeanmonnot, 25.9 behind Simon. Crucial stuff at S4 – Jeanmonnot has missed 1 but out just 7.5 behind Voigt, however even more significant Julia Simon has also missed 1 and +24.7 against Vittozzi! Selina Grotian has gone 15/15 and she’s out ahead of Voigt, +38.1 against Simon after S3. On the final lap Simon has lost a couple seconds to Vittozzi; Justine B-B at S4 and she’s missed 1 more. Lisa Vittozzi over the line in the lead, Julia Simon into 2nd and Jeanmonnot 4th, behind Voigt. All is not settled yet though  – Janina H-W is now 20/20 and she’s only 6.7 behind Vittozzi as she leaves the range. Mona Brorsson is restoring some hope to Sweden – 15/15 and in touch after S3; Selina Grotian also 20/20 and slightly ahead of Voigt after S4, +48.8 against Vittozzi. That’s good news, Janina Hettich-Walz over the line in 2nd; Selina Grotian into 4th.  Back at S3 Linn Persson is 15/15 and definitely in touch; Mona Brorsson has missed 1 at S4 and sadly so has Persson, so maybe the top 6 are safe from change? I missed Justine B-B crossing the line – she’s currently 7th, +1:25.8 despite 3 misses, so her ski speed is phenomenal! Well done to Khrystyna Dmytrenko [UKR] who is also 20/20 and over the line currently in 8th, just ahead of Brorsson and Persson. So, what a race! Lisa Vittozzi [0,0,0,0] takes the World Championship Individual, ahead of Janina Hettich-Walz [0,0,0,0] and Julia Simon [0,0,0,1]. Great performances too from Selina Grotian [0,0,0,0] in 4th, ahead of Vanessa Voigt [0,0,0,0] and Lou Jeanmonnot [0,0,0,1]. Amazing to see Justine B-B in 7th despite those 3 misses, nice to see Deedra Irwin in 11th. Doro Wierer [1,0,0,1] in 14th, Franzi Preuß [1,0,0,1] in 15th; Hanna Öberg [1,2,0,0] in 16th, Tandrevold 27th and Elvira 30th. Jessica Jislova the best from the home nation in 12th, with Davidova 20th.

Nove Mesto Na Morave – World Championships – Men’s 20 Km Individual, 14 Feb 24: Not all the possible favourites are going early today – Laegreid in the 50s, for example – might the tracks get a little faster later? Just a reminder – this event is prone, stand, prone, stand. QFM is the first away and he looks to be starting fast? QFM in for his first prone – he’s missed 2, both high left. Andrejs Rastorgujevs is clear at S1 and he’s quick too; back at 3.1 Km JoBø is fastest. Seb Samuelsson has missed 1 at S1, as has Lukas Hofer; Niklas Hartweg clear and just 3.1 behind Rastorgujevs, Florent Claude also clear. That makes things a little interesting – JoBø has also missed 1, Jesper Nelin clear and well in touch, +5.2. Benni Doll clear at S1 and fractionally faster than Rastorgujevs; a collective groan as Krcmar misses his first shot, but he’s got the rest. Tommaso Giacomel clear and out 3.4 ahead of Doll – Italy going well. Martin Ponsiluoma has also missed 1 at S1; QFM at S2 and he’s missed 1 more. Rastorgujevs now [0,1]; at S1 Johannes Kühn is clear and +1.5 until Tarjei Bø goes clear 10.3 faster than Giacomel! Samuelsson has missed 1 more at S2; JoBø clear though this time and he’s fast too – out in the lead! Hartweg is 10/10 but out +27.5; at S1 Johannes Dale-Skjevdal is clear and +2.8. At S2 Nelin has missed 3; Doll clear and out, but just 7.3 ahead of JoBø who has one miss. Upsets at S2 – Giacomel has missed 3, Ponsiluoma is [1,2]; Adam Runnels is 10/10 but +54.0. Tarjei Bø at S2 and he’s missed 1, +32.1; JoBø is clear again at S3 and he’s out over a minute ahead of Rastorgujevs! Johannes Dale-S 10/10 and he’s 20.7 faster than Doll! Hartweg the first to get 15/15 but he’s +1:33.6. Benni Doll is also 15/15 but 4.1 behind JoBø [1,0,0]; Krcmar very lucky to leave S3 with just 1 miss there; back at S1 Sturla Holm Laegreid is clear but +12.5. Ponsiluoma is now [1,2,2]; at S1 Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen is also clear and just +8.6. After S3 Kühn is [0,1,1]; JoBø is at S4 and clear again [1,0,0,0] and away. Dale-S has missed 1 at S3; Doll has missed his 3rd at S4, +1:31.1 and that’s second place at present. Christiansen and Laegreid both 10/10 and in touch; JoBø over the finish line; his brother is clear at S4 [0,1,0,0] and well ahead of Doll. Christiansen has missed 1 at S3; that’s astonishing – Dale-S has missed 4 in his final shoot. Laegreid at S3 and clear, +45.5, behind both Bøs and Doll. Tarjei Bø over the line second, pushing Doll to 3rd and he’s almost a minute ahead of the German, both with 1 miss. Christiansen [0,0,1,0] but out 9th after S4 – he’s barely ahead of Samuelsson who missed 3 targets. Pity – Tomas Mikyska has missed his 20th target – good attempt at a fast shoot though and he still might get a top 10? No one has yet cleared all 20 and it won’t be Laegreid who has missed 2 at S4 – there is some discussion that he might not be fully fit? Looks like JoBø and Tarjei will take the top 2 places on the Bodium; Mikyska over the line in 10th, at present. At present the top 6 are JoBø, Tarjei, Doll [all with 1 miss], Rastorgujevs, Jacquelin and QFM [2,1,0,0]. Samuelsson in 7th, despite his 3 misses. Not a good day for poor Giacomel – 6 misses in all. No late change to the top 6 – well done to the Bø brothers and Benni Doll. Also congratulations to Mikyska who did hang on to 10th! Nice to see Marcus Webb competing, just 1 miss too.

16 Feb – Crans Montana [Mont Lachaux], Women’s Downhill: Mis-read the FIS app yesterday and forget this was on, so I joined this late with 18 away – currently Lara Gut-Behrami leads, potentially continuing her great series of podiums recently. Jasmine Flury in joint 2nd with Connie Hütter, ahead of Laura Pirovano, Federica Brignone and Priska Nufer. Apparently they had a snag with people not being able to stop in the finish area, so they’ve moved it up the hill! Marta Bassino in touch to inter 4 and she’s into 5th, +0.38; that could be her best downhill position, apparently! At present Switzerland in 1 and 2, Austria 3 and Italy 4, 5 and 6 – top six separated by just 0.46. Bassino [bib 21] highest bib number in the top 10; Romane Miradoli [bib 29] best in the top 20, currently in 18th. Hang on – Elvedina Muzaferija [BIH, bib 35] into 18th. That’s it for today – that puts Lara G-B 105 points ahead in the overall – pity that Shiffrin, Vlhova, and Goggia have missed races, but that’s alpine skiing. Lara G-B is also just 41 points behind Sofia Goggia in the DH standings – she might need some new shelves for the glassware?  More speed races coming this weekend.

17 Feb – Crans Montana [Mont Lachaux], Women’s Downhill 2:Today it’s the full length version, all the way to the “proper” finish. Interesting interview with Lara G-B who apparently wasn’t that happy with her run yesterday, despite it winning! Heaven help her competitors if she’s happy with today’s run! Laura Gauche first away and safely down – over the final jump which wasn’t there yesterday! Nicol Delago is +0.16; Marta Bassino nicely green at inter 1, double that at 2 and over a second ahead at inter 5 – she leads by a massive 1.80!! Fastest in sectors 1, 2, 5 and 6. Jacqueline Wiles into 3rd; Ariane Raedler more in touch. Fastest in sector 4 and into 2nd, but she lost a lot from inter 4 to the finish. Lara Gut-Behrami is bib 7 and quite red at inter 2, 0.68 red at 3, exactly 1.00 at 5 and into 2nd, +1.11 – that should do wonders for Marta Bassino’s confidence! Even so, more useful points, surely? Kajsa Vickhoff Lie in touch early on, and she’s into 4th;  Ragnhild Mowinckel stronger on the final sectors and she’s taken over 4th, +1.47. Now, Federica Brignone [bib 13] well in touch at inter 4, still good at 5 and fast through the final gun – into 2nd, +0.54, fastest in sector 3 as well. I do like Brignone, she’s so happy when it goes well! Stephanie Venier fastest in sector 3 but then a huge error and she’s just 15th; Laura Pirovano is on form at present and she’s into 4th – 3 Italians in the top 6! Priska Nufer is living dangerously – great recoveries and thankfully she’s down in one piece! Last change to the top 10 was Laura Pirovano [bib 17] into 4th; currently Romane Miradoli [bib 24] the highest bib in the top 20, in 19th. Isabella Wright a DNF again, in a similar place to yesterday; that’s a great run from Theresa Runggaldier [ITA, bib 26] into 10th! Elvedina Muzaferija [BIH, bib 28] was going well yesterday, and it looks as though that wasn’t a fluke as she’s just skied into 4th, +1.22 – what a result! That seems to be it – there are a few racers still to come, but it looks certain that Marta Bassino will take her first Downhill World Cup win, ahead of Federica Brignone with Lara Gut-Behrami in 3rd, giving her the lead in the DH standings by 19 points. Well done to the podium team, but massive congratulations to Elvedina Muzaferija in 4th, ahead of Pirovano and Raedler. Race over – no late changes to the top 20 since Muzaferija Over to Kvitfjell for the men’s downhill.

17 Feb – Kvitfjell [Olympiabakken], Men’s Downhill: Lovely looking day! Didn’t see a camera run; Stefan Rogentin first away – a tricky mix of sun and shade and he’s down. Stefan Babinsky can’t match that, ++0.19, and neither can Matthieu Bailet, +0.46. Alexis Monney in touch after errors early on and he’s 2nd, +0.17; Cameron Alexander green at inter 1 and 2 and much better at 3 and he’s fast through the final gun too – he leads by 0.90! Fastest in all 6 sectors too!   Vincent Kriechmayr fractionally green at inter 2,fractionally red at 4 and fast through the final gun – he leads by 0.11 – great run, fastest in sectors 2, 4 and 6! Niels Hintermann also dialled in – green from inter 3 to lead by 0.08, and now he’s fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4. Ryan C-S into 4th;  Bryce Bennett more in touch and green to inter 3, fractionally red at 4 and he’s into 4th, +0.29 – all very close. Now, Marco Odermatt – that’s a surprise, red at 3 and getting redder – he’s just joint 5th, +0.75 with RC-S! Nils Allegre has fallen – race interrupted; he’s managed to stand but that could be another knee injury?  Hopefully it sounds as though it wasn’t too serious? A long wait for Dominik Paris and he’s in touch at inter 1 and 2, he’s down on his hip – up again and carrying on; great recovery but he can only manage 7th, +1.00 which is less than he lost from 2 to 3, fastest in sector 6!  That’s 15 away, Niels Hintermann leads from Vincent Kriechmayr and Cameron Alexander, then Bennett, with Odermatt and Ryan C-S tied in 5th. That’s a good run from Justin Murisier [bib 20], the only post bib 15 racer to get into the top 10 so far with 7th, +0.96. Christof Innerhofer [21] into joint 9th with Rogentin; even better from Daniel Danklmaier – not very tidy but he’s somehow into 7th, +0.93. Some good runs from the 20s bib numbers – Sam Morse [23] is into 7th, +0.79, just 0.04 behind RC-S. Good from Blaise Giezendanner [24] too into 8th – best of the French at present! And still the positions change – Guglielmo Bosca [26] into joint 9th with Danklmaier; and, Miha Hrobat [27] has gone joint 8th with Giezendanner – lots of racers trying to make sure they get to the final race! Even more impressive Franjo von Allmen [28] has had his hip on the snow twice and he’s still into 5th, ahead of Odermatt! Normally by now I would be checking other news, but this is still demanding full attention! That was some jump from Jared Goldberg – amazing recovery! Josua Mettler [SUI, 32] into 8th! I hope this doesn’t keep on like this as I need to swap to the biathlon in a few minutes! Great final section from Jeff Read [37] to gain enough time to go 6th, +0.74 – he’s ahead of Odermatt too! Kyle Negomir [USA, 43] deserves mention for getting into 18th! It’s still not over – Nils Alphand [46] into 13th! That was almost the final change to the top 20; Wiley Maple [48] got into joint 19th with Negomir! So, very well done to Niels Hintermann for his win, ahead of Vincent Kriechmayr and Cameron Alexander;  Bryce Bennett in 4th, ahead of von Allmen and Read, with Odermatt in joint 7th with RC-S.

18 Feb – Crans Montana [Mont Lachaux], Women’s Super G: Another nice looking day – Super G today, so no practice, just a short inspection of the course. No Jasmine Flury today as she has a “niggling” knee injury – hope she’s fully fit again soon. Laura Pirovano first away, and safely down on a course set by an Italian coach! Priska Nufer next, back from a fall yesterday, and +1.04; Christina Ager into 3rd, +1.13. Laura Gauche in touch at 2, just green at 4 and fastest in sectors 2, 4 and 5 to lead by 0.29. Roberta Melesi fast but a little wide and into 3rd; next is Federica Brignone – green at inter 1, 2 and 3, better still at 4 and she leads by 0.71, fastest in sectors 2, 4 and 5. Stephanie Venier is pressing hard – green all the way and she takes the lead by just 0.04 - fastest in sectors 1, 2 and 3. Lara Gut-Behrami next but red at 1, redder at 2 and +0.82 at 3 – better from there but into 3rd, +0.46. Apparently she was sick yesterday but felt she was better today? Not for long though as Romane Miradoli has taken over 3rd, +0.28; Marta Bassino green at 1 and 2 but red at 3 and she’s into 3rd, +0.15. Conny Hütter into 5th; Kasja Vickhoff Lie took an odd line in a couple places and into 7th. Ragnhild Mowinckel has fallen – lots of help there and she’s walking away and skiing on down – I hope that isn’t serious as she was getting back on form. Fifteen away, Venier leads from Brignone, Bassino, Miradoli, Hütter and Lara G-B. Kira Weidle into 8th; only for a little while though as Ester Ledecka has taken over that place and is currently the highest bib number in the top 10. Stephanie Jenal out in a copy of Mowinckel’s fall – she too seems unhurt and has skied down. The piste is warming – no changes to the top 20 since Isabella Wright [32] and Karen Clement [33] went 16th and 19th respectively. Well done Elvedina Muzaferija, into 16th from bib 46 – not as good as yesterday, but still a useful result! I wonder what she might do with a reasonable start number?? No further upsets, so well done to Stephanie Venier for the win, ahead of Brignone and Bassino who take another podium place each. Miradoli in 4th, ahead of Hütter and Gut-Behrami – that’s another 40 points towards the overall and she hangs on to the Super G points led by just 5, ahead of Hütter!

18 Feb – Kvitfjell [Olympiabakken], Men’s Super G: Apparently visibility isn’t good, as the fog is also freezing over the goggles of the racers, so the start has been moved down the hill to the reserve start. Course set by a Swiss coach but this is going to be a sprint! River Radamus first away and down – Andreas Sander 0.34 faster. Jeffrey Read is having another good day – he leads by 0.69; Daniel Danklmaier into 3rd. Franjo von Allmen is bib 5 and he’s into 2nd, +0.58; not much time to write things up with the shortened course! James Crawford out after completely losing the line; now it’s Odermatt and he’s in touch at inter 2, into 2nd just 0.02 off the lead and he could win the Super G globe today with a good result. Vincent Kriechmayr quite red at inter 3, 0.32 off the pace, but he’s had a superb final run to rake the lead by 0.17 – brilliant! Fastest in sector 4, obviously! Dominik Paris green to inter 3 but then he’s lost time – he’s into joint 3rd with Odermatt. Guglielmo Bosca also green to 3 but he can only manage 5th, +0.31 – all very close. Stefan Babinsky into 6th; Mattia Casse has taken over 6th. Justin Murisier out at the same place as Crawford, slightly embarrassing as it was his coach that set the course! Now Raphael Haaser is green at inter 3 but he too has lost time from there to go 6th. Good run from Arnaud Boisset into 6th, +0.34; another good run from Cameron Alexander [bib 20] – just 0.06 red at 3 but slower through the final gun to go 5th, +0.21; highest bib in the top 10 at present. A good effort by Kyle Negomir [39] to go into 11th, +0.44! Only 2 hundredths off a top 10! Sam Morse [42] into 13th. That was amazing – Pietro Zazzi [ITA, bib 50] into joint 6th with Bosca and 2nd fastest in Sector 4! Jan Babystran has fallen – a long slide but just missed the nets, and what an incredible way of getting back on his feet – very athletic! That was it for surprises – well done to Vincent Kriechmayr – delighted to see him win today! Jeffrey Read in 2nd, with Paris and Odermatt in a tie for 3rd place. That leaves Kriechmayr 81 points behind Odermatt in the Super G standings; in the overall Odermatt is 918 ahead and that’s to Cyprien Sarrazin who is out for the season. Cameron Alexander in 5th today, ahead of Zazzi and Bosca, tied in 6th.

Nove Mesto Na Morave – World Championships – Women’s 4x6 Km Relay, 17 Feb 24: Firstly congratulations to the podium team for the Mixed Relay which I missed due to a hospital appointment – France in first place, with QFM and Lou Jeanmonnot, ahead of Italy [Giacomel and Vittozzi] and Norway [JoBø and Tandrevold, who had a penalty on the final leg]. Sweden 4th, then Switzerland and Germany. All credit to Italy getting 2nd after being 14th at the first exchange! Right, the women’s Relay – race on, it’s odd seeing the white ribbon of snow through the green of the forest – at least the women have the best conditions today, probably a bit cut up for the men this afternoon? At 0.8 Km it’s Jeanmonnot who is pushing the pace ahead of Anna Magnusson, Samuela Comola, then Knotten, Petrenko [UKR] and Elisa Gasparin. In for S1, the wind might have changed from zero – Jeanmonnot clear and out, 3.0 ahead of Magnusson with Janina Hettich-Walz +10.4 – all clear with no spares. Knotten out 5th, 1 spare and the wind is picking up; Remenova [SVK] has done 2 penalty loops. I think Magnusson is being clever, not trying to stay with Jeanmonnot; Knotten up into 3rd on the lap. In for S2 – Jeanmonnot clear and again and out – 4 of those would have dropped the prone target; Knotten has used another 1 spare but out +22.8 just ahead of Janina H-W [0], then Magnusson [2], Ermits and Vobornikova. Poor Comola [ITA] is doing 2 penalty loops. Jeanmonnot will be handing over to Sophie Chauveau, who is off on leg 2 with 16.4 gap to Norway [Juni Arnekleiv], then Estonia [Tomingas] +20.8, ahead of SWE/CZE/GER/BEL/FIN. On the lap Chauveau has opened the gap to 25.0 over Arnekleiv. Chauveau has missed her first shot and one more – she’s on the penalty loop! It’s Tuuli Tomingas [0] who leads out ahead of Linn Persson [1, +2.4], Arnekleiv [2], Charvatová [2] – Chauveau [1+3] is 5th, +15.5. Selina Grotian has used all 3 spares and she’s 9th, +30.4. In for S4 – two bad misses for Tomingas but she’s out after 2 spares 16.2 ahead of Arnekleiv [3], Grotian [0, +20.8], Persson [3], Gandler [1] and Maya Cloetens [BEL, 1]. Charvatová on the penalty loop and out 10th, while poor Chauveau is 9th after doing a second penalty loop! Exchange 2 – Susan Kuelm [EST] away ahead of Ida Lien [NOR, +19.2] then Vanessa Voigt and Hanna Öberg pretty much together +23.3/23.5. Austria in 4th then BEL/UKR/FRA +45.5. Poor Italy down in 16th. In for S5 – Kuelm [1] out just 1.7 ahead of Öberg [1] then Lien [1, +16.5]. Now here’s a turn up – Justine Braisaz-Bouchet [0] out 4th, +18.0, ahead of Voigt [1] and Hauser [1]. This should be interesting – some of these athletes don’t have great records in the stand! Hanna has slowed as she approaches the range; S6 with a little more wind. Hanna has missed 1 but so has Justine B-B; it’s Justine B-B [1] who is out first, 7.3 ahead of Hanna [2], then Kuelm [1], Hauser [1] and Voigt [1, +29.9]. Ida Lien has done 2 penalty loops and out 10th, +1:35.0. Justine B-B has pulled out some 10 seconds on that lap, will hand over to Julia Simon, who is away 17.9 ahead of Elvira Öberg. Estonia [Johanna Talihaerm]still in 3rd, ahead of Austria [Juppe] and Germany [Schneider, who thought she had finished here and was brought in late to replace Preuß!]. Norway are 1:40.6 back as Tandrevold takes over. The final prone – Simon out with 1 spare, Elvira clear but still +20.2. Juppe has missed 3, it’s Talihaerm [3] who is out 3rd, but +1:16.8 and only just ahead of Schneider [1]. Jessica Jislova clear and out 5th. Tandrevold [2] out 7th with Juppe 8th after 2 penalty loops. Julia Simon in for her final shoot – it’s quite windy! Simon has missed 2, and now 1 more – all 3 spares used and out. Elvira has missed 2 and she’s doing a penalty loop – out +1:07.0. Schneider [3] out 3rd, +1:41.5] with Talihaerm [3] +2:01.3. Jislova doing 1 loop. Poor Tandrevold is doing 3 penalty loops, she really has got problems with confidence, and out 9th. She’s not alone though as Lena Haecki-Gross is also doing 3 loops. Simon cruising, probably with the mass start in mind – what a recovery by Justine B-B to get France [2+11] back into it, and a well-deserved win. That’s Julia Simon’s 4th gold! Sweden [1+12] in 2nd, with Germany [0+9] in 3rd. That’s a good result for a fairly new German team, and an excellent day for Estonia [0+11] taking 4th – well done them! Ukraine [0+10] in 5th, then Poland [0+3]. The Czechs are 7th, ahead of Austria, Switzerland and Norway [5+16!].

Nove Mesto Na Morave – World Championships – Men’s 4x7.5 Km Relay, 17 Feb 24: Race on – it’s still quite windy! Sturla Holm Laegreid taking leg 1 for Norway; at 0.8 Km he’s just ahead of Justus Strelow and Eric Perrot – Viktor Brandt going first for Sweden, Elia Zeni a new name to me for Italy. The crowd are happy to see Tomas Mikyska leading on the approach to S1! Those flags look flat at present – Strelow first away ahead of Brandt, Mikyska, and Florent Claude [BEL] – all with no spares. Laegreid in 9th after using 1 spare, +12.5, Perrot has used all 3 spares and he’s 16th, +22.9, Korea on the penalty loop. The tracks are getting quite dirty; Laegreid back in the lead but pushing hard, ahead of Florent Claude. Has he gone too hard – in for S2, and Perrot has also been making up a gap – Strelow again out with no spares, just 3.2 ahead of Mikyska then Mukhin [KAZ] – all with no spares used. Zahkna [EST] in 4th ahead of Florent Claude [1 each] and Brandt [2]. Laegreid is on the penalty loop and out 15th, Zeni has used 3 spares and 16th, Komatz [AUT] also doing a loop and 22nd. This isn’t going to the script! Mikyska seems to have great skis – a battle to Exchange 1 – it’s Estonia that just take it, 0.4 ahead of Czechia then Kazakhstan with Germany in 4th. Small gap to Belgium, then Sweden +23.5. France [1+6] in 8th, +30.8 and Norway [1+4] 12th, +44.7! Tarjei Bø isn’t going to be impressed! Apparently Norway are moaning that Strelow’s ski “nudged” Laegreid’s ski at S2 – given that Laegreid looked dead on his feet and shot badly I’m not sure that was significant? Anyway – in for S3 – Johannes Kühn [1] first away, just 2.5 ahead of Michal Krcmar [1] with Jesper Nelin [0] +9.3. Tarjei clear and 6th, +19.0 but Fabien Claude [FRA] is doing 2 penalty loops, and out 17th! Estonia [Siimer] have also done 2 loops and 16th. Right, S4 – Tarjei Bø back in the leading 4; Krcmar clear and out, Kireyev [KAZ] is also clear and he’s out 2nd, ahead of Bø [2] and Nelin [2]. Kühn has done 1 penalty loop and out 7th, +39.3. France in 12th as Fabien Claude clears S4, +50.2. Siimer has done 2 more loops! Exchange 2 – that’s a phenomenal leg from Tarjei Bø to get Norway to the handover with brother Johannes 5.4 ahead of Czechia [when we were there earlier this year the Czechs we spoke to were adamant that they were still the “Czech Republic”] with Sweden +18.6 as Ponsiluoma takes over. Then KAZ/UKR/FIN/GER/SLO/FRA +56.6. JoBø away fast, pulling out time on Ponsiluoma who is closing down Marecek; Emilien Jacquelin hasn’t gained time. In for S5, with Ponsiluoma past Marecek – JoBø has missed 2 but with 2 spares he’s away. Ponsiluoma [2] out +21.1, just ahead of Marecek [1] with Nawrath [0] +34.9. Denys Nasyko [UKR] clear and +40.8 just clear of Campbell Wright [0]. Jacquelin [1] up to 8th, but +53.7. JoBø is in for S6 – no wind – five fast shots and out. Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 1 – out +27.9. Marecek [1] +45.7 ahead of Nawrath [1] with USA some 14 seconds back. Jacquelin has used 2 spares and he’s 7th, but +1:13.3. JoBø heading for the final exchange, to Christiansen. Ponsiluoma will be handing over to Seb Samuelsson - Nawrath to Benni Doll – an interesting final lap in prospect!? Norway away with 30.3 in hand, Germany +59.7. France up to 5th some 5 seconds behind the Czechs, but +1:11.5. Then USA/FIN/KAZ/SLO/POL. On the lap the gap from Norway to Sweden is static at present, but QFM is catching Doll, who has lost 10m seconds to Christiansen! Final prone shoot – Christiansen clear and out, no spares; Samuelsson has missed 2, 2 spares used and +59.3, with QFM [0] +1:11.8 and Doll [0] +1:12.2 – Hornig [CZE] and Brown [USA] both clear and still in touch. Last shoot – Samuelsson has slightly opened the gap to QFM and Doll – Christiansen has missed his first and two more – he’s got the shakes and that’s 3 penalty loops for Christiansen to do! Samuelsson clear and away, QFM [1] +19.9. Christiansen out +25.0 but he’s done an extra 3 loops. Doll [3] +35.4. It doesn’t look like Samuelsson can be caught, but Christiansen is trying to hunt down QFM while Doll is losing time early in the lap. Well, Sweden [0+9] have been gifted the win by Christiansen who has slightly redeemed himself by getting Norway [4+11] back to silver with France [3+13] in bronze. Germany [1+8] a slightly distant 4th. Good effort by USA [0+8] to take 5th, ahead of Italy [1+11]. Then CZE/FIN/POL/KAZ. Can’t see Laegreid and Christiansen enjoying the debrief!

Nove Mesto Na Morave – World Championships – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start, 18 Feb 24: Must be warm, some athletes in short sleeves! Hopefully Franzi Preuß back for this event after missing the relay. Race on – quite a slow pace at first, dominated by the French; just 3 Norwegians in the start today. There’s now a small group breaking away, led by Justine B-B, with Jeanmonnot, Simon and Elvira Öberg. In for S1 – not a lot of wind, Julia Simon out first, ahead of Justine B-B, Vittozzi, Tandrevold, Arnekleiv and Knotten [+19.6] – all clear. Jeanmonnot has missed 1 as have both Öbergs, Lena H-G, Brorsson and Persson. Chauveau., Magnusson and Grotian among those with 2 misses. The leading French pair, Simon and B-B, in for S2, Simon has missed her final shot; Justine B-B clear and out in the lead, ahead of Arnekleiv, Vittozzi and Tandrevold – all clear. Simon out 5th, +14.0, with Jeanmonnot +20.8. Hanna Öberg has missed another 1, her sister another 2. Preuß has missed 1 at S2, Doro Wierer 2. At 6.6 Km Justine B-B is 20 seconds clear of Vittozzi and Simon, with Arnekleiv and Tandrevold in close company and Jeanmonnot in 6th +33.8. In for S3 – Justine B-B clear again and out, Lisa Vittozzi also 15/15 and +28.5, Jeanmonnot [1,0,0] +35.8. Hauser 15/15 and up to 4th, ahead of Simon [0,1,1] and Gandler. Arnekleiv in 7th after 1 miss at S3, but poor Tandrevold is having a nightmare with the standing shoot and has missed 3. Hanna Ö is [1,1,1], Elvira is [1,2,2]. At 9.1 Km JB-B has got the gap to Vittozzi up to 34.9, Jeanmonnot +50.5 and Simon +55.6; Voigt and Lie both 15/15 but over a minute back in 8th/9th. The final shoot – Justine B-B has dropped all 5 and she’s off on a victory lap! Good shooting by Vittozzi who is also 20/20 and out +34.0, with Jeanmonnot [1,0,0,0] +49.1 with Simon in 4th, having missed another 1 here and +1:06.8. Hauser has missed 1 and out 5th ahead of Voigt [0,0,0,0] and Preuß [0,1,0,0]. Good to see Tandrevold has cleared all 5 this time. I think the podium is set, Julia Simon will not be getting another medal! Yes, another medal and the championship for Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Lisa Vittozzi gets another silver and Lou Jeanmonnot takes bronze. Julia Simon [0,1,1,1] in 4th, just ahead of Vanessa Voigt [0,0,0,0] and Lisa Theresa Hauser [0,0,0,1]. Hanna Ö 1,1,1,0] in 9th, just ahead of Tandrevold [0,0,3,0] and Preuß [0,1,0,0]. A disappointing day for Janina H-W [1,0,1,1] in 28th and Selina Grotian [2,1,1,3] in 30th, but they’ve had some good races here too. Doro Wierer in 20th, and apparently won’t be racing for the rest of the season?

Nove Mesto Na Morave – World Championships – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start, 18 Feb 24: Still quite warm; I wonder how Christiansen is feeling today after the relay yesterday? Race on; at 2.1 Km there are 2 Bøs in the lead, ahead of Ponsiluoma, Christiansen, Jacquelin and QFM, +5.4. Quite a pace on this first lap, heading in for S1 – QFM first out, ahead of Tarjei, Justus Strelow, Doll, Rastorgujevs and Stalder +6.3, all clear. Christiansen, Giacomel, Kühn, Samuelsson, Nawrath and JoBø among those with 1 miss – JoBø out 15th, +23.8. Jacquelin, Krcmar and Ponsiluoma among those with 2 misses. At 5.1 Km QFM is just fractionally ahead of Tarjei and Doll, Rastorgujevs with them and JoBø back up to 5th, +9.6 – this is a hard loop, so S2 might be interesting? At S2 – QFM clear and out 1.9 ahead of Doll with Rastorgujevs +4.3. Behind them are Tarjei [+7.8], Samuelsson and JoBø [+13.0]. Ponsiluoma has missed an extra 1, Christiansen is [1,2] as is Giacomel, Jacquelin is [2,2]! At 8.1 Km JoBø is back with the leading group, Samuelsson has dropped back a bit; somehow Ponsiluoma and Christiansen are 10th and 11th despite 3 misses each! The first standing shoot – JoBø is clear and away, Rastorgujevs 15/15 and +4.9 – QFM has missed one and +17.2, but ahead of Tarjei and Doll who have also done 1 loop here. Stalder is 15/15 and +31.0; Christiansen clear at S3 and +48.4. Ponsiluoma [2,1,2] in 17th, Samuelsson [1,0,3] down in 19th. By 11.1 Km JoBø is opening the gaps, +9.9 to Rastorgujevs, around 29 back to Tarjei and QFM and 42.7 to Doll. So, final shoot – that’s it over – JoBø clear and fast and Andrejs Rastorgujevs has cleared all 20 and away +13.2. QFM clear at S4 and +22.5 but Tarjei is [0,0,1,1] +46.9, then Fabien Claude [1,0,1,0] just ahead of Stalder. Doll missed 2 at S4 and out 12th behind Nawrath and Kühn. Johannes Thingnes Bø [1,0,0,0] over the line to take another title; delighted to see Andrejs Rastorgujevs [0,0,0,0] taking silver, ahead of Quentin Fillon Maillet [0,0,1,0]. Tarjei Bø [0,0,1,1] in 4th, ahead of Fabien Claude and Jakov Fak. Stalder in 7th, then Christiansen, despite 4 misses, Perrot, and Nawrath. Doll 12th, Ponsiluoma 13th, Laegreid 17th, Samuelsson 23rd. So, that’s the Championships over – a nice break now until the World Cup starts again.

24 Feb – Val di Fassa, Women’s Super G 1: Sadly, as the FIS put it - “Due to the large amount of snow from the last 24 hours today’s Super G has been cancelled”. Or, as Tina Maze put it – race is cancelled but soooo happy to see fresh snow.  Lets’ hope Super G 2 goes ahead tomorrow.

24 Feb – Palisades Tahoe [Red Dog], Men’s GS: The problem with races in the USA is the timing – the first run clashed with me getting supper cooked, so I missed it!  No huge surprises perhaps as Marco Odermatt was quickest, but only 0.15 ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen, with River Radamus in 3rd, +0.78. Then Filip Zubcic, +0.87, Thomas Tumler and Raphael Haaser – Loic Meillard was 7th, +1.42 and Manu Feller 10th, +1.79; sadly Charlie Raposo was 46th, so no second run for him.
Run 2: Course set, I think, by an Italian coach. First away is Fadri Janutin [SUI], who was joint 29th in run 1; safely down. Next is Patrick Kenney [bib 51, USA] red at inter 2 and I think this might be a bit safe, with a finish more important than trying to gain places – into 2nd and he’s got his first World Cup points! I’m surprised to see Atle Lie McGrath going so early in run 2 – he’s 0.78 faster than Janutin!  Leo Anguenot [FRA] into 2nd; next is Lukas Feurstein [AUT, bib 56], the highest bib number in run 2 and he’s gained from inter 1 to 2 – steady from 2 to 3 and he leads by 0.24!  Alex Steen Olsen  gained to 1, fractionally red at 2 and 3 and he leads by just 0.04; Tommy Ford into 4th.  Sam Maes [BEL] a little better and into 3rd; then no changes to the top 3 – that’s 15 away, half way and Alex Steen Olsen leads from Lukas Feurstein [both gaining 9 places in run 12] and Sam Maes! Joshua Sturm dead level at inter 3 but he’s fallen, no injury but he’s out;  Filippo della Vite into 12th, that’s all the Italians in the 2nd run away – the best is Alex Vinatzer in 9th, so the course set hasn’t done them any favours. Justin Murisier into 4th; now, Manu Feller with 0.97 in hand – just 0.38 left at inter 2 but he’s steadier from there to lead by 0.34! Gino Caviezel has gained to inter 1 and he’s nicely green at 3 – he leads by 0.12. It’s getting warmer and the course is beginning to get rutted; Loic Meillard red at 3 but he’s pulled back a little time to go 2nd; Switzerland go 1 and 2. Raphael Haaser just red at 2, redder at 3 – good recovery from there and into 3rd; Thomas Tumler has gained from 1 to 2, lost time from there but he had enough in hand – he leads by 0.27! That could be an all Swiss podium!?  Filip Zubcic out, at a gate that has already claimed a number of victims; River Radamus just red at 3 but fast from there to lead by 0.13 – the crowd like that! That will be his first World Cup podium, and on home snow too! Henrik Kristoffersen has gained to inter 2 and even better to 3 and he leads by a massive 1.25! That’s impressive given he was just 0.15 behind Odermatt after run 1! So, just Marco Odermatt – he has gained to inter 1, back to 0.12 ahead at 2, 0.18 red at 3 but that’s a superb final sector to take yet another win by 0.12!  What a race!  Marco Odermatt wins again, ahead of a resurgent Henrik Kristoffersen with River Radamus in third. Tumler takes 4th, ahead of Caviezel and Meillard. Feller in 8th, Steen Olsen up to 9th, with Feurstein 10th – both having gained 16 places in run 2. Apparently that win has clinched the overall crystal globe for Marco Odermatt!


25 Feb – Palisades Tahoe [Red Dog], Men’s Slalom: Well, first the bad news, after another night of heavy snow at Val di Fassa, the slope conditions are too dangerous so the second Women’s Super G has also been cancelled. The photos on the FIS Facebook page suggest the visibility is poor too, pity.  Anyway, back to Tahoe – run 1 set by a Swiss coach, run 2 will be set by a Croatian coach! Henrik Kristoffersen will be first away on run 1 – that’s a tricky looking course; he’s down safely but doesn’t seem happy? Linus Strasser green at 1, 0.92 green at 2 and he leads by 1.21 – no wonder Henrik didn’t look happy with his run! Timon Haugan into 2nd, but +0.97; Daniel Yule, whose coach set this course, more off the pace and 4th, +1.55. Clement Noel is more in touch and he’s 2nd, +0.40; Manu Feller isn’t having his best day either, he’s recovered some time from inter 2 though to go 3rd, +0.46. Loic Meillard is only 7th, +2.19; Fabio Gstrein into 6th, displacing Tommaso Sala, who was briefly there! Massive error from Alex Steen Olsen – probably no second run? Bib 15 is Dave Ryding but he's not faring that well either – 11th, +2.16; that’s the first TV break, Strasser leads from Noel and Feller – Haugan in 4th and the last one to be within a second of the leader. Dominik Raschner into 9th; A J Ginnis nicely in touch but he’s straddled. TV Break 2 – no change to the top 10 since Raschner went into 9th. I need to go and cook! Steve Amiez into 11th, Luca Aerni into joint 12th and the highest bib number in the top 20 is Armand Marchant [40] in 14th. Dave Ryding ended up 15th after run 1, Billy Major in 30th, so he’ll have a nice clean piste for run 2, and Laurie Taylor was 36th. After yesterday’s podium, River Radamus was among the DNFs.
Run 2: Right – Billy Major first away – no purchase on the outside ski and he’s a DNF. This looks a really tricky, somewhat unorthodox, course, set by a Croatian coach! Sam Maes [BEL, 45] was the highest bib number to qualify and he’s safely down; Adrian Pertl red all the way to inter 3 but a really fast final sector gets him the lead by 0.62. Atle Lie McGrath has gained a lot from 2 to 3 and now he leads by 0.77; Stefano Gross red at 3 and into 2nd. Filip Zubcic next and it was his coach who set this – he’s lost quite a lot from 2 to 3 and he’s 2nd, just 0.02 off the pace. Jett Seymour good to inter 1 but losing time from there – into 3rd, +0.07; pity – 2nd DNF in 2 days for Joshua Sturm. Sam Kolega is another man whose coach set the course, according to the commentary, and although he’s been losing time from inter 2 he had enough in hand – into the lead by 0.15. Albert Popov into 4th; Loïc Meillard well green at 2, but losing time to 3 – he's pulled a bit back from there and he leads by 0.22. Alex Vinatzer into the red at inter 1 but better from there to lead by 0.25 – that’s half way, Vinatzer leads from Meillard and Kolega. Dave Ryding first to go after the break but a massive error pre inter 2 and he’s just 12th; great recovery though, to finish. So far no success for those going after the break. Steven Amiez was good to inter 1, but red at 2 after errors – into 4th, the best so far from the second half; better still from Kristofer Jakobsen who has gained from 2 to 3 and leads by 0.42 – good run! Another break – Daniel Yule joins the DNFs; Fabio Gstrein in touch and he’s into 3rd, +0.45. Henrik Kristoffersen next with 0.59 in hand, just red by inter 2 and into 4th,+0.56 – no podium today. Timon Haugan has lost almost all his advantage by inter 2 but he’s getting settled now and he’s taken the lead by just 0.03; Manu Feller has lost half his advantage by inter 1, but he’s got it back by 2 and he leads by 0.40 – that was all out stuff! Clement Noel just red at 3, and into 2nd, pushing Haugan down to 3rd! Just Linus Strasser to come – fast to inter 1, but he's lost 2/3rds of that to 2, just green at 3 and he’s into 3rd! So, Manu Feller gets another win, ahead of Clement Noel and Linus Strasser. Haugan in 4th, then Yule and Kristoffersen. In the slalom standings Feller leads on 590, with Strasser on 386, Noel 352 and Haugan 310.

Oslo Holmenkollen – World Cup: 29 Feb – Leap Day, except no leaping today as the Women’s 15 Km Individual has been rescheduled to tomorrow morning [no time given that I can see] because of the weather – very poor visibility, judging from the photo!

Oslo Holmenkollen – World Cup, 1 Mar 24 – Individuals: First the Women’s 15 Km Individual, postponed from last night, but before the race starts I note that Benni Doll has decided to retire at the end of the season – pity! I seem to be having serious trouble getting any coverage from Eurosport – the race starts at 1130 [apparently] but coverage isn’t there and is being delayed all the time? Ah, now we have coverage – but the race hasn’t yet started! Race on – 30 minutes later than scheduled; Lena Haecki-Gross, the Individual points leader, away with bib 1. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold the early leader at 1.4 Km – I wonder how her shooting will be today? Not a great start – Lena H-G has missed 1 at S1, so that’s a full minute added to her time. Sophia Schneider clear but her ski speed may not be up to the best; Tandrevold also clear and she’s 18.9 faster than Schneider. Mona Brorsson, who is also retiring this year, is clear, if rather lucky; Ida Lien also clear and that grouping looked good. Janina Hettich-Walz has missed her last target at S1; no Hanna Öberg today as she’s unwell and from what I’ve seen on social media Franzi Preuß is also unwell, again – great pity and I gather she won’t race at Soldier Hollow either? Justine Braisaz-Bouchet at S1 and clear, +1.9; Lena H-G has lost a lot to Tandrevold from S1 to 5.4 Km and she’s missed another 1 at S2. Schneider has missed 2 at S2 but Tandrevold is 10/10 – that’s more like her! Lou Jeanmonnot shooting fast at S1 but she’s missed her last shot; Mona Brorsson and Ida Lien have both missed 1 at S2. Back at S1 Lisa Vittozzi is clear and +6.9; that’s interesting Baiba Bendika [LAT] clear at S1 and out 1.1 ahead of Tandrevold! Juni Arnekleiv has missed 1 at S2 but the rest looked good; Elvira Öberg has also missed 1 at S1. Justine B-B now 10/10 and 3.3 ahead of Tandrevold; at S1 the lead has changed to Anna-Karin Heijdenberg [SWE]! That’s good news – Tandrevold 15/15; Jeanmonnot clear at S2. I missed that – Julia Simon has missed 1 at S1 and 2 more at S2; Ida Lien clear at S3 and +1:25.7 in 2nd at present. Lisa Vittozzi has missed 1 at S2, as did Vanessa Voigt – Bendika has missed 2 here. Suvi Minkkinen has joined the very select 15/15 club [just 2 members so far] but +1:05.0; Heijdenberg has missed 1 at S2. Meanwhile Justine B-B has missed 2 at S3 and out +1:46.0; at S2 Vobornikova is 10/10 and +25.1. Tandrevold at S4 and she’s missed one shot; Jeanmonnot is [1,0,1] and 8th after S3. Lena H-G is [1,1,1,1] which might be the end of her small globe hopes? Ida Lien is [0,1,0,0] and out 2nd; however, Vittozzi is now [0,1,1]. Anamarija Lampic is very fast on the skis, currently [1,1,0] and 6th after S3; Minkkinen has missed 2 at S4. Another interesting addition to the 15/15 club – Lotte Lie out + 58.8; Tereza Vobornikova has also missed 1 at S3. Justine B-B [0,0,2,1] out 4th from S4; Jeanmonnot has missed another at S4 [1,0,1,1]. Voigt [0,1,0,0] out +1:04.7 but Vittozzi [0,1,1,0] is out 4.5 seconds ahead and she’s much faster on her skis? Poor Lampic has missed 3 at S4,pity as she was going well today; now, Elvira Öberg [1,1,0,0] is out of S4 just 4 seconds behind Lien, in 3rd. Lotte Lie has missed 1 at S4 and out 6th, some 26 seconds behind Voigt. That’s good – Vobornikova [0,0,1,0] out in 4th after S4. At the finish Tandrevold leads ahead of Lien [+32.0], then Justine B-B [+1:25.7] – Vanessa Voigt into 3rd, +1:19.5 but that’s probably not fast enough to take the Individual globe from Vittozzi? Elvira looks set to get a podium, but will she be ahead of Lien? Vittozzi over the line in 3rd, but Elvira Öberg has gone into 2nd! Vobornikova is losing a lot of time on her final lap but looking good for a top 6 – yes, 5th at present, just ahead of Voigt. Looking back at those who looked in touch at S2, most seem to have missed at least 1 at S3. Nice to see Sophie Chauveau [1,1,0,1] currently in the top 10, and she’s ahead of Jeanmonnot with the same number of penalties. Lena H-G currently in 29th, with 4 misses; odd to see Janina H-W with 4 misses too. Right, that’s it Tandrevold takes the win, which should help her confidence, although she’s only 28.8 ahead of Elvira Öberg who had one more penalty; Ida Lien in 3rd, ahead of Vittozzi, Vobornikova and Voigt. Justine B-B in 7th, despite 3 penalties, then Chauveau, Magnusson and Davidova. Jeanmonnot in 13th, Johanna Puff [bib 70; 0,1,0,0] the second best German in 18th, Haecki-Gross ended up 36th. Not sure I’ll be able to see the men’s Individual as I have work to do!

Men’s 20 Km Individual: Joined this late, with Tarjei Bø 10/10 after S2, and 43.8 ahead of Krcmar with Komatz close behind – all clear. JoBø [0, 1] briefly into 2nd despite that miss, but Magazeev has gone 10 seconds ahead of him into 2nd, with 10/10. Simon Eder into 4th as Emilien Jacquelin goes 10/10 and exits 15.2 ahead of Tarjei. Martin Ponsiluoma was just quicker than JoBø at S1 but he’s missed 2 at S2; meanwhile Tarjei is at S3 and clear again – I see poor Giacomel [1,3,1] is not having a good day! Looking back at S1, Christiansen, Strømsheim, Laegreid and Perrot are all clear and nicely in touch. Ponsiluoma has missed another at S3; Justus Strelow currently 2nd there with 1 miss but he’s +1:28.4. Andrejs Rastorgujevs 10/10 and just 13.8 behind Jacquelin; that was a very fast shoot by Perrot at S2 and out +6.1 against Jacquelin, but Laegreid is even faster and +5.7. Seb Samuelsson [1,0,1] out 8th after S3, but well off the pace; David Komatz is 15/15 but over a minute slower than Tarjei. JoBø [0,1,1] out in 3rd at S3; Pavel Magazeev [MDA] also 15/15 but +58.6. Quick shooting by Jacquelin but he’s missed 1 - out + 45.4; all happening elsewhere, Tarjei has missed 1 at S4, Christiansen clear at S2 +9.3 and Dale-Skjevdal [0,1,1,0] out +1:39.2 at S4. Belgium are having an interesting day – Florent Claude 15/15 and out +1:12.2; Campbell Wright [USA] has missed just 1 target at S2, and out +56.7 after S4. Back at S3 Perrot is 15/15 and 6.8 ahead of Tarjei with Rastorgujevs in 4th, also 15/15. Laegreid now in for S3 and he’s out 6.8 ahead of Perrot! JoBø clear at S4 and out +31.8; Strømsheim 15/15 and out +28.9 after S3. Finello was quick at S1 but he’s missed 2 at S2; Magazeev has missed 1 at S4, but the data feed seems to have missed it – he was +1:31.7 at 14.5 Km and only +1:47.3 after S4?? [It’s been amended, +2:42.3]. At S3 Christiansen is 15/15 and just 4.5 behind Laegreid; Taras Lesiuk [UKR] also 15/15 but over a minute back. Rastorgujevs has missed 1 at S4, so has Perrot but the Frenchman is out +5.5 on Tarjei. Laegreid has just gone 20/20 – great shooting; now what can Christiansen do? Meanwhile Strømsheim has missed 1 at S4; I missed it but Jacquelin has missed a second at S4 [0,0,1,1]. Christiansen has missed 1 at S4 but out 4th, well ahead of JoBø. Tarjei Bø’s final lap must have been amazing – he taken a lot of time out of his brother and even more out of Perrot! At present, at the finish, it’s Tarjei, JoBø [+46.4], Rastorgujevs and Wright – Perrot briefly into 2nd until Sturla Holm Laegreid crossed the line to take the lead, but he's only 28.5 ahead of Tarjei! Christiansen over the line 0.8 ahead of Perrot and into 3rd – an all Norwegian podium looms! It is now – great win for Sturla Holm Laegreid with perfect shooting, then Tarjei Bø and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, both with 1 miss. Perrot [0,0,0,1] in 4th, ahead of JoBø [0,1,1,0] and Rastorgujevs [0,0,0,1]. Wright ended up 8th, Jacquelin 9th, best German Kühn in 12th, Nelin 13th, QFM 14th, Samuelsson 16th and Florent Claude 20th.

1 Mar 24 – Aspen [Strawpile] , Men’s GS: Run 1. I’m almost certain to miss most of this, the course set by a French coach – I need to collect something from our local surgery! Joined with 20 away – guess who is leading?? No prizes for suggesting Marco Odermatt, for it is indeed he, although he was slow in sector 3!  Alex Steen Olsen just 0.12 behind though, with Loic Meillard +0.19, then Kranjec, Kristoffersen and Tumler [+0.68]. A pause for the TV break and Alex Vinatzer [bib 23] into 8th, fastest in sector 2 as well; oh dear, Tommy Ford joins the DNFs, which also include Manu Feller, Rasmus Windingstad and Alex Schmid. Apparently Henrik Kristoffersen’s father was ejected from a meeting yesterday for his “forthright” views on the way the slope has been prepared here, he’s not allowed on the piste today! That’s not bad from Victor Muffat-Jeandet, into 11th from bib 32. Meanwhile the DNF list continues to grow – 12 of 38 starters! Make that 14 from 40; bibs 35 to 40 inclusive have all gone out. Hurrah – bib 41, Asher Jordan [CAN] has finished, in 25th, but he’s slipping down the lists – no second run, sadly. DNFs now 20 of 53, and now it’s 21 as Charlie Raposo is also out. That’s run 1 over – no late changes to the top 10, well done Luca Aerni [bib 62] who does get a second run and will be first away!
Run 2: Luca Aerni safely down; Dominik Raschner is 0.55 faster! Louis Muhlen-Schulte [AUS] is apparently one of very few Aussies who have qualified for run 2 – and he’s the first to ever score points, but that was a run where the aim was to finish – who can blame him!? Seems a few people are struggling with getting enough grip? Lukas Feurstein into 2nd; Erik Read red at 2, less so at 3 and into 2nd, +0.23. Christian Borgnaes the first DNF of run 2, but he seems OK; Linus Strasser into 6th, behind Murisier and Aerni. Great run from Leo Anguenot [FRA] to lead by an impressive 0.78; Timon Haugan quite red at inter 2 but better at 3 and into 2nd, +0.47. Raphael Haaser just red at 2 but he’s gained from there – 0.66 green at 3 and he leads by 0.78; what a middle section! River Radamus gaining to inter 1 but red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.42; Fadri Janutin [SUI] just red at 2 but he’s lost time from there to go 4th. Filip Zubcic still green at inter 2 but 0.58 red at 3 and just 5th; Thibaut Favrot just red at 3 and into 3rd, +0.72. Nice to see Victor Muffat-Jeandet getting back on form – still green at 2 but well red at 3 and that’s only 7th. Sam Maes has gone from 0.70 green at 2 to 0.86 red at 3, struggling for grip and into 7th. Luca de Aliprandini has built to inter 1, still 1.08 green at 2, down to 0.36 green at 3 but he’s kept it going from there to lead by 0.36!  Just 8 to go. Alex Vinatzer just red at 1 and 2 but just green at 3 and into 2nd, +0.10; Atle Lie McGrath is having a somewhat similar run – red at inter 2, back green at 3 but he’s done even better on the final section to lead by 0.22. Thomas Tumler into 2nd, just 0.16 off the pace; Henrik Kristoffersen away and just red at inter 1, redder at 2, 0.55 red at 3 and into 5th, +0.56, so a better final section. That should get him past Zubcic and up to 2nd in the GS standings? Zan Kranjec just 7th; Loic Meillard has gained a little to inter 1, more gained to 2 and he leads by 0.67! That will be his first GS podium of this season. Alex Steen Olsen red at inter 1, redder at 2 [+0.83], steady to 3 and he’s 6th, +1.00. Just Marco Odermatt to come – slight gain to inter 1, steady to 2, just red at 3 but he’s recovered after that error, and another one, and he wins, yet again, but by just 0.14! That’s 8 wins from 8 races in a row! So, Odermatt wins from Meillard and McGrath; Tumler in 4th, ahead of de Aliprandini and Vinatzer. That’s the GS globe wrapped up for Marco Odermatt!

2 Mar 24: Kvitfjell [Olympiabakken] – Women’s Super G: I have a feeling this should have been a Downhill? Bit misty there but not too serious at present. Course set by a French coach. I joined a little late as Alice Robinson [bib 5] was on course; Ester Ledecka in the lead, ahead of Lauren Macuga [USA], Robinson into 3rd, but + 1.14 after an error after the jump. Federica Brignone next and just green at 2 and 3, better at 4 and into 2nd, just 0.02 off the pace. Ledecka currently fastest in sectors 1 and 3; Brignone fastest in sectors 2 and 4. Marta Bassino on course and the mist seems a little thicker; she’s losing time – into 5th, +1.22. Lara Gut-Behrami is bib 8 – just red at 2, back green at 3, better at 4 and she leads by 0.29 – I have to say that looked very smooth and good. Fastest in sectors 3 and 4. Marjam Puchner seems to be flying early on – very quick from inter 1 to 2, but losing time from there and into 2nd, +0.13, and fastest in sectors 1 and 2. Conni Hütter green at 1 and fast through the speed gun, nicely green at 3 but less green at 4 and slower at the final gun to go 2nd, +0.12, just 0.01 faster than Puchner! The mist has cleared as Ragnhild Mowinckel starts – she has announced that she will retire at the end of this season – into 7th, after an error on the jump, which is claiming several scalps! Kasja Vickhoff Lie green at 2 but she’s skied out; the mist is back for Michelle Gisin but she’s gone wide and just 13th.  The mist is thicker now, Stephanie Venier into 7th. Some news – no Jasmine Flury today – she has a knee problem and can’t compete at present. Ariane Raedler green at 2 but she’s fallen – luckily she seems OK, but she’s going to be annoyed when she sees the data! Kira Weidle green at inter 2, not quite so good at 3 and just red at 4 – she’s into joint 4th, +0.29 [same as Ledecka] – good effort! Elvedina Muzaferija going well again, and into 8th! Not for long though as Ilka Stuhec [bib 27] has taken over 8th place; there are a series of racers who are getting nicely green to inter 2 but then losing the pace, Christian Ager being a good example, but after a slower final section she’s 10th. Thirty away, Lara G-B leads [again] ahead of Hütter, Puchner, Weidle/Ledecka and Brignone. And, that’s the way it ended – well done to Lara G-B who is obviously on fine form at present and who leads the Super G standings, by 25 points ahead of Conni Hütter and the overall – now 305 ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin.

2 Mar 24 – Aspen [Strawpile] , Men’s GS 2: Run 1. Missed most of this as I got the times wrong!! Alex Steen Olsen leading just 0.09 ahead of Loic Meillard with Marco Odermatt 3rd, +0.32. Zan Kranjec 4th, +0.39 then Timon Haugan, Luca de Aliprandini, Filip Zubcic and Henrik Kristoffersen, +1.06! Quite a list of DNFs including Windingstad [again!] and Anguenot; Strasser is a DNS today. Nice to see Victor Muffat-Jeandet currently in 18th, so looking good for a second run? Louis Muhlen-Schulte [AUS] currently in 28th and hoping to have another shot at some points today. Dominik Raschner [bib 50] into 22nd; can he get another second run? The wind is getting up. Even better for a late starter, Halvor Hilde Gunleiksrud [NOR, bib 51] into 20th, and it’s really not finished as Lukas Feurstein [bib 52] into 15th! Anton Grammel [53] into 25th; Mattias Rönngren [54] holding on to joint 30th with River Radamus.
Run 2: Well, can Marco do 9 in a row? Weather looks nice, if perhaps a bit warm? River Radamus first away on a course set by a Canadian coach – ironically no Canadians in run 2! He’s down and that looked pretty good [said he, hedging his bets]. Isaiah Nelson looking good to inter 2, then an error so into the red and he’s down and now a DNF. Patrick Feurstein into 2nd, but +0.65; Justin Murisier has gained a lot from 2 to 3 and he leads by 0.61 – impressive! Race interrupted due to strong winds! An ideal time to mention that poor Charlie Raposo isn’t racing today as he ruptured an ACL yesterday – hopefully not too serious, but it needs to heal. Race back on – a good run from Tommy Ford on a tricky course – he leads by 0.32! Dominik Raschner has gained to inter 1, still nicely green at 2, bit better at 3 and he leads by 0.26 – not bad for bib 50! William Hansson [SWE] down but he’s recovered to finish on his first ever second run! Fadri Janutin [SUI] into 3rd; Halvor Hilde Gunleiksrud into 7th. Victor M-J red at 1, but he’s pulled a bit back to 2, lost a bit more to 3 and into 5th, +0.64. Stefan Brennsteiner red at 1, nicely green at 2, green at 3 and he leads by 0.23 – good work with the wind back. With all the interruptions they have ditched the TV break; that’s half way, Brennsteiner leads from Raschner and Ford. Thibaut Favrot into 3rd; big error from Lukas Feurstein so only 8th. Alex Vinatzer gaining all the way to inter 3 and he leads by 0.76 – good work; Gino Caviezel red all the way, but no too far red and into 2nd, +0.66. Nice run by Alex Schmid to inter 3, then a bit slower and into 4th; Thomas Tumler just red at 3 after a good start and into 2nd, +0.25. Atle Lie McGrath next and he’s lost all his advantage by inter 2 – better from 3 to the finish to go 3rd;  Henrik Kristoffersen has lost half his advantage by inter 1, red at 2, redder at 3 and that’s only 7th. Eight to go – Vinatzer leads from Tumler and McGrath. Filip Zubcic starts with 0.91 in hand, 0.50 left at 2, 0.10 at 3 and he's into 2nd, +0.08; Luca de Aliprandini going well but he is losing time from inter 2 – enough in hand to lead by 0.47. Italy into 1 and 2. Timon Haugan red at 1, redder at 2, fractionally green at 3 – that’s a great recovery to lead by 0.10. Zan Kranjec red at inter 1, and losing time from there – just 5th; now here comes Marco Odermatt – red at inter 1, less red at 2, just 0.05 off the pace, it’s not error free but he’s pulling it back – a superb final section and he leads by 0.58! Loïc Meillard has gained to inter 1, but losing time from there and he’s into 2nd, +0.34. Just Alex Steen Olsen to come – gain to inter 1, slight loss to 2 and he’s down on one hip – good recovery but that’s over 2 seconds lost – into 17th. So, Odermatt wins his 9th in a row, ahead of Meillard and Haugan! De Aliprandini in 4th, ahead of Vinatzer [fastest on run 2] and Zubcic. What a race!

3 Mar 24: Kvitfjell [Olympiabakken] – Women’s Super G 2: Slight delay – it’s foggy and currently a little too thick for safety? Laura Gauche on a course set by a Swiss coach and it still looks a misty to me – she’s fallen after hitting a control gate! Not a good call by the race control? She’s up and seems OK. Lauren Macuga on course, good vis at the top but misty lower down and still pretty marginal from what we can see on TV – at least she’s down safely! I don’t think she was impressed? Ariane Raedler green to inter 3, slightly red at 4 and slower as the fog thickens – into 2nd, +0.43. She doesn’t look that happy either! Another hold due to poor visibility – the athletes seem in surprisingly good spirits! Well, the race is on again – ooops, no it isn’t; Alice Robinson in the start gate and just about to move forward when she was called back. Thirty three minutes into the race and just 3 away; two finishers. There will be another forerunner sent down [~1047 in UK] and then shorter start intervals. Alice Robinson in the start gate, again, and this time she’s away, red but she’s pulled back a little from 3 to 4 – into 3rd, +0.44 and it’s foggier in places again. Michelle Gisin very slow through the final speed gun and into 4th, +0.91; Stephanie Venier quite green at 2, fractionally better at 3, less at 4 and she’s also quite “slow” through the final gun – into 2nd, +0.36. Ragnhild Mowinckel into 5th; Kira Weidle in touch at inter 2 , lost time to 3, pulled some back to 4 but she’s unlucky with the visibility and into 6th. Marjam Puchner nicely green at 2, just red at 3, redder at 4 and into the thickening fog – she’s 8th after losing her way! Federica Brignone has gone fast form 2 to 3, almost doubling her advantage and she’s ).97 ahead at 4 despite the fog – amazing stuff and into the lead by 0.90 despite being slower through the final gun! The fog is now so thick that I can’t even see Marta Bassino – no surprise that she’s 9th and no surprise that there is another interruption; too late for Bassino! Romane Miradoli into 8th; Conni Hütter in touch at inter 2 but 0.58 red at 3, fast through the final gun and into 4th, +1.27. Kasja Vickhoff Lie in touch and with much better vis she’s very fast through the final gun and into 2nd, +0.85. Lara G-B on the course and 0.49 red at 3, she’s into 2nd, +0.61 – a bit unlucky with the vis lower down, but it’s better than Brignone had! Despite the elapsed time for this race, and the shortened start intervals we have a TV break!! And now the fog is back and the race is interrupted! I think the race committee are losing patience with the fog – it doesn’t seem to be clearing at all lower down. Apparently Aspen is expecting a big storm later – hopefully later rather than sooner. At Kvitfjell they are sending down another forerunner – that’s better than it was for several of the racers who started earlier – race back on but I need to swap to biathlon! Roberta Melesi on track but over a second off at 3 and just 14th; Laura Pirovano even more off the pace and 15th, +3.00! Good run by Ester Ledecka to go into third! She’s the only one since the restart to get into the top 10; Muzaferija in 13th from bib 23. Race interrupted again with 28 away and that’s a good long break. Race on again, and crucially they have got 30 away, so the result stands, although there has been no change to the top 15 since Muzaferija, and it’s still very foggy in places. I know it’s an outdoor sport but arguably drawing lots might have been fairer to some of the racers!? Forty one away and at last they have decided that conditions are so poor that the race should be stopped! Delighted for Federica Brignone, taking the win with a very brave run. Lara G-B in a well-deserved 2nd and Ester Ledecka getting a very impressive third place. Lie 4th, ahead of Macuga and Venier, then Hütter and Raedler. A rather disappointing watch.

3 Mar 24 – Aspen [Lower Ruthies Run] , Men’s Slalom: Run 1. No Marco Odermatt today! Not a good start – start possibly postponed due to heavy snow last night. Well, the race is on, and on time - Manu Feller first away on a course set by a British coach. Not his best perhaps; Henrik Kristoffersen next away and he’s green all the way, to lead by 0.48. Loïc Meillard is even faster - he leads by 0.80! Timon Haugan is well off the pace - + 2.10; Linus Strasser also having a tricky run – into 3rd, but +1.10. Clement Noel green at inter 3 and now he leads by 0.27. Messy run from Daniel Yule to go 5th, +1.50, but that’s still ahead of Manu Feller! Alex Vinatzer has made a huge error - +3.34; next is Dave Ryding whose coach has set the course – into 4th, but +1.28. Fabio Gstrein into 8th; Kristoffer Jakobsen all over the place and he’s a DNF. Tommaso Sala into 7th – this looks like a tricky set; Atle Lie McGrath also a DNF, as is Ramon Zenhaeusern. That’s 15 away, Noel leads from Meillard and Kristoffersen, Ryding in 4th. That’s better, Alex Steen Olsen into 4th; 20 away, 5 DNFs. Not much happening to the top 10, Johannes Strolz [bib 25] has managed 12th, and Istok Rodes [28] has got into 15th. Thirty away – the course is getting rutted so I’m heading off to cook supper as I don’t expect much change! Again, not a good forecast, Armand Marchant [37] into 9th, for example! The good news is that Laurie Taylor got into 19th and does get a second run! Highest bib number in run 2 seems to be Kilian Pramstaller [AUT, 54].
Run 2: Not sure who set this course; Noel thinks it’s much the same as run 1 but faster! I joined this as Seb Foss-Solevaag took the lead; not for long though as Alex Vinatzer has gone just 0.06 faster. Vinatzer doesn’t seem pleased with that though, although Seb Holzmann is a long way off his time as he goes 4th. Joshua Sturm red at inter 3 and into 3rd; Kilian Pramstaller in touch to inter 2 but losing time from there to go into 4th. Conditions don’t look that good; Jett Seymour 0.29 red at 2,he’s back to just 0.04 red at 3 but he’s slipped – good recovery but just 7th. Juan del Campo has gained from 1 to 2, lost a lot of it to 3 but he has enough to lead by 0.14; Laurie Taylor next and he’s gained to inter 1, more to 2 and over a second ahead at 3 - he leads by a massive 1.11 – a great run! Timon Haugan green all the way and into the lead by just 0.08; Dominik Raschner into 4th. Istok Rodes into 3rd, +0.84; the weather is deteriorating but we still have a TV break! Half way, Haugan leads from Taylor and Rodes! Luca Aerni 0.74 red at 2 but he’s quicker from 3 and into 3rd, +0.52; Steven Amiez just red at 3, and he takes over 3rd, +0.11 – Laurie Taylor still holding on to 2nd! The snow seems to be getting heavier – Johannes Strolz red at 2 but back green at 3 and he’s taken over the lead by 0.25. Marc Rochat green at 3 but then it’s gone and he’s 5th, expressing his displeasure with a well-chosen epithet or two! Fabio Gstrein has taken over 5th; Manu Feller next and he’s gained to 1, less green at 2 and just red at 3 – he’s into 2nd, +0.07 – will that be enough to take the slalom globe? Armand Marchant looking good to 3 but then an error and into 8th! Tommaso Sala still green at 2 but it’s all gone wrong for him too – into 11th, +1.32; Daniel Yule just red at 2, 0.65 red at 3 then 2 huge errors and he’s over 3 seconds off the pace. Linus Strasser has gained to 1, more to 2 lost a bit to 3 and he leads by 0.39 – crucially ahead of Feller today. Dave Ryding dead level at inter 1, red at 2, redder at 3 and he’s 5th, just 1 place ahead of Laurie Taylor! Alex Steen Olsen over a second red at 3, and it’s just 11th for him; Henrik Kristoffersen into the red at 2 but he’s pulled some time back from there to go into 2nd. Loïc Meillard well ahead at inter 1 - losing a little to 3 and he leads by 0.89! Just Clement Noel to come – he’s just red at 1 and he’s straddled! So, Loïc Meillard takes his first wind of the season, ahead of Linus Strasser and Henrik Kristoffersen; Strolz in 4th ahead of Feller and Haugan. Great result for Team GB – Ryding 7th and Taylor 8th!! By my calculations [and the FIS data feed] Manu Feller is 169 ahead of Strasser after today, so no globe yet!

Oslo Holmenkollen – World Cup, 2 Mar 24 – Mass Starts: First the Women’s 12.5 Km event – it looks rather windy, and wet! No Hanna Öberg, no Franzi Preuß and a few late additions to the start list who didn’t know they would be starting today! I can confirm that Lisa Vittozzi did win the Individual globe yesterday. Race on – at 1.7 Km Elvira Öberg just ahead of Julia Simon and Justine B-B, then Jeanmonnot, Tandrevold and Knotten. In for S1, first prone – Simon and B-B have both missed! It’s Mona Brorsson who leads out, ahead of Magnusson, Voigt, Davidova, Tomingas and Gandler – all clear. Simon is 9th, +13.8 after 1 miss; Vittozzi and Tandrevold among those with 1 miss, Elvira had 2 as did Justine B-B, Chauveau and Hettich-Walz, Knotten and Skogan with 3 misses each. At 4.2 Km Jeanmonnot is back in the lead, ahead of Davidova and Magnusson In for S2 – another prone in this event – Voigt has missed 3, unheard of! It’s Amy Baserga who leads out, 10/10, ahead of Davidova and Hannah Auchentaller [ITA], Vittozzi [1,0] up to 4 ahead of Magnusson, Vobornikova and Simon [1,1]. Elvira clear this time and 8th; Tandrevold [1,1] 15th, +32.3, Jeanmonnot [0,2] 18th but Justine B-B [2,1] is 21st!. At 6.7 Km Davidova leads but Vittozzi is just +2.2, Simon +4.2 level with Elvira; Tandrevold up to 13th, +30.8. In for S3, the first standing shoot – Elvira has missed 3, so has Davidova; Jeanmonnot and Tandrevold clear. It’s Sophie Chauveau [2,0,0] who leads out, ahead of Lena H-G [1,1,0] and Simon [1,1,1]. Then Magnusson, Vittozzi [1,0,1] Arnekleiv, Jeanmonnot and Tandrevold. Elvira [2,0,3] in 14th, Baserga [0,0,3] in 15th, Davidova 16th and Brorsson [0,2,2] in 20th. At 9.2 Km Simon and H-G are level just ahead of Chauveau, Tandrevold 8th, +7.4. Final shoot – wind has eased, Simon one miss, and the same for Vittozzi, Tandrevold, Jeanmonnot; Chauveau and Magnusson have missed 2. It’s Lena H-G [1,1,0,0] who is out first 19.0 ahead of Julia Simon, with Vittozzi another 10 seconds or so back. Tandrevold into 4th, ahead of Jeanmonnot and Arnekleiv. I don’t think Simon will catch Lena H-G, just 0.4 closer at 10.9 Km; Vittozzi and Tandrevold close together, with Jeanmonnot and Arnekleiv also in the team trying for the final podium place. At 11.7 Km Simon has lost a couple seconds, Tandrevold and Jeanmonnot are past Vittozzi but it’s all very close. Lena Haecki-Gross takes the win, Julia Simon takes second but who gets bronze – it’s Jeanmonnot by 1 second ahead of Tandrevold, with Vittozzi a close 5th. Arnekleiv in 6th, ahead of Chauveau, Vobornikova and Elvira Öberg. Nice to see Lampic [1,3,2,0] in 10th, just ahead of Justine B-B [2,1,1,1].

Now the Men’s 15 Km event: Long race, short fast penalty loop which should make it interesting. At 2.2 Km it’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen just in the lead, ahead of JoBø, Tarjei, Dale-S, Perrot and QFM; as they approach the range JoBø has opened a slight gap. S1 – Laegreid has missed 1, JoBø 3 – it’s Ponsiluoma who leads out, ahead of Samuelsson, Tarjei, Strelow, Doll and Seppala [+10.3]; QFM has missed 2, so has Dale-S, Perrot has missed 3 as have Horn and JoBø. On the lap the two leading Swedes have opened a small gap, Strelow dropping back, Jacquelin among those gaining places. In for shooting 2 – Samuelsson clear and out, Tarjei clear and +6.7, ahead of Doll [+9.5], Strelow [+12.7; those 4 10/10] and Jacquelin. Ponsiluoma has missed 2, JoBø clear this time and 17th, +56.2, QFM is [2,2] as is Dale-S. At 8.2 Km Samuelsson leads, with Tarjei and Doll about 5 seconds back, then Jacquelin at +15.6 and another 10 seconds back to Strelow ands Kühn. JoBø is 14th, +43.5. In for S3 and it looks windier? Samuelsson has missed 1, Tarjei is 15/15 and out 0.4 ahead of Doll who is also 15/15; Samuelsson + 15.1, Strelow 15/15 but +23.5 then Jacquelin [1,0,1] and Laegreid [1,0,0]. JoBø has missed 1 more and out 13th, +57.9, Kühn has missed 2 at S3, Ponsiluoma another 2. At 11.2 Km the leading 2 are dead level, Samuelsson now +21.8, then Laegreid, Christiansen, Jacquelin and Fabien Claude all around +36! The final shoot – both leaders have missed the first, so has Samuelsson! It’s Laegreid [1,0,0,0] who leads out ahead of Strelow [0,0,0,0], Doll [0,0,0,2, +7.9], Nelin [0,1,0,0], Nawrath [1,0,0,0] and Jacquelin [1,0,1,1]. Tarjei missed 3 in the last shoot – out +26.2, JoBø [3,0,1,2] is 14th, +1:04.3! This should be an exciting last lap – who has anything left? At 13.4 Km Laegreid is 6.7 ahead of Nelin, with Doll +13.3 and Nawrath +21.8, just ahead of Jacquelin and Strelow. At 14.2 Km the gap to Nelin is 9.8, with Doll +13.4, the rest dropping back a little. Sturla Holm Laegreid has made it the double – Individual and Mass Start. Benni Doll has got past Nelin to take 2nd, with the Swede on the final podium step. Fabien Claude taking 4th, ahead of Jacquelin, Nawrath, Tarjei and Strelow, who was the only one to get all 20 targets. Samuelsson in 13th, just ahead of JoBø [3,0,1,2]; Dale-S in 17th with 5 misses, which won’t help his quest for points.

Oslo Holmenkollen – World Cup, 3 Mar 24 – Single Mixed and Mixed relays: Awful weather! The single mixed event first – 4 legs, both of the team go twice; Norway have Arnekleiv and Christiansen, Sweden Magnusson and Samuelsson. Race on and Lou Jeanmonnot the early leader ahead of Arnekleiv and Grotian – top 20 only 8 seconds apart. In for S1 – prone; Arnekleiv first away ahead of Jeanmonnot, Comola, Bendika, Gandler and Magnusson – all with no spares. Haecki-Gross and Grotian among those with 2 spares used, only Ermits on the penalty loop – sadly she needs two laps there. Already in for S2 and then almost straight to the exchange – most are using at least 1 spare – Magnusson first away, ahead of Arnekleiv, Jeanmonnot, Comola [no spares], Minkkinen and Grotian [2]. First exchange – SWE/NOR/FRA/ITA/FIN/GER/SUI/LAT. On the lap Samuelsson is just ahead of Christiansen and Jacquelin, then a gap to Invenius, Bionaz and Strelow. This is all quick stuff – in for S3 already – Strelow clear and away, 4.4 ahead of Invenius; Christiansen [2] +17.0, Samuelsson [3] +21.1, then Bionaz [2] and Jacquelin [3]. Hartweg doing 2 penalty loops. The men heading in for S4 – Christiansen clear this time and away, 7.1 ahead of Strelow [1], then Invenius [1], Samuelsson [2, +21.1], Bionaz [2] and Rastorgujevs [1]. Jacquelin has done a loop and out +55.7. Exchange 2 – NOR/GER/FIN/SWE/ITA/LAT. S5 – Arnekleiv [1] leads out, 5.8 ahead of Minkkinen [0], then Magnusson [0, +17.7], Comola [0, +41.6]; Jeanmonnot [1] out 7th, +51.6, Grotian is doing 2 penalty loops and out 10th. Final shoot for the women – Arnekleiv in and she’s missed 3; she’s on the loop! Minkkinen [1] out in the lead, then Magnusson [0, +3.4], Arnekleiv [1+3, +11.4], Lena H-G [1], Jeanmonnot [2], Grotian [1, ++56.8]. So, last exchange – FIN/SWE/NOR/SUI/FRA/GER. Samuelsson and Christiansen are closing on Invenius – in for S7; Christiansen [0] away, 2.9 ahead of Samuelsson [0] and Invenious [2, +11.8] then Hartweg [0, +29.8], Strelow and Jacquelin, the latter 2 being over a minute behind. Final shoot – the weather isn’t any better; Samuelsson leading in – he’s out first too [1], 4.0 ahead of Christiansen [1] then Invenius [1, +13.9], Hartweg, Strelow and Jacquelin. I can’t see Christiansen closing that gap to Samuelsson – at 12.9 Km the gap is 3.1 with another tough climb to come. Invenius holding off Hartweg. What do I know – what a finish – Christiansen has taken the win by just 0.1; maybe Samuelsson shouldn’t have looked back so often? Well done to Invenius and Minkkinen for taking third – excellent! So, Norway [1+8] win ahead of Sweden [0+7] and Finland [0+6]. The Swiss [2+8] in 4th, then France [1+11] and Germany [2+8]. Great race. Now to see if Kvitfjell is less foggy!

Mixed relay: The weather doesn’t look any better, maybe not so windy? On leg 1 at 0.6 Km Julia Simon leads from Tandrevold, Cloetens [BEL] and Auchentaller [ITA]. That big hill, and now coming in for S1, Julia Simon clear and out 9.2 ahead of Tandrevold [0] and Hauser [0], then Brorsson [0], Janina H-W [1] and Irwin [1]. Very odd – Ko [KOR] shown as [5+0] surely you must have used all 3 spares before getting on the penalty loops?? Seems Deedra Irwin is doing both relays today! On the lap Tandrevold is holding Simon – heading in for S2; Simon clear again and out, that was fast! Hauser [1] out +23.6,then Brorsson [1] +35.5. Janina H-W [2] +36.8, then Auchentaller with Tandrevold in 6th, +59.3 after one penalty loop. Irwin also doing a penalty loop, as is Meier [SUI]. Simon is heading for exchange 1, where she hands over to Sophie Chauveau! France away with a 31.4 advantage to Lea Rothschopf [AUT], then SWE/GER/ITA/NOR. At 6.6 Km Elvira Öberg is past Rothschopf, then Schneider, Vittozzi and Lien. Lampic taking leg 2 for Slovenia. Chauveau in for S3, 1 spare and out; Elvira has missed her first and 1 more – out +42.4, ahead of Lien [0], Schneider [1] and Vittozzi [3, +58.9]. Rothschopf doing 2 penalty loops and out 10th, Lampic also doing 1 loop and out 13th. At 9.3 Km Elvira has only gained a second or so – not sure the wet snow will suit her? In for S4, the last for the women – Chauveau was quick and very accurate – all 5 down and away! Elvira has missed 1, Lien 2, Vittozzi 1. It’s Schneider [0] who is out 2nd, but +44.8, then Vittozzi [+50.4] and Elvira [+51.7] – Lien back on +1:28.4 but we have both Bø brothers to come! On the lap Schneider, Vittozzi and Elvira are very close, Elvira just ahead at 11.3 Km with Vittozzi also past Schneider. Exchange 2 and Fabien Claude takes over with a gap of 33.9 seconds to Jesper Nelin with Lukas Hofer very close behind. Benni Doll out +46.2, with Tarjei Bø +1:17.7. Then CZE/POL/SLO. Claude in for S5, 1 spare and out; Nelin clear and out +24.9, then Hofer [1] + 30.1 and Doll [1] + 47.7. Tarjei Bø clear and now +1:11.5. Interesting, Hofer past Nelin at 15.3 Km! In for S6 – Claude unlucky with 1 but that’s’ 2 misses – 2 spares and out; Hofer clear and out +11.4, Nelin [1] +28.4. Tarjei is clear and out ahead of Doll who needed all 3 spares, both about 54 seconds back! Nelin looking a little tired on the lap – Claude still 11.8 ahead of Hofer, Nelin now +31.8, Tarjei has pulled away a little from Doll but the gap is only about 4 seconds. Claude has given an 18 second advantage to QFM over Giacomel who has the final leg. Then Ponsiluoma +36.6, +JoBø +52.7 and Nawrath + 58.3. Then over a minute to the chasing athletes. QFM already in for S7 – 1 spare and out; Giacomel clear and +6.2, Ponsiluoma also clear and +24.2. JoBø [1] +43.1 and Nawrath [1] has got tangled with his rifle and out +1:01.1. At 21.3 Km Giacomel is right up with QFM, Ponsiluoma +17.1 and JoBø +34.8! Final shoot – QFM [1] away after a very fast shoot, Giacomel on two loops and +1:01.0, Ponsiluoma [3] +1:03.1, JoBø [3] + 1:03.3 and Nawrath [1 loop, but no sign of spares used?] out +1:06.5. At 23.3 Km JoBø is into 2nd, just ahead of Giacomel and Ponsiluoma with Nawrath still in touch. This is going to be another sprint finish for the places! QFM cruises to the win for France [0+6], Ponsiluoma nicely past JoBø to get 2nd for Sweden [0+8] with Norway [1+10] 3rd. Italy [2+9] in 4th, then Germany [0+10] with Slovenia [1+9] a distant 6th. Good finish! Thirteen of 23 teams lapped!!

UPDATE: The men’s GS and Slalom scheduled for Kranjska Gora 9/10 March have been cancelled – the most obvious effect is that with only 1 slalom race remaining Manu Feller cannot be caught and thus wins the slalom small crystal globe – well done to him, great season!

9 Mar 24:  Åre [Störtloppsbacken] – Women’s GS, Run 1: Interesting interview with Mikaela Shiffrin – she’s apparently aiming to be back on Sunday, but seems to have accepted that the Overall points trophy is beyond her for this year after the injury.  It has to be said that Åre isn’t looking nice – grey, misty, light snow and it’s windy too – I wonder if we are in for another very slow, interruption ridden, event? The course for this first run was set by an American coach – Sara Hector away first and safe; Alice Robinson has caught an edge and she’s the first DNF today. Thea Louise Stjernesund into 2nd, Zrinka Ljutic goes 3rd. Lara Gut-Behrami is bib 5 and unlucky with the wind, she’s into 2nd, +0.61; Marta Bassino also unlucky with the wind and off the pace – into 3rd at present but +1.39. Conditions look even more marginal for Federica Brignone – she’s into 3rd, +1.16; the course is also already getting bumpy! On the upper sections the wind is blowing snow across the course – visibility isn’t good and the time gaps are getting bigger. Clara Direz best of the rest so far and 7th, +2.33; the wind is getting stronger by the minute – very unlucky for Julia Scheib [bib 13] who has had the worst conditions so far, but she’s done well despite that to go 5th, +1.45! Fifteen away, Hector [bib 1!] leads from Lara G-B, Brignone, Bassino, Scheib and Stjernesund. Kasja Vickhoff Lie a DNF; so is Katharina Liensberger who has gone through a control gate but she is back on her feet, so hopefully OK.  Camille Rast the best so far from the “post TV break 1” athletes into joint 11th; 22 away now, no change to the top 10 since the last TV break. I thought the wind had eased, but it didn’t for poor Roberta Melesi who understandably isn’t impressed! Neja Dvornik [bib 30] highest bib in the top 20 at present in 15th; Cassidy Gray [33] into 17th, and Kristin Lysdahl [34] has gone into joint 19th. Lisa Nyberg [50] on her home hill has sadly just missed run 2 – she’s 32nd at present. Bit hit for Cornelia Öhlund, who has also gone through a gate – she’s up but in pain – hopefully just badly bruised. That’s run 1 over – no change to the top 6.
Run 2 – I see this will be from the reserve start, presumably to reduce the exposure to the wind, which got stronger after run 1? This course set by an Italian coach. Simone Wild first away, and conditions are a lot better; Asja Zenere [ITA] has gained from inter 2 to 3 and she has taken the lead by 0.06. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel  green all the way to inter 3 but she lost time from there to go 2nd, +0.05; Roberta Melesi has gained to inter 1, lost a bit to 2 but she’s good from 3 to lead by 0.26. Britt Richardson [CAN] just red at 1, back green at 2, double that advantage at 3 and into the lead by 0.21 – best time on run 2 so far. Elizabeth Kappaurer just red at inter 3 but better from there to lead by 0.31; Lena Dürr into 4th. Michelle Gisin good from 1 to 2, just red at 3 and she leads by just 0.02; excellent speed from 2 to 3 from Ricarda Haaser gets her the lead by 0.28. Kristen Lysdahl into 4th; Lara Colturi, on a new pair of skis, has taken over 4th. A good run from Cassidy Gray into 2nd, +0.11; an even better run from Ragnhild Mowinckel – red at inter 3 but she’s pulled time back to lead by 0.11. That’s half way – Mowinckel leads from Haaser and Gray, then Gisin, Kappaurer and Colturi. Neja Dvornik into 4th; Steph Brunner has gained time from 1 to 2, still nicely green at 3 and into the lead by 0.17. A great run from Paula Moltzan to lead by an impressive 0.57, only 3rd fastest on run 2 though; Franzi Gritsch briefly red at 2, green at 3 and into the lead by just 0.01! Mina Fuerst Holtmann briefly red at 3 but better from there to lead by 0.21; Clara Direz steady to inter 2, gaining time to 3 and now she leads by 0.09. Just 8 to come – Direz leads from Holtmann and Gritsch. A J Hurt red at 3 but losing time and just 5th; Zrinka Ljutic nicely in touch at 2 but her boot clips have hit the snow, and she’s over – not hurt, but annoyed! Thea Louise Stjernesund losing time all the way, but an advantage of 0.75 was enough to get her the lead by 0.29; Julia Scheib gaining early on, but losing time from 2 – into 2nd, +0.21. Marta Bassino has gained time to inter 1, lost a bit to 2, bit more to 3 and into the lead by just 0.02! Federica Brignone next – huge gain of time from 1 to 2 and even more to 3 – amazing, fastest time on run 2 and she leads by 1.47 – outstanding stuff! I love how happy she is when it goes well! Lara Gut-Behrami starts with 0.55 in hand, just 0.11 left at 2 and she’s red at 3 – into 2nd, +0.40. Sara Hector has an impressive 1.16 in hand as she starts, down to 0.43 at 2, 0.15 at 3 – she’s into 2nd, +0.33 and that was only the 25th fastest time on run2! That’s interesting, Lara G-B hasn’t quite wrapped up the GS globe – 95 points ahead of Brignone! So, an impressive win for Federica Brignone, Sara Hector in 2nd, and Lara G-B in third; Bassino 4th ahead of Stjernesund and Scheib. Well done Brignone – what a second run!!

10 Mar 24: Åre [Störtloppsbacken] – Women’s Slalom, Run 1: Well, today is the day that Mikaela Shiffrin returns to competition, hopefully not too early. Meanwhile, in other news Lucas Braathen has announced that he will return to FIS competition next season, but representing Brazil! Course for run 1 set by a Swiss coach. Zrinka Ljutic first away – conditions look excellent - safely down and it looked good. Lena Dürr green to inter 3 but she’s lost a quarter of a second from there to go 2nd, +0.13. Katharina Liensberger racing despite yesterday’s crash, into 3rd, +0.85; Michelle Gisin nicely green at 2, still well in touch at 3 and she takes the lead by 0.09. Bib 5 is some newcomer called Shiffrin – red at inter 2, less red at 3 and she just takes the lead, by only 0.02! Anna Swenn Larsson a bit off the pace and into joint 5th, +0.96; Sara Hector also into the red early and getting redder - +1.31 at the finish line. Katharina Truppe has straddled; Katharina Gallhuber into 5th, but +0.78. My theory that you have to be called Katharina to be in the Austrian women’s team continues as K Huber goes into 5th; now 15 away – Shiffrin leads from Gisin and Ljutic. Mina Holtmann has skied out; best of the later bib numbers so far. Dzenifera Germane [LAT, 24] into 10th. Interesting to see Federica Brignone on a slalom course – into 22nd and possibly a second run and some points? Good effort from Emma Aicher [bib 39] into 11th! Sadly no second run for Charlie Guest today either – just 46th. My theory about the Austrians all being called Katharina is falling apart – we’ve had a Franzi, a Lisa and a Maja, although I don’t see any of them in the top 30? That’s run 1 over – Shiffrin leads from Gisin, Ljutic, Dürr, Huber and Gallhuber. Brignone ended up 25th, so she does get a second run!
Run 2: Course set by a Czech coach; a bit slower than run 1, but trickier and more varied. Marion Chevrier [FRA, bib 46] the first away and down; Lara Colturi [ALB] briefly red at 2 but she’s gained time to lead by 0.10. Laurence St-Germain just red at 3 but a better final section gets her the lead by 0.20; Lara della Mea into 4th. Federica Brignone nice from 1 to 2, just red at 3 and into 5th; Martina Peterlini has taken just over 5th. That’s a good run from Amelia Smart, to take over the lead from fellow Canadian St-Germain by 0.18; Leona Popovic has gained steadily to inter 2 – slower from there but she leads by 0.17. Hanna Aronsson Elfman green by various degrees to inter 3 but she’s out 4 turns from the finish; Ali Nullmeyer into 2nd. Martina Dubovska, whose coach set this course, into the lead by 0.28 – good run; Sara Hector red most of the way, but in touch – better final section and she leads by 0.26 – an impressive recovery. Camille Rast dead level at inter 2, just red at 3 and just green at the finish – she leads by just 0.04; that’s half way – Rast leads from Hector and Dubovska. Nice run from Neja Dvornik – green all the way to lead by 0.16; no one seems to have much time to get comfortable in the leader’s chair! Melanie Meillard into 3rd; Emma Aicher dead level at 2, just red at 3 but she’s pulled back time to lead by 0.13. Dzenifera Germane green all the way to 3 but then a fraction off and into 2nd, +0.09; can’t get closer than that – Katharina Liensberger into the lead by 0.01! Anna Swenn Larsson has gained from 1 to 2, more to 3 and that’s impressive – she leads by 0.54, fastest on run 2 so far! Paula Moltzan in touch at 2 and 3 but it’s gone on the final section – into 6th; Katharina Huber in touch to 2 with a good green light, but an error out of the sneaky triple has ruined that run – just 12th. Lena Dürr starts with 0.72 in hand but it’s drifting away – just enough left and she leads by just 0.01! Zrinka Ljutic has almost doubled her lead by inter 2, still in touch at 3 and she leads by 0.11. That will be her third podium this season? Michelle Gisin just red at inter 1, redder at 2, steady to 3 and into 2nd, +0.10. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come, with just 0.11 in hand – slight gain to 1, a little more by 2, massive gain to 3 and a phenomenal final section to lead by 1.24 – the fastest on run 2 as well! Welcome back Mikaela! That’s number 96, and the slalom title wrapped up as well – for the 8th time! So, Shiffrin takes the win, ahead of Ljutic and Gisin, then Dürr, Swenn Larsson and Liensberger. Federica Brignone in the points too, but only 4 today.

Soldier Hollow – Day 1, 8 Mar 24: I missed seeing these races live [long day – car in for MOT so lots of waiting and watching the bills rise!] but I did manage to get screen shots of the live data feed, so I can précis the events – Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km relay first. At S1, Sturla Holm Laegreid was first away, just 1.2 ahead of Michal Krcmar with Justus Strelow  just 0.1 back top 3 all using no spares; Fabien Claude [1] in 6th, Brandt [SWE] doing 1 penalty loop and Burkhalter [SUI] with 2 loops! Since I didn’t see the race I have no idea what conditions were actually like, but looking at the number of spares used at S2 they didn’t seem too bad, so I have no idea why Laegreid ended up doing three penalty loops! He came out in last but one place, +1:19.3. Happier news at S2 for Krcmar [1 spare] who led out, ahead of Strelow [1], Pryma [0], Braunhofer [0], Claude [2] and Bonacci [USA, 0] – just 10m seconds between the leading 6. By exchange 1 Claude had got France up into the joint lead with Krcmar [CZE] then USA/UKR/GER/ITA. Norway 18th, and Laegreid had pulled back some 14 seconds. At S3 Emilien Jacquelin went clear and led out 13.4 ahead of Giacomel [0] with Pidruchnyi [0] close behind; Kühn [2], Marecek [3] and Doherty [2] all about 30 seconds off the lead, Tarjei Bø clear and up to 11th, +1:05.1. At S4 Jacquelin had problems and ended up doing 2 penalty loops, dropping him to 6th; it was Giacomel [1] who lead away, 22.4 ahead of Pidruchnyi [1] then Doherty [1], Kühn [1], and Eder [0]. Tarjei [1] now up to 7th, +52.2. By exchange 2 Bø had got Norway up to 3rd, +36.1 – behind Italy and Ukraine, but ahead of Germany, USA and Austria. While Norway had recovered from Laegreid’s 3 penalties, Sweden seemed unable to pull back after Brandt’s 1 penalty and despite Nelin’s best efforts on leg 2 they were still only 16th.  At S5 Bionaz [1] led out, with JoBø [0] just 10.2 behind, then Doll [0], Wright [USA, 1],  Mandzyn [UKR, 1] and Komatz [AUT, 1]; Samuelsson [1] in 15th, but ahead of Perrot who was doing 2 penalty loops, meaning France had now done 4 in total. At S6 things changed again – it was JoBø [clear again] who led out, 20.09 ahead of Wright [0], Doll [0], Bionaz [3], Komatz [1] and Fak [2]; Mandzyn did 1 penalty loop and emerged 7th, just ahead of Samuelsson [0]. By exchange 3 JoBø had got Norway ahead by 36.3 seconds, then USA and Germany just 1 second apart, ahead of ITA/AUT/SLO with Sweden in 7th and France 10th. Christiansen was clear at S7 and out 37.2 ahead of Hofer [1], then Nawrath [2] and Brown [USA,2]. Sweden now on the way back, with Ponsiluoma [0] up to 5th, but +2:06.0 with Guigonnat in 9th. At the final shoot Christiansen again led out, despite needing 1 spare, 28.1 ahead of Hofer [1] and Nawrath [0, +29.6] – Brown still 4th but after a penalty loop he was +1:35.8, although still over 20 seconds ahead of Ponsiluoma [2]. From there Christiansen pulled away to give Norway [3+5] the win – a truly amazing recovery; I’m not sure Laegreid will be in the relay team next time! Hofer managed to hold off Nawrath to give Italy [0+8] second place ahead of Germany [0+8]. USA [1+9] in a very creditable 4th, ahead of Sweden[1+9] and Austria [0+8]. France [4+13] back in 8th!
Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint: Some surprises here – but to summarise Justine Braisaz-Bouchet managed a win despite 1 penalty loop at S1, ahead of Tandrevold who shot 10/10 and Jeanmonnot, also 10/10.  Lisa Vittozzi in 4th, ahead of Knotten and Gandler – all 3 of them clear at both shoots. Julia Simon, who led after S1 did 3 penalties at S2 which dropped her to 7th at the finish, ahead of Gasparin [0], Haecki-Gross [2 penalties at S2] and Tomingas [2]. Grotian the best of the Germans in 13th, with Janina H-W in 20th.

Soldier Hollow – Day 2, 9 Mar 24: Due to the times that these events take place, and the time differences, I haven’t been able to see them live, so a précis of the women’s 4 x 6Km relay, and the Men’s 10Km Sprint follows. Relay first – all very tight after S1with the leading 6 all clear, Juni Arnekleiv leading out ahead of Janina Hettich-Walz, then Comola, Jislova and Irwin. There were a few changes at S2, Arnekleiv [1 spare] led out again with Lisa Theresa Hauser [0] up to second, +1.0, then Sidorowicz [Pol, 0], Comola [1], Janina H-W [3] and Anna Magnusson [2] – Irwin on the penalty loop. All close at exchange 1 too – Norway in the lead but Austria +1.2 and Germany +1.6; then SWE/FRA/CZE. At S3 Ida Lien went clear, and out 0.5 ahead of Grotian [1], with Brorsson [1] + 4.8. S4 must have been more testing – it was Grotian [2] who led out, ahead of Lien [1, +5.0] and Brorsson [1, +10.0]; Justine Braisaz-Bouchet out 6th after a penalty loop; 1 loop for Haecki-Gross and Auchentaller too. At exchange 2 Norway were just 3.0 ahead of Germany with Sweden 3rd, +28.8, then CZE/AUT/FRA. At S5 Vanessa Voigt was back on form and went clear, out 3.7 ahead of Knotten [1] with Hanna Öberg [2] + 41.8, then Davidova, Richard and Juppe. By S6 Knotten’s ski speed helped her get out +1.0 ahead of Voigt despite needing a spare, Voigt clear again. Davidova also clear and +27.7 while Hanna needed one spare and was +29.6; Richard on the penalty loop! On to the final exchange – all credit to Voigt for hanging on to Knotten and handing over just 0.5 behind the Norwegian. Davidova handed over 3rd, +24.3 having held off Hanna who was +34.4. Then AUT/UKR/FRA. Final prone shoot – Tandrevold and Kink [GER] both clear and out with the German +11.2; Charvátová also clear and +28.3, just ahead of Elvira Öberg [0]. At the last shoot both Tandrevold and Kink used 1 spare – Norway out 17.0 ahead; poor Charvátová did 2 penalty loops which dropped her to 5th, Elvira out +39.3 despite 2 spares and comfortably ahead of Gandler [0] in 4th. That was pretty much it – all credit to Kink for impressive shooting and for not only hanging on to Tandrevold on the final lap but actually pulling out a couple seconds on Elvira, who seemed to settle for 3rd! Well done to Norway [0+5], Germany [0+7] and Sweden [0+10], on the podium in that order. Austria 4th, ahead of Czechia and France [2+10].
The Men’s Sprint had a few surprises! At S1 the top 15 were all clear, but the time gaps were growing – Laegreid for example was clear but +22.8! It was Emilien Jacquelin who led out, ahead of Wright, Nawrath, QFM, Lapshin and Kühn. Tarjei Bø was clear but 8th, while JoBø missed 2 and wasn’t in the top 40; Dale S only missed 1 but was +48.7 in 44th! Seb Samuelsson left S1 in 7th, but went clear again at S2 and led out 2.7 ahead of Perrot with Lapshin +4.2] in third – all of them 10/10. Quite how Jacquelin managed to exit in 4th place, +4.8 after doing 2 penalty loops is something of a mystery! Tarjei also missed 2 here, and was out 8th, but JoBø missed 2 more and left the range in 24th! By 8.4 Km Perrot [10/10] was leading, just 1.5 ahead of Jacquelin [2], with Samuelsson +7.3; Johan-Olav Botn [NOR, 10/10] in 4th, +8.2 just ahead of Laegreid [1], Wright [1] and Tarjei [2] Samuelsson seemed unable to match the Norwegians on the rest of the lap – it was Perrot who took the win, just ahead of Jacquelin – odd when you consider their shooting performance in the relay! Botn took 3rd, ahead of Laegreid, Samuelsson and Wright; Tarjei in 7th, Kühn [1] best of the Germans in 10th, with JoBø [4] in 17th. Ponsiluoma [4] down in 20th.

Soldier Hollow – Day 3, 10 Mar 24 - Pursuits: Women’s 10 Km race first. Ah, these are at a more civilised time for those of us in the UK! Some quite large time gaps at the start! At 1.1 Km Jeanmonnot has passed Tandrevold, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet leading and seems to be keeping a sensible pace, bearing in mind the altitude here? In for S1 – Justine B-B clear and off, Tandrevold +15.2, Jeanmonnot +18.9 and Vittozzi +27.4 – all clear here. Knotten the first to miss 1, Julia Simon also has 1 loop to do, and she’s out 1:29.2 back. Elvira Öberg clear and out 16th, from 28 at the start, but sister Hanna has missed 2 and Hauser 3! This is quick – in for S2 already – Justine B-B has missed 2, both low. Tandrevold out 1.8 ahead of Jeanmonnot, both clear; Justine B-B +27.5 with Vittozzi [1] +33.4. Knotten clear here but +1:02.9. Julia Simon clear at S2 as well and out 7th, Elvira 10/10 and up to 12th. Janina H-W has missed 2 here, Grotian [1,1] and Hanna Öberg is [2,1] and out 29th. Leading two in for S3 – both have missed their first shot but Jeanmonnot has stopped at that while Tandrevold has missed 3 in all! Jeanmonnot [0,0,1] out 5.2 ahead of Vittozzi [0,1,0], then Justine B-B [0,2,2; + 45.6] and Tandrevold [0,0,3; +49.8]. Julia Simon [1,0,0] is up to 5th, 17b seconds ahead of Knotten [1,0,1]. Elvira has missed 1 and out 11th. Jeanmonnot and Vittozzi over 40 seconds clear at 7.1 Km, Simon, B-B and Tandrevold all in a chasing group. In for the final shoot – both leaders are clear and away – Jeanmonnot 1.7 ahead. All of the 3 chasers have missed at least 1, it’s Julia Simon who does best with 1 miss and out +1:00.6, 8 seconds ahead of Knotten [1,0,1,0] with Haecki-Gross another 8 seconds back. Justine B-B [0,2,2,2] in 7th, Elvira 10th with Tandrevold [0,0,3,3] close behind her. Good race for the win - it’s Lou Jeanmonnot [0,0,1,0] who just gets it, just 0.4 ahead of Lisa Vittozzi []0,1,0,0]. Julia Simon [1,0,0,1] in 3rd, then Knotten [1,0,1,0], Haecki-Gross [0,1,10] and Tomingas [0,0,1,1]. Justine B-B in 7th, despite 6 misses and Tandrevold 11th. Among those gaining a good number of places are Elvira Öberg [28 to 10], Hettich-Walz [20-14], Voigt [36-16], Dzhima [33-22], Magnusson [45-28], Kirkeeide [56-30 and all 20 targets hit!] and Peiffer [57-43]. Among those going backwards were Braisaz-Bouchet [1-7], Tandrevold [2-11], Aita Gasparin [8-15], Lotte Lie [12-29], Lampic [18-31], Jislova [24-44] and Freed [32-53]. Good day for the French, or some of them, I feel sorry for Tandrevold whose confidence must have taken another hit. All very close in the points competition!

Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit: Maybe a bit windier than it was for the women’s’ race? QFM is, I suspect, somewhat annoyed today – apparently he got a 2 minute penalty yesterday for not doing the penalty loop that he should have skied – if he had done the loop he might have been on the podium! JoBø starting 17th today! Seems to be quite a tough pace given this is lap 1; JoBø up to 14th at 1.1 Km – Ponsiluoma has gained 5 places! Leading 2 in for S1 – Jacquelin clear and out, Perrot 1 miss so Laegreid is out 2nd, +17.4 with Samuelsson just behind him – all with 5/5. Perrot out +24.6 ahead of Christiansen who, according to the data has done 3 penalty loops; surely that can’t be right? Tarjei has missed 1, JoBø clear and up to 12th, +55.5. Jacquelin is flying – by 4.1 Km he’s pulled out some 10 seconds against Samuelsson and Laegreid, JoBø into 7th. Jacquelin in for S2, very fast, clear and out – Laegreid also clear and +29.1, Samuelsson has missed 2 so Kühn is out 3rd, +46.7 but he’s only 12 seconds ahead of JoBø, with Tarjei only a second back. Ah, I see the results from S1 have been amended to show Christiansen as 21st, +1:31.9; clear at S2 but +1:44.0. On the lap Laegreid is matching Jacquelin; the Bø brothers are closing on Kühn, with Tarjei ahead. In for S3 – Jacquelin shooting fast and he’s missed 3! Laegreid has missed 1 and leads out, JoBø clear and out 2nd, +2.2 with Jacquelin +10.7 after his 3 loops. Samuelsson clear this time and +21.2, ahead of Giacomel [0,1,1] Kühn [0,0,1] and Tarjei [1,0,1]. Ponsiluoma has missed 2 here and back to 13th. At 9.1 Km JoBø is just leading, Laegreid holding him, Jacquelin and Samuelsson losing a little and Tarjei closing and up to 5th. Final shoot – one miss each for the 2 Norwegians, so it’s Jacquelin, who cleared this time, who is out first, 10.1 ahead of JoBø with Laegreid 3.2 back. Tarjei also clear at S4 and out 4th, ahead of Giacomel [0,1,1,1] and Samuelsson [0,2,0,1]; Ponsiluoma [1,0,2,0] up to 8th! At 11.1 Km JoBø is 4.7 ahead of Jacquelin, with Laegreid + 9.6, less than a second ahead of Tarjei! Quite amazing, JoBø on his way to the win, but the remaining podium places are going to be a fight. JoBø takes the win, from 17th at the start, almost a minute back. It’s Tarjei who takes 2nd, just ahead of Jacquelin and Laegreid. Samuelsson in 5th, +40.5 ahead of Giacomel and Ponsiluoma. What a race!! Among those gaining ground are JoBø and Ponsiluoma, plus Riethmüller [23-16], Fabien Claude [37-17], Bionaz [28-18], QFM [31-20], Rastorgujevs [38-21], Seppala [34-26], Nelin [45-28], Sørum [41-29] and Zeni [47-30 and all 20m targets down!]. Those losing ground include Perrot [1-8], Botn [3-10], Wright [6-14], Lapshin [12-27], Siimer [18-34], Stalder [24-36], Strolia [26-41], Stvrtecky [33-49] and Coltea [36-53].

Canmore – 14 Mar 24, Women’s 7.5 km Sprint: Conditions look good; Justine B-B will be first away today. Points are crucial today. Justine B-B in for S1, 1 rather unlucky miss; Dimitrova clear but already y +25.5 against JB-B. Lou Jeanmonnot clear and out 20.8 ahead of JB-B; Arnekleiv has missed 2. Lena Haecki-Gross clear at S1  and +3.9; Vanessa Voigt also clear and +13.5. Lampic currently fastest at 1.2 Km, 3.0 ahead of Elvira Öberg and Julia Simon; Elvira now at S1 and clear, +1.5. Julia Simon at S1 – very quick and accurate; Justine B-B meanwhile is at S2 and clear this time. Lisa Vittozzi at S1, clear and +3.5, Lampic has missed her last shot at S1. Jeanmonnot at S2 and clear again, out 24.2 ahead; Dimitrova has missed all 5 at S2! Knotten has missed 2 at S1; however Lena H-G  is 10/10 and just 1.3 b3hind Jeanmonnot!  Hanna Öberg clear at S1, +4.0; very unusual, Voigt has missed 2 in the stand! Elvira has missed 1 at S2, so has Julia Simon, and Tandrevold has missed 1 at S1. On the lap Lena H-G is marginally quicker than Jeanmonnot at 7.0 Km. This is all close – Vittozzi also 10/10 and out +1.9; meanwhile Lena H-G has lost time on the final half kilometre – over the line +3.1. Good effort by Lampic  - just 2 misses, one at each shoot. Hanna Öberg is 10/10 +3.0; sister Elvira over the line in 5th.  Hettich-Walz and Magnusson also both 10/10 and in touch – Lisa Vittozzi has had a superb final lap to overtake Jeanmonnot by 5.5 seconds. At S2 Tandrevold is [1,1] and almost a minute back; at present Vittozzi leads ahead of Jeanmonnot, LH-G, Simon, JB-B and Lampic is in 6th!  Hanna Öberg into 5th;  Magnusson 8th and now Janina Hettich-Walz into 6th. At 7.0 Km Anna Gandler [0,1] up to 6th, despite that 1 miss – over the line 6th and that’s Justine B-B down to 8th; even more crucial to the points today, Tandrevold is currently 14th, +1:01.6 – quite a margin for the Pursuit! Interesting, Stina Nilsson [1,1] out from S2 1.3 behind Tandrevold; Anna-Karin Heijdenberg also 10/10 and +31.6 after S2. Some good news for Tandrevold – Stina Nilsson has faded on the final lap and crossed the line in 21st; Grotian closer but 15th. However Gilonne Guigonnat is also 10/10 and 6th,  +21.4 after S2, and Heijdenberg has just gone into 14th, pushing Tandrevold down 1 place. Guigonnat over the line in 11th, she lost quite a bit of time on that final lap; Lucie Charvátová [1,0] into 16th, so Tandrevold is now 17th, but I think she might have done enough to take the sprint globe? A good race, and the prospect of an exciting Pursuit with Vittozzi [981] and Tandrevold [988] very close in the overall points! No change to the top 10 since Gandler went into 6th – well done to Vittozzi, Jeanmonnot [903 points] and Haecki-Gross for the podium, then Simon [908 points], Hanna Öberg and Gandler. Justine B-B ended in 8th and now has 915 points for the overall, Elvira in 14th and Tandrevold 17th.

Canmore – 15 Mar 24, Men’s 10 km Sprint: Update from yesterday - Despite finishing seventeenth, with two penalties, 1:01.6 back, Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold won the Women’s World Cup Sprint Score crystal globe for the first time in her career. Tandrevold’s only previous discipline score victory was taking the 2021 World Cup Mass Start Score; it seems Vittozzi has won the Individual small globe. Now to the men’s sprint race, which I missed love as it was a busy day. When I came to review the data records I really thought there was an error – suffice to say that JoBø, having not won a sprint race this season, gave an absolute masterclass! He shot clear at S1, and after that shoot was 7.1 ahead of Samuelsson and 10.1 ahead of Jacquelin, both of whom were also clear. Nawrath, Reithmüller and Giacomel were also clear there and in touch with the leading time. At S2 JoBø was clear again, leaving the range 46.6 ahead of Samuelsson [0,1] and Jacquelin [0,1] who were at that stage tied in 2nd. Giacomel had also missed 1 at S2, as did Tarjei, Reithmüller and Kühn, Nawrath missed 3! Of the later starters only Botn [bib 100] made an impression here, shooting 10/10 but leaving the range +42.7 in 2nd. That was it – Johannes Thingnes Bø [0,0] took the win by a massive 1:02.7 ahead of Giacomel [0,1] with Tarjei Bø [0,1] 3rd, ahead of Jacquelin [0,1], Botn [0,0] and Samuelsson [0,1]. That’s the largest-ever time margin in a men’s sprint, an all-time record apparently! Kühn in joint 7th with Perrot. It seems JoBø has won the Men’s Individual, settled a while ago but awarded today and after this race, Tarjei takes the Sprint globe. Should be an interesting Pursuit, probably to decide the remaining places, or will Johannes have an off-day?

Canmore – 16 Mar 24, Pursuits: First the Women’s 10 Km event – hopefully this should be a close race - first 16 separated by less than a minute – bib 17 is Tandrevold, +1:02. At 1.5 Km Lena Haecki-Gross has caught up and leads Lou Jeanmonnot by 0.4 and Lisa Vittozzi by 0.7. Leading trio in for S1; Vittozzi clear and out, Jeanmonnot and Lena H-G have missed 1 each, so it’s Julia Simon out 2nd, +11.9 with LH-G +18.8 and Jeanmonnot +23.0. Hanna Öberg has missed 1, Elvira clear, Justine B-B has missed 2, so have Hettich-Walz and Lampic. Tandrevold clear at S1 and 11th, but still +1:00.4. On the lap Lena H-G is gaining time, and so are Jeanmonnot and Elvira Öberg. Vittozzi in for S2 – clear and out; Simon also 10/10 and +5.5, Jeanmonnot [1,0] + 15.5, Lena H-G [1,1] now +30.8; Hanna clear at S2 +34.7 with sister Elvira [0,0] + 41.3. Justine B-B has missed 1 more, Sophia Schneider 10/10 and up from 20 to 10, Vanessa Voigt also clear and up from 23 to 15. Crucially Tandrevold is also 10/10 and up to 9th. On the lap Simon is just clear of Vittozzi with Jeanmonnot +5.7. The leaders are already in for S3 – the first standing shoot – Vittozzi again clear and away, Simon with 1 miss and +17.0, Jeanmonnot ]1,0,1] +23.3. Hanna [1,0,1] +53.7 and sister Elvira has missed 1 here, +57.9. Tandrevold missed 2 and out +1:27.7, Schneider and Voigt also missed 1 at S3 and Lena H-G has missed 2 after pushing hard on both laps after S1. Last shoot – Vittozzi has missed 1 but she’s out; Simon has missed 2, Jeanmonnot 1, and out +21.0. Amazingly Justine B-B [2,1,0,0] is out 3rd, +27.8 with Simon [0,0,1,2] +36.7. Guigonnat in 5th, +1:10.7, just ahead of Gandler [1,1,1,0]. The Öberg sisters have missed 2 each at S4, Tandrevold has also missed 2 more and out 17th. Lisa Vittozzi has cruised to the win – very nicely done with great shooting and a sensible pace throughout! Lou Jeanmonnot in 2nd, ahead of Justine B-B, up from 8th. Julia Simon finishes 4th, which is where she started, Guigonnat in 5th from 11th, with Gandler in 6th. Tandrevold ended in 19th – it’s a hard sport! in Among others who have gained places are Marketa Davidova [0,0,2,1; 25th to 8th], Grotian [18-11], Irwin [26-12], Trabucchi [21-13], Voigt [23-15], Schneider [20-16], Hauser [34-17], Aita Gasparin [39-21], Bendika [47-22], Lien [42-25], Rothschopf [45-29], Dmytrenko [41-30] and Chauveau [48-37]. Those losing places include Haecki-Gross [3-10], Magnusson [10-18], Vobornikova [12-20], Lampic [9-23], Charvátová [16-24], Comola [13-35], Heijdenberg [15-46] and Nilsson [24-53].

Men’s 12.5 km event: Well, JoBø starts just over a full minute ahead but this time he faces 4 shoots – and, as this is biathlon, anything could happen! Right, JoBø is away, it’s a nice day with very little wind. A lot of the chasers seem to be starting at a really ferocious pace! The track seems to be cutting up in the warm conditions; at 2.0 Km there is still no one within a minute of JoBø, who is already at S1 – 1 miss and away. Samuelsson out +42.9, Botn +48.8, Perrot +57.7 – all 5/5. Tarjei has missed 1, so did Kühn and Giacomel has missed 2, as have QFM and Ponsiluoma among others. Samuelsson has lost a little time on the lap, Jacquelin past Perrot and Botn with Tarjei fairly steady. JoBø in for his second prone shoot – this time he's missed the last target. Jacquelin fast and clear this time, out +18.7, Samuelsson and Botn both 10/10 and out +21.8 and +33.3 respectively. Tarjei clear at S2 and +46.1, Perrot missed 1 here and +54.2. Simon Eder 10/10 and up from 29 to 17, Laegreid also 10/10 and 47 to 27! So far this is more exciting than I expected. At 7.0 Km Jacquelin is now just 11.9 back, Samuelsson much the same as regards the gap. The first standing shoot – JoBø clear and away; Jacquelin has missed 2, Samuelsson 1, Tarjei clear this time – out Samuelsson +47.7, Jacquelin + 51.2, Tarjei +52.4, Perrot [0,1,0] +58.1. Botn missed 1 here, Hofer 2, Dale-S 2, QFM 2. Laegreid has missed 1 at S3 and back to 30th, Braunhofer [0,0,1] up from, 53 to 31, Ponsiluoma [2,1,1] up to 35 from 51 despite those 4 penalty loops! At 9.5 Km Jacquelin and Tarjei are just past Samuelsson with Perrot in touch – all about 58 seconds back. Jo Bø in for his last shoot – just 1 miss and out; it’s Perrot [0,1,0,0] who is out next +32.3, then Samuelsson [0,0,1,0] +33.6, Jacquelin [1,0,2,1] +49.5 and Tarjei [1,0,0,1] +56.0. Strelow is 20/20 but just 10th from 16 at the start, Fabien Claude, also 20/20 is up from 35 to 14, Florent Claude has matched the 20/20 and up from 55 to 22! On the lap Samuelsson has closed on Perrot, and Tarjei is up with Jacquelin. Johannes Thingnes Bø over the line for the double, Samuelsson [6th to 2nd] has sprinted past Perrot [7th to 3rd] for the remaining podium places. Jacquelin has held on for 4th, ahead of Tarjei Bø, with Giacomel [2,1,0,1] getting 6th, ahead of Botn. Those gaining places include Seppala [15-8], Quentin FM [17-9], Fabien Claude [35-10], Wright [28-19], Eder [29-20], Florent Claude [55-21], Laegreid [47-25], Ponsiluoma [51-27], Braunhofer [53-30], Stalder [49-33] and Unterweger [48-37]. Those losing out include Dale-S [11-18], Riethmüller [9-23], Kühn [1,0,1,3; 8-28], Rees [18-29], Stvrtecky [37-50], Sørum [27-52] and Zeni [24-54]. That’s the overall globe to JoBø! A much closer race and enjoyable!

16 Mar 24: Saalbach Hinterglemm [Schneekristall/Zwölfer] – Men’s GS, Run 1: Looks a nice day, but warm and apparently it did rain earlier; they are currently salting the course though. Interesting chat from Kristoffersen, who seems in a good mood, and optimistic about the snow conditions, although he did mention that the snow wasn’t salted during the inspection.  So, the final GS of the season – Loic Meillard first away, pattern of gates set by a Swiss coach – he’s down, but won’t have time to chat to Marco Odermatt who is next! Odermatt already 0.26 green at inter 1, slightly red at 2, just 0.01 red at 2 and fast from there to lead by 0.40 – fastest in sectors 1, 3 and 4. Filip Zubcic is bib 3 but off the pace, and over a second back at 3 – into 3rd, +1.61. Zan Kranjec into 4th, +2.47; Henrik Kristoffersen next and he too is struggling – he’s now 4th, but +2.24. Thomas Tumler a little better – into 4th, +2.19; Alex Steen Olsen more in touch and into 3rd, +1.39 – some big gaps already. Atle Lie McGrath into 5th, +2.02; Luca de Aliprandini has made a big error on the flat – 9th of 9 starters.  River Radamus into 10th; Manu Feller very popular but there are too many mistakes today – he’s into 10th.  At last – Joan Verdu green at inter 1, in touch at 2 and he’s 5th, +1.72; I wonder if that will be the last change to the top 6 in this run? Gino Caviezel into 7th; I didn’t see what happened to Raphael Haaser at the top, ah, the replay shows he was down on his hip – almost 2 seconds down at inter 1! That’s all 23 away for run 1 – no change to the top 6 since Verdu; bit dull!
Run 2: Ryder Sarchett [USA], the junior champion, is first away – that’s a long run and a real test of fitness – he’s safely down! Raphael Haaser nicely green at inter 1 but he’s fallen. Giovanni Borsotti down and 2.03 faster than Sarchett; Alex Vinatzer into the red at inter 3 and into 2nd, +0.30. Sam Maes has gained from 1 to 2, lost a lot to 3 but he’s over the line 0.65 ahead; Timon Haugan already red at inter 1, more so at 2 but back green at 3 and now he leads by 0.39. Thibaut Favrot goes 2nd, +0.31; River Radamus almost a full second off the pace in 4th. Alex Schmid has gained to 1, lost a bit to 2 and losing more from there to go 4th, +0.52; Manu Feller has also gained to 1, but he too is losing time from there – he’s into 2nd, +0.19. Luca de Aliprandini a bit late in the line lower down  and just 5th; Stefan Brennsteiner losing steadily from inter 1 but he had enough there to take the lead by 0.11. Zan Kranjec unlucky with the light and only 8th; Kristoffersen on course and in touch – into 2nd, just 0.08 off! TV break – Brennsteiner leads from Kristoffersen and Haugan. Thomas Tumler has gained all the way to inter 3, a bit slower from there but into the lead by 0.41! Gino Caviezel red at 2, redder at 3 and into 4th; similar from Atle Lie McGrath to 3 but slow from there to go 8th. Joan Verdu still green at 2, just green at 3 but he’s kept it steady from there to lead by 0.08 – good run. Filip Zubcic already red at inter 1 and just 7th; Alex Steen Olsen also just red at 1, a big error and he’s into 8th. Loic Meillard has 1.32 in hand as he starts, he’s lost half a second to inter 1, a bit more to 2 but steadier to 3 – a better final section gets him the lead by 0.71! Just Marco Odermatt to come – he’s missed a gate so that’s his run of victories at an end! So Loic Meillard takes the victory which also gets him up to 2nd in the GS standings, ahead of Zubcic and Kristoffersen; Joan Verdu takes a well-deserved  2nd with Thomas Tumler 3rd. Brennsteiner 4th ahead of Kristoffersen with Haugan and Caviezel in joint 6th. In the overall Meillard [943] has got past Feller [872] to go into 2nd, 959 behind Odermatt!

16 Mar 24: Saalbach Hinterglemm [Schneekristall/Zwölfer] – Women’s Slalom, Run 1: Ah, today with just 23 starters all the Austrians are indeed Katharinas! Right - Sara Hector first away, on a course set by Shiffrin’s coach! Hector down and that looked good; Anna Swenn Larsson next, and the course is expected to deteriorate like the men’s course did in the warm conditions -  that’s a good run – 0.99 faster! Fastest in all 4 sectors too! Lena Dürr into 3rd, but a massive 1.90 off the pace; Katharina Liensberger into 3rd, +1.28 - I hope we aren’t going to have a repeat of the men’s GS where there were 2 good runs and then big gaps! Mikaela Shiffrin just green at inter 1, red at 2, 0.01 green at 3 and into 2nd, +0.11 – great run in the conditions, fastest in sectors 1 and 3. Her coach has confirmed that she won’t race GS tomorrow. Zrinka Ljutic into 3rd, +0.67; Michelle Gisin is 7th. Ali Nullmeyer into 4th, +0.91; I wonder if that will be the last change to the top 6 in this run? Not bad from Paula Moltzan – the sun has gone in, so vis isn’t as good – into 7th, +1.49. I think both second runs might throw up a few surprises today given the way the piste is deteriorating?? The sun is back out, that might help? Actually, that’s a good run from Mina Fuerst Holtmann [bib 20]  into 8th, +1.87! That’s run 1 over – no DNFs so all 23 get a second run.
Run 2: Set by a Swedish coach, it looks rather wet now as there is more rain, so more flat light and tricky vis?  Hmm, the rain is getting heavier. Chiara Pogneaux first away and safely down; Lara Colturi red at inter 2, less red at 3 and into the lead by just 0.03 – the course is already starting to cut up! Neja Dvornik is gaining all the way, she’s pretty much tripled her advantage to lead by a massive 2.46! Martina Dubovska into 2nd, +0.67; the rain seems to have eased again, Andreja Slokar the first DNF of the women’s race today. Martina Peterlini red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.49; Melanie Meillard also a DNF. Katharina Truppe red at 2 and just 4th, +0.99; Michelle Gisin just red at 2, into 3rd, +0.62. Dzenifera Germane into 6th, +1.05; Katharina Gallhuber another DNF after a very impressive 360! Camille Rast steady to inter 1, losing from there – just 0.02 green at 3 and into 2nd, +0.40; that’s 9 places that Dvornik has gained! Leona Popovic has crashed out – maybe a knee problem as a result, so the race is interrupted. Popovic looking a bit more stable on her feet now, so hopefully not too serious! Katharina Huber away after the delay and still slightly green at 3 – into 2nd, +0.12; Lena Dürr starts with 1.08 in hand, just 0.24 left at 2 and well into the red at 3 – into 9th. Mina Fuerst Holtmann starts with 1.11 advantage and although she’s steadily losing time she takes over the lead by 0.13!  Paula Moltzan in touch but she’s straddled; Katharina Liensberger just red at 2, more so at 3 and she’s into 4th. Sara Hector also losing time and a big error has her 0.84 red at 3 and she crosses the line in 9th. Ali Nullmeyer can only manage 5th; Zrinka Ljutic is out! Mina Holtmann is guaranteed a podium place. Mikaela Shiffrin on course, slight loss to 1, more to 2 and just 0.37 left at 3 but she’s gained a little to lead by 0.54. Anna Swenn Larsson has 0.11 in hand, slight gain to 1, back to 0.15 at 2, just red at 3 and she’s into 3rd, +0.63 – not that lucky with the vis though. Race over – that’s win 97 for Mikaela Shiffrin, and she’s just been presented with the slalom globe! What a way to end the season, as she won’t race tomorrow or next weekend. Mina Holtmann 2nd, Swenn Larsson 3rd, and Neja Dvornik just missing the podium, but with the fastest time on run  2.  Today’s result gets Lena Dürr into 2nd in the slalom rankings, just 3 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. Shiffrin back to 2nd in the overall, ahead of Brignone, who will be racing again this season!!

17 Mar 24: Saalbach Hinterglemm [Schneekristall/Zwölfer] – Women’s GS, Run 1: It’s the other way round today – women first on the GS course, then the men, seemingly on a different slope for the slalom. A similar course to the one the men used for run 2, according to Alice Robinson – and today’s run 1 course is set by Robinson’s coach. Marta Bassino first away and safely down – maybe a bit too careful? The commentary team keep referring to this being the Ulli Maier slope, but the official data says this is Schneekristall/Zwölfer, with Maier being used for the slalom? Whatever, Alice Robinson is bib 2 and she’s 0.99 faster than Bassino! Thea Louise Stjernesund red to inter 3 but a good final section, fastest in sectors 3 and 4, gets her the lead by 0.37. Federica Brignone is bib 4 and pushing hard – green all the way and she leads by 0.48 – fastest in all 4 sectors! Some amazing angles on that run; Zrinka Ljutic next but she’s off the pace today – into 4th but +1.66. Now, Lara Gut-Behrami on course – potentially in the hunt for 4 crystal globes this season – she’s in touch at inter 1 but much redder at 2 and over a second off at 3 – that’s 5th, +1.67 – bit of a shock! Sara Hector even more off the pace, into 7th, +1.89; Steph Brunner into 8th – the track, despite cold conditions overnight, is beginning to get rutted. Mina Fuerst Holtmann is bib 9 and more in touch – into 4th, +0.98; A J Hurt into 10th. We seem to be back to the “big time gaps” from the higher bib numbers – Clara Direz 7th, +1.83; Ragnhild Mowinckel more in touch and 5th, +1.31. Right – changes to the top 10 only from now – and a good start to that from Julia Scheib who is into 6th from bib 14, +1.64. Sadly that was the last change to the top 10 – run 1 over, all 24 starters made it to the finish!
Run 2: Set by a Norwegian coach, and with 3 Norwegians in the top 5 after run 1! Start has been postponed – hopefully only by 2 minutes! Race on – Lena Dürr first away, but this isn’t her main discipline so I suspect she’s aiming to finish – safely down. Ana Bucik quite a bit faster; Ricarda Haaser a DNF, but OK. Franzi Gritsch into 2nd, but +0.96; Britt Richardson [CAN], the junior champion, is nicely green at inter 2, less so at 3 and into 2nd, +0.34. A J Hurt into 4th; Lara Colturi has gained time to inter 1, a bit more to 2 and she leads by 0.79! Camille Rast in touch all the way and she goes 2nd, +0.66; Katharina Liensberger red at inter 2 but steady from there to go 2nd, +0.26; Michelle Gisin pulling back time from inter 2 to go 3rd, +0.33. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel still in touch at 2 but she’s down and through a gate – she is up – Paula Moltzan on course and hopefully won’t be yellow flagged – she’s fine and over a second ahead at inter 3, she leads by 0.96 – fastest so far on run 2. Stephanie Brunner nicely green to inter 3 and now she’s fastest on run 2 and into the lead by 0.47 – that’s popular! Sara Hector off the pace in the softer conditions, into 4th +1.50; Marta Bassino has caught her ski in a gate [a straddle with attitude] – that’s going to hurt, but she seems to up and clear. Clara Direz into 3rd, +0.91; Lara Gut-Behrami next looking to wrap up the GS globe, she’s into the red at inter 2 but she only needs 6 points more than Brignone today – she’s 4th, +1.30. A top 15 finish will do and that’s it – well done Lara G-B, first GS title of her varied career; 21 points ahead of Brignone as it played out today! Zrinka Ljutic into 10th; Julia Scheib in touch and into 2nd, +0.09. Ragnhild Mowinckel has lost a good bit of time from 1 to 2, and red by 3 – into 4th; Mina Fuerst Holtmann much the same – losing time to inter 3 where she’s red – she’s into 4th +0.62 – that’s a lot of time gone. Alice Robinson has 1.25 in hand as she starts – still 0.82 left at 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.56; Thea Louise Stjernesund next and she’s doubled her advantage to inter 1, then it’s slowly reducing – poor final sector and into 2nd, +0.31. Federica Brignone starts with 0.85, it’s 1.30 at inter 1, 1.02 at 2, 1.08 at 3 and she wins by a massive 1.36 – amazing angles and recoveries, brilliant stuff! Lara G-B ends 10th today, that result gives her the overall globe as well – 208 points clear of Brignone with 2 races to go! Well done Federica Brignone – what a finish –Robinson in 2nd and Stjernesund 3rd, then Brunner, Scheib and Moltzan. Congrats to Lara G-B – 2 down, 2 to go??


17 Mar 24: Saalbach Hinterglemm [Ulli Maier] – Men’s Slalom, Run 1: Course set by an Italian coach, although Kristoffersen seems to think it’s been set for Clement Noel? Some concerns among those interviewed about the state of the snow, which has been wetted down pre-start. Linus Strasser first away and safely down; Henrik Kristoffersen next, slightly green at 1 but well into the red at 2 and he’s +1.11 at the finish. Manu Feller next and he too is over a second off the pace by inter 3 – better on the final section to finish +0.65, fastest in sector 4. Timon Haugan more in touch and he’s taken over the lead by 0.15; Loic Meillard into 3rd, +0.50. Clement Noel has lost time from 3 to the finish – into 4th, +0.80; Daniel Yule into 7th, but +2.59, was that his wife shaking her head at the finish? Dominik Raschner has taken over 7th, +2.03, big error near the finish; now it’s Dave Ryding – there is a slight delay for some reason, but he’s away – over a second red at inter 2 and he’s not liking these conditions - +3.22 and 9th of 9. Marc Rochat is much more intense and in touch to inter 3 although he’s lost over half a second from there to go 6th, +1.00; Fabio Gstrein into 8th,+1.79. Atle Lie McGrath into 10th; Steven Amiez the first DNF today, straddle. Changes to the top 10 only from now; Alex Vinatzer [bib 20] into 10th, +2.21. Although it might sound counter-intuitive, it might be better if the later starters finished ahead of Dave Ryding on run 1, so he starts earlier on run 2 – at present Dave will start 6th on run 2! Lenz Haechler a DNF and that’s run 1 over. Timon Haugan leading, from Strasser, Meillard and Noel. No change to the top 10 since Vinatzer; Dave Ryding goes 8th in run 2.
Run 2: Not the best of starts – Seb Holzmann first away and a DNF; A J Ginnis safely down but not exactly error free! Alex Steen Olsen red at 2 and 2nd, +0.20; Johannes Strolz well red at 3 but he’s better from there to go 2nd, +0.13. Albert Popov into 4th, +0.77; Luca Aerni starts with 0.62 advantage, it’s gone by inter 2 and he’s 4th, +0.56! Michael Matt also red by inter 2 and just 6th; Dave Ryding next, with 0.82 in hand – still thereabouts at inter 1, green at 2 but red at 3 and into 5th, +0.64. Samuel Kolega has lost even more time to end up 7th; Tommaso Sala better and into 4th. Daniel Yule has lost a second to inter 2, red by 3 and he’s into 7th, and behind Dave Ryding! Kristoffer Jakobsen has lost huge amounts of time, but he's good enough for 5th, +0.52. McGrath a DNF; Alex Vinatzer starts with 1.83 advantage, just 0.26 left at 3 but he’s good enough from there to take the lead by 0.12! Raschner another DNF, that’s 3; no, it’s 4 as Fabio Gstrein joins them. That’s a brilliant run from Henrik Kristoffersen gaining time from inter 2 to lead by 1.11; Ginnis still quickest on run 2. Marc Rochat steady from 2 to 3 to lead by just 0.15; Manu Feller on course with the slalom globe already his – dead level at inter 2 but he’s gained 0.44 from there and he leads by 0.52 – superb! Clement Noel red at inter 1, just green at 2 then red to go 2nd, +0.23; Loic Meillard just red at 3 and now he’s 2nd, +0.15 – great recoveries. Linus Strasser has made fractional gains to inter 2, great recoveries but red at 3 – he’s 2nd, just 0.04 off the lead! Just Timon Haugan to come, 0.80 advantage, down to just 0.02 green at 3 after a huge recovery and good from there to snatch the lead by 0.40. What a recovery and that’s his first World Cup win. So, Haugan wins, ahead of Feller and Strasser; Meillard 4th then Noel and Rochat – well done to all of them. What the commentary team hoped for was Dave Ryding to finish 15th, just in the points with Daniel Yule in 16th so no points – that happened therefore they tie for 7th in the slalom standings, effectively getting Dave up one from 8th!

Canmore – 17 Mar 24, Mass Starts: First the Women’s 12.5 Km event – Update; Vittozzi has won the Pursuit globe to add to the Individual, and in yellow for today. Race on – Lou Jeanmonnot off like a rocket, Lena Haecki-Gross also to the front as she’s in with a shout at the Mass Start globe. At 2.0 Km Justine B-B is fractionally ahead of Julia Simon, Vanessa Voigt , Lena H-G and Jeanmonnot, but there is only 3.5 seconds between the leading 20! In for S1 – Justine B-B, Tandrevold have missed 1, Vittozzi 2! It’s Julia Simon who leads out, 5.0 ahead of Juni Arnekleiv, with Hanna Öberg close behind, then Jeanmonnot, Davidova and Hettich-Walz – all clear. Justine B-B in 16, just ahead of LH-G, Elvira Öberg and Tandrevold – all with 1 penalty loop completed; Vittozzi in 27th, +51.4. On the lap Jeanmonnot is just past Simon, then Davidova, Hanna Öberg, Arnekleiv and Janina H-W. In for S2 – Simon clear again and out, Arnekleiv +0.5, Jeanmonnot +4.8, JH-W +5.6 – all 10/10. Lena H-G made up time on that lap and clear this time – out +17.1. Tandrevold clear here and +32.4, Justine B-B has missed another 1, Vittozzi clear here and out 20th, +58.0. Lena H-G has gained time on the lap again – she’s strong, but that didn’t work too well yesterday? Tandrevold also making up time – some 13 seconds by 7.0 Km. Leading 4 in for S3 – Arnekleiv has missed 1, Simon 2, LH-G 1! Jeanmonnot out 0.4 ahead of JH-W – both 15/15; Hanna Öberg [0,1,0] +21.0, Guigonnat +25.1, Haecki-Gross +33.6, Simon in 7th, +42.6. Tandrevold [1,0,1] +43.4 in 9th, just ahead of Justine B-B [1,1,1], Vittozzi [2,0,1] in 16th, +1:16.1. At 9.5 Km Jeanmonnot leads by just 0.6 ahead of Hettich-Walz, Guigonnat +26.1 with Hanna Öberg close behind, Lena H-G +32.0 and Gandler +35.1. Justine B-B 7th, ahead of Tandrevold and Simon. Final shoot – 1 miss each for the leading two; Jeanmonnot out 2.5 ahead of Justine H-W with Guigonnat [20/20] +8.0. Then Gandler [0,0,1,0], Hanna [0,1,0,1], Justine B-B [1,1,1,1], Julia Simon [0,0,2,1, +32.5]. Tandrevold [1,0,1,1] +37.8 in 8th, Haecki-Gross [1,0,1,2] in 11th, Vittozzi [2,0,1,2] back in 21st, +1:38.8! On the lap Lou Jeanmonnot is opening from Janina H-W, Guigonnat dropping back a little towards Justine B-B, Julia Simon fading! At the finish Jeanmonnot takes the win, and probably the Mass Start globe, delighted to see Janina Hettich-Walz in second with Gilonne Guigonnat [0,0,0,0] taking the final podium place. Justine B-B in 4th, ahead of Gandler and Hanna Öberg. Julia Simon in 7th, just ahead of Tandrevold, Lena H-G back in 10th, Lisa Vittozzi in 21st but I think that’s enough for the overall globe? Yes, Lisa Vittozzi gets the overall, Lou Jeanmonnot up to 2nd in the points , with Tandrevold 3rd.

Men’s 15 Km Mass Start: As this clashed with a few other things I left the data feed running and came back to it this morning! So, in summary, it went like this – at S1 the leading 12 out of the range were all clear, with Eric Perrot 1.6 seconds ahead of JoBø, then QFM +2.0, Laegreid +2.5, Nelin +5.7 and Stalder +5.8. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal and Seppala had 2 misses each, and Samuelsson 3. At S2 JoBø was again clear and out 6.4 ahead of Christiansen [1,0], then Stalder [0,0], Nawrath [1,0], Doll [0,0] and Jacquelin [1,1; +19.0]. QFM had missed 1 and out 8th, Dale-S clear this time and 12th, Ponsiluoma [2,1] in 21st Nelin [0,2] 24th and Samuelsson [3,3] in 30th. The first prone saw JoBø really grip the race as he went clear again, leaving the range 43.8 ahead of Dale-Skjevdal [2,0,0 – what a recovery!], then Christiansen [1,0,1], Jacquelin [1,1,1], Giacomel [1,1,1] and Botn [0,1,1]. Ponsiluoma [2,1,0] clear this time and up to 9th, just ahead of Tarjei Bø [1,2,0]; QFM down to 14th, Nelin 24th and Samuelsson [3,3,1] in 29th. JoBø finally missed 1 target at S4, but even so was out of the range 32.9 ahead of Dale-Skjevdal who had cleared all his targets at S2,3 and 4! Jacquelin was also clear at S4 and out +43.3, but they were the only 2 within a minute of JoBø; Fourth was Giacomel, ahead of QFM, Christiansen, Ponsiluoma and Tarjei. From there the top 3 were pretty much certain, and that’s how they finished, although the gaps to JoBø increased! That’s Johannes Thingnes Bø’s 11th victory of the season, and his 85th in his career – only one man has more, and that’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen [96]. Giacomel held on to 4th, Tarjei crossed the line 5th [which gave him 2nd place in the overall points], then Ponsiluoma, QFM, and Christiansen. Botn missed 3 at S4 and dropped to 14th, while Laegreid never recovered from his 3 misses at S2 and ended up 22nd. So, JoBø has won the Total Score globe ahead of Tarjei, he was 2nd behind his brother in the Sprint, won the Individual ahead of Tarjei and the Pursuit and Mass Start ahead of Dale. Norway also won the Men’s relay and the Men’s nation cup!

22 Mar 24: Saalbach Hinterglemm [Ulli Maier] – Speed events, day 1: Super Gs today;  Women’s Super G first:   These races were tricky to follow as I was in a garage waiting for my car to have some work done -  real trouble joining this first race as the Wi-Fi kept dropping out - managed to join the event with 11 away using the phone signal instead;  Ester Ledecka in the lead ahead of Lie and Hütter; Lara G-B in 5th, +0.52. Steph Venier [bib 13] into 3rd, +0.35; Ragnhild Mowinckel in touch at inter 2 but faded to 7th. Next to go Federica Brignone, +0.15 at 2, better in sector 4 to go 2nd, +0.28;  TV break, Ledecka leads from Brignone and Lie, then Venier, Hütter, Weidle and Gut-Behrami. Ariane Raedler into 10th; Michelle Gisin 13th - and that was it - well done to Ester Ledecka; another impressive result! That gave Lara Gut-Behrami the Super G globe to add to her impressive collection this year!

Men’s Super G: Still no joy with the Wi-Fi but once again the phone let me see the live data feed!  Gino Caviezel first away and safely down; Jared Goldberg green at inter 1 and 2 but red at 3 and +0.13 at the finish. Stefan Babinsky 3rd, but +0.75; Loic Maillard nicely green at 2, even better at 3 and into the lead by 0.74!  Arnaud Boisset  into 2nd, +0.12; Stefan Rogentin just red at 2, dead level at 3 and he’s snatched the lead by just 0.03!  Jeff Read into 5th; Cyprien Sarrazin has gone into 4th, +0.59. Ten away and it’s currently an all Swiss podium; Rogentin leads from Meillard and Boisset, then Sarrazin, Caviezel and Read. Dominic Paris red all the way and into 5th, +0.76, just 0.01 faster than Caviezel.  Vincent Kriechmayr  has posted exactly the same time as Paris - joint 5th; they aren’t there for long though as Marco Odermatt has taken over 5th, +0.64. The later starters didn’t affect the top 10, which was just as well as the car was ready by then! Well done to Rogentin, Meillard and Boisset, and also to Marco Odermatt, who also added the Super G globe to his collection – a very good day for the Swiss!

23/24 Mar 24 - Saalbach Hinterglemm [Ulli Maier] – Speed events; Downhill Races. Sadly I was out on Saturday and missed the Women’s race, which seems to have been a real cracker! It seems to have been a difficult day with soft snow, windy conditions and a couple delays. Lara Gut-Behrami was aiming to add the Downhill globe to already impressive haul of Overall, Super G and GS globes, but it wasn’t to be! Christina Ager was the early leader from bib 2 and kept that slot until Conny Hütter [bib 12] posted a time 0.50 faster; that meant Lara G-B [bib 14] had to finish 9th or higher to take the Downhill globe – in conditions that didn’t suit her she crossed the line in 11th, and ended up 17th! The Austrian crowd were, understandably, ecstatic! It wasn’t quite over however as if later starters had pushed Hütter down the order, Lara G-B’s lead might have been restored. In the end Ilka Stuhec missed the lead after going wide near the finish and ended the day 2nd, +0.27, with Nicol Delago in 3rd, +0.49 – just 0.01 ahead of Ager! Well done to the podium trio, and especially Conny Hütter who started the day 72 points behind Lara G-B in the standings and came through to win her first ever crystal globe.

24 Mar 24 – Men’s Downhill: Not that easy to find the data on the new FIS website as it said “no forthcoming events” when in fact there should have been this race? There is a link to “Let us know what you think” , presumably about the new website layout, but it doesn’t work and results in a “504 gateway time-out” message – not very impressive! The downhill globe is up for grabs today, Odermatt leading on 552 but Sarrazin, back from injury, on 510 – the mathematicians are already working on the “if/then” options. Sarrazin goes bib 9 and Odermatt bib 15. And, now the race has been postponed – apparently it’s snowing and the visibility is poor! Not looking good – race was postponed to 1200 [CET], it’s now postponed again to 1230. Now 1300 [CET] with the final decision at 1230. Well, that’s it – race cancelled – “this is the way the season ends, not with a bang but a whimper” as TS Eliot might have put it! Pity that Odermatt won this globe in such a manner, but as people keep reminding me alpine skiing is an outdoor sport! There do seem to have been rather too many cancellations and injures this season though. Oh well, roll on next season?