Alpine Skiing and Biathlon 2022/23

Season Opener:

Sölden – Women’s GS, 22 Oct 22: Well, that’s a great start to the season – the women’s GS is cancelled; there was some rain overnight and then wet snow! Apparently the first men’s downhill of the season, next weekend, has also been cancelled?

Sölden – Men’s GS, 23 Oct 22:  Run 1 – Seems Alexis Pinturault will be the one to get the new season started, on a course set by a Norwegian coach! It’s a much nicer day there than it is here – some blue sky and the course looks in good condition – Pinturault safely down; new coach, new skis, new season. Manu Feller next away and he’s nicely green at inter 1; he’s lost a tiny bit but still 0.13 green at the finish. Marco Odermatt is fractionally green at inter 1 but a massive 0.60 at 2 – he leads by 0.89 at the finish – what an amazing run! Henrik Kristoffersen is also on new skis, but these are designed by Marcel Hirscher!  He’s into 3rd, but +0.95.  Good run from Zan Kranjec, despite a rather low key commentary he’s into 2nd, +0.69. Lucas Braathen had his first World Cup win here – he’s into 2nd today, +0.41, and nicely set for run 2? Luca de Aliprandini has skied out; Filip Zubcic only into 7th.  The new FIS site is good – full detail of the sector times [and/or inters & speed], which shows how dominant Odermatt was in sector 2 – the closest to him was Kranjec, who was just 3 hundredths off the pace on that sector. McGrath and Faivre both rather off the pace here; Loic Meillard is nicely green at inter 1 but he’s lost over a second on sector 2 to go 4th, +0.81.  Alex Schmid only 10th; River Radamus has lost both arm guards – into 11th. Caviezel into 12th; Erik Read has taken over that place and it’s TV break time. At present Odermatt leads from Braathen and Kranjec; then Meillard, Feller and Kristoffersen. Temperatures are rising and the course is getting a little rutted – no one from the next group has got into the top 10. Stefan Luitz is the second DNF; interesting to see Aleksander Aamodt Kilde here today with bib 31 – and he’s not the only speed specialist here either!  Kilde’s into 21st, +2.19; Matthias Mayer a DNF, Kriechmayr into 24th! That’s a good run from Alex Steen Olsen [NOR] into 17th, given the conditions now; the highest bib number in the top 20 by a good margin. Sadly Charlie Raposo, also on Hirscher [Van Deer?] skis, can only manage 48th.  That’s run 1 over – no change to the top 6 since the first TV break. Nice to see Kilde, Kriechmayr and Tommy Ford in the list for run 2!
Run 2:  I think the course was set by an Italian coach, but the sound faded just at the crucial moment – yes; apparently more offset this time?  Trevor Philp is first away and safely down. Stefan Hadalin, back in good health, has gained time to inter 1 and more to 2 – he leads by 0.42. Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen [henceforth L K N-H] into 2nd; Tommy Ford into the lead by 0.22. Big error from Kriechmayr but he has finished. Victor Muffat-Jeandet into 3rd; Kilde has gained a lot to inter 1 but he’s out – no points today. That’s 10 away – Ford leads from Hadalin and Victor M-J. Thibaut Favrot into 3rd; that’s 8 places Ford has gained, and the course continues to frustrate the later starters. Marco Schwarz was 0.73 green at the start but he’s only 5th, +0.52 – Ford has now gained 12 places! Erik Read is 0.89 ahead at the start but he too is red by inter 2 and ends up 8th after a massive error. At last – Rasmus Windingstad is barely green at inter 3 and he holds on to take the lead by just 0.05! Alex Schmid has gained to inter 1, still just green at 3 but he’s lost time to the finish – into 3rd. That’s disappointing for Pinturault – just 13th at present. McGrath isn’t much better – into 12th – that piste really has made life difficult for the later starters.  Henrik Kristoffersen, who hasn’t had the best history at this venue,  has gained to inter 1, lost a bit to 2, steady to 3 and he takes the lead by just 0.14. Oh dear, Manu Feller into 12th; Loic Meillard better in 4th after a superb final sector. Zan Kranjec still marginally green at inter 3 and he has the best time over the final sector too, to lead by 0.21. Just 2 to go; Lucas Braathen into the red at inter 2 but a great final sector – he’s into 3rd. Marco Odermatt on course – 0.69 in hand as he starts – he’s gained a little to inter 1 and he’s really pushing, this is not a run for points! He’s 0.79 green at inter 3 and he takes the win by a massive 0.76. What a run; Odermatt wins with Kranjec 2nd and Kristoffersen 3rd – the first podium for the Van Deer team! Braathen in 4th ahead of Windingstad; and all credit to Tommy Ford who ended up 6th, gaining 20 places and with the best time on run 2.

Sadly the cancellations continue - with the women's race at Sölden already off, we have since had two speed races at Zermatt-Cervinia cancelled and now the parallel event at Lech/Zuers scheduled for 12 November has joined them. Hopefully the two women's slaloms planned for Levi on 19/20 November will have better luck - fingers crossed!

Happened to catch the opening to the ski jumping season - on bright green mats because it's still so warm (all I could think was "do they not make those in white?").

Levi – Women’s Slalom, 19 Nov 22: I joined run 1 a little late, with Lena Dürr in the lead, ahead of Anna Swenn Larsson [+0.45], Mikaela Shiffrin [+0.55] and Petra Vlhova [+0.57!]. Two DNFs so far, Michelle Gisin and Paula Moltzan. Quite foggy on the hill; Swenn Larsson with bib 12 is the highest start number in the top 6, Martina Dubovska [CZE; bib 16] highest in the top 10, currently in joint 9th.  Maria Theresa Tviberg has joined the DNFs – hope she’s OK. Good run from Thea Louise Stjernesund [bib 24] into 8th – a good effort. Charlie Guest [GBR, bib 25] has done even better – she’s joint 7th after a very impressive sector 4. Another good run – Zrinka Ljutic [CRO, bib 28], the world junior champion, into 7th! Despite the ruts there are still some really impressive efforts – Hanna Aronsson Elfman [SWE, bib 36] into 8th, pushing Guest down another place into joint 9th. Sadly Alex Tilley is a DNF. Run 1 over – no late changes to the top 6, last change to top 10 was Elfman into 8th.
Run 2: I had to be out – expected to be back in time but I must have messed up the times? Sadly it was all over and all I got to see was the re-run of the top 3! Must pay more attention, although I will probably have to be out tomorrow for run 1, weather permitting. The early bad news was that both Zrinka Ljutic and Charlie Guest who made such a good showing on  run 1 were the only 2 DNFs on run 2! As we moved on to the final 4 [in reverse order] Petra Vlhova took over the lead with a run that had her in the green all the way. There was some discussion that the race setter, from Slovakia [?] should have set a course that suited her more rather than something very similar to run 1 which all the competitors were ready for? Mikaela Shiffrin promptly went one better and took over the lead by 0.20, 0.18 of which was from run 2. That just left Anna SL and Lena Dürr – the Swede was 0.26 slower than Shiffrin on run 2, but her small advantage from run 1 was enough to get her into 2nd, ahead of Vlhova by just 0.04! Lena Dürr was well off the pace on run two - +1.30 on Shiffrin’s time, but that was enough to keep her in 4th, ahead of Wendy Holdener and Ana Bucik. Sara Hector was 7th, ahead of Stjernesund, Aronsson Elfman and Popovic.

Levi – Women’s Slalom, 20 Nov 22: Run 1, set by a Canadian coach – which I joined with Mikaela Shiffrin leading and just as Anna Swenn Larsson skied out! Shiffrin was fastest on 3 of the 4 sectors and leads Wendy Holdener by 0.21. That’s another very neat run from Lena Dürr, very quick in sector 3 and she’s into 2nd, +0.07. Petra Vlhova next and green at inter 2 and 3 but slower in sector 4 and into 3rd, +0.10 – all very close for run 2!! Sara Hector into 5th, with a very quick sector 3; currently Shiffrin is still fastest on sectors 1 and 4, Anna SL best on sector 2 but a DNF, Dürr best in sector 3. Martina Dubovska very good in sector 2 but then lost time to go 9th; Leon Popovic [CRO] into 7th. Fifteen away – Shiffrin leads from Dürr, Vlhova and Holdener. Paula Moltzan into 9th from bib 16; Thea Louise Stjernesund nicely in touch at inter 2 and 3 but she’s lost a little in sector 4 to go 5th, +0.35. At that stage I had to go out!
Run 2: Back in time for the crucial part of run 2, joining just as Paula Moltzan hit a nasty bump and fell. At present it’s Laurence St-Germain who leads from Hanna Aronsson Elfman and Mina Fuerst Holtmann. Ten to go – Leona Popovic [CRO] has gained a little to inter 2 and she’s green all the way; she leads by 0.39. Katharina Liensberger in touch and into 2nd; Zrinka Ljutic next and green to inter 2, red at 3 but a strong finish to go 2nd – Croatia in 1st and 2nd! Sara Hector next on a course set by her coach - barely green at 2 but better by 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.20. Thea Louise Stjernesund gained early on but she’s lost time from inter 2, only 6th; Wendy Holdener has more than doubled her advantage to inter 1, even better at inter 2, nearly a second ahead at 3 and she leads by a massive 1.14! That was an amazing run! Petra Vlhova next, with 0.11 in hand as she starts – just red at 1 and 2 but redder at 3 and she’s into 2nd, +0.40. Lena Dürr on the slope and already red at inter 1; she’s lost a bit more and she’s into 3rd, +0.69. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – Holdener guaranteed at least 2nd place, her 30th podium! Shiffrin has lost a little to inter 1 and 2, but still green at 3 and again very strong in the final two sectors – she takes the win by 0.28, superb stuff! I do feel for Wendy Holdener though; still no win! So, Mikaela Shiffrin takes her second win of the weekend, ahead of Wendy Holdener and Petra Vlhova. Lena Dürr in 4th, ahead of Sara Hector and Leona Popovic. Sadly both Charlie Guest and Alex Tilley were DNFs on run 1.

Lake Louise [Men’s Olympic/East Summit] – Men’s Downhill,  25 Nov 22: First of the North American events this season – 67 starters, with bib 67 being Roy-Alexander Steudle [GBR]!  Not good – the weather isn’t playing so the race has been rescheduled for tomorrow!

Killington [Superstar] – Women’s GS, 26 Nov: Run 1, a shortened course, set by an Italian coach – I arrived a tiny bit late – just as Ragnhild Mowinckel [bib 3] took over the lead from Petra Vlhova. Marta Bassino into 3rd, +0.21 and now it’s Mikaela Shiffrin – she’s off the pace today though, slower in all 3 sectors and she’s 0.98 off Mowinckel’s time. Sara Hector on course and she’s 0.23 green at inter 2 – she leads by 0.38, fastest in sector 2. Tessa Worley into 5th, ahead of Shiffrin; Val Grenier out. Lara Gut-Behrami in touch – she’s into 3rd, +0.43; it’s getting windier and Coralie Frasse Sombet has caught an edge – she’s out but seems OK. A pause while the gate is repaired and then it’s Michelle Gisin; into 9th. Ramona Siebenhofer into 9th; then Stjernesund goes 8th. Not over yet – Katharina Liensberger into 6th, +0.94; good run from Ricarda Haaser [bib 19] too – into 8th, just ahead of Shiffrin. Ana Bucik has taken over 9th from Shiffrin; Alex Tilley has skied out. That’s a good run from Clara Direz – bib 35 and into 11th!  That was about it for run 1 – Hector leads by 0.38 from Mowinckel with Gut-Behrami 3rd. Vlhova in 4th ahead of Bassino and Liensberger with Shiffrin 10th.
Run 2: Again, a little late – I joined as Maryna Gasienica-Daniel takes the lead from Roberta Melesi. This run set by an Austrian coach. Massive moment from Simone Wild after inter 2, on a tricky part of the course – she did well to finish! Wendy Holdener gained to inter 1 and was still nicely green at 2 but a slow final sector and she’s only 4th. It’s a similar story from Ramona Siebenhofer – green at inter 2 and into 3rd; that final sector is a real test, it seems! Federica Brignone has gained to inter 1, more to 2 but she’s gone from -0.53 at inter 2 to +0.05 at the finish – into 2nd.  Thea Louise Stjernesund is another who was green at 2 but red at the finish – she’s 3rd, +0.24; Clara Direz also green at 2 but she’s skied out with 2 gates to go! Mikaela Shiffrin has lost time to inter 1, dead level at 2 but she’s 0.50 adrift at the finish, in 6th.  Ana Bucik has fallen but she’s OK; at last, Tessa Worley has just held on – 0.51 green at 1 but just 0.06 green at the finish but that’s good enough to take over the lead. Katharina Liensberger has gained a lot from inter 1 to 2 despite the wind getting up, and a few errors and she takes over the lead by 0.29 – great run! It’s windy! Marta Bassino has had an amazing final sector, gaining 0.36 there to take the lead by 0.48! Petra Vlhova just red at inter 2, and she’s into 2nd +0.39. Lara Gut-Behrami green at 1, slightly greener at 2 and she’s maybe been lucky with the wind – she takes over the lead by 0.07 – good run! Ragnhild Mowinckel into the red at inter 1 and the wind is really gusting and an issue further down the hill – she’s 5th. Sara Hector has 0.43 in hand as she starts, but it’s almost gone by inter 1 – just red at 2 and she’s into 3rd, +0.20! That’s it – Lara Gut-Behrami gets her 35th world cup win, ahead of Marta Bassino and Sara Hector. Vlhova in 4th ahead of Liensberger and Mowinckel – the inflatable podium has blown away, which shows how windy it was! Roberta Melesi, who was 29th in run 1 gained 18 places in run 2 to finish 11th, just ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin. Good race!


Lake Louise [Men’s Olympic/East Summit] – Men’s Downhill,  26 Nov 22: Carried over from yesterday when the weather wasn’t suitable! Right – speed time! The light isn’t too good but apparently there is a 2 hour window before the snow comes back?  Romed Baumann is the first on course – he knows this area well, and he’s safely down. Otmar Striedinger is well in touch to inter 3, but a couple errors have cost him time – he’s +0.56. Dominik Schwaiger nicely green at inter 3 but then red again at 4 – he’s into 2nd. Another German – Thomas Dressen – on course, and he too was green at 3, red at 4 and 5 but fast to finish and he leads by 0.11 – good result on a comeback from injury! Bryce Bennett off the pace and 5th; Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has been here 13 times but without a downhill podium – he’s 0.97 ahead at inter 5 and he leads by a massive 1.02! Ryan Cochrane-Siegle into 3rd, but +1.12. Daniel Hemetsberger green at inter 3 and 4 and still green at 5 – he’s 2nd by just 0.06 – great run!  Matthias Mayer green at 3, just green at 4 and just red at 5 – he’s into 3rd. Niels Hintermann apparently had a nasty fall in training but he’s in touch – he’s over the line in 4th. Vincent Kriechmayr about half a second off the pace early on as the wind gusts; he’s recovered a little to inter 3 but then it’s going redder again and he’s 8th.  Marco Odermatt is flying and he’s green all the way to inter 5 – slower in sectors 5 and 6 to cross the line in 3rd, +0.10. Dominik Paris into the nets but up and seems to be unhurt; he’s waiting for his ski which seemed to release early? Beat Feuz next and green by inter 3, red at 4 and 5 but fast through the final speed gun – he’s 5th. Johan Clarey into 6th.  That’s 20 away – Kilde leads from Hemetsberger and Odermatt, then Mayer, Feuz and Clarey. Good efforts from Matthieu Bailet [bib 28] into 15th, and Simon Jocher [bib 29] into 16th; Mattia Casse [30] into 19th. Very impressive run from Miha Hrobat [bib 52] into 16th! So, well done Kilde – a great start to the season – no late changes to the top 10!

Killington [Superstar] – Women’s Slalom, 27 Nov: Run 1 – set by a Norwegian coach, and Emma seems impressed! Katharina Liensberger is first away and working hard on the steep – she’s safely down. Next up [or down, I suppose] is Mikaela Shiffrin, as you can tell from the crowd noise – she’s green all the way and leads by 0.22, although she was slightly slower on sectors 3 and 4. Lena Dürr a little off the pace, red all the way and into 3rd, +0.65. Next is Petra Vlhova – red at inter 1, redder at 2 and into 3rd, +0.31. Wendy Holdener is just green at inter 2, just red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.21; best in sector 2 so far. Anna Swenn Larsson into 5th; she’s the highest bib number in the top 6 and it’s staying that way at present. That’s 15 away – Shiffrin leads from Holdener and Liensberger; Vlhova 4th ahead of Anna SW and Lena Dürr. Paula Moltzan is not having a good season so far – she’s fallen but has finished – sadly that lost enough time to make a second run unlikely. Maria Therese Tviberg [bib 24] into 10th – the highest bib in the top 10. Charlie Guest into 24th – maybe a 2nd run, but +3.37 is a lot? No – no 2nd run today. And, Alex Tilley is a DNF. That’s run 1 over – no late changes to the top 10.
Run 2: This course was set by Wendy Holdener’s personal coach!! Franziska Gritsch is first away on run 2 – looked good and she’s seen off the next three skiers! Melanie Meillard in 2nd and Marta Rossetti has just gone into 3rd. Michelle Gisin has 0.43 in hand as she starts but most has gone by inter 1 and she’s over a second off the pace by 2 – not her day! Nastasia Noens still just green at inter 3 but she’s lost time from there to go 2nd; not for long though as Hanna Aronsson Elfman has taken over that spot, +0.41. This course, and the snow surface, are causing problems – Gritsch still leads and she’s now gained 12 places! Amelia Smart into 4th; we’re half way and Gritsch leads from Elfman and Noens. Zrinka Ljutic started well but an error has cost her time – into 4th; Thea Louise Stjernesund was still nicely green at inter 3 but she too has lost a lot of time on the final sector to go into 4th. Ali Nullmeyer starts with 1.51, but she’s barely in the green at inter 3 and into 5th! That’s 18 places that Gritsch has gained – the “Gritsch that stole slalom”? Sara Hector into 2nd, +0.37; Maria Therese Tviberg has done it – but by just 0.04 despite a huge advantage at the start! Leona Popovic into 3rd; Katharina Truppe has gained to inter 1 and 2 and still nicely green at 3, she’s got better light too – she leads by 0.47! Ana Bucik has flat light again, into 3rd; Gritsch off the podium. Lena Dürr gained to inter 1 but then a massive error – she has finished but in 24th. Anna Swenn Larsson has gained to 1 but she’s wide – great recovery though and she leads by 0.22! Four to go – Petra Vlhova next and she’s just red at inter 1 as the mist comes in – she’s lost time in the final sector to go 3rd, +0.44. Katharina Liensberger is already red at inter 2 and she’s out. Wendy Holdener has gained a good amount from inter 1 to 2 – still just green at 3 and at the finish it’s a dead heat – she ties with Anna SW; neither have yet had a slalom win! Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – 0.38 in hand – it’s down to 0.04 at inter 2 and she’s red at 3 and into 5th – she hasn’t lost here in years but today it’s Swenn Larsson and Holdener who eventually get a slalom win! Truppe in 3rd, Vlhova 4th, Shiffrin 5th and Tviberg 6th. No wonder Wendy Holdener is so happy – at last, a win, even if she is sharing it with an equally delighted Anna Swenn Larsson.

Lake Louise [Men’s Olympic/East Summit] – Men’s Super G, 27 Nov 22: Joined a little late after watching the slalom and trying to fit in the evening meal! Romed Baumann has just taken over the lead from Dominik Paris; Alexis Pinturault in the start hut and looking really good – green all the way, fastest in sector 3 and he leads by 0.24. Great recovery by Justin Murisier, but that’s dropped him to 5th – the weather is deteriorating! Marco Odermatt green and gaining; fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 5 to lead by a massive 1.39! Nice run from Stefan Rogentin to go second but he’s 1.31 behind Odermatt! Nasty fall for Mauro Caviezel, only just back from injury – sadly it doesn’t look good. The helo is on its way but the good news is that Mauro is standing up, although looking rather cut and bruised. At present Marco Odermatt leads from Rogentin, Pinturault, Baumann, Paris and Giezendanner. Race is back on, but the forecast isn’t good! Next to go is Matthias Mayer – not so lucky with the light which is really flat but he’s into 2nd, +0.78 – a pretty impressive effort given the conditions and his long wait. Raphael Haaser into 5th; Aleksander Aamodt Kilde next – slightly green at inter 1, slightly red at 2; less red at 3 and definitely still in touch at 4 – he’s into 2nd, +0.37. Bit unlucky with the weather but he seems happy with that. Vincent Kriechmayr into 4th; Beat Feuz next and relatively slow through the first speed gun – and the second – just 11th. Ryan C-S also having snags with the light [?], he goes into 11th; a better run from James [Jack] Crawford into 6th, just 0.02 behind Rogentin. I can only wonder what Gino Caviezel is going through – on course at the moment and into 13th, safely down and fastest through the final speed gun! Sejersted living dangerously and he’s skied out; Andreas Sander in touch and he’s into 5th, +1.16. Matthieu Bailet has gone into joint 5th with Sander; Nils Allegre has gone 7th. TV break – Odermatt leads from Kilde, Mayer, Kriechmayr with Bailet and Sander tied in 5th. No late changes to the top 6, but an amazing late charge by Daniel Hemetsberger, from bib 48, got him into 7th place! Also worthy of mention are Guglielmo Bosca [ITA, bib 44] into 11th, Brodie Seger [CAN, 37] into 13th, Johan Clarey [FRA, 39] into 16th and Henrik von Appen [CHI 41] into 18th! Great result for Odermatt, with Kilde and Mayer also on the podium – should be an interesting battle for the Overall this season?

Men's 20 Km Individual, 29 Nov: Sadly this one, on a working day at lunchtime, clashed with a busy schedule as far as I was concerned, and a train cancellation alter in the afternoon didn't help either! Suffice to say that Martin Ponsiluoma [SWE], who missed only 1 target in the first standing shoot, managed to beat the clean shooting  Niklas Hartweg [SUI] by 37.2 seconds with David Zobel [GER], who also cleared all 20 targets, in 3rd place - his first podium at this level of competition.  Hartweg and Zobel were the only 2 competitors to clear all 20 targets in a competition that penalises every miss with a full minute penalty! Roman Rees [GER 0,0,1,0] was 4th ahead of Seb Samuelsson [SWE 0,1,0,0] and Sturla Holm Laegreid [NOR 0,0,0,2].  JoBø with 4 misses was 12th, and Quentin Fillon Maillet [FRA 2,0,0,0] was 15th! Full IBU report is HERE

Women's 15 Km Individual, 30 Nov 22: Some bad news - not sure why but Franzi Preuß will not be starting today. More bad news is that the race doesn’t seem to be on Eurosport. Luckily the IBU stream is live – Doro Wierer first away! Pat and Mike back on good form, these hills are apparently vicious. Doro Wierer at the first prone shoot – all clear! Linn Persson also clear and out +3.9; Mari Eder clear and 5 seconds faster than Doro. Anais Chevalier-Bouchet the first to miss 1 at S1; Vanessa Voight clear, as is Denise Herrmann-Wick, out 2nd +4.5. The race is barely 15 minutes old, and already we have had a commentary mention of Ole Einar! Great shooting from Elvira Öberg – all down at S1 and out 12.1 ahead. Doro is at the first standing shoot – very quick but she’s missed 1 here. Elisa Gasparin clear at S2, as is Persson and she’s 24 seconds faster. Mari Eder has also cleared the first 10, and she leads after S2 at present by 15.8 seconds. Poor Anais C-B has missed 2 more; back at S1 her sister Chloe is clear and just 7.7 seconds behind Elvira. Marketa Davidova also clear at S1 and out fractionally behind Eder. At S2 Denise H-W is clear and 4.1 behind Eder; back at S1 Hannah Öberg clear and 5 seconds faster than her sister; they really are amazingly strong! On the subject of Elvira she has missed 1 at S2; out 6th +43.2. Lisa Theresa Hauser has missed 2 at S2; Doro clear at S3. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold clear at S1 and in touch; Linn Persson is 15/15! Disaster for Eder – she’s missed 3 at S3; did she get the wind wrong? Chloe Chevalier has missed 1 at S2; so has Davidova. That’s good shooting – Vanessa Voight also 15/15 but 24 seconds behind Persson; Denise H-W has missed 1 there as well. Back at S2 Hanna Öberg is 10/10 and 24.7 ahead of Eder there, although that’s a little academic now. Elvira has missed another one at S3; Julia Simon also 10/10 and out from S2 in 4th. Doro has slowed her shooting at S4 and it hasn’t worked – 3 misses! Tandrevold 15/15 and out 19.2 behind Persson after S3; Persson has just missed 2 at S4 but still in touch with Elisa Gasparin who missed 1 at S4. Denise H-W has missed 1 at S4 [0,0,1,1] - Voight is clear and away; but Hanna Öberg is 15/15 and over a minute ahead of Tandrevold and Voight there! Elvira has missed her last shot [0,1,1,1]; Julia Simon 15/15 but almost a minute back on Hannah Öberg. That’s a good set of shoots – Tandrevold also 20/20 and out 26.8 ahead of Voight. However – Hannah has enough in hand to miss at least 1 at S4 and Tandrevold has lost a little time to Voight at 13.3 Km. Davidova [0,1,0,1] out from S4 about 8 seconds ahead of Denise H-W, who also had 2 misses. Hannah has missed 1 at S4 but still leads out by 29.2 ahead of Tandrevold. That’s good after last season’s woes, Lisa Vittozzi [1,0,0,0] out from S4 in 3rd. Looking at S1 Stina Nilsson is clear and in touch; at S4 Julia Simon has also missed 1 and she’s out 5th over a minute back on Hannah. Lotte Lie [BEL] also 20/20 and over the finish line in 5th, just behind Elvira! However, at 14.4 Km Hannah is well clear of Tandrevold; Vittozzi comfortably ahead of Voight and Denise H-W. Back at S2 Stina Nilsson has missed 1, and another at S3. At present Hannah Öberg leads at the finish, 36.5 ahead of Tandrevold despite having 1 miss to Tandrevold’s 20/20; Vittozzi in 3rd which should do wonders for her morale! It’s snowing quite hard now, which is not a help for those still on track. I missed her on the way round but that’s a good effort from Sophia Schneider [GER 1,1,0,0] – over the line in 11th at present ahead of Persson who also had 2 misses. Similar story for Lou Jeanmonnot [FRA bib 70; 0,1,0,0] into 12th. That’s it – Hannah Öberg gets a very dominant win despite 1 miss, ahead of Tandrevold and Vittozzi. Vanessa Voight in 4th ahead of Simon and Herrmann-Wick. Elvira Öberg somehow still in the top 10 despite 3 misses – she was 9th; amazing speed! Anais C-B in 30th, Hauser 32nd, Doro back in 38th! Interesting race.

Kontiolahti – Relays: Sadly I was out for both relays, on a busy day, and they don’t seem to feature on the Eurosport videos – just a very brief sequence of the finish! In the men’s raceHERE. Norway were victorious – using 7 spares in all. The team of Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, Sturla Holm Laegreid, Tarjei and Johannes Thingnes Bø won by 43.9 seconds after a stunning final leg by JoBø. The German team of Strelow, Kühn, Doll and Rees was second, with 8 spares ahead of France [Perrot, Fabien Claude, Jaquelin and QFM]. Austria were 4th, then the Czech Republic and Finland. The full IBU article is HERE.

No great surprises in the women’s race – Elvira Öberg, with her typical powerful skiing, anchored the Swedish team of Linn Persson, Anna Magnusson and Hanna Öberg to a 1:14:59.8 win in the first women’s 4 X 6 km relay of the season this afternoon in Kontiolahti. The Swedish foursome used six spare rounds to give Sweden its third victory in the first four competitions of the new BMW IBU World Cup season. Germany [Weidel, Schneider, Voight & Hermann-Wick], with a fast final loop by Denise Herrmann-Wick finished second, 28.1 seconds back. Norway [Knotten, Lien, Femsteinevik & Tandrevold], with three spares finished third, 31.5 seconds back. France were 4th, ahead of Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The full IBU article is here
Hopefully I will be in for the weekend's races!

Kontiolahti – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 3 Dec: There was so much on today that I wasn’t going to be able to see it all – the event that failed to qualify was this sprint! After the first shoot JoBø was clear and the fastest away from the range, 12.0 ahead of Filip Fjeld Andersen, Seb Samuelsson [+12.4] and Sturla Holm Laegreid [+14.6] – all clear there. After S2 it was still JoBø who was fastest, despite 1 miss; Laegreid shot clear but was already 2.8 seconds slower! Roman Rees was also 10/10 and out 3rd, ahead of Jacquelin, Samuelsson and Andersen who all missed 1 in the standing shoot. JoBø seems to be on really blinding form – despite that 1 miss he finished 10.5 ahead of Laegreid with Rees in 3rd, +28.8. Samuelsson was 4th, ahead of Jacquelin and Andersen – 3 Norwegians in the top 6! Odd to see QFM back in 14th, +1:16.3 with only 1 miss?

Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 3 Dec: Once again this didn’t seem to be on Eurosport? Over to the IBU live feed, which at present has no commentary – 95 starters today. Ah, Mike is back, but not Patrick – who is with him instead?! Anyway, Karoline Offigstad Knotten first away – a quite gentle start on this course but it bites later. At 1.9 Km it’s Lisa Vittozzi who is the early leader; Knotten already at S1 – clear and away. Vittozzi has missed her first shot – rest clear and out but she’s 21.2 behind Knotten. Chloe Chevalier also clear at S1 and just 0.5 slower than Knotten; Elisa Gasparin clear and in touch. Doro Wierer was a bit off the pace at 1.9 Km but she’s clear at S1 and 2.3 ahead of Knotten as she leaves the range – that was fast shooting! Vanessa Voight clear at S1 as well and out +5.8; Paulina Batovska Fialkova clear and out neck and neck with Chevalier, who has just missed 2 at S2. Knotten is in for S2 – she’s missed the last 2; back at S1 Denise Herrmann-Wick is clear and out just ahead of Doro. Vittozzi clear at S2, which could get her back in contention. Julia Simon clear at S1 and out 3rd; Emma Lunder the only one 10/10 at present but just 2 seconds ahead of Vittozzi. Doro has also missed 1 at S2 and out 3rd, +8.5; 6.5 slower than Vittozzi . Rats – Vanessa Voight has missed her final shot! At S1 Lisa Theresa Hauser is clear and well up with Denise H-W; Marketa Davidova also clear and in touch. More rats – Denis H-W has also missed 1 at S2 and she’s behind both Vittozzi and Wierer, +14.2 behind Lunder. At S1 Hanna Öberg has missed 1 but Mari Eder is clear and out +1.6; at S2 Julia Simon has missed 2. Elvira Ö has also missed her last shot at S1; David ova has missed 2 in the stand. At the finish Vittozzi [1,0] leads from Lunder 0,0], with Denise H-W [0,1] over the line 3rd, ahead of Doro [0,1]. Odd, Hanna Öberg shooting fast at S2 but she’s missed the last 2. That’s a good start for Tandrevold – clear at S1 and out ahead of Denise H-W; pity, Mari Eder has also missed 2 at S2. I missed Hauser at S2 but she hasn’t missed anything – 10/10 and 16.4 faster than Lunder; meanwhile Elvira Öberg has done just what her sister did and missed 2 more at S2. That’s a great run by Lisa Theresa Hauser – all 10 targets hit and her ski speed is good too – over the line 17.3 ahead of Vittozzi. At S2 Sophia Schneider [1,0] is out just behind Denise H-W; Tandrevold in for her standing shoot – she’s missed 1 as well. Again, the cameras seem to have missed Linn Persson who is 10/10 and lying 4th at 6.2 Km. That’s bad news for Lunder – Linn Persson over the line in 3rd, knocking the Canadian off the podium! Currently it’s Hauser in the lead, Vittozzi 2nd and Persson in 3rd. Lunder now 4th ahead of Denise H-W and Tandrevold, who has just gone joint 5th, and pipped Schneider for the final top 6 place. However, back at S2 Anna Weidel is 10/10 and out almost 2 seconds ahead of Vittozzi in 3rd – does she have the ski speed to challenge for the podium? It begins to look as though the answer is no; by 6.9 Km she’s down to 5th, now slower than Vittozzi and Persson – over the line in 5th and she’s the best placed German at present; Herrmann-Wick and Tandrevold now joint 6th. Back at S2 Rebecca Passler [ITA] is 10/10 and out 7th, +23.8 – that puts her ahead of Tandrevold, Wierer and Denise H-W, but does she have the speed to capitalise on that? She’s losing time – 7th at S2, 11th at 6.2 Km – over the line in 17th at present, a good start to her World Cup races. That’s the race complete – well done to Hauser; faultless shooting and good ski speed so a very well deserved win. Great recovery from Vittozzi – 1 miss at S1 but clear at S2 and into 2nd ahead of Linn Persson who was the best of the Swedes today. Great work by Emma Lunder to go 4th, ahead of Weidel and Herrmann-Wick & Tandrevold. Schneider in 7th then Wierer and Ida Lien. Three Germans in the top 10, two Norwegians and two Italians. Elvira ended up 12th with 3 misses, Hanna in 18th. I think Stina Nilsson [1,2] has just qualified for the pursuit?

Lake Louise [Men’s Olympic/East Summit] – Women’s Downhill, 2 Dec 22: Apparently very cold for this race, minus 28 plus windchill – tape in evidence on several racers! Kasja Vickoff Lie will be first away today, back to racing after over 600 days away after a really bad crash. She’s safely down; Laura Pirovano [ITA] next – also back from injury – she’s faster in sectors 1 and 2, slower in sector 3 but 0.57 ahead at the final intermediate – she leads by 0.58. Christine Scheyer in the red at all the inter points, good in the final sector and into 3rd; Lara Gut-Behrami next and just red at inter 1 and 2, green at 3, better still at 4 and she leads by 0.45 – fastest in sectors 3, 4 & 6. Michelle Gisin has gained from inter 3 and she’s into 2nd; Nadia Delago fast through the speed guns but a bit ragged and getting redder – into 4th. Joana Haehlen just green at 1, just red at 2, just green at 3 and 4,  very green at inter 5 and she leads by a massive 0.82! Mirjam Puchner has got off to an incredible start – 0.73 ahead at inter 2; she’s lost a little at 4 and 5 but fast in sector 6 too to lead by 0.71! The Austrians will be very happy with that! Sofia Goggia on course and just green at inter 2, greener at 3, better at 4 and she leads by 0.35 – some really amazing skiing so far. Kira Weidle into 3rd, but +0.97; that’s 10 away – Goggia leads from Puchner and Weidle, then Haehlen, Gut-Behrami and Gisin. Corinne Suter in touch – just red at inter 3, just green at 4, barely red at 5 and into 2nd by just 4 hundredths – she was fastest in sectors 3 and 4 too! What a race. Breezy Johnson, also back from injury, into 6th; Jasmine Flury in touch and fast through the final speed gun to go 6th. Elena Curtoni has gone one better – literally – to go 5th, +1.04; Romane Miradoli well in touch but on error has dropped her to 8th. Connie Hütter just green at inter 4 and into 3rd, but just 0.06 adrift! Isabella “Hells Bells” Wright into 10th – TV break; Goggia leads from Suter and Hütter – just 0.06 between them, Puchner 4th ahead of Weidle and Curtoni. That’s a nice run from Nina Ortlieb, also on the comeback trail, into 5th. Ilka Stuhec fastest so far though speed gun 2 [5.81 kmph faster!], very quick in sector 4 and fastest in 5 – she goes into 5th. Nasty fall for Elisabeth Reisinger, but she’s back on her feet! Thirty away – no change to the top 6 since Stuhec, but that was only 2 racers ago! Highest bib number in the top 20 at present is Christina Ager [34] in joint 16th with Breezy, although Juliana Suter [bib 33] is in 14th. That’s the race over – well done Sofia Goggia, an impressive win but just 0.04 ahead of Corinne Suter with Cornelia Hütter just a further 0.02 behind – all very close! Mirjam Puchner in 4th ahead of Ilka Stuhec and Nina Ortlieb. Seems the men's downhill on the Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek is another casualty of the weather!?

Beaver Creek [Birds of Prey/Golden Eagle] – Men’s Downhill, 3 Dec 22: Well, all looking good today for this downhill, the storm has eased just enough, although it looks a bit windy at the top! They haven’t lowered the start, but the first part is fairly flat and shielded by trees – it gets a lot steeper later!! Romed Baumann first to go and he’s safely down. James Crawford [CAN] just green from  inter 3 and he leads by 0.20. Matteo Marsaglia into 3rd, as the wind blows up the mountain – no timing on the screen, but the FIS ticker is fine. Bryce Bennett next – green at inter 1 but red at 2, redder at 3 and into 4th; Josef Ferstl also in the red and into 3rd. Next to race is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and it’s windy with flat light – he’s nicely green and getting better – 0.71 ahead at inter 4 – he leads by 0.79; fastest in sectors 1,3,4,& 5! Daniel Hemetsberger unlucky with conditions and into 4th; Johan Clarey into 7th. Now, here comes Dominik Paris – there seems to be some light snow near the top and he too is off the pace – into 8th, I wonder if the conditions are getting that much worse? Marco Odermatt nicely green at inter 2, a bit slow at the second speed gun, but fast through the next one – he’s just red at inter 4 and into 2nd by just 0.06 – fastest in sector 2 and 5.  That was very impressive in the conditions! Beat Feuz quite red at inter 1 and redder at 2; the commentary team wonder about his ski preparation? He’s into 5th, good in sectors 3 and 4 but just 7th in sector 5. Vincent Kriechmayr also slow in sector 1, but best in 3 and he’s into 4th at the finish as the snow gets a little worse. Matthias Mayer good in sectors 2 and 4 and now he’s into 4th just 0.01 off the podium!  It’s wild boar time - Niels Hintermann very good in sector 4 and fastest in 5 as well – at the finish he’s joint 7th with Feuz. Ryan Cochrane-Siegle away and in touch on the top sections, although he’s lost a little to inter 3 and more to 4 – into 7th. They are having a TV break – brave in the weather conditions!? Kilde leads from Odermatt, Crawford, Mayer, Kriechmayr and Baumann. This is not looking good – just within limits hopefully, but no one after the TV break has got into the top 10 so far. I’m usually keen to get on the hill [obviously not at these speeds] but these conditions look to be “stay in the café” unpleasant! Good attempt by Dominik Schwaiger, into 11th. No TV break after bib 22, which seems sensible. Quite a few racers are shaking their heads at the finish – not sure quite how fair this is now? Matthieu Bailet in touch despite arguably the worst conditions so far – he’s into 8th, which is amazingly good. Some impressive skiing – Stefan Rogentin into joint 11th with Hemetsberger. Steve Nyman has missed a gate; Adrian Smiseth Sejersted into 15th!  That’s 30 away so the race is legal – no change to the top 10 since Bailet went into 8th. Sadly Roy-Alexander Steudle was a DNF.  Well done to Kilde on another win, great result for Odermatt and nice to see Crawford take 3rd for Canada.

Lake Louise [Men’s Olympic/East Summit] – Women’s Downhill, 3 Dec 22: Seems they have problems here too as the start is delayed by 30 minutes and they are using the reserve start position?  It looks lovely and a bit warmer, so I’m not sure what the snag was.  Ah, too windy at the top! Priska Nufer first away and she’s safely down; Romane Miradoli will be the first to see how good that is – the wind is moving around so there might be an element of luck with each run? Miradoli good in sectors 2 and 3 and she’s comfortably green at inter 4 – she leads by 0.66. Lara Gut-Behrami green early but just red at inter 3, into 2nd after a slower final sector; Mich Gagnon into 4th, almost a full second back. Jasmine Flury into 3rd; Joana Haehlen green at inter 1 and better at 2; fastest in sectors 2, 4 and 5 and she leads by 0.67. Mirjam Puchner nicely in touch and into 2nd; Corinne Suter green, red, green and fastest in sectors 3 and 4 to lead by 0.22.  Ramona Siebenhofer into 7th, +1.31; Ragnhild Mowinckel red all the way and into 4th, +0.80. Kira Weidle fast in sector 4 but slow in 5 and just 6th; bib 13 is Sofia Goggia, slightly red at inter 1 but very fast through the first speed gun – still red at inter 2 and a little redder at 3, just green at 4 fast at the final gun and she leads by 0.37. Second fastest in sectors 2 and 3, fastest in sectors 4 and 5! Interesting – Connie Hütter will not start today – no info about the reason?  Seems it’s vision problems perhaps as a result of an earlier concussion?? Michelle Gisin in touch to inter 3 but slow in sector 5 and just 5th, +1.16; that’s another good run from Ilka Stuhec, into joint  4th with Puchner, +0.96. Elena Curtoni has lost time from inter 3 to 4 and into 10th; that’s a good run from Nicol Delago [bib 25] – fast through sectors 4 and 5 which gets her into 6th place! Nina Ortllieb [bib 26] nicely in touch at inter 3 and 4 – another good run after yesterday’s return and she’s into 2nd, +0.34 – fastest in sector 3 and not far off in 4 and 5.  That’s 30 away, Goggia leads from Ortlieb and Suter, Haehlen in 4th, then Stuhec/Puchner with Nicol Delago 7th.  Good effort by Delia Durrer [bib 32] into joint 13th with none other than Lara Gut-Behrami! That’s it – congratulations to Sofia Goggia on the double, Nina Ortlieb 2nd and another good day for Corrine Suter in 3rd. Joana Haehlen in 4th, Stuhec and Puchner tied in 5th.

Beaver Creek [Birds of Prey/Golden Eagle] – Men’s Super G, 4 Dec 22: A tough challenge – no early flatter section, straight into the steep. The course, such as it is, as the terrain pretty much constrains it to the downhill course, set by a German coach. Adrian Smiseth Sejersted first away and he’s missed a gate! Romed Baumann next – he’s safely down, but some excitement! Alexis Pinturault next and he’s fast in sector 1 – no timing on the FIS ticker until sector 4 where he’s also fastest – he leads by 0.50. Gino Caviezel red at inter 1, nicely green at 2, back red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.25. Almost a second faster in sector 2 but he lost a lot further down. Dominik Paris way off the pace at inter 1, better but still red at 2, then over a second slow at 3 – into 4th [+1.73!] and there must be something not right, maybe with his kit setup? Another slight surprise. Ryan Cochrane-Siegle a full second down at inter 1, slightly better later but then straight through a gate and that’s a DNF – lucky escape. Stefan Rogentin has also started almost a second down and he’s into 4th but +1.14 – these are big gaps. Raphael Haaser more in touch and into the green at inter 3 – he’s slow in the final sector though, after a couple big errors and into 3rd. Bib 9 is Matthias Mayer, but he too is off Pinturault’s pace – better from inter 3 with the fastest sector 4 time and into 3rd. Even Marco Odermatt is red at inter 1, better at 2, just green at 3 and he leads by 0.10. James Crawford well green at inter 1, but just 0.03 ahead at 2, slow through the second speed gun and he’s in trouble – into 7th +0.93 – fastest by a good amount in sector 1 but then 9/10/8. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde next but he’s had some sort of flu – just green at inter 1, 2 and 3 and he takes the lead by 0.20! Fastest in sector 4 too! Odermatt is shaking his head – what does he have to do? Vincent Kriechmayr into 7th; Beat Feuz can only manage 12th. TV break – Kilde leads from Odermatt, Pinturault, Gino Caviezel, Haaser and Baumann. Matthieu Bailet has also missed “that” gate; Travis Ganong has missed a gate! The course is getting a bit rutted which isn’t helping – no one from 15 to 22 has got into the top 10 – closest was Justin Murisier [bib 20] into 12th. Lucky escape for Brodie Seger – almost into the nets but safely off the course. Swapping to the Lake Louise event, but keeping an eye on the ticker! Broderick Thompson in touch to inter 3 but then he too has lost time lower down to go 17th. Not a bad run from Mattia Casse [bib 30] into 13th! Good work from the Norwegians – Atle Lie McGrath in to 5th from bib 32 and Lucas Braathen [bin 33] into 7th! Cyprian Sarrazin into 12th from bib 37 and Henrik von Appen [bib 40] into 14th. Julian Schütter [bib 41] into 17th; River Radamus [bib 57; why such a bad start number – what have I forgotten?] into 17th! That’s it – Kilde gets the double, Odermatt again 2nd with Pinturault getting a very useful 3rd. Gino Caviezel in 4th ahead of McGrath and Haaser.

Lake Louise [Men’s Olympic/East Summit] – Women’s Super G, 4 Dec 22: This course also set by a German coach – apparently the last World Cup at Lake Louise? Joana Haehlen first away, safely down. Ariane Raedler red at inter 3 and into 2nd, +0.19. Laura Gauche nicely green at inter 2 but a big error and she’s skied out. Ramona Siebenhofer has started well and she’s gained to inter 2 – she leads by 0.69! Nicole Schmidhofer into 2nd, and fastest in sector 2; Federica Brignone a bit ragged and into 5th. Elena Curtoni green by inter 3 and she leads by 0.12. There’s a surprise – Lara Gut-Behrami a DNF after missing a gate. Next is Ragnhild Mowinckel – green all the way from inter 2 and fastest in sector 2 to lead by 0.23. Romane Miradoli into 4th; now it’s Sofia Goggia – off the pace at inter 2 by 0.85 – she’s pulling back time and fastest through sectors 3 and 4 – what an amazing fight back, she’s into 2nd, just 0.20 back. Corinne Suter just green at inter 3 and fastest in sector 4 – now she leads by 0.16. Mirjam Puchner has had a great two final sectors to go third, knocking Goggia off the podium. TV break – Suter leads from Mowinckel, Puchner, Goggia, Curtoni and Siebenhofer. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie [bib 16] into 10th and in succession Tessa Worley [17] and Marta Bassino [18] have taken over that position. Jasmine Flury has had a better run – red all the way but into 7th. Connie Hütter didn’t race yesterday due to problems after a previous crash but this is a good run – she’s into 2nd, just 0.02 behind Suter and fastest in the final sector too. Mich Gagnon, in her final season, into 8th. Good run from Laura Pirovano [bib 36] into 9th – highest bib number in the top 10. That’s this race over too – sadly it might be the last World Cup race at this venue – Corinne Suter takes the win, just fractionally ahead of Connie Hütter, back from vision snags which stopped her racing yesterday, and Ragnhild Mowinckel. Puchner in 4th ahead of Goggia and Curtoni. Very close!

Kontiolahti – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 4 Dec 22: Another day, another day of no biathlon on Eurosport in UK – just acres of snooker, although to be fair they do seem to have cross country skiing and alpine. I don’t bet on races but given the form shown by Johannes Thingnes Bø in the relay and the sprint … He’s away with 11 seconds advantage over Sturla Holm Laegreid. At 1.9 Km the gap between the leading 2 is up to 14.1 seconds; at around 40 seconds back from JoBø are Rees, Samuelsson and Jacquelin. JoBø in for S1 – he’s clear; so is Laegreid and the gap is now 19.2. The chasing 3 are also clear and out around 50 seconds back – Christiansen and Andersen also clear and out about 1:07 adrift. Johannes Dale and Fabien Claude have missed 2 at S1. On the lap the gaps between the developing groups are staying fairly steady, but there are changes in position – Niklas Hartweg up from 16 to 8, Justus Strelow from 17 to 12, with Dale from 7 to 17 for example. JoBø in for S2, very careful and clear; Laegreid also clear [lucky with one] and the gap is 19.6. Jacquelin and Samuelsson clear too and out around 50 seconds back but Rees has missed 1. Hartweg, Strelow and Doll clear and around 1:30 back, with Andersen, Zobel and Nelin with them. Interesting to see Bogdan Tsymbal [UKR] 10/10 and up from 36 to 16! At 6.9 Km JoBø seems to have opened the gap a little and now he’s in for S3 – the first of the standing shoots. He was arguably a little unlucky with number 4 which he missed. Laegreid has missed number 5 and out +27.9, with Jacquelin fast and clear and +37.4. Samuelsson has missed 1 too [+1:05.2], Rees clear here [+1:15.1]. Christiansen has missed 2 here, so have Doll, Strelow and Tsymbal. At 9.4 Km Laegreid is +32.3 with Jacquelin just 4.5 back. Anton Dudchenko [0,0,0] up from 59 to 18 after S3! Samuelsson and Rees have lost another 8 seconds or so to 9.4 Km; Nelin fairly steady. JoBø in for his final shoot – first is a bad miss and he’s missed another one too. Laegreid has missed just 1, and out +12.3; Jacquelin has missed 2 and out +44.1. Samuelsson has also missed 1 as has Rees but both are over a minute back. Vytautas Strolia [1,0,0,0] up from 22 to 11, Dudchenko has missed 1 and out 18th. Laegreid comfortable in 2nd and it seems Jacquelin is pretty much safe in 3rd, but he did have a chance to win and it obviously annoyed him to have 2 misses at S4. That’s it – another well-deserved win for JoBø, although the 3 misses will rankle. Laegreid in 2nd and Emilien Jacquelin in 3rd, up from 5th. Samuelsson 4th, Rees 5th [from 3], Nelin 6th [from 8. Fabien Claude the next gainer [15 to 7], those also gaining include Tarjei Bø [18-9], QFM [14 – 10], Strolia [22-11], Strelow [17-13], Florent Claude [26-14], Dudchenko [59-18], Komatz [39-19] and Jake Brown [41-20]. Those who may be having an interview without coffee with the coach include Andersen [6-15], Christiansen [10-16], Kühn [12-29], Ponsiluoma [13-36], Langer [24-38], Wright [23-48] and Dale [9 misses, 7-55]. Just Komatz and Tachizaki with a perfect shooting score.

Kontiolahti – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 4 Dec 22: Well, I expect to see two charging Öbergs in this race! Hauser will be away with 17 seconds advantage – some new snow to deal with! Still 17 seconds or so at 1.4 Km although Denise H-W, Tandrevold and Elvira are gaining places, among others. Hauser cruising in to S1 – she’s missed her third; Vittozzi clear and she leads out, 6.6 ahead of Hauser. Doro Wierer fast and clear and out 3rd, +8.3, then Lunder, Elvira [+9.9], and Simon in 6th. Person has missed 1, so have Weidel, Tandrevold, Schneider and Eder. Denise H-W has missed 2, as has Hanna Öberg, Skottheim has missed 3. Looks like Elvira had a good breakfast – up to 2nd, making up some 40 seconds already! In for S2 – the second prone – Vittozzi fast and clear and she leads out ahead of Doro W [+3.5], Hauser [+4.1], Lunder, Simon and Voight – all 10/10. Davidova also 10/10 and 7th from 22; Elvira missed 1 and out 9th, +26.1. I’m sorry to see Denise H-W down from 6 to 26 with 3 misses so far! At 5.4 Km it’s Vittozzi, just ahead of Simon, Hauser, Wierer, Lunder and Elvira Öberg [+20.2]. The first standing shoot – Julia Simon clear and she leads out, but Vittozzi [+0.7], Lunder [+1.2] and Doro [+1.6] are also clear and in touch. Davidova also 15/15 and 5th from 22, out +23.3 just ahead of Elvira. Caroline Colombo [FRA] is 15/15 and out 7th from 24 at the start. Hauser [1,0,2] in 8th, ahead of Voight [0,0,1] and Tandrevold [1,1,0]. The final shoot – Julia Simon 20/20 and out just 2.9 ahead of Doro who also has the perfect score. Vittozzi has missed 1 and out +25.3 but only just ahead of Lunder [0,0,0,1] and Elvira Öberg [0,1,0,0]. I’m hoping Doro can hold on, but Julia Simon is away. At 9.2 Km the gap is now 6.2 Km – Elvira up to 3rd and well clear of Vittozzi and Lunder, although she’s lost a little by 9.4 Km – she seems comfortable in 3rd. So, Julia Simon takes an impressive win – perfect score and up from 16th. Doro Wierer also 20/20 and 2nd from 9th, Elvira Öberg [0,1,0,0] 3rd from 12th. Vittozzi on 4th ahead of Lunder and Colombo [from 24]; Davidova among the gainers [22-7], a list which includes Hanna Öberg [18-10], Anais C-B [25-12], Minkkinen [27-15], Chauveau [34-19], Comolo [44-20] and Jeanmonnot [47-25]. Some good names among those going the ”wrong” way – Hauser [1-9], Persson [3-11], Tandrevold [7-14], Denise H-W [6-16], Weidel [5-17], Schneider [8-23], Aita Gasparin [14-34] and Skottheim [13-55 with 10 misses]. Good race!

Hochfilzen – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 8 Dec 22: Another race that was scheduled at a very inconvenient time, as far as I was concerned – I joined quite late on with Denise Herrmann-Wick [0,0] leading from Marketa Davidova [0,1; +18.1] and Julia Simon [0,1; +20.1]. Elvira Öberg [1,1] in 4th, +32.4 ahead of Anamarija Lampic [SLO - 0,3; +35.8 despite those 3 misses!] and Hannah Öberg [1,1: +37.2]. Doro Wierer in 7th, ahead of Knotten, Magnusson and Persson – and that’s how it ended. That’s amazing speed from Lampic, transferring from cross country – 27.0 faster around the course than Elvira and just 35.8 off the win despite doing 3 penalty loops – quite astonishing! She passed Wierer and Knotten between 6.6 Km and the finish and even pulled out time on Elvira; compare that to Stina Nilsson [2,0] who was 35th, +1:34.8! Weidel, Schneider and Preuß with 2 misses each and in the early 20s.

Hochfilzen – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 9 Dec 22: Fairly fresh back from a nice frosty walk, I was in good time for this one! Looks like a good spread of names through the start list – Samuelsson is bib 6, JoBø goes 16, many names later in group 2 while Tarjei is in the early 80s! Campbell Wright [CAN] first away with Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen on his tail! Seems a rather odd course, due to a change – in early for S1? Christiansen already at S1 and he’s clear, so is Dudchenko, who is out 4.2 seconds back as they leave the range. No wind at all – Samuelsson has missed his first two shots – quick reset and the next three are perfect. Jakub Stvrtecky clear and out +4.1, Jakov Fak also in touch, Rees has missed 1. Thierry Langer has fallen – seems OK but he hasn’t got to S1 yet? JoBø is in for S1 – clear and out 8.1 ahead of Christiansen, although the final shot was well to the right of the target. Langer is in for S1 now – 2 misses. Justus Strelow also clear at S1 and he’s in touch too; Martin Ponsiluoma clear and out 3rd, +10.7. Christiansen has missed 2 at S2 and apparently he doesn’t have a long loop to recover time to the finish? Dudchenko has also missed 2 here; Rene Zahkna [EST] the only 10/10 so far, Samuelsson [2,0] and out +32.3. That’s good shooting, Stvrtecky is also 10/10 and out 16.8 ahead of Christiansen. Back at S1 Sturla Holm Laegreid clear and out just 5.1 behind Johannes Bø. Speaking of JoBø, he’s in for his standing shoot – fast and clear and he’s away – a massive 58.3 ahead of Stvrtecky. At S1 Hartweg and Andersen are clear and faster than Ponsiluoma; Emilien Jacquelin clear and just 2.7 slower than JoBø, who is really steaming towards the line! Strelow also 10/10 but 52.1 slower than JoBø; Ponsiluoma has missed 1 at S2 and so has Jesper Nelin. At S1 Quentin Fillon Maillet is clear and out +10.0; Jacquelin left S1 +2.7 – at 6.6 Km the gap to JoBø is now +15.1! At S2 Laegreid has missed 1 but still out well ahead of Strelow, +36.4 behind JoBø. Andersen is 10/10 but out just behind Laegreid. Jacquelin has also missed 1 at S2 , out 3.4 ahead of Laegreid. Andrejs Rastorgujevs back in World Cup racing and he’s 10/10 and out 7th, just ahead of Andersen. At present, at the finish it’s an all Norwegian affair – JoBø, Laegreid and Andersen – but not any more as Jacquelin is over the line in 2nd! Rastorgujevs over the line in 5th, ahead of Ponsiluoma, Stvrtecky and Strelow. At S1 Tarjei Bø has missed 2; at S2 QFM has missed 1 and out 7th, +55.0 – he’s over the line in 7th – his skis didn’t look quite right today? Looking at the S1 order, I can’t see any late changes to the top place! Tarjei is [2,2] – he’s not having a happy day! Now, who will the Norwegians put in the relay team – three athletes in the top 4, Dale in 10th despite 2 misses? That’s the sprint over – JoBø [0,0] the very convincing winner, ahead of Jacquelin [0,1; +43.0] and Laegreid [0,1; +46.9]. Then Andersen [0,0], Rastorgujevs [0,0] and Ponsiluoma [0,1]. QFM 7th, ahead of Stvrtecky, Strelow [best German today] and Dale. Doll in 14th after 3 misses, Samuelsson 19th, Tarjei 39th!

Val d’Isère [Stade Olympique de Bellevarde] – Men’s Giant Slalom, 10 Dec 22: I didn’t have time for run 1, but it must have been tricky as there were a good collection of DNFs, includimg de Aliprandini, Windingstad and Filip Zubcic – sadly the list also included Charlie Raposo! Marco Odermatt was fastest, ahead of Manu Feller [+0.45] and no one else got within a second of Odermatt! Run 1 ended with Odermatt leading from Feller, Schmid, McGrath, with Kristoffersen [+1.49] tied in 5th with Meillard.
Run 2: I joined this with 5 away and Simon Maurberger [ITA] leading from Thomas Tumler – it already seems very easy to lose time between inter 1 and 2! Erik Read nicely in touch at inter 3 but he’s lost time on the final rollers to go 3rd; Maurberger has gained 8 places now! That course sounds icy and looks steep – it’s a tricky course too, set by an Austrian coach! Filippo della Vite just red at inter 3 but a good final sector gets him the lead by 0.08 – good result from bib 49! Fadri Janutin [Sui] into 6th; good for a relative newcomer. Livio Simonet nicely placed to inter 3 but too many errors have dropped him to 7th.  That’s half way – della Vite leads from Maurberger and Tumler. Victor Muffat-Jeandet has gained to inter 1, but that advantage is going as he gets lower on the hill – he’s 7th, after losing 0.53 between inter 3 and the finish. Zan Kranjec has also gained to inter 1, where he is 1.30 ahead – 1.53 ahead at inter 3 and he leads by 1.45 – brilliant! Marco Schwarz red all the way but in touch and into 2nd; Alexis Pinturault already red at inter 1 as the mist starts to roll in – he’s into 3rd, +1.00. Stefan Brennsteiner into 2nd, +0.37; Lucas Braathen just red at inter 1 and 2 but he’s lost time to inter 3 after a big error – he’s 4th. It’s getting bumpy – Loic Meillard into 5th; Henrik Kristoffersen next and still green at inter 2, slightly red at 3 and he’s into 2nd, +0.21. Atle Lie McGrath on course with 0.55 advantage as he starts, but he’s barely green at 2 and just red at 3 – a good final sector though and he’s into 2nd, +0.03! Just three hundredths off the top spot! Alexander Schmid has also lost time between inter 1 and 2, just green  at 3 and he’s 4th, +0.26. Now, Manu Feller has 1.42 in hand as he starts, and it’s getting a bit misty again – his advantage is slipping away but he’s got enough to play with and he leads by 0.65 – that was an exciting moment two from the finish! Just Marco Odermatt to come – he's gained quite a bit to inter 1 and more to 2; he’s got the worst of the weather but by inter 3 he’s 1.18 ahead – he wins by an astonishing 1.40 – what a fantastic run! All that and a Didier Cuche ski trick to finish – amazing stuff.

Sestriere [Giovanni A. Agnelli] – Women’s Giant Slalom, 10 Dec 22: No time for this run 1 either, although I did manage to see Petra Vlhova take the lead away from Marta Bassino by just 0.07. Tessa Worley [+0.40] in 3rd, ahead of Shiffrin, Mowinckel and Hector [+0.50]. That’s how run 1 ended. Sadly run 2 clashes with the men’s biathlon relay, so I’ll have to try and keep up just on the FIS ticker. Six away – already 2 DNFs, and it’s Elizabeth Kappaurer who leads from Coralie Frasse Sombet. Ramona Siebenhofer into 3rd; with 10 away there is no change to the top 3. That’s impressive – Ana Bucik was 0.33 red at inter 3 but she’s pulled it all back to lead by 0.06! Franziska Gritsch in touch to inter 3 but she’s lost it and into 5th.  Stjernesund has done something similar – nicely green at 3 and then into 9th! Wendy Holdener has bucked that  trend by gaining from  3 to the finish to lead by 0.54. Asja Zenere [ITA] into 2nd; Valerie Grenier into 3rd, but only briefly as Paula Moltzan has taken over the lead by 0.29. Lara Gut-Behrami still 0.30 green at 3 – she’s lost time but she’s just held on to lead by 0.03! Federica Brignone is flying – she’s gaining time all the way and she leads by a massive 1.38, having been just 0.48 ahead at the start! That’s a great run from Sara Hector  to take over the lead by 0.55; Mowinckel into 5th. Shiffrin into the red by inter 1 but she’s recovered to be fractionally green at 2 – back to deep red at 3 though and just 3rd. Tessa Worley into 3rd; Marta Bassino has gained from 1 to 2, red at 3 and 4 but a good final sector and she leads by 0.11. That’s a surprise, Petra Vlhova just red at 1, just green at 2 but then ,ore red and she’s into 3rd! Great win for Marta Bassino, with Sara Hector 2nd; then Vlhova, Brignone, Worley and Shiffrin.

Val d’Isère [Stade Olympique de Bellevarde] – Men’s Slalom, 11 Dec 22: Overslept and missed run 1 – Henrik Kristoffersen just fractionally faster than Lucas Braathen with Manu Feller in 3rd, ahead of Kristoffer Jakobsen, Loic Meillard and Alexis Pinturault. Dave Ryding in 9th. Clement Noel and Atle Lie McGrath among the DNFs, as are Billy Major and Laurie Taylor.
Run 2: Which clashes with the final leg of the women’s biathlon relay! So I joined with 10 away, Tobias Kastlunger [ITA, bib 67!] leading from Fabio Gstrein and Ramon Zenhaeusern. Istok Rodes into 4th; 15 to go – Linus Strasser into 3rd and on his way back to Germany and his wife, hopefully in time for the birth of their child! The course is already getting rutted. Timon Haugan has had a good run on the new skis and he leads by 0.18. A J Ginnis [GRE, bib 49] back from injury and into joint 3rd with Gstrein; Alex Vinatzer has gained to inter 1 but he’s straddled! Albert Popov into 3rd; Dave Ryding next and his advantage is gone by inter 1 after an early mistake – into 15th. Daniel Yule green all the way - he lost a bit from inter 3 but he’s into the lead by 0.38. Marco Schwarz into 3rd, so Kastlunger is off the podium! Alexis Pinturault on course, red at inter 1, 2 and 3 but he’s pulled it all back on the last sector to take the lead by just 0.04! Loic Meillard green all the way and he’s gained from 2 to 3 – he leads by 0.35. Kristoffer Jakobsen only fractionally red from inter 2 and into 2nd by 0.08. Manu Feller just red at inter 1 and redder by 3 – that’s a great final sector and he leads by 0.14; Lucas Braathen has gained to inter 1 and he’s 0.80 green at inter 2, over a second clear at 3 and he leads by an impressive 0.84! Just Henrik Kristoffersen to come and he has just 0.07 in hand – he’s 0.23 red at 1, and almost a second back by 3 – that’s unusual, he’s lost more time to go 6th! Lucas Braathen takes an impressive win, ahead of Feller and Meillard; Jakobsen in 4th, then Pinturault and Kristoffersen. Exciting stuff!

Sestriere [Giovanni A. Agnelli] – Women’s Slalom, 11 Dec 22: I joined this just after it started with Wendy Holdener leading; Petra Vlhova on the course – well red at inter 2, better at 3 and fastest in sectors 3 and 4 to take over the lead by 0.24! Mikaela Shiffrin next and in touch although it’s red all the way – fastest in sector 3 but slower in sector 4 and into 3rd, +0.33. Course set by an Austrian coach, but I understand that the course for run 2 will be set by Vlhova’s coach? Katharina Truppe well in touch at inter 1 but it’s all drifting away from there – into 7th. Ten away – Vlhova leads from Holdener, Shiffrin, Dürr, Swenn Larsson and Ali Nullmeyer is into 6th. The ruts are getting more noticeable; Sara Hector has fallen – she did complete the course but almost certainly won’t get a second run. Nasty fall for Katharina Huber but she’s up and seems OK. That’s more like it – Paula Moltzan into 6th from bib 19 – the first change to the top 6 for a while! What a recovery by Zrinka Ljutic [bib 25] – not only did she manage to stand up again but she’s into 6th place! Aline Danioth into 9th from bib 28! Charlie Guest is safely down but +4.19 so a second run looks unlikely – sadly she’s already out of the top 30. Another high bib number into the top 10 – Lara della Mea [38] into 9th.
Run 2: I joined with 10 away and Elena Stoffel leading, having gained 6 places. Ana Bucik on course and she’s been steadily gaining time; a good final sector too and she now leads by 0.62. Andrea Filser green at the intermediates but she’s lost time on the final sector to go 2nd, +0.50. That’s unusual – 4 skiers tied in 4th! Hanna Aronsson Elfman has gained a little to inter 1, more to 2 and a massive amount from there to lead by 1.68! That was very impressive! Mina Fuerst Holtmann is nicely in touch, just red from inter 2 but she’s lost a lot from inter 3 – into 2nd, +0.89. Martina Dubovska dead level at inter 2, just red at 3 but she too has lost time from there – into 3rd, but +1.35! Katharina Liensberger into 5th; Aline Danioth has just taken over that place. Ali Nullmeyer on track after the TV break and with 0.68 in hand – only barely green at inter 3 and she’s lost 1.49 from there to go 4th. Paula Moltzan has over a second advantage as she lines up in the start hut – and she still has 0.82 in hand at inter 3 – she’s missed it, into 2nd by just 0.02! Zrinka Ljutic has done much the same, 0.91 green at inter 3 and she has gone into 3rd, +0.09! Anna Swenn Larsson starts 1.37 green and she’s 1.12 green at inter 3 – and, she’s missed it too – into 3rd, +0.08! Unbelievable! Lena Dürr 0.84 ahead at inter 3, and from there into 5th; Mikaela Shiffrin starts with an advantage of 1.81 and, at last, the lead changes – she is 0.58 ahead! Wendy Holdener has gained time to inter 2 and she leads by 0.47 – good work! Just Petra Vlhova to come and her coach set this course, I think. Again, unusual – she is 0.39 red at inter 2, redder at 3 and into 3rd, +0.70! So, another win for Wendy Holdener, with Shiffrin 2nd and Vlhova 3rd. Aronsson Elfman in 4th, having gained 12 places, then Moltzan and Swenn Larsson

Hochfilzen – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 10 Dec 22: Denise H-W has an 18 second lead over Marketa Davidova as they start, but just 32 seconds over Elvira, which might be more of a concern? I was also interested in how Lampic would do but I gather she’s a DNS – team decision? At 1.6 Km Julia Simon is past Davidova, Elvira has made up almost 3 seconds. Denise H-W in for S1 – clear and away, Simon and Davidova also clear and out almost together some 19 seconds back. Elvira clear and out 4th, +30.0, Doro Wierer has missed 1, as has Hanna Öberg. Linn Persson up from 10th to 5th; Preuß in 14th from 25. On the lap Elvira has closed up to Simon and Davidova. Denise H-W in for S2 – 1 miss and out 9.1 behind Simon and Davidova who were clear. Elvira has also missed 1, out +27.2, just in front of Persson and Hauser who were both 10/10. Doro has missed another 1 and Preuß 2 here; Hanna Öberg is now 1,2. At 5.6 Km Denise H-W has lost some 4 seconds to the leading pair, and so has Elvira, who isn’t losing Hauser and Persson. The first standing shoot and all change – Julia Simon has missed 1 but she leads out, just 3.2 ahead of Persson, who has cleared all 15! Denise H-W is 0,1,1 and out 3rd, +17.9 ahead of Davidova who missed 2 at S3, then Hauser [0,0,1] and Tandrevold [0,0,1]. Elvira has missed 2 at S3 and out joint 9th with Anais C-B almost a full minute back. Among those few with 15/15 Vanessa Voight is up to 11 from 30. At 7.6 Km Denise has caught up 6 seconds, Hauser past Davidova and Tandrevold has made up 12 seconds! The final shoot – Simon clear here and she leads out, 26.0 ahead of Davidova [[0,0,2,0] who is just ahead of Tandrevold [0,0,1,0] with Denise H-W [0,1,1,1] 4th, +44.8, then Persson, who missed 2 at S4. At 9.1 Km Tandrevold is past Davidova – that’s a good pace for her! Elvira is somehow up to 5th, helped by a clear shoot at S4; at 9.6 Km she’s past D H-W! Julia Simon has cruised over the line for a well-deserved win. Tandrevold up from 13 to 2nd, and Davidova takes the final podium place. Elvira in 4th, ahead of Denise H-W – Linn Persson in 6th from 10. Other gainers include Vittozzi [18-8], Paulina Batovska Fialkova [29-10], Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [16-12], Voight [30-14], Weidel [22-15], Jeanmonnot [31-16], Klemencic [43-17!], Minkkinen [38-19] and Colombo [45-22]. Heading the wrong way the list includes Doro [7-13], Magnusson [9-18], Chevalier [11-20], Lie [15-34], Tomingas [19-38], Kalkenberg [28-41], and Elisa Gasparin [17-43]. Well done Julia Simon!

Hochfilzen – Men’s 4 x  7.5 Km relay, 10 Dec 22: Hmm, it’s snowing! Hard not to think that Norway should win this – I see Tarjei Bø isn’t in the team; Sturla Holm Laegreid leading on leg 1 and breaking the fresh snow. At 1.6 Km Laegreid leads from Nelin and Komatz, then Strelow, Guigonnat and Bionaz. In for S1 – Laegreid clear and away, ahead of Bionaz [+6.3] and Strelow [1 spare, +8.6]. Dovzan in 4th, ahead of Komatz and Pryma – all 3 with no spares used. Nelin 9th after 1 spare. Laegreid is really pushing the pace, which isn’t going to help those who try to stay with him. Laegreid in for S2 and he’s missed two targets – all 3 spares used and he’s away but Strelow is clear here and out just 3.7 behind with Stalder clear and out 3rd. At 6.6 Km Laegreid leads by 9.8 seconds ahead of Komatz and Nelin who are tied in 2nd; Strelow down to 8th, +17.0. At exchange 1 it’s Norway ahead of Sweden [+10.1] who are just marginally ahead of Austria. Estonia 4th, then Switzerland and Ukraine. At 8.6 Km Filip Fjeld Andersen leads but Martin Ponsiluoma is just 2.7 behind, with Simon Eder in 3rd. The leaders are coming in for S3, Andersen clear and away, but just 1.1 ahead of Eder who shot fast and clear. Fabien Claude clear and has France up to 3rd. Ponsiluoma used 2 spares and he’s out 8th. The snow seems to be getting heavier? In for S4; Giacomel [ITA] is clear and he’s out in the lead, 3.7 ahead of Andersen [1 spare] then Claude [1], Eder [1] and Ponsiluoma [2]. Kühn on the penalty loop for Germany and out 10th. At 14.1 Km Giacomel is holding on, in fact he’s pulled out a little on Andersen, with Ponsiluoma closing ahead of Claude, Eder and Hartweg; Kühn up to 7th. At he exchange its Italy, 4.2 ahead of Sweden with Norway 3rd, +5.5. France in 4th, ahead of Austria and Switzerland with Germany 7th. Now, I didn’t thin k JoBø was racing today, but he is and by 16.1 Km he’s just ahead of Zingerle and Femling, with Jacquelin in 4th, ahead of Rees and Burkhalter [SUI]. In for S5 – snow has eased a little – JoBø took his time and he’s clear and out, 13.9 ahead of Jacquelin [0], Femling [1] Zingerle [0], Rees [0] and Leitner [0]. At 19.1 Km JoBø has the gap to Jacquelin up to 19.7; Femling losing ground and +32.8. JoBø in for his standing shoot – quick here and he’s clear and out! Jacquelin needed 1 spare, out +37.1 with Femling clear and +43.0. Rees clear and 4th, +1:12.4, then Zingerle and Seppala [FIN]. At 21.6 Km JoBø is 50.0 ahead of Jacquelin, who has Femling right on his heels. Rees some 30 seconds further back, but well clear of Zingerle and Seppala. Final exchange – Norway lead by over a minute as Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen takes over. France 2nd, just 0.6 ahead of Sweden. Germany 4th, then Finland and Italy. I wonder how JoBø will feel tomorrow for the pursuit after that effort? QFM and Samuelsson close on the lap with Benedikt Doll 19 seconds further back. Hiidensalo in 5th, with Lemmerer {AUT] up to 6th. The final prone shoot – Christiansen clear and away; Samuelsson in just ahead of QFM – Samuelsson clear and out but QFM needs 2 spares – he obviously thought he’d hit the target but then needed that 2nd spare -  which has let Doll though to 3rd. Hiidensalo clear and out ahead of Fauner [ITA]. At 26.6 Km Christiansen is 1:17.4 ahead of Samuelsson with Doll +1:33.3 and QFM a further 10 seconds back. Christiansen is already at the range for his final shoot – 3rd shot a bad miss and he’s on the penalty loop!! Samuelsson has used just 1 spare and he’s out 2nd, +29.9; Doll [1] +45.1, QFM [1] +55.4. Hiidensalo over a minute back but looking secure in 5th. I don’t think QFM can get back on the podium – I don’t think Doll can catch Samuelsson either. So, Norway [1+7] take the win although that last leg wasn’t in the plan; Sweden  [0+8] in 2nd and Germany [1+5] take 3rd despite that early penalty loop. France in 4th, then Finland with Austria just beating Switzerland to 6th place.

Hochfilzen – Women’s 4 x 6 Km relay, 11 Dec 22: Quite a bit of low cloud but no snow at present – surely the Swedes are the favourites for this one – Persson, Magnusson, Hanna and Elvira? It’s a steady pace on this first leg, at 1.6 Km it’s Persson in the lead, ahead of Elisa Gasparin, Jeanmonnot, Minkkinen, Weidel and Irwin – just 12.9 seconds between first and last. In for S1 – Gasparin out first, 2.1 ahead of Persson, then Weidel, Moser [CAN], Passler [ITA] and Zdouc [AUT] – all clear with only 1 spare for Zdouc. At 3.6 Km Persson is 5.4 ahead of Batovska Fialkova, with Gasparin 3rd ahead of Moser and Jeanmonnot. Persson pushing the pace a little now – in for S2; the wind has picked up a little. Persson clear and out 7.2 ahead of Passler, then Weidel and Jeanmonnot – all with no spares this time. Gasparin 5th despite 2 spares, ahead of Knotten who has used 1 spare at both shoots. Fialkova needed all 3 spares and out 11th. Poland and Romania on the penalty loop. Linn Persson is pulling away – at the first exchange Anna Magnusson takes over with 15.9 seconds in hand. Anais Chevalier Bouchet and Doro Wierer out close together with Franzi Preuß +24.9, ahead of Ivona Fialkova and Nastassia Kinnunen. In for S3 – Magnusson has missed – she’s used 2 spares but while she’s doing that Anais C-B is clear and out just 0.6 ahead of Doro, also clear. Magnusson 3rd +14.3, Preuß clear and +20.3 with a gap to Aita Gasparin and Kalkenberg. On the lap Magnusson and Preuß have lost a little time. S4 – Doro clear again and away – Anais C-B out +15.1 after 2 spares, Magnusson clear this time and +21.5 while Franzi P is clear and out +33.1. Fialkova on the penalty loop, so are Ukraine, Canada, Estonia and Finland. Second exchange – Magnusson has lost a little more so Italy [Samuela Comola] are away with a 12.8 gap to France [Chloe Chevalier], Sweden 22.8 back with Germany [Voight] 4th, +31.2; Norway [Erdal] +56.9. Now, how quickly will Hanna Öberg try to pull that gap back? At 13.1 Km Chevalier is just 7.3 back and Hanna is +14.8. In for S5 – Comola clear and out, but just 3.0 ahead of Chevalier with Voight also clear and +30.3. Hanna Öberg has used all 3 spares and out 4th, +35.5 ahead of Erdal and Schwaiger. At 15.1 Km Hanna is in 3rd, +22.5. In for the standing shoot on leg 2 – Comola [1 spare] out 1.6 ahead of Chevalier [1], Hanna [2] but somehow +7.1, Voight [1] +9.8. Erdal in 5th +49.5. On the lap Hanna Öberg into the lead despite needing 5 spares – at 17.6 Km she’s 9.0 ahead! At the final exchange Elvira is away 11.4 ahead of Julia Simon with Denise H-W in 3rd, +11.9; Lisa Vittozzi +19.0 – will she try to close the gap, but against those leading 3 it’s going to be a tough job. Elvira isn’t pushing yet – the chasing 3 have closed a little. In for the final prone shoot – Elvira has used 1 spare, which has let the clean shooting Simon out 0.8 ahead of her. Vittozzi [2 spares] out +18.4 – Denise H-W has also used 2 spares and out +22.8. Tandrevold in 5th, +53.8 and the only other athlete within a minute of the lead. As they head for the final shoot Simon is well up with Elvira; Vittozzi just ahead of Denise H-W. Julia Simon clear and out, Elvira has needed another spare and out +16.0, Vittozzi [1], +17.8 and comfortably ahead of Denise H-W [2], +35.5. That’s poor shooting by the Öbergs, and Denise is usually better as well – good work by Vittozzi though, in a pressure situation. Elvira has made up a bit to 23.1 Km but she’s lost a bit by 23.6! Julia Simon cruises to a very well deserved win for France [0+4]. Sweden [0+9] into 2nd with Italy [0+4] taking the final podium place – well done them! Germany 4th [0+5], then Norway [0+4] and Switzerland [0+6].

Hochfilzen – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 11 Dec 22: Hmm – JoBø on good form and with 43 seconds advantage but what did the relay take out of him yesterday? The race is on, but we don’t have commentary? Ah, the commentary is back – JoBø in for S1, the first 4 were perfect, the 5th a little lucky but he’s clear and away. Laegreid also clear and out +50.7 with Jacquelin clear and 2 seconds further back. QFM is 4th but +1:23.6 just ahead of Dale and Ponsiluoma. Christiansen and Doll have both missed 2, as have Rastorgujevs and Stvrtecky. Seppala up to 9th from 18, Giacomel 10th from 20. On the lap Jacquelin is just ahead of Laegreid, QFM has lost a bit, as have Dale and Ponsiluoma. In for S2 – JoBø has missed his last but I didn’t see him shoot – was it a misfire or an unaimed shot? Laegreid clear and +26.7; Jacquelin 1 miss and +49.1. QFM slow to shoot and he’s missed 1 too – out 14th! Dale away 4th, ahead of Ponsiluoma and Samuelsson who were clear at S2. On the lap JoBø has pulled out a bit again, Seppala just past Samuelsson. JoBø in for his first standing shoot – clear but very lucky with a couple! Laegreid has missed 1 and out +55.6; Jacquelin going fast but he’s also missed 1. Seppala clear and 4th, Ponsiluoma and Dale out 5 and 6 but both have missed 1, Samuelsson has missed 2. QFM clear here and up to 7th, Christiansen is not having a good day, 5 misses - 2,1,2. Nawrath has missed all 5 at S3 – cross firing perhaps? JoBø is now over a minute ahead, and in for the second standing shoot – 1 more miss, high and left, and away. Laegreid has also missed 1, but so has Jacquelin! QFM clear this time [0,1,0,0] and out 4th as Seppala misses 3; Harjula and Leitner seem to be the only ones to get 20/20? No, also Paul Schommer, but he’s quite a way back. This is pretty much over – JoBø [0,1,0,1] cruises to another impressive win. Laegreid [0,0,1,1] in 2nd with Jacquelin [0,1,1,1] taking the final podium place. Good effort by QFM to get 4th, ahead of Hartweg [up from 22] and Giacomel [up from 20]. Other gainers include Jakob Fak [25-7], Samuelsson [19-9], Fabien Claude [27-11], Leitner [29-13], Harjula [FIN, 41-14], Tarjei Bø [39-16], Dudchenko [38-23], and Simon Eder [51-34]. Losing ground the list includes Ponsiluoma [6-10], Andersen [4-20], Nelin [11-21], Strelow [9-26], Christiansen [13-27], Stvrtecky [8-30], Rastorgujevs [5-35], and Nawrath [28-54]. An impressive win from JoBø especially after his epic 3rd leg in yesterday’s relay!

Annency-Le Grand Bornand – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 15 Dec 22: Out this morning for an appointment but luckily I was back in time for this one!  Quentin Fillon Maillet has drawn bib 1, and he’s at S1 already – that was fast and he’s clear and away! Vytautas Strolia also clear but 11.6 back; David Zobel also clear and +7.2. Michal Krcmar clear and a little better - +7.0; Giacomel was in touch but he missed 1 at S1, as have Doherty and Rees. Niklas Hartweg in for S1 – clear and +4.4; back at 1.5 Km Samuelsson is faster than QFM, but Jacquelin is faster than both of them. Samuelsson now clear at S1 and out 2.2 ahead of QFM – we aren’t seeing the targets, which is a shame. Timofei Lapshin [from Korea!] clear at S1 and in touch; QFM is at S2 – again very fast but he missed 1. Back at 1.5 Km one Johannes Thingnes Bø is now quickest! At 4.8 Km Samuelsson has got the gap to QFM up from 2.2 at the range to 9.3! At S1 Jacquelin has missed 1! The rain is getting heavier too which isn’t going to help; Krcmar is 10/10 and out 4.1 ahead of QFM. At S1 JoBø is clear and away 16.1 ahead of Seb Samuelsson. At S2 Hartweg is clear but only just ahead of QFM’s time; at S1 Laegreid is clear and just 8.6 behind JoBø. All change – Samuelsson has missed 2 at S2, but Lapshin is 10/10 and skiing fast – 10.9 ahead of Krcmar, and 12.2 ahead of Hartweg, who is losing time on his final lap. Martin Ponsiluoma missed 1 at S1 but he’s clear at S2 and skiing fast enough – he’s just 7.8 behind Lapshin. At S2 Jacquelin has missed 2 more – local pressure? At 8.2 Km Ponsiluoma is fractionally ahead of Lapshin despite his penalty loop. All a bit academic now though, surely, as JoBø is 10/10 and out 45 seconds ahead of Lapshin as he leaves the range! At S2 Benedikt Doll is 10/10 and the closest to JoBø at present, +36.0; that was until Laegreid also went 10/10 – fast shooting and out +14.3. Back at S1 Fabien Claude and Christiansen  are both clear and in touch; so is Dale. Laegreid has lost a couple seconds to JoBø by 7.4 Km but he’s holding the gap by 8.2. Claude has missed 1 at S2; JoBø over the line in the lead, 52.1 ahead of Ponsiluoma, Doll presently in 2nd + 38.8. Sturla Holm Laegreid  over the line, +17.6; at S2 Christiansen has missed 1 and so has Dale. Johannes Kühn clear at S1 and out 12th, +23.0 – around the time of Hartweg and Krcmar; Emilien Claude also clear at S1 and pretty much matching QFM’s time, +18.8. Oh dear – interview without coffee for Kühn after 3 misses at S2. Not only do they have rain, but it’s now getting foggy! Philipp Horn back in the World Cup team and clear at S1, but +32.2. Emilien Claude has missed 1 at S2, just as his brother did – he’s out 13th. Horn clear at S2 as well, so 10/10 but over a minute back – still potentially the 2nd German today though. That’s it – another impressive win for JoBø, his 30th sprint victory, with Laegreid in 2nd – two other Norwegian pairs in the top 20 –Dale and Christiansen in 9 & 10 respectively, and Tarjei Bø and Andersen in 14/15. Benni Doll taking the final podium spot with Ponsiluoma 4th, despite that penalty, ahead of Lapshin and Krcmar who were both 10/10. Fabien Claude in 7th, ahead of  QFM in 8th, with Jacquelin in 13th. Horn over the line in 19th, and he was the 2nd best German!

Annency-Le Grand Bornand – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 16 Dec 22: Just about made the start of this one after a brisk, and quite cold, walk. At 1.5 Km Denise Herrmann-Wick is already 14 seconds up on Hanna Öberg – I do hope she isn’t going too hard, too early! Vanessa Voight clear at S1 but shooting slowly; Hanna Öberg has missed 1 and she was rather lucky with another, despite seemingly taking it steady on the first lap. Denise H-W has also missed at S1 – her final shot – but she’s out in the lead at present. Ah, Anais Chevalier-Bouchet is clear and out 19.9 ahead of Denise H-W – the crowd seem to be happy with that! That was quick shooting! Tandrevold also clear and out just 2.9 behind Anais C-B; Elisa Gasparin out +5.8 and Julia Simon is 0.6 faster – both clear. That’s also very good – Paulina Batovska Fialkova clear and out +0.7! At S2 Vanessa Voight is 10/10; Hanna Öberg has missed 1 here too, but out just 8.5 seconds behind Voight! Denise H-W is clear this time – much better and out in the lead. Anais C-B has missed 1 at S2, so out +12.7; meanwhile Elvira Öberg is clear at S1 and out faster than Anais C-B. Tandrevold with 1 miss at S2 and Julia Simon has missed 2 here. Paulina BF has missed 1 at S2 as well, and out +12.3 just ahead of Anais C-B; Doro Wierer clear at S1 and only 1.2 behind Elvira. Interesting to see Linn Persson clear at S1, and she’s 3.9 faster than Elvira! Mari Eder was also clear at S1 and now she’s making up time on the lap. Elvira at S2 and she’s missed the final shot; out +17.2 just behind Tandrevold – now, she’ll be going flat out on the final lap! Mari Eder has also missed 1 at S2, but she’s quick today – out +9.3 in 2nd place, and she’s closed the gap to 7.7 at 5.7 Km. That’s impressive Anna Magnusson 10/10 and out 10.7 ahead of Denise H-W; and she’s out 9.4 faster than Linn Persson who missed one at S2 but is also out just ahead of Herrmann-Wick! This certainly isn’t over. At 5.7 Km Magnusson is maintaining the time gap, but Persson is now behind Denise H-W; at 6.5 Km Magnusson has gained time! Mari Eder over the line in 2nd at present, just 6.1 behind Denise, but Magnusson is flying – and at 6.5 Km Persson is back past Denise! Magnusson is over the line, that must be a PB surely – she’s taken nearly 5 seconds out of Denise on that lap – and now Persson is across the line, +12.8 and it’s Sweden first and second! The commentary team are wondering if the tracks might be getting a bit faster? So, at present it’s Magnusson, Persson, H-W, then Eder, Paulina BF and Elvira [+33.6]. Lisa Vittozzi is 10/10 but on the final lap she’s holding 5th place, and she’s still there as she crosses the line – best Italian! Lena Haecki-Gross [0,1] over the line 9th; Lou Jeanmonnot 10/10 and looking for a top 10 place – over the line 8th. Meanwhile back at S2 Sophie Chauveau has gone 10/10 to the delight of the crowd – out 4th, +12.3, just ahead of Vittozzi’s time. At 5.7 Km Chauveau is past Denise H-W by 0.2 seconds – and into 2nd – and the tracks are faster! She’s still 2nd at 6.5 Km – ahead of both Persson and Herrmann-Wick – she’s just missed the podium, over the line 4th, +19.9, just 4.7 behind Denise H-W! Well, that was a race full of surprises – two Swedes on the podium, but almost certainly not the ones we might have expected, and very nearly Sophie Chauveau joining them! Well done to the top 6 – what a race; should be an interesting Pursuit too!

Val Gardena [Saslong] – Men’s Downhill, 15 Dec 22: Well, you can’t watch them all – I had an appointment this morning so missed this one! Bib 12 was Marco Odermatt, and he duly took the lead from Matthias Mayer with Kilde in 3rd. However the next away was Vincent Kriechmayr and he took over first place, but by just 0.11. Johan Clarey then went into 4th, pushing Kilde down a place. Some good late charges – Nils Allegre [bib 51] into 8th, Sam Morse [38] into joint 10th and Florian Striedinger [55] into 13th!  Final result – a win for Kriechmayr, ahead of Odermatt, Mayer, Clarey, Kilde and Ferstl.

St Moritz [Corviglia] – Women’s Downhill, 16 Dec 22: It’s snowing there! This is right on the limits – I joined a little late with the race interrupted while an injured course worker is being evacuated – Elena Curtoni leading from Corinne Suter and Jasmine Flury.  Sofia Goggia is waiting in the start hut, which means she’s going to be powder skiing!  I see Mikaela Shiffrin in the start list but no Petra Vlhova. Right – Goggia on course, the visibility isn’t good but she’s really going for it – no info on a couple sectors but she was fastest in sector 4; she’s into 2nd, +0.29 with an injured hand after hitting a gate.   Cornelia Hütter next and it looks really foggy – no surprise that she can only manage 7th in those conditions. The next two racers are both over 2 seconds off the pace - the visibility in the middle of the course isn’t good; Joana Haehlen into 9th, +1.78. The snow is getting heavier, I think; the blue lines are disappearing! Lara Gut-Behrami into joint 6th with Mowinckel which is pretty impressive in these conditions, and from bib 17.  Goggia wandering around with a big bandage on her left hand which I think she said is broken! Christine Scheyer is apparently on course but it’s hard to even see her in the middle sections, the fog is so thick in places. Impressive stuff from Federica Brignone to go 6th, +1.27;. Mikaela Shiffrin on course now and she’s in touch – into 6th, +1.23, just behind Breezy Johnson. The spectators must be tough – they look very snowy! Laura Pirovano into 10th; some of those finishing the course are looking unhappy about the fact that racing is still happening! Thirty away, so I think it counts? A good run from Christina Ager [bib 36] into 13th, and also from Emma Aicher [bib 40] into 15th.  And, a mention for Tricia Mangan [USA, bib 50] who managed to get into joint 17th A win for Elena Curtoni [bib 2!], ahead of Sofia Goggia who finished the course with a broken hand, with Corinne Suter third. Jasmine Flury in 4th, ahead of Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin. Not exactly a fair race, but it’s an outdoor sport!  

Val Gardena [Saslong] – Men’s Super G, 16 Dec 22: It seems they have fog too – the start has been delayed. It’s cancelled, although it does look better there than St Moritz!

St Moritz [Corviglia] – Women’s Downhill, 17 Dec 22: The full course this morning and much better weather; blue skies and cold! Tina Weirather doing the camera run – sounds icy! Priska Nufer first away – safely down but probably not the best line? Jasmine Flury green all the way and into the lead, fastest in all sectors at this early stage; Federica Brignone off the pace and over a second back in 3rd. Lara Gut-Behrami also in the red early on but fastest in sector 3 and joint fastest in sector 4 to go 2nd, +0.13. Nina Ortlieb red at inter 1 and 2 but fastest in sectors 3, 4 and 5 to lead by, 0.51. But, not for long, as Kira Weidle is even faster – she leads by 0.29; Breezy Johnson has made it but that was a bit ragged – she looked relieved when it was over! Sofia Goggia is racing, despite the broken hand from yesterday’s race – 9 screws in the hand later and with one pole taped to her hand she’s green all the way and she leads by 0.52 – quite astonishing! Joana Haehlen into 4th; Mirjam Puchner has just taken over that place. Connie Hütter next and just barely red at the first 2 intermediates, +0.02 at inter 3, slight error and +0.41 at 4 – she’s into 3rd. Elena Curtoni won’t be taking the double – into 6th; that’s 15 away – Goggia leads from Weidle, Hütter, Ortlieb, Puchner and Curtoni! TV break and now Ilka Stuhec is green at inter 1 and 2, but she’s into the softer snow and it’s gone red – still a good enough run for 2nd though, +0.43. Laura Pirovano over the line but horizontal after a late fall – she’s OK though. Mikaela Shiffrin is here racing today and she’s just green at inter 1 and 2; red at 3 and she’s into 4th – a great effort. Tamara Tippler is green at inter 2, but a bit low on that tricky turn and it’s gone – just 12th. Isabella Wright [bib 29] into 11th; coverage shifts to Val Gardena! I see Petra Vlhova is racing today – I’m sure I didn’t see her name yesterday; she’s missed a gate, I think – DNF. More DNFs but without video it’s hard to know what happened and how they are. That was the end of the changes to the top 10. Well done Sofia Goggia – an amazing win; what a tough racer she is. Ilka Stuhec in 2nd, Kira Weidle 3rd, then Shiffrin, Hütter and Ortlieb.

Val Gardena [Saslong] – Men’s Downhill, 17 Dec 22: Another good looking day – Bryce Bennet first away on the full length course – a lot of big bumps, a.k.a. “terrain”. Bennet wild off the Camels but he’s recovered – he’s through the finish line and looking relieved! Travis Ganong almost a second faster at inter 4 and he leads by 0.84. Romed Baumann into 2nd – I do speak a little German and I’m pretty sure I could lip read that word; it’s very easy to scrub off all the speed if you get the line wrong through Ciaslat and the top 3 aren’t changing at present. Bib 7 is Beat Feuz and he’s into 3rd; Johan Clarey pushed wide in Ciaslat but he’s somehow recovered to take the lead by 0.57! Vincent Kriechmayr ragged on the lower section and into 6th – no double today. Niels Hintermann has fallen but he’s up and OK. Ten away – Clarey leads from Ganong and Baumann, then Feuz, Bennet and Kriechmayr. Matthias Mayer has gained half a second between inter 4 and 5 to go into 3rd, +0.89. Ryan C-S into 7th; Kilde is bib 14 – he’s green early but red at 3, redder at 4 but he’s gained almost a second to inter 5 and he leads to take the lead by 0.35 – fastest in sector 5, which seemed to be the key. Next away is Marco Odermatt but he’s well red at inter 3, he’s gained a bit to 4 but lost more to 5 – he’s 2nd fastest through sector 5 and 6 to go into joint 3rd with Ganong – impressive stuff! Kilde leads from Clarey and Odermatt/Ganong. Good run from James Crawford into 3rd, knocking Odermatt and Ganong off the podium; Otmar Striedinger into joint 6th with Mayer. Now it’s Nils Allegre into 6th from bib 23. It’s not over yet – the sun is out so the course is getting faster - Mattia Casse [27] into 3rd; Adrien Theaux [32] into 4th! Still changes happening – Cyprian Sarrazin [bib 61!!] into 6th! So, at the finish, the podium is Kilde, Clarey and Casse, with Theaux 4th, ahead of Crawford and Sarrazin. Then Odermatt/Ganong, Goldberg and Sejersted. An interesting and very demanding race – well done to Kilde, Clarey and Casse!

Annency-Le Grand Bornand – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 17 Dec 22: Not a good omen perhaps – start delayed; not sure why – apparently too icy. The race is on – the crowd are in good voice so it’s hard to hear the commentary, I suspect the microphones aren’t set up properly? At 1.5 Km JoBø is 19.3 ahead of Laegreid; into S1 already and JoBø has missed 1 which has let Laegreid through but only by 4.3 seconds. Doll has also missed 1 so it’s Lapshin who is out 3rd, +40.7 just ahead of Christiansen, Fabien Claude and Krcmar. Ponsiluoma has missed 2 and at last the microphones are working and I can hear he commentary. No, they’ve messed it up again! Christiansen into 3rd as they head in for S2 – Laegreid clear again and out but JoBø is clear too here and +6.5; Christiansen 10/10 +34.0, up from 10th, with Claude also 10/10 and +44.2. No one else within a minute as Krcmar has missed 1. Artem Pryma also 10/10 and out 6th from 18 at the start. Amazingly JoBø is losing time to both Laegreid and Christiansen on the lap. At S3 Laegreid has missed 1, Christiansen is clear and he leads out just 1.8 ahead of Laegreid; JoBø [1,0,1] +18.9. Fabien Claude has missed 1 and +42.3, Pryma 15/15 and up to 5th only just ahead of Samuelsson [1,0,0] who started 17th. On the lap Christiansen has the gap to Laegreid up to 15.3 and JoBø is fading – is he well? Final shoot – Laegreid clear here and he leads out; Christiansen has missed 2 – JoBø clear this time and out +25.1 with Christiansen +35.9. Claude has also missed 1 [out 4th], so have Samuelsson [out 7th] and Pryma [8th]. At 11 Km Laegreid is clear with JoBø and Christiansen some 32 seconds back. Then Claude, Andersen and Samuelsson. Christiansen past Johannes, who is definitely having problems today. A well-deserved win for Sturla Holm Laegreid [0,0,1,0] with Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen [0,0,0,2] in 2nd while JoBø has managed to hold on to 3rd. Fabien Claude in 4th [from 7], Andersen [from 15] and Samuelsson [from 17]. Other gainers include Guigonnat [25-8], Giacomel [21-9], Pryma [18-10], Florent Claude [26-12], Rees [27-13], Stalder [20-14], Nelin [31-17], Harjula [36-19], Seppala [49-20], Strolia [35-21] and Strelow [45-25]. Those going the wrong way include Krcmar [6-11], Dale [9-16], Doll [3-18], Ponsiluoma [4-22], Leitner [16-26], Lapshin [5-27], Jacquelin [1,0,3,3; 13-30], Zobel [22-38], Doherty [11-47] and Horn [19-49].

Annency-Le Grand Bornand – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 17 Dec 22: Still cold but the surface is a little softer. The leading 3 are separated by just 15 seconds! I’ll be interested to see how Sophie Chauveau does today. At 0.7 Km Denise Herrmann-Wick is 4.4 behind Anna Magnusson with Linn Persson just behind and Elvira already up to 6th; Tandrevold up from 18 to 12! Interesting – Denise H-W has missed 1 but Elvira is clear and she leads out, just ahead of Vittozzi, Magnusson, Persson, Chauveau and Julia Simon [+8.6] – all those clear. There is a suggestion that anyone using Fischer skis might have a problem with today’s conditions? Vittozzi past Elvira as they come in for S2; Julia Simon clear and she’s out just fractionally ahead of Elvira – both 10/10. Tandrevold clear too and out +12.2, with Chauveau 10/10 and +29.5. Vittozzi has missed 2 and out 6th, Denise H-W clear and out 7th, but she’s losing time on the skis! Franzi Preuß 10/10 and up to 10th from 24. Oh dear – poor Stina Nilsson has missed 5 already. Already heading in for the first standing shoot – Elvira 15/15 and away. Simon has missed 1 and she’s out +15.0; Tandrevold has also missed 1 and +34.5, Vittozzi clear this time and 4th, +42.2. Doro in 5th and Chauveau 6th. Anna Magnusson is 15/15 but she’s back in 8th, +1:23.9, and behind Persson who has done 1 penalty loop. Odd – Simon, Tandrevold and Vittozzi are all closing on Elvira – is that tactical? The final shoot – Elvira 20/20, very good shooting! Simon has missed 2, so has Tandrevold so it’s Lisa Vittozzi [0,2,0,0] who goes out 2nd, ahead of Simon and Tandrevold. Persson in 5th, ahead of Doro, Denise H-W and Chauveau. At present I can’t see a perfect 20/20 apart from Elvira’s – wait, Merkushyna, Tachizaki and Tolmacheva are 20/20 as well but a good way down the list. Elvira Öberg cruises to a win, having started 8th. Lisa Vittozzi 2nd from 6 at the start with Julia Simon getting the final podium place from 15th! Tandrevold [18-4], just ahead of Doro Wierer [13-5]. Other gainers include Franzi Preuß [24-10], Gandler [20-11], Aita Gasparin [45-12!], Jislova [26-14], Femsteinevik [33-16], Voight [30-17] and Baserga [SUI, 39-20]. Those heading in the wrong direction include Persson [2-6], Denise H-W [3-7], Chauveau [4-8], Magnusson [1-13], Eder [5-15], Davidova [16-26], Haecki-Gross [11-27], Jeanmonnot [9-29], Knotten [17-40], Lien [14-41], Todorova [12-46] and Batovska Fialkova [7-54; 6 penalty loops]. Congratulations to Elvira – first win of the new season and great to see Vittozzi on form this year. Great work by Simon, Tandrevold and Wierer too.

Annency-Le Grand Bornand – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start, 18 Dec 22: I wonder if the skis will be better today – there seemed to be a few athletes having problems yesterday with the very icy tracks? The field seems to be spreading out very quickly – Jacquelin pushing the pace. In for S1 – all very close; JoBø out first but with Christiansen and Laegreid clear and within a second. QFM in 4th, +6.4 ahead of Dale, Nelin and Andersen. Jacquelin, who seemed to indicate he wouldn’t push until after S1 has missed 1, after pushing from the start? Ponsiluoma, Doll and Samuelsson among those missing 1, there are a couple with 2 misses and Krcmar has missed 3. At 4.5 Km the leading 4 are all Norwegian and with just 1.6 seconds between them, then a gap of almost 10 seconds to Nelin and QFM. At S2 Laegreid is clear and out 3.7 ahead of Christiansen, then JoBø and Adle – all 10/10. Strelow in 5th, then Fabien Claude [1,0], QFM and Tarjei Bø. Ponsiluoma has missed 2 more, Samuelsson clear this time. At 7.5 Km JoBø leads the Norwegian quartet, still just 1.5 between them, with Claude [the French one] +12.7, QFM + 18.8, just ahead of Tarjei, Andersen, Nelin and Harjula. Strelow has dropped to 11th. Looking at the lead 4, you have to marvel at the fact that the current globe winner in this discipline, Bakken, didn’t get int the team! After S3 there are still 4 Norwegians in the lead but 3 of them have missed 1! JoBø [0,0,1] out 0.8 ahead of Christiansen [0,0,1] with Laegreid [0,0,1] +3.4 who is just ahead of Andersen, who is 15/15! Stalder also 15/15 and 5th, about 1o0 seconds ahead of QFM [0,0,1], with Dale [0,0,2] in 9th, just ahead of Doll [1,0,0]. Fabien Claude [1,0,2] in 13th, Jacquelin [1,1,1,] in 14th. Harjula missed 2 in his first standing shoot. At 10.5 Km the leading 3 Norwegians are only 0.6 apart with Andersen a little back; Stalder dropping back towards QFM. In for the final shoot – all still very close if people miss! Laegreid misses 1 but he leads out 8.6 ahead of Stalder [0,0,0,0], Dale [0,0,2,0, +10.2], JoBø [0,0,1,2, +18.1]. French Claude clear this time and out 5th ahead of Tarjei, Christiansen [2 misses at S4], Harjula, Doll and Andersen [2 misses at S4]. At 13 Km Laegreid leads Dale by 6.3 and JoBø by 15.9. Stalder only just ahead of Claude. At 13.5 Km Dale is just 1.5 behind Laegreid but JoBø isn’t closing very much. This is going to be close for the win – Johannes Dale gets his first win of the season, ahead of Sturla Holm Laegreid with JoBø taking the final podium place. Fabien Claude in 4th, ahead of Christiansen and Tarjei Bø – 5 Norwegians in the top 6!! Benni Doll best German in 7th, ahead of Stalder [the only 20/20 in this race], Andersen and Harjula. QFM in 11th after 2 misses at S4, Nelin lost his chance with 3 misses at S3; Ponsiluoma has 7 misses in all and 26th with Samuelsson [1,0,3,1] in 30th! A good sprint for the win by Dale!

Annency-Le Grand Bornand – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start, 18 Dec 22: The crowd are in good voice! Race on – the pace seems to be slowing – at 1.5 km it’s Elvira who leads but the field have really bunched up. In for S1 – Julia Simon clear and out, just ahead of Tandrevold, Elvira Öberg, Hauser, Jeanmonnot and Davidova [+8.4] – all clear. Hanna Öberg and Denise H-W among those with 1 miss, Persson and Vittozzi in the “missed 2” group. At 4.0 Km Tandrevold is just ahead of Simon but it’s all very close – just 3.4 between the top 6. In for the second prone shoot – Elvira clear, although slightly lucky, and she leads out fractionally ahead of Hauser, Anais C-B, Tandrevold, Wierer and Magnusson, +7.0 and all those clear. Julia Simon has missed 1 and out 11th. At 6.5 km Elvira is just 0.6 ahead of Anais C-B with Hauser and Tandrevold very close, Chloe Chevalier up to 6th just behind Doro Wierer. Anna Magnusson seems faster again today as they head in for the first standing shoot – Anais C-B clear and out, which is popular! Magnusson out +7.0 ahead of Chevalier – all 15/15. Tandrevold, Elvira, Hauser and Doro all both missed 1 and about 21 seconds back. Julia Simon [0,1,1] back in 10th, Preuß [0,0,2] in 16th and almost a minute back. At 9 Km Anais Chevalier-Bouchet is 10.4 ahead of her sister Chloe, Hauser +19.1 just ahead of Magnusson, Tandrevold and Elvira. The final shoot – is Anais C-B pushing too hard; the crowd are expecting a lot! Hauser [0,0,1,0] is the one who clears here and she leads out 7.2 ahead of Anais C-B who missed 1 here; Julia Simon [0,1,1,0] clear this time and +7.3. Chloe Chevalier in 4th after 1 miss but only just ahead of Elvira [0,0,1,1], Magnusson [0,0,0,1] and Jeanmonnot [0,1,1,0]. On the lap Sophie Chauveau [1,0,1,0] is up to 5th, past Chloe. Tandrevold has missed 2 at S4, Doro Wierer another 1. On the lap Elvira is closing down Simon and Chevalier-Bouchet. Lisa Theresa Hauser takes the win, but behind her it’s all exciting stuff – Julia Simon has sprinted to 2nd, 2 seconds ahead of Anais C-B and Elvira Öberg just denied a podium place. Chauveau in 5th, ahead of Jeanmonnot , Magnusson and Chevalier. Four French in the top 6, which should be popular! Tandrevold 10th, just behind Femsteinevik who was best Norwegian, Wierer 12th, Voight best German in 13th with Preuß in 15th. Denise H-W [1,1,2,1] in 21st, Vittozzi [2,2,0,1] 23rd.

Alta Badia [Gran Risa] – Men’s GS, 18 Dec 22: Run 1 – joined late as I should have been on my way to a meeting but the weather wasn’t that good so I cancelled. With 17 away Zan Kranjec leads from Henrik Kristoffersen [+0.60] and Lucas Braathen. Alexis Pinturault in 5th, Marco Odermatt down in 9th, +1.42 at present and there are some big time gaps in the top 10. This is obviously a tough course – it’s giving some good skiers some serious problems! It’s not getting any easier – the mid 20s bib numbers are struggling to get within 3 seconds of the lead time. Filippo della Vite into 20th, but +3.13. Now, interesting to see Kilde racing here today with bib 32 – he’s missed a gate; DNF! That’s quite a good effort from Stefan Luitz, whose coach set this course; he’s apparently not well but has managed 18th, +2.68. No recent changes to the top 10. Charlie Raposo safely down but +5.06, so he won’t be getting a second run.
Run 2 – set by a French coach: Joined this with 6 away, and Joan Verdu [AND, bib 38] who was 28th in run 1 is leading – no one within a second of him at present! Filippo della Vite into 2nd, but +0.87! Everyone seems to be losing nearly a full second by inter 1! Stefan Luitz was 0.91 green at the start, but +0.09 in the red at inter 1 and a massive error drops him to 11th. Erik Read is, at least, still just green at inter 1, but he’s lost a full second more by inter 3 and he's 6th! Halfway through and Verdu still leads; only della Vite is within a second! Victor Muffat-Jeandet just green at inter 2, and he’s into 2nd, +0.35. Stefan Brennsteiner is 1.33 ahead at the start and just green at inter 3 – now he goes 2nd, +0.08. Gino Caviezel into 4th; Manu Feller has 1.91 in hand – just 0.54 left at inter 2 and into joint 2nd, +0.08. Atle Lie McGrath next and he’s still well green at inter 3 – at last, the lead changes and he is in first place, with the 3rd best time on run 2. Filip Zubcic into 2nd, +0.48; now it’s Marco Odermatt – he’s actually gained to inter 1, steady to 2 but he’s lost half of that advantage at 3 – a great final sector and he leads by 0.70! That’s the 2nd best time on run 2. That was flat out for Odermatt, Verdu now off the podium! Justin Murisier into 3rd; Marco Schwarz over a second red at 2, much better at 3 and into 2nd, +0.65. Loic Meillard off the pace and into 6th; Alexis Pinturault red by inter 2, better at 3 and he’s taken over 2nd place. Alex Schmid into 5th; Lucas Braathen still just green at inter 2 and he’s gained from there to 3, he leads by 0.10! That’s close – Henrik Kristoffersen fractionally red from inter 1 and into 2nd by just 0.02! Zan Kranjec had 0.73 in hand at the start – down to 0.25 at inter 1 and he’s red by inter 3 – just 5th! So, a good day for the Norwegians – Lucas Braathen takes the win from Henrik Kristoffersen, with Marco Odermatt up from 9th in run 1 to 3rd. Pinturault in 4th, then Kranjec and Schwarz; Verdu ended up 12th.

St Moritz [Corviglia] – Women’s Super G, 18 Dec 22: A lovely day at St Moritz! The course for this Super G set by Ragnhild Mowinckel’s coach. Ramona Siebenhofer first away – safely down; Jasmine Flury has made a couple line errors and 2nd, +0.49. Connie Hütter has fallen but she’s back on her feet and skiing down. Michelle Gisin slightly green at inter 1, shown as a DNF on the data feed for some reason but it’s been corrected - she’s fine and into the lead by 0.59. The crowd are happy with that! Nicole Schmidhofer into 2nd, +0.48; Corinne Suter into 4th after an early mistake. Mikaela Shiffrin next and green at inter 1, less green at 2 but she’s gained to 3 and she leads by 0.57 – fastest in sectors 1 and 3, just 0.01 behind in sector 4 as well. Sofia Goggia back with a pole taped to her hand and she’s in touch at inter 2 and she’s into 3rd, +0.60. Elena Curtoni is very close at inter 2 and just +0.12 at 3; fast through the speed gun and into 2nd, +0.12 – that was exciting! Ten away – Shiffrin leads from Curtoni and Gisin; Goggia in 4th. Ragnhild Mowinckel into 5th; Romane Miradoli more in touch and fastest in sector 2- she’s into 3rd. Lara Gut-Behrami into 7th; Marta Bassino nicely in touch at inter 1 but she’s skied out! Alice Robinson [bib 23] into 13th and highest bib in the top 20. Not for long though – Laura Gauche [24] into 12th! Priska Nufer [27] has managed 19th. A good end to the race [almost] – Ilka Stuhec [bib 57] into a very creditable 17th! Another win for Mikaela Shiffrin, ahead of Elena Curtoni and Romane Miradoli. Gisin in 4th, then Goggia and Mowinckel; Petra Vlhova did race but was among the DNFs. In the overall points Shiffrin is currently 105 points clear of Goggia [470] with Holdener on 376 and Vlhova 340 – but it’s early days!

Madonna di Campiglio [Canalone Miramonti] – Men’s Slalom [night], 22 Dec 22: I missed run 1 completely – things to do, but was just nicely in time for run 2! Lucas Braathen was quickest on run 1, ahead of Loic Meillard, Linus Strasser and Daniel Yule. Kristoffersen 5th, Feller 8th, Ryding 14th. Nice to see Billy Major and Laurie Taylor also made it to run 2. Early leader is Seb Holzmann, ahead of Erik Read. Kristoffer Jakobsen slightly green at 2, much better at 3 and he leads by an impressive 0.99, fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4. Laurie Taylor into 4th; Filip Zubcic had a very good sector 4 which has got him into 2nd, but +0.90. Ramon Zenhaeusern rather off the pace today – into 4th; Luca Aerni has gained from inter 1 to 2 but he's back red at 3 and into 2nd, although he was best in sector 4. Alexis Pinturault further down after run 1 than I expected and he’s only 3rd on run 2, so far. Sebastian Foss-Solevaag in touch at inter 2 but he too has lost a lot to 3 and he’s just 4th; Billy Major has also lost a lot from 2 to 3 – just 10th but he will get points. Marco Schwarz on course and still nicely green at 2, just red at 3 and he’s snapped a gate – not the first this evening – very quick on sector 4 and he leads by 0.17! Clement Noel out and now it’s Dave Ryding – he’s gained from start to inter 1, steady to 2 but red at 3 – he’s into 4th, +0.53. Ten to go – Marco Schwarz leads from Jakobsen and Aerni, Dave Ryding still in 4th. Adrian Pertl still green at 3 but he’s lost time and into 3rd; Albert Popov into 4th after an amazing recovery early on. Manu Feller still nicely green at inter 3 and he’s into the lead by 0.26; Austria in 1st and 2nd [and 4th!]. Johannes Strolz a DNF – it looked to me as though he skied over yet another a broken gate; that’s not good for a World Cup event? Fabio Gstrein into 4th; Henrik Kristoffersen has gained to inter 1, more to 2, better still to 3 and he leads by 0.45! Daniel Yule green all the way and he’s kept it to the finish – into the lead by 0.08; Linus Strasser already red at inter 1 but he’s gained from 3 and into 3rd. Loic Meillard red at 2 and he’s straddled; just Lucas Braathen to come, with 0.55 in hand – he’s losing time but still nicely green at 2, just 0.11 left at 3 and he’s only 4th! Well, Daniel Yule back on form and he takes the win, ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen with Linus Strasser getting the final podium spot. Braathen 4th, then Feller and Schwarz; Ryding 12th but 3 GBR skiers getting point tonight!

Semmering – Women’s GS, 27 Dec 22: I missed this completely as an app I needed to use today crashed and lost me some data that had to be replaced [sadly not the sort of thing you can back up]! It seems to have been a classic race, so I’m hoping to catch it later when it comes on as “highlights”. Run 1 was a tight and twisty set which obviously suited Mikaela Shiffrin as she finished it 0.72 ahead of Petra Vlhova who was second, ahead of Tessa Worley and Marta Bassino. The set for run 2 however was more direct and fast too giving the rest of the field a chance to catch up! Thea Louise  Stjernesund into the lead on run 2 but crashed in the finish and was stuck in the advertising hording until helped out. Seems to be OK. Alice Robinson had an excellent 2nd run, taking the lead from Stjernesund, eventually ranking as 4th quickest which got her from 16th in run 1 to the temporary lead – she ended up 9th. She was knocked down the rankings by, among others, Ragnhild Mowinckel, Lara Gut-Behrami, and Federica Brignone. Marta Bassino took the lead by almost a full second, with what turned out to be the 2nd quickest time on run 2. Tessa Worley, who had the 3rd best time on run 2 ended up in 4th today. Bassino leads with an amazing run, only to have Petra Vlhova go eighteen hundredths faster to take the lead. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to go and she could hear the commentators so knew exactly how fast Vlhova and Bassino had been. Shiffrin gained to inter 1, but did lose time later, ending up with the 5th fastest time on run 2, but it was enough to get her a 78th World Cup win, by just 0.13! Another GS tomorrow.

Semmering [Panorama] – Women’s GS, 28 Dec 22: I missed a lot of run 1 – woke to yet more rain and fog here and fell asleep again! I joined with 22 away; Lara Gut-Behrami leading [best time in sector 2 and 4], ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin [+0.22; fast in sectors 1 and 3 but losing time in sector 4] and Marta Bassino [+0.81]. Federica Brignone and Sara Hector tied in 4th, with Katharina Truppe 6th. Vlhova 7th and Alice Robinson – first away after the TV break, was a DNF today. Highest bib number in the top 10 at present is Maria Therese Tviberg [bib 22] in 9th. This is a demanding course physically – yesterday Petra Vlhova was struggling to stand at the ceremony and today there are a number of athletes who are obviously feeling the burn in the legs! That’s not a bad run from Asja Zenere [ITA, bib 39] into 20th; Doriane Escane [FRA bib 46] into 29th and currently the highest bib number who might get a second run?  There are a couple racers who are nicely in touch at inter 1 but it seems very easy to lose a lot of time from there to inter 2 as the course gets more and more rutted. Good effort by Elisabeth Kappaurer [bib 51] into 26th;  Lara Colturi [58] into 30th, so Escane won’t get a second run. Coverage moves to Bormio!  No changes to the top 30.
Run 2: Set by a Swedish coach, and twistier than run 1. Lara Colturi [ALB] first away; Michelle Gisin 0.56 slower! Camille Rast into 3rd; Corinne Suter has lost a second from inter 3 to the finish to go 4th. Elisabeth Kappaurer has gained time from inter 1 to 2, and more to 3 – she lost a bit in the final sector but she leads by 0.26. I was surprised to see Paula Moltzan just 24th in run 1 but she’s going well on run 2 – building all the way and she leads by 0.99, fastest in every sector.  Andrea Ellenberger into 2nd, but +0.64; Steph Brunner into joint 4th with Colturi and the course is already showing signs of wear! Ten away, Moltzan leads from Ellenberger and Kappaurer. Katharina Liensberger into 4th; Coralie Frasse Sombet into 3rd, but only briefly as Wendy Holdener goes into 2nd, ahead of Ellenberger. All changing fast now – Ragnhild Mowinckel into 2nd – Paula Moltzan  has now gained 9 places! Mina Fuerst Holtmann into 3rd; Ana Bucik has 0.85 in hand as she starts, but she’s lost it all by inter 2 and a slower final sector has dropped her to 4th. Val Grenier is much more on the pace – she’s gained from inter 2 to 3 and added more time to the finish – she leads by 1.08! Tessa Worley into 3rd, but +1.10; Ricarda Haaser just red at 1, just green at 2, red at 3 and into 2nd. Maria Therese Tviberg has gained to 1  but red at 2 and it’s going away from her from there – she’s just 5th. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel steady and green all the way to inter 3 but lost a bit from there to go 2nd, +0.07! Petra Vlhova next and she’s lost a little to inter 1 and more to 2, red by 3 and into 3rd. Katharina Truppe has fallen but she’s up again – that was a nasty little dip, and the light is quite flat. Sara Hector steady to inter 1 on a course set by her coach, still 0.77 green at 3 but then a massive error within sight of the finish. Federica Brignone on hold while they repair the gate; she’s gained a little from 1 to 2, still 0.76 green at 3 – she leads but by just 0.35! Marta Bassino steady to inter 2 but just 0.01 ahead at 3 – good, but slightly wild, final sector and she takes the lead by just 0.03. Mikaela Shiffrin on course and she’s gained to inter 1, steady to 2 and then losing a little after a late error to finish in the lead by 0.47. Just Lara Gut-Behrami to come – she’s just red at inter 1 and redder at 2, steady to 3 and good to the finish to go 2nd, +0.10 – that was close! So Shiffrin takes the double, Lara Gut-Behrami in 2nd and Bassino 3rd. Brignone 4th ahead of Grenier, who had the best time on run 2,  and Maryna Gasienica-Daniel in 6th.  


Bormio [Stelvio] - Men’s Downhill, 28 December: The course is slick and fast today – the commentary team reckon it’s going to be brutal! There are a number of DNS today most due to illness, apparently including Matthias Mayer and Beat Feuz; seems like just Ed Drake in the commentary box today?  Looks like a forerunner has gone into the nets, so there is a slight delay. Stefan Rogentin the first away – safely down; Mattia Casse well green at inter 2 and into the lead by 0.83 – impressive! Travis Ganong a bit off the pace and into 3rd; Josef Ferstl has fallen but he seems OK. Daniel Hemetsberger green at inter 3 and he’s building on his advantage to 5 but he’s lost it from there to go 2nd.  Ryan Cochrane-Siegle green by inter 4 and he’s fast from there too – fastest in sector 4 and 5 and he leads by 0.37. James Crawford is flying though – by inter 4 he’s 1.25 ahead; fastest in sectors 3,4,5, and 6 and he leads by a massive 1.47, absolute perfection!  Or maybe there is more perfection still available, as Vincent Kriechmayr is 0.70 ahead at inter 5 – slow thorough the final gun [relatively speaking] but he leads by 0.40 despite being just 4th quickest in the final sector. Johan Clarey down but he’s stayed out of the nets and he’s up on his feet; slight delay before Aleksander Aamodt Kilde will be on course – not ideal for him? Kilde slightly red at inter 1 and 2, 0.44 red at 3 and getting redder, fast through the final gun and into 3rd; only fastest in 1 sector – sector 5. Niels Hintermann is a DNS, Marco Odermatt into 4th, +1.46; Dominik Paris isn’t having the best of seasons by his standards – he’s into 7th, +2.29! So Kriechmayr leads from Crawford and Kilde, then Odermatt, RCS and Casse. No one seems to be threatening the top 6; good try by Adrien Theaux [bib 21] into 9th.  Jared Goldberg into the nets, but again seems OK; that’s good from Alexander Cameron [CAN, 24] into 9th. Blaise Giezendanner into 16th and “cogently expressing his dissatisfaction with a well chosen epithet”! At last, a change to the top 6 – Urs Kryenbühl [SUI, 26] into 6th after a good final sector. Gilles Roulin [FRA, 35] into 7th! Coverage shifts back to Semmering. Justin Murisier [40] into 7th; that was the last change to the top 10. So, an impressive win for Vincent Kriechmayr ahead of James Crawford and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde; Odermatt 4th, then RCS and Kryenbühl. Kilde leads the downhill standings on 405, then Odermatt on 306 and Kriechmayr 269. In the overall Odermatt is already on 846 points, with Kilde 2nd on 585 and Kristoffersen 3rd with 385.  Early days!

Bormio [Stelvio] - Men’s Super G, 29 December: Didn’t see much of this as I was having lunch a fair way from home, but did see the early part. Poor Dominik Paris isn’t having a good season – first away and a DNF! As I joined Marco Odermatt [yes, him again] was leading with Alexis Pinturault on course and heading into 2nd place but +1.40! James Crawford in 3rd, +1.51, then Stefan Rogentin and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Bib 13 was Vincent Kriechmayr and it wasn’t that unlucky for him – into 2nd but still 0.64 off Odermatt’s time! I see Mayer is a DNS again today, and no Beat Feuz either. Ryan CS very fast through the first gun, but maybe too fast as he was almost a second off the pace at inter 2 and ended up 9th, for the moment. Good late charges from Loic Meillard [21] into 3rd and Daniel Hemetsberger to 4th, ahead of Pinturault. Kilde ended up 8th, just 0.05 ahead of Stefan Babinsky [bib 30!].

Semmering – Women’s Slalom, 29 Dec 22: Joined run 1 very late after an excellent lunch! At present [with bib 47 on the course] Mikaela Shiffrin leads ahead of Anna Swenn Larsson [+0.72], Paula Moltzan [+0.79], Lena Dürr, Petra Vlhova [+1.01] and Wendy Holdener. Charlie Guest is in 29th, so just about holding on to a second run but with 11 skiers left to race; now down to 30th! Well Charlie just made it, so she will go first in run 2.
Run 2: Missed it completely – suffice to say that Mikaela Shiffrin won her 80th World Cup race, by 0.29 from Paula Moltzan with Lena Dürr taking the final podium place. Vlhova was 4th ahead of Holdener and Zrinka Ljutic.

Zagreb [Crveni spust] – Women’s Slalom, 4 Jan 23: Missed most of run 1 due to some urgent admin! Joined with bib 40 about to ski – currently Mikaela Shiffrin leading by 0.23 from Anna Swenn Larsson with Petra Vlhova in 3rd, +0.55. Then Liensberger, Nullmeyer and Holdener. Sara Hector and Paula Moltzan among the DNFs.
Run 2: The course, set by an Austrian coach, is already cutting up with just 5 away; Laurence St-Germain leading. Thea Louise Stjernesund 0.63 ahead at inter 1, just 0.27 left at 2 and she takes the lead by just 0.04! Jessica Hilzinger has held on to go 3rd; Elena Stoffel has taken over 3rd place. That’s a good run from Emma Aicher building from inter 2 to lead by 0.46 – fastest in the final sector too. Good final sector from Amelia Smart [CAN] too and she’s gone form 0.11 behind at inter 2 to lead by 0.14; Maria Theresa Tviberg green all the way and she’s into joint first with Smart! Half way through – Smart and Tviberg lead with Aicher in 3rd. Nastasia Noens first after the TV break but she’s lost a lot of time from inter 2 to the finish and just 4th; Franzi Gritsch has gained a lot from inter 1 to 2, then lost time again to lead by just 0.08, just 12th in the last sector! That snow looks a bit rough – very unpleasant. Truppe and Danioth have joined the DNFs – that’s 5 so far. Leona Popovic into 4th, which is popular; Camille Rast has gained to inter 1 but back red at 2 – that’s an impressive final sector though and she leads by 0.12! Ana Bucik green all the way and into the lead by 0.37 – good effort! Wendy Holdener has gained a lot from inter 1 to 2 and she’s kept that advantage and she leads by a massive 0.98; that was some run! Nullmeyer has straddled; Katharina Liensberger has fallen – she has finished though. Petra Vlhova has gained from inter 1 and she’s built on that to lead by 0.62! That’s a guaranteed podium. Anna Swenn Larsson has gained a little to inter 1, lost a little to 2 but an error on the final sector drops her to 2nd, +0.45. Mikaela Shiffrin has gained a little to inter 1 and more to 2 – she’s kept that all the way to the finish to lead by 0.76 – lovely run! That’s number 81!! So, another win for Shiffrin, Vlhova in 2nd and Swenn Larsson 3rd. Holdener in 4th ahead of Bucik and Rast.
The slalom scheduled for 5 Jan has apparently been cancelled?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen [Gudiberg] – Men’s Slalom, 4 Jan 23: Not a piste I ever skied when we lived nearby! It looks quite steep in places and on less than perfect snow. Again, real life intruded and I joined run 1 late – Henrik Kristoffersen comfortably leading from Linus Strasser [+0.71] and Clement Noel [+0.93]. No one else withing a second – Manu Feller in 4th, then Daniel Yule and Loic Meillard. Dave Ryding 11th at present [+2.48!], Alexis Pinturault down in 15th, and Braathen and McGrath both disqualified, presumably for a straddle? It’s rather warm, it seems, and lots of green around on the surrounding hills. Fabio Gstrein into 9th; Ramon Zenhaeusern into 12th, so Ryding now 13th. The course is getting very rutted – some very big time gaps for the later starters. TV break and coverage shifts to Zagreb.
Run 2: Alexander Steen Olsen first away on this new course; lots of snow being thrown up on the turns! Filip Zubcic into 2nd; Stefano Gross building all the way to inter 3 and he takes the lead by 0.24. Marc Rochat dead level at inter 3 and into 2nd, +0.07; Alexis Pinturault has 1.24 in hand – surely he can change the top 3? Doesn’t look promising, he’s red at inter 2 and into 5th! Not a good day for him. Half way – Gross leads from Rochat and Alex SO, who has so far gained 12 places on run 2. This is absurd, the snow is like the mush I used to ski on near season end – Kristoffer Jakobsen is 1.47 ahead at the start, but he’s out; now it’s Dave Ryding – over half his advantage has gone by inter 1 and he's red at 2 and can only manage 11th! Ramon Zenhaeusern was 1.75 ahead at the start and he too is red at 3 – into 5th – he’s lost just over 2 seconds on that run. That’s not bad – Tommaso Sala into 2nd by just 0.04; Fabio Gstrein has started well, but he’s lost from inter 1 to 2 and just red at 3 – he’s into 4th. Seb F-S out, Timon Haugan into 11th; six to go. Now, Loic Meillard has an advantage of 2.49 as he starts, down to 1.72 at inter 1, 0.75 at 2 and red at 3 – into 4th. Stefano Gross has now gained 20 places in run 2! At last – Daniel Yule was also 2.49 ahead at the start but he’s just held on to take the lead by just 0.08! Manu Feller has gained to inter 1, lost that to be dead level at 2, back to 0.20 green at 3 and he’s fastest in the final 2 sectors to lead by 0.49. That was a very gutsy run, but Clement Noel has 0.40 in hand – he’s gained from inter 1 to 2 as well, but he’s just red at 3 and into 2nd! Just 2 left – Linus Strasser has gained nicely to inter 1 and more to 2 but he’s crossed his tips and fallen when over a second clear! Feller and Noel guaranteed a podium place. Henrik Kristoffersen has an advantage of 1.33 which is huge for a skier of his class – he’s gained to inter 2 as well, and he’s taken his 3rd win here by 1.22. Kristoffersen takes the win, the first for the new Van Deer skis, ahead of Manu Feller and Clement Noel. Yule 4th, ahead of Gross and Sala. Dave Ryding finished 20th.

Pokljuka – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 5 Jan 23: I had hoped to watch both this race and the second women’s slalom from Zagreb but the slalom has been cancelled probably because the snow conditions were so awful yesterday, and it seems to be windy too! At least this one is on – 98 starters! Nice to hear that Patrick is back on the commentary team. No Hanna Öberg today, no Franzi Preuß either – both ill and they apparently aren’t the only ones? Vanessa Hinz is back in the team vice Preuß but is listed as a DNS? Lisa Vittozzi the first away – the snow is a little soft, so starting in group 1 might be a good idea? Vittozzi at S1 – that’s awful for her, she’s missed 4 – I had hoped she’d put that sort of shooting behind her.  Paulina Batovska Fialkova clear and out; Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold also clear but 10.1 slower than Fialkova, with Yuliia Dzhima currently 3rd. Anna Magnusson and Linn Persson have both missed 1 at S1. Elvira Öberg clear at S1, although a bit lucky with the last one, out +7.8. Paulina BF has missed 1 at S2; nice to see Marta Olsbu Røiseland back in the Norwegian team, although there’s still no sign of Tiril Eckhoff. Tandrevold has missed 1 at S2; Dzhima clear but still slower than Fialkova. Doro Wierer and Anna Weidel both clear at S1 and in touch, as is Elisa Gasparin. Julia Simon clear at S1 too and out just behind Elvira; Persson clear in the stand shoot but so is Elvira and she leads out at present. Back at 1.8 Km Denise Herrmann-Wick and Marketa Davidova are quicker than Vittozzi. Davidova clear at S1 but so is Røiseland and she’s fractionally faster – quickest prone shoot so far today! Doro has cleared all 10 and out 6.6 behind Elvira, who seems to have lit the afterburners on her last lap. Back at S1 Denise H-W has missed 1; Julia Simon is 10/10 and out +4.9. That’s interesting – at 6.1 Km Julia Simon is +9.6 and now just behind Doro Wierer. Davidova has missed 1 at S2; so has Røiseland, Denise H-W is [1,1]. At 6.8 Km Julia Simon is back to +6.9 and now nicely ahead of Doro. At the finish Elvira leads, Simon in 2nd, +6.9 and Doro 3rd, +18.7; Fialkova off the podium now in 4th. With the track getting slower that might not change very much? Davidova over the line in 5th; Denise H-W into 6th, ahead of Persson – despite the 2 misses she’s comfortably the best German at present although both Voigt and Weidel were 10/10. Sophie Chauveau [0,1] over the line 8th, dropping Tandrevold to 9th. Poor Vittozzi [4,2] out of the World Cup points and won’t be in the Pursuit. No late changes to the top 6, Elvira gets her first sprint win of the season, ahead of Simon and Wierer, then Fialkova, Davidova and Herrmann. Should be an interesting pursuit?

Pokljuka – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 6 Jan 23: Interesting to see Kühn, Horn and Dudchenko, who all have a reasonable cup ranking, going really late on in the start list – I would have thought it would help to start early if the women’s race was anything to go by? I see Dudchenko is now shown as DNS. Felix Leitner first away; at 2.6 Km Fabien Claude is fastest of the early starters , ahead of Benedikt Doll. At S1 Leitner has missed shots 2 and 5; Doll fast and clear, Claude has missed his first 2! Niklas Hartweg in for S1 – clear and out just 2.5 behind Doll; Jakov Fak has missed 1 but still out +21.4. Michal Krcmar also clear and out +6.6; Seb Samuelsson has missed 1 and that has cost him a deficit of 28.1 as he leaves the range. That’s a fast start by Tommaso Giacomel, 7.8 up on Claude at 2.6 Km. Jesper Nelin clear at S1 and so is Quentin Fillon Maillet – both in touch. A clear shoot by Giacomel too and he’s quick – out 12.5 ahead of Doll. At S2 Hartweg has also missed 1; at S1 Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 2. Jakov Fak clear at S2 [1,0] but Krcmar is the first to go 10/10 – out just 6.8 ahead of Doll though. At S1 Sturla Holm Laegreid has missed 1, JoBø in too – he missed the 4th shot but still out just 8.2 behind Giacomel. Samuelsson now [1,1]; Christiansen clear at S1 and out ahead of Giacomel. Nelin also 10/10 but out behind Doll at S2; Emilien Jacquelin has missed 2 at S1. Giacomel has missed 2 at S2 but he’s fast – out ahead of Doll and QFM [0,1]. Interesting, Timofei Lapshin [KOR] is 10/10 and out 11.5 ahead of Krcmar, who has just crossed the finish line 0.6 behind Doll. At S2 Laegreid is clear this time but JoBø is also clear [1,0] and out over 30 seconds ahead of him and Lapshin. Christiansen has blown it at S2 – 3 misses! At 8.2 Km Laegreid is past Lapshin, but JoBø is flying – he’s now 46.3 ahead of Laegreid! At the finish Doll is still hanging on for a little while, ahead of Krcmar – QFM behind Giacomel who has 1 more miss. At S2 Tarjei Bø is 10/10 and out ahead of Lapshin, just 31.0 behind his little brother! Speaking of JoBø, he’s over the line a massive 55.6 ahead of Laegreid who is about 8 seconds ahead of Doll, all of them with 1 miss. Sadly I think Doll will be off the podium – he’s probably safe from Dale [1,1] but Tarjei Bø is well in touch at 8.2 Km and he’s gained time against Laegreid at 9.3 Km too. Yes, Tarjei over the line in 2nd, so at present it’s an all Norwegian podium – JoBø [1,0], T Bø [0,0] and Laegreid 1,0]. Doll still in 4th, ahead of Krcmar and Giacomel. Justus Strelow has also missed 3 at S2 after a fair start. Roman Rees [0,1] over the line 8th, just ahead of QFM; Simon Eder 10/10 but losing time on his final lap and over the lien 14th. I think that might be the first time the same athlete has won the first 4 sprints in a season? Not bad considering his firing pin snapped while zeroing, that must have added to the pressure, but lucky that it happened then! At S2 Philipp Horn has missed his last shot [0,1] but he’s relatively slower on the tracks – Doll and Rees in the top 10 but the rest of the Germans suffering from poor shooting and/or slow track speed – Horn [0,1], Strelow [0,3], Kühn [2,2] and Zobel [1,2] – Zobel won’t be in the pursuit. Not a good day for the Swedes either – Nelin [0,0] best of them in 16th, Ponsiluoma [2,1] 21st, Samuelsson [1,1] 25th, Nykvist [0,1] in 27, Stefansson [1,0] 34 and Femling [0,2] 40. That's it – well done Norway, and especially JoBø – truly amazing speed!

Kranjska Gora [Podkoren 3] – Women’s GS, 7 Jan 23: I joined run 1 late – Valerie Grenier [CAN, bib 12] leading from Lara Gut-Behrami [+0.04] and Federica Brignone, then Bassino, Shiffrin and Vlhova [+0.36] – so all very close. Not the best of weather – grey and misty but they do at least have snow, helped by low temperatures last night and adding snow to the course!  Ana Bucik [bib 20] the highest bib number in the top 10 in 9th. The course is already [bib 28] getting quite cut up and there are 64 starters! No changes to the top 10 for a good while and coverage moves to Adelboden. No further changes to the top 10.
Run 2: This pattern of gates set by a Polish coach; the fog seems to have cleared, which should help. Nina Astner [bib 52, AUT] the first away, and safely down; Ramona Siebenhofer can’t match that, she’s +0.92! Asja Zenere into 2nd; Clara Direz gaining to inter 2 and fast from 3 to the finish – she leads by 0.57 – fastest in 3 of the 4 sectors. Andrea Ellenberger into 2nd; Alice Robinson green all the way to lead by 0.14. Elisa Platino into 3rd; not for long though as Thea Louise Stjernesund is building all the way and she leads by an impressive 0.93!  The Norwegians are going well – Maria Therese Tviberg into 2nd, +0.73; Ricarda Haaser nicely in touch at inter 2 and 0.03 red all the way to 3 – she’s into 2nd, +0.35. Stephanie Brunner into 4th; Franzi Gritsch in touch all the way and she’s into 2nd! Wendy Holdener has gone 4th and we’re heading for the next break – Stjernesund leads from Gritsch, Haaser, Holdener, Tviberg and Brunner. Ragnhild Mowinckel has lost most of her advantage by inter 1 and she can only manage 5th; Paula Moltzan on course but the timing data isn’t refreshing so I have no idea how she did, and neither do the commentary team. It’s back for Mina Fuerst Holtmann who has lost some time but had enough in hand to take the lead by 0.18. Still no idea where Moltzan finished – she’s not showing on the timing list, only as “started”! Michelle Gisin a DNF; Tessa Worley off the pace and just 16th.  Maryna Gasienica-Daniel on course but the timing is showing Moltzan’s time into 10th! It looks like Maryna Gasienica-Daniel is 4th after a late error? Ana Bucik next and she’s steady to inter 2, gained a little to 3 and she leads by 0.27 – good skiing and the crowd are happy! Coralie Frasse Sombet has gained time to inter 2 and despite losing a little from inter 3 she leads by just 0.05! Sara Hector into the red at inter 3 and into 3rd; Petra Vlhova next and steady to inter 1, gaining to 2, steady to 3 and very fast to the finish to lead by 0.93! Best time on run 2 so far – excellent! Mikaela Shiffrin next – just red at inter 1, redder at 2, 0.46 off at 3and she’s into joint 2nd with Frasse Sombet; that was only the 14th fastest time on run 2 for Shiffrin. Marta Bassino has gained to inter 1, steady to 2, 0.21 ahead at 3 – she leads by just 0.03! Federica Brignone red at 1, redder at 2 but back in touch at 3 – into 3rd, so Shiffrin off the podium today. Two to come – Lara Gut-Behrami on course and just red at 1, redder at 2 but she’s pulled some back at 3 – this is all very close – she’s into 4th but just +0.19! Just Val Grenier and she’s just red at inter 2, well back into the green at 3 and she takes the win by 0.37; fastest time on run 2 and that’s the first GS win for a Canadian woman for ages [last time in 1974?]! So, Valerie Grenier gets the win, with Bassino 2nd and Vlhova 3rd. Vlhova 4th ahead of Lara G-B with Frasse Sombet and Shiffrin tied in 6th! An historic race!

Adelboden [Chuenisbärgli] – Men’s GS, 7 Jan 23: Much better visibility here, with blue sky but the course is a white stripe on an otherwise green hill on the lower slopes. For some reason the coverage has swapped back to Kranjska, now we’re back in Adelboden – odd! Henrik Kristoffersen first away; course set by a Russian coach now working in Croatia! Ye gods that final pitch is steep – Kristoffersen down – he looks fairly happy with that. Manu Feller next and apparently his back isn’t good – he’s certainly off the pace a little and into 2nd but +0.99. Lucas Braathen green at inter 1 and better at 2 but he’s out after catching his arm on a gate. Alexis Pinturault dead level at inter 1 but red at 2 and he’s losing time from there to go 2nd, +0.87. Zan Kranjec into 4th; now it’s Marco Odermatt and he’s green at inter 1, but fractionally red at 2, just 1 hundredth green at 3 but fast from there to lead by 0.32. Fastest in sectors 3 and 4 – the crowd are noisily happy [understatement!]!  Loic Meillard green at inter 2, red at 3 and into 3rd, +0.49. All the athletes look quite exhausted at the finish, this is one beast of a course! Justin Murisier out; Gino Caviezel red at 2 but in touch, less so at 3 and a big error on the steep drops him to 6th. Atle Lie McGrath has followed Braathen’s example by skiing out – first TV break, with Odermatt leading from Kristoffersen, Meillard, Pinturault, Feller and Caviezel.  Faivre looks unlikely to get a second run – the French coach’s face is a picture – and not a pretty one! That’s not a bad run from Victor Muffat-Jeandet [bib 21] into 7th, good effort and he’s the highest bib number in the top 10! Race interrupted as Joan Verdu has crashed into the air bags – he’s somehow into one of the gaps but he seems OK? Bib 31 is Kilde – and he’s in touch to inter 3 – into 9th, which is impressive skiing! Time for the biathlon; no late changes to the top 10, although I was wrong in my forecast as Faivre did get a second run!
Run 2: A much faster, less twisty set for this run apparently although it looks fairly tight to me. Tommy Ford only just made that turn near the top of the steep! Trevor Philp is 1.46 faster; that’s a good run from Leo Anguenot [FRA, bib 61] on his 9th World Cup race to take the lead by 0.14! Matthieu Faivre a DNF; Stefan Luitz going well to inter 2 but, like all the German team, he’s not well and his energy is fading – into 3rd. Erik Read going well to inter 2, he’s lost a bit but takes the lead by 0.25. Raphael Haaser in touch all the way and he takes the lead by just 0.04! Thomas Tumler nicely in touch to inter 3 but then out of gas and into 6th. The light has changed on that final section on the steep. Half way – Haaser leads from Read and Anguenot. Filippo della Vite has gained all the way to inter 3 – he’s lost half of that advantage from there but still he leads by 0.55. Filip Zubcic red at 2 and 3 but fast from there to lead by just 0.03 – great strength on the final steep. Rasmus Windingstad oscillating between red and green and into 3rd; Stefan Brennsteiner into 4th. Marco Schwarz has gained from 1 to 2 and he’s 0.63 green at 3 – he leads by 0.77, so a good final section too – fast in all sectors. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde next and he’s in touch to inter 2 – he’s 2nd, +0.43. Zan Kranjec red at 2 but he’s pulling it back and he leads by 0.16 – that’s popular! Nasty fall for Victor M-J – I hope that isn’t another injury as he’s only just back; he’s in a sled and off the course, with what hopefully is just a broken nose? Gino Caviezel into 3rd after the race resumes; Manu Feller losing time but he’s kept it in the green to lead by 0.13 – he looks in pain! Alexis Pinturault has gained to inter 2, a lot of that has gone by 3 and he’s into 3rd.  Loic Meillard has 0.82 in hand as he gets into the start hut – most of it still there at inter 2 and 3 – he leads by 0.61! That’s very popular, and it will be his first GS podium of the year. Henrik Kristoffersen has gained an enormous amount of time to inter 1, over half a second, and he’s flying – he’s gained more from inter 3 as well to lead by 0.93! That’s a hard target to match. Marco Odermatt has also gained to inter 1and he’s 0.92 ahead at 2; over a second clear at 3, bit ragged at times but he takes the win by 0.73! Fastest time on run 2 – I thought Kristoffersen was impressive but that was amazing! Even Kristoffersen seems happy and impressed! Odermatt takes yet another amazing win, ahead of Kristoffersen and Meillard. Feller 4th, then Kranjec and Pinturault. A very impressive race to watch!

Kranjska Gora [Podkoren 3] – Women’s GS, 8 Jan 23: A nice looking day there; course set by a Canadian coach. Mikaela Shiffrin first away today and down. Next is Marta Bassino who was a little off the pace, and came very close to a straddle on the final section - 2nd, +0.73. Tessa Worley over 2 seconds off; Petra Vlhova 0.62 red at inter 2 and into 3rd, +0.87! Both she and Bassino were quicker than Shiffrin in the final sector though! Federica Brignone is much more in touch – into 2nd, +0.24. Sara Hector into 4th, but that place has now been taken over by Lara Gut-Behrami, +0.77. What has happened to Katharina Truppe – no second run yesterday and she’s +3.49 today? Val Grenier not quite as fast as yesterday, but it’s good – fast over the final sector to go 3rd, +0.39. The course is apparently cutting up a bit; 15 away as Coralie Frasse Sombet loses a pole – Shiffrin leads from Brignone and Grenier, then Bassino, Lara G-B and Hector with Vlhova in 7th. Mina Fuerst Holtmann [bib 22] into joint 8th with Paula Moltzan – highest bib number in the top 10. Thirty away – no changes to the top 10 since Holtmann – coverage shifts to Adelboden. Worth mentioning Britt Richardson [CAN, bib 34] who skied into 14th, just ahead of Estelle Alphand [bib 31!].
Run 2: Wendy Holdener first away on a course set by a Swiss coach – she’s down safely. Andrea Ellenberger on course and 0.92 green at inter 2 – she leads by 1.21! Elisa Platino into 2nd with Camille Rast going 3rd. Stephanie Brunner into 2nd now; not for long though as fellow Austrian Julia Scheib is 2nd just 0.06 off the lead. Franzi Gritsch into 4th; that’s a big hit for Alice Robinson – amazing that she’s up and skiing down the hill, so hopefully OK! That’s halfway, Ellenberger still leads, having gained 13 places, with Scheib and Brunner holding on to 2nd and 3rd. Top 3 still the same – amazing! At last – Maria Therese Tviberg losing time all the way but she had enough in hand and she leads by just 0.09! Eleven left to ski; Ana Bucik in touch at inter 2, red at 3 but a great final sector gets her the lead by just 0.06 – the crowd are happy with that! That’s a good run from Paula Moltzan briefly red at inter 2 but great from there to lead by 0.32. Mina Fuerst Holtmann has gained from 1 to 2 and more still to 3 – she leads by 0.24. Petra Vlhova next and she’s gained to inter 2 as well – very fast to the finish too and she leads by 0.76; another popular run for the crowds! Sara Hector into 3rd; Lara Gut-Behrami green to inter 2 and gaining from there, lost a bit from 3 to the finish but she’s quick enough to take the lead by 0.10. Marta Bassino steady to inter 2, slightly red at 3 and she’s into 3rd. Valerie Grenier next and still green at inter 2 despite being on the tails of her skis early on – good recoveries and into 4th. Federica Brignone has gained from 1 to 2, and is still green at 3 – she leads by 0.20. It’s Brignone, Lara G-B and Vlhova. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – she’s gained to inter 1, more to 2, a massive 0.87 green at inter 3 and she takes her historic 82nd win! What an impressive run that was – fastest on run 2 as well. Shiffrin wins, ahead of Brignone and Gut-Behrami; Vlhova in 4th ahead of Bassino and Grenier. Bassino still leads the GS standings on 425, ahead of Shiffrin [400] and Gut-Behrami [357]. Shiffrin now on 1,115 in the overall, ahead of Vlhova [696] and Holdener [519].

Adelboden [Chuenisbärgli] – Men’s Slalom, 8 Jan 23: Snow forecast later – the track is supposed to be in good condition at present. Course set by a Swedish coach, I think. Henrik Kristoffersen first away and he’s almost missed a gate – he’s going to finish but that’s a real upset! It looks like he’s been hit in the face by something too? Clement Noel has got past the gate that caught out Kristoffersen but he’s missed a gate lower down and he’s a DNF! Manu Feller has made it to the finish but that wasn’t exactly error free – this is a very tricky course set! Lucas Braathen into the lead by a massive 0.82! Daniel Yule off the pace and just 3rd, +1.46. Linus Strasser into 2nd, +0.60 – not bad as he’s apparently recovering from flu; Loic Meillard good on the final sector to go 2nd, +0.52. McGrath into 5th; Marco Schwarz goes 6th. Dave Ryding on course – he’ll be disappointed with that – into 10th, +1.99. Alexis Pinturault into 11th! Timon Haugan into joint 6th with Schwarz. That’s 20 away – Braathen leads from Meillard, Strasser, Feller, McGrath and Haugan/Schwarz. Ramon Zenhaeusern [bib 23] into 10th. Thirty away now – no change to the top 10 since Ramon Zenhaeusern went 10th. As I suspected Henrik Kristoffersen won’t get a second run today; sadly neither will Billy Major and Laurie Taylor; Dave Ryding currently in 13th and unlikely to be pushed down.
Run 2: The snow is apparently much grippier this time; course set by an Italian coach. Anton Tremmel is the early leader, ahead of A J Ginnis with Luca Aerni just into 3rd. Stefano Gross into 2nd; how did Stefan Hadalin lose his 0.71 advantage – he’s into 2nd by 0.08!? Adrian Pertl red at inter 3 but he’s pulled it back to lead by 0.07 – the light is getting worse and the course is beginning to cut up. Alexis Pinturault has gained a lot from 2 to 3 and he leads by 0.23 – lost a bit in the final sector though. Alex Vinatzer gaining time all the way from inter 1 and he leads by 0.79! Marc Rochat into 2nd to the delight of the crowd; Dave Ryding on course – big error early on and he’s well red at 2 – just 8th. Johannes Strolz out – I think that’s his 4th DNF in a row? Ramon Zenhaeusern into 2nd – that was “interesting” at times; Daniel Yule can only manage 5th. Marco Schwarz into 2nd, +0.20; Timon Haugan has lost 2/3 of his advantage by inter 1 and a poor final sector drops him to 13th. Atle Lie McGrath has over a second in hand but it’s down to just 0.65 by inter 2 – he leads but by only 0.22. Manu Feller red, then green, then red again and into 4th. Linus Strasser losing time from inter 2 and he’s into 2nd – good effort. Loic Meillard into 3rd; just Lucas Braathen to come for a possible Norwegian 1 & 2 – he’s gained from inter 1 to 2, still 0.81 green at 3 and he takes the win by 0.71. Norway takes 1st and 2nd – delighted to see Strasser get a podium despite his recent illness! Alex Vinatzer in joint 4th with Loic Meillard and Schwarz in 6th. Tricky conditions – Dave Ryding ended up 19th.

Pokljuka – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 7 Jan 23: Now, will Elvira Öberg take it easy at first, or will she be flat out? It sounds icy on the corners – the gaps don’t seem to be closing that much – top 9 still in the start order at 1.5 Km. Elvira in for S1 – clear and out but just 3.8 ahead of Julia Simon, with Doro Wierer +18.0, then Paulina B Fialkova, Denise H-W and Linn Persson – all clear. Good shooting by many of the athletes. It looks like Elvira is just aiming to keep the gap to Simon, but no more on the lap? The chasing pack behind those two are closing down a little however – Doro now +14.1 at 3.5 Km, Paulina BF and Denise H-W both in touch. Elvira already in for S2 – she’s clear and out 11.2 ahead of Doro with Paulina BF 3rd, +13.4 – all 10/10. Julia Simon missed 1, so did Denise H-W; Tandrevold clear and up to 5th. Hauser and Røiseland also missed 1 here, Chauveau 2. On the lap Paulina BF is just past Doro, Simon losing a little time; Røiseland up to 8th from 16 at the start despite 1 miss. In for the standing shoot – Elvira clear again and away; Doro has missed 1 and out +25.1, just ahead of Paulina BF who also missed 1. Tandrevold 15/15 and +31.7, Simon [0,1,1] +40.5, then Davidova, Røiseland and Persson. Denise H-W has missed 1 at S2 as well and out 11th. On the lap Wierer, PBF and Tandrevold are in a chasing group of 3, some 17 seconds ahead of Davidova and Simon. Final shoot and Elvira has cleared all 20; Doro clear this time and out +19.1, with Simon [0,1,1,0] 3rd, +33.4. Davidova [1,0,0,0] +39.9, PBF +43.2, Røiseland +52.1, Persson +52.5 and Denise H-W +55.1. Tandrevold missed 2 at S4 and out 10th. On the final lap Doro is looking safe in 2nd, but PBF and Davidova are chasing Simon. Simon has gone well from, 9.1 Km to 9.5 and she’s pulled out a little. That’s it – Elvira Öberg takes the win, ahead of Doro Wierer, Julia Simon holding on to 3rd, then Paulina BF, Davidova, Persson, Denise H-W and Røiseland [16 to 8]. Røiseland best gainer in the top 10, other big gains from, among others, Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [29 to 15], Bendika [37-19], Vobornikova [30-21], Colombo [41-23], Meier [32-24], Sanfilippo [47-27], Hettich-Walz [45-33]. Those going the wrong way include Eder [10-16], Zuk [15-22], Dzhima [19-35], Gandler [27-37] and Kinnunen [35-48]. Well done to Öberg, very nicely judged and a great result for Doro Wierer.

Pokljuka – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 7 Jan 23: Just about made this after watching the amazing GS runs from Odermatt and Kristoffersen – what a race! Anyway at 1.8 Km JoBø is over a minute ahead of his brother with Laegreid 3rd. JoBø in for S1, clear and away; 3rd a bit high but otherwise good. Laegreid clear and out 2nd, ahead of Tarjei who was also clear. Then Lapshin, Giacomel and QFM – all 5/5. Krcmar, Fak and Christiansen among those with 1 miss, Doll has missed 2, as have Dale and Ponsiluoma. At 4.3 Km JoBø has the gap to Laegreid up to 1:14.5 with Tarjei still 3rd, but Giacomel just 10 seconds or so back, with Lapshin and QFM. JoBø already at S2 – lucky with his second and a miss with the third shot – he’s away. Laegreid clear and that grouping looked good, but still +51.1, with Tarjei also 10/10 and another 15 seconds back. Giacomel and QFM 10/10 and out with Christiansen up to 6th despite 1 miss at S1. Lapshin has missed 2. On the lap Giacomel and QFM are up with Tarjei. JoBø in for his first standing shoot – missed the first but fast after that and away. QFM and Giacomel both 15/15 and out almost together +55.1 and 55.5 respectively. Tarjei also 15/15 and 5 seconds back; Laegreid has missed 2 and he’s out 5th, 25 seconds behind Tarjei. JoBø is pulling out time again – the gap to QFM and Giacomel is 1:08 at 9.3 Km, and Laegreid has lost about 12 seconds since S3. JoBø in for his final shoot, fast and clear although the 5th was lucky! Now who will join him on the podium – QFM +1:21.8 and Tarjei +1:33.2 have missed 1 each and out. However Laegreid is clear this time and just 1.4 behind Tarjei! Giacomel has missed 2 which I think ends his charge. Tarjei seems to be catching QFM on the final lap; at 11.8 Km Tarjei is into 2nd but it’s all close. At the finish JoBø has cruised in for another win, his 7th of the season. QFM wins the sprint to the line, up from, 9th, with Tarjei in 3rd. Laegreid 4th, ahead of Giacomel with Christiansen 6th from 13. Other gainers include Andersen [15 to 7], Dale [11 to 8] Hartweg [20/20; 17-10], Kühn [20/20; 44 – 12], Fabien Claude [37-13], Samuelsson [25-19], Finello [31-25], Wright [32-27], Schommer [38-28], Leitner [45-32] and Cisar [57-34]. Going the other way the list includes Doll [4-11], Rees [8-15], Krcmar [5-21], Nelin [16-23], Rastorgujevs [20-35], Nykvist [27-40], Tachizaki [26-46] and Horn [29-54].

Pokljuka – Single Mixed Relay, 8 Jan 23: Not the nicest day – 25 countries away in a big bunch – it’s probably a good idea to push the pace and get safe ahead of the crowd. Early on Christiansen leads from Samuelsson and Hartweg, then Guigonnat, Braunhofer {ITA] and Strelow [GER]. I think Braunhofer has fallen – not sure if he took anyone else out? S1 and Christiansen is clear and out, ahead of Strelow [+8.9], Dovzan [SLO, +9.4] , Eder, Schommer – all clear with no spares. Samuelsson in 6th after 1 spare. Guigonnat 7th [1 spare], Hartweg 9th [2]. Already in for S2 – Hartweg needed 1 more spare but he’s out in the lead ahead of Christiansen [2 spares here], Guigonnat [2], Tachizaki, Lapshin and Schommer. At the first exchange it’s SUI/NOR/FRA/JPN/KOR/USA. At 4.1 Km Tandrevold has taken the lead, ahead of Jeanmonnot [FRA], Baserga [SUI], Fuyoku Tachizaki, Avvakumova [KOR] and Irwin. At S3 Tandrevold is clear and away, ahead of Deedra Irwin {+9.6], Baserga [1 spare], Jeanmonnot [1], Hauser [0] and Magnusson [0]. Tandrevold pulling away on the lap, Jeanmonnot up to 2nd. In for the standing shoot – Tandrevold out [1 spare] – Jeanmonnot clear and +8.1, then Baserga [1], Irwin [1], Magnusson [2] and Tachizaki [0]. At the exchange it’s NOR/FRA/SUI/USA/SWE/JPN. At 7.1 Km Christiansen has the gap to Guigonnat up to 13.6, with Hartweg +20.6, then Schommer, Samuelsson and Harjula [FIN]. At S5 Christiansen is clear and out, 19.4 ahead of Guigonnat [clear], then Hartweg [0], Schommer [0], Samuelsson [1] and Eder [2]. I missed Germany [Janina Hettich-Walz] doing a penalty loop on the previous leg. Christiansen in for S6 and again he’s used 2 spares, Guigonnat [1] out +13.8, then Hartweg [3], Schommer [1], Harjula [0] and Tachizaki. Samuelsson doing 2 penalty loops, or is it 3?! Final exchange – NOR/FRA/SUI/USA/FIN/JPN. Tandrevold pulling away from Jeanmonnot, Hauser up to 6th; more falls on the tricky corner. Tandrevold in for S7 and clear; Jeanmonnot clear but +30.0, then Baserga [0], Irwin [1], Minkkinen [0] and Hauser [1]. Final shoot – Tandrevold fast on the tracks and in – fast, clear and away on the final lap. Lou Jeanmonnot [1 spare] out +48.9, then Amy Baserga [0]. Minkkinen out 4th ahead of Hauser and Irwin who had 2 penalty loops. Given the gaps, I think the podium is fixed? Norway [0+5] cruise to a well deserved win, France [0+6] a strong 2nd ahead of Switzerland [0+8]. Finland [0+8] in 4th, ahead of Austria [0+10] and USA [2+9]. Sweden in 10th despite 3 penalty loops – fast skis! Not my favourite biathlon discipline but a good race.

Pokljuka – Mixed Relay, 8 Jan 23: Bit of a slow start which has let Jesper Nelin go to the front, but just ahead of Ranta [FIN]. There is a faller already – Latvia? In for S1 – Andersen clear and away 6.7 ahead of Fabien Claude [1 spare], then Florent Claude [0], Nelin [0] Stalder [1] and Gunka [POL, 1]. Interesting that the data feed shows Nelin using no spares but he definitely hand fed something; a misfire perhaps? At 4.3 Km Fabien is past Andersen with Florent still 3rd; Bionaz past Gunka; Rees up to 8th after using 2 spares at S1. At S2 Fabien Claude is clear this time and away; his older brother [for Belgium] clear and +16.3 with Stalder [1 spare] in 3rd. Andersen has used all 3 spares and out 6th. Fabien Claude going well on the lap – 26.3 ahead of Stalder who is up to 2nd. Andersen up to 3rd, and on Stalder’s heels. Jesper Nelin losing time on the lap, Florent going backwards, down to 5th at 6.8 Km. At the first exchange it’s FRA/NOR/GER/SUI/BEL/ITA. Quentin Fillon Maillet away; Doll up to 2nd +27.6 at 8.6 Km ahead of Dale, Finello, Langer [BEL] and Giacomel, who has Ponsiluoma right on his heels. In for S3, QFM has changed his sights and it hasn’t worked – he seems to have corrected the wrong way and he's on the penalty loop! Dale clear and out, Doll [2 spares] +14.5, ahead of Finello [2], Giacomel [0], QFM [1+4] and Langer [0]. Ponsiluoma also on the penalty loop and out 9th. At 11.8 Km Dale is 13.6 ahead of Doll, who is just 1 second clear of Finello, who is 1.3 ahead of Giacomel. QFM +23.2, so he’s not catching despite what the commentary team are saying. Langer has fallen and broken a pole. In for S4 – Dale has missed 3 and 5and he’s on the penalty loop as the wind increases! Giacomel [2 spares] leads out then QFM [1, +3.5], Doll [2, +8.8], Finello [3, +20.1], Dale [+35.0] and Ponsiluoma [1, +48.8]. Langer clear but out 16th after his fall and problems at the range. On the lap Giacomel is pulling out on QFM but Doll and Finello have closed a little. Exchange 2 – ITA/FRA/GER/SUI/NOR/SWE. Doro Wierer off with a 5 second lead over Anais Chevalier-Bouchet with Sophie Schneider another 0.5 back. At 16.1 Km the leading 3 are only separated by 2 seconds. Aita Gasparin has lost a little, so has Knotten but Brorsson has gained a tiny bit. Not sure what data the commentary team are looking at – Sweden 45.6 behind at the exchange and 44.0 at 16.1 Km is a slight gain, not a 4 second loss? It’s Knotten who has lost 4 seconds. The first prone shoot for the women – Anais C-B [1 spare] leads out 5 seconds ahead of Aita G [0], Doro [2, +12.1], Brorsson [0, +37.1], Knotten [2], Vobornikova [0]. Sadly Schneider is doing 2 penalty loops – out 7th but 1:11.1 back. It’s raining hard now and the wind is gusty – perhaps that explains why France, Sweden, Norway and Germany have all been on the penalty loop in this race! Anais C-B now 17.4 ahead with Doro up with Aita G. Knotten has lost 12 seconds by 19.3 Km, Schneider up to 6th but losing time. Anais C-B in for S6 – clear and gone! Doro also clear and +15.7, Aita G [2 spares, +31.5], then Brorsson [1], Knotten [2] and Schneider [0]. On the lap Anais C-B is pulling out time – Wierer now +30 at 21.8 Km; Gasparin also fading in the heavy snow with Brorsson closer to her although she has lost time to Anais C-B. Schneider is just past Knotten! The final exchange – FRA/ITA/SUI/SWE/GER/NOR. Julia Simon on the final leg, but Italy might be worried about Vittozzi after her prone in the sprint? Sweden might be hoping Elvira Öberg can gain places – Germany the same with Denise H-W but Norway have Ragnhild Femsteinevik, who is less experienced. At 23.6 Km Simon has lost some 6 seconds to Vittozzi, while Elvira is almost 4 seconds closer to Haecki-Gross. Femsteinevik has also gained a little. The final prone shoot – Julia Simon clear and away; Vittozzi has hit all 5 – well done her! Elvira clear and +52.0, Haecki-Gross [3, +1:16.1], Denise H-W [0,+1:26.6] and Femsteinevik [1, +1:28.9] – impressed that she’s sticking with Denise H-W! At 26.8 Km Simon is 22.8 clear but Elvira isn’t catching Vittozzi – maybe the faster skiers are finding the heavy conditions less to their liking? The final shoot – Julia Simon [1 spare] and out; Vittozzi [1, +23.2], Elvira Ö [0, but +46.6], then Haecki-Gross [1], Denise H-W [1] and Femsteinevik [1] very close behind. At 28.6 Km Simon 20.8 ahead of Lisa Vittozzi with Elvira +42.9. Denise H-W is closing on Haecki—Gross; Femsteinevik dropping back. I think Elvira might have settled for a podium? At the finish France [1+7] take a well-deserved win, despite QFM’s problems, Italy [0+7] in second with Sweden [ 1+5] taking the final podium place. Well done to Haecki-Gross for out-skiing Denise H-W on the final sprint. I think Denise thought she had it and didn’t expect that! Norway in 6th.

Flachau [Griessenkar] – Women’s Night Slalom, 10 Jan 23: A big entry – 69 starters and apparently a big lump of prize money! Ed’s money is on Lena Dürr, although this course has been set by Petra Vlhova’s coach. First away is Mikaela Shiffrin, it looked a bit relaxed but then she always looks good! Lena Dürr red at inter 2 but green at 3 after a very quick sector 3, but there’s a big mistake and she’s +0.79 at the finish. Katharina Liensberger perhaps a bit under pressure with the politics of the Austrian team – into 3rd. Ana Bucik a DNF on the same roller that upset Dürr; Anna Swenn Larsson also having snags – into 3rd but that was a slow final sector. Petra Vlhova green at inter 3 like Dürr but she’s good from there too to lead by 0.17. Wendy Holdener into 4th; Mina Holtmann a DNF. This looks like a tricky set – the rollers are catching a few people out, and it’s fresh snow too! Fifteen away, Vlhova leads from Shiffrin and Dürr then Holdener, Swenn Larsson and Liensberger. Zrinka Ljutic having another good day – green at 2, just red at 3 and into 3rd, +0.58; that was impressive! Not a good night for the Norwegians – Tviberg also a DNF; Stjernesund their best in joint 8th as Laurence St-Germain goes into 7th. Norway’s woes continue – Kristin Lysdahl also out – nasty hit, I hope she’s OK. That’s not bad from Emma Aicher [GER, bib 30] into 14th. Jess Hilzinger [GER, 32] has done even better - into 12th! Nina O Brien [bib 44] into 20th – the final change to the top 20.
Run 2: Set by a Norwegian coach and it’s quite quick – possible to get caught out by going too fast into some turns perhaps, especially with those rollers. Aline Danioth is the early leader, by a fair margin. Michelle Gisin into 2nd, +0.06; Elena Stoffel into 3rd, just 0.09 off the pace – Swiss in the top 3 spots at present! Leona Popovic dead level at inter 2, better at 3 but she’s out – the coach isn’t impressed! Ali Nullmeyer green all the way – she’s losing a little at times but she’s going well on the lower sectors and she leads by 0.35! That’s half way – Nullmeyer leads from Danioth and Gisin. Emma Aicher going well to inter 3 – lost a bit in the last sector but she leads by 0.17 – no slouch on the longer skis either! Hanna Aronsson Elfman was 0.30 red at inter 3 but she’s had a superb final sector to lead by 0.37 – that was good! Good news for Sweden, but then Sara Hector is a DNF – skis not ideal for today? Jess Hilzinger red at inter 1 but green at 2 and 3 – into 2nd, +0.07. Katharina Truppe has gained a huge amount from 2 to 3 but then a massive error drops her to 5th. Paula Moltzan has also been gaining time to 3 but she’s held on to most of it to lead by 0.59. Katharina Liensberger into 2nd – that isn’t going to impress the Austrian press, who seem to be rather negative at present. Thea Louise Stjernesund can only manage 6th; Laurence St-Germain good to inter 2 but then a huge error and she had to walk back up to make sure she gets a few points. Anna Swenn Larsson has straddled; Wendy Holdener has gained a little to inter 2 and she leads by an impressive 0.61. Lena Dürr red at 1, green again at 2, much greener at 3 and she’s gained a lot to the line to lead by 0.69 – fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4! Zrinka Ljutic next and that’s a very early straddle – pity after such an impressive first run. Mikaela Shiffrin on course and she’s losing time to inter 2, better to 3 and she leads by 0.42 – a slightly nervous performance today? She doesn’t look that happy with it? Just Petra Vlhova to come – 0.17 in hand; she’s gained a little to inter 1, it’s doubled by 2, slight loss to 3 and Vlhova takes her first win of the season by 0.43! Congratulations to Petra Vlhova, Mikaela Shiffrin takes another 2nd with Lean Dürr in the final podium spot. Then Holdener, Moltzan and Liensberger.

Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Super G, 13 Jan 23: Who would hold a speed race on the Lauberhorn on Friday 13th, I wonder? Joined a bit late – Aleksander Aamodt Kilde leading from Stefan Rogentin and, surprise, surprise, Marco Odermatt! Vincent Kriechmayr in 4th ahead of Ryan C-S and Beat Feuz. The wind is getting up and possibly bringing rain in with it? Kilde [bib 15], Justin Murisier [bib 16, currently 8th] and Nils Allegre [18, currently 9th] the highest bibs in the top 10. Good run from Dominik Paris [19], by this season’s standard, into 5th, +1.17. Loic Meillard [20] into 9th; Blaise Giezendanner [23] into 10th.  Christof Innerhofer into the nets on Canadian Corner but we can’t see the site; a new camera angle and we can see he’s being helped out of the nets and back onto his skis – lucky escape. Marco Schwarz [bib 31] into 18th! Giovanni Franzoni has crashed into much the same place as Innerhofer but this might be a little more serious – sadly it seems he will need to be taken off the mountain by helo. Still windy in places and the light isn’t good either – the wind is demolishing some of the advertising banners, which are being dismantled by marshals in some areas! I wonder if the advertisers get a rebate?? A number of finishers are ending up horizontal – nothing left in the tank. The race is now on hold due to the wind strength, and no wonder. Well, they haven’t given up, bib 45 - Kyle Negomir – on course but it’s getting even darker. Not an ideal day for your World Cup Super-G debut, but Florian Loriot [FRA, 47] has got down in one piece! That’s it – race complete. Well done to Kilde on another win, Rogentin for his podium and Odermatt on yet another podium! Not a good day for the later starters or, I suspect, the race organisers?

St Anton [Karl Schranz] – Women’s Super G, 14 Jan 23: This one confirmed but from the lower start position. Marta Bassino the early leader from bib 2 but Federica Brignone is flying – just 0.06 ahead at inter 2 but from there to the finish she’s very quick and leads by 1.03! She was almost a second faster in the final sector. Cornelia Hütter currently in third; Mirjam Puchner into 4th. No Shiffrin today and no Vlhova! Michelle Gisin out; Tamara Tippler in touch but she can’t match Brignone in the final sector – into 2nd. Some odd manoeuvres from Ragnhild Mowinckel but a good final sector gets her into 3rd; Lara G-B into 2nd, +0.66; Sofia Goggia down but seems to be up and OK. Tessa Worley in touch at inter 2 and into 3rd, +0.82; Kasja Vickoff Lie has missed a gate. At present Brignone leads from Gut-Behrami and Worley, then Tippler, Mowinckel and Bassino. That’s a good run from Joana Haehlen, a good recovery early on – fast through the final speed gun and into 2nd, +0.54; Alice Robinson well in touch at 2 but wide on the final turns and just 11th. That’s a pity – Nicole Delago half a second up at inter 2 but she’s out. That’s a good run from Kira Weidle [bib 29] into 7th; no change to the top 6 since Worley! I hope Ilka Stuhec is OK – into the nets, which has caused a delay for the later starters. A good effort by Juliana Suter [bib 40] into 14th and highest bib number in the top 20. No more changes to the top 20 – well done to Federica Brignone on her win; Joana Haehlen and Lara Gut-Behrami getting well deserved podium places. Worley in 4th ahead of Tippler and Mowinckel.

Wengen [Lauberhorn] – Men’s Downhill, 14 Jan 23: And, like St Anton, this race is from the reserve start – seems it’s still a bit windy higher up! This will be Beat Feuz’s final race here [and indeed in Switzerland], just a double downhill before he retires! Romed Baumann first away, on his birthday – safely down! The crowd are singing “Happy Birthday”. Travis Ganong 0.88 off the pace; Mattia Casse much more in touch, despite the flat light – he leads by 0.99! Fastest in 4 of the 5 sectors. It’s hard to estimate how bad the light is from the video coverage, but it seems to be encouraging a careful approach from some athletes? Thomas Dressen into 3rd, but +1.21; Josef Ferstl 0.08 slower than his fellow German. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on course and he’s green and getting greener – he leads by a massive 1.01! Next is Marco Odermatt – a little slow through the top speed guns and he’s in the red all the way – fastest through the final gun and into 2nd, +0.88. Great recovery from Ryan C-S – very close to the nets but he’s saved it; he’s out though. Niels Hintermann into 4th; Daniel Hemetsberger off line lower down and into 5th. Now, it’s Beat Feuz and he’s level at inter 1, slower through the next 2 speed guns though and red at inter 2, redder at 3 and it’s slipping away – into 4th, +1.25. An amazing reaction from the crowd. Vincent Kriechmayr in touch on the early sectors but he too is losing time lower down – a bit off line too and he’s into 4th. Dominik Paris into 7th after a disappointing final sector. James Crawford bruised from yesterday and living dangerously at Canadians Corner – safely down though and 13th. Christof Innerhofer also safely down today, in 14th; the Swiss were expecting great things from Stefan Rogentin but he can only manage 8th. Matteo Marsaglia now into 8th; good effort by Gilles Roulin [bib 21] into 7th. The track is getting bumpier, but Max Muzaton [bib 29] has managed to get into the top 10. Not for long though as Marco Schwarz hasn’t let conditions worry him either – into 6th place from bib 31! Good run from Alexis Monney [SUI] too, into 10th from bib 37, which drops Muzaton out of the top 10. The only other change to the top 20 was Florian Schieder [ITA, bib 44] getting into 19th place! Well done to Kilde – that’s the double; Odermatt again very impressive and Mattia Casse taking the final podium place. Kriechmayr in 4th then Feuz and Schwarz.

Wengen [Männlichen] – Men’s Slalom, 15 Jan 23: I joined run 1 with Loic Meillard leading with Henrik Kristoffersen going into 2nd, +0.45 and Lucas Braathen 3rd, +0.48, who seems to be unhappy about something? Timon Haugan has straddled and Sebastian F-S is also out – he’s not having a good season so far! Clement Noel can only manage 7th; Alexis Pinturault is also well off the pace – he’s 10th and +3.18! Now Dave Ryding and his coach set this course – not one of his best, into 11th, +3.35! Marco Schwarz into 9th; first TV break with Meillard leading from Kristoffersen and Braathen, then Strasser, McGrath and Sala. Good run by Ramon Zenhaeusern [bib 19] into 9th; it seems odd but Erik Read, with a deficit of +4.05, is actually in 16th place at present and probably going to get a second run? Run 1 is over – no late changes to the top 20 and the cut off for run 2 is an astonishing +5.65!
Run 2: Interesting that the set of the first run doesn’t seem to have been popular! Conditions not good for run 2, looks like wet snow and poor visibility; this course set by a Norwegian coach. Stefan Hadalin first away and down. Sandro Simonet much more in touch and leads by 2.14! Alex Steen Olsen green all the way and into the lead by 0.16; Seb Holzmann into 3rd. Filip Zubcic has lost almost all of has advantage by inter 3 and he’s 4th; a similar story for Michael Matt but he had more in hand at the start and ends 2nd, +0.05! Marc Rochat into 4th; the course is already getting very rutted. Only 1 TV break due to the conditions and it will be after Erik Read, who is just red at inter 3 and just 8th. Steen Olsen still leads and he’s gained 11 places so far! Kristoffer Jakobsen has kept a good amount of his advantage to inter 2 but he’s straddled – another DNF, his 3rd in a row! Dave Ryding has 1.82 in hand as he starts – but he’s just 0.09 green at inter 3 and slow in the last sector to go 8th! Alex Vinatzer starts with almost 2 seconds advantage and at last the lead changes – Vinatzer ahead by 0.93. Alexis Pinturault into 2nd, +0.34; a delay while the team try to repair one of the gates. Johannes Strolz has actually finished and he’s into 2nd; Marco Schwarz next and he’s actually gaining time all the way – he leads by 1.15. Ramon Zenhaeusern has lost a lot from 2 to 3 and he’s just into 2nd, 0.15 ahead of Vinatzer. Much the same from Daniel Yule who has ended up 4th after a big error between 2 and 3. Clement Noel also lost time from 2 to 3 but he kept the light green and that’s a good final sector to take the lead by just 0.05! Tommaso Sala into 3rd; Atle Lie McGrath also lost time from 2 to 3 but he’s hanging on and takes the lead by 0.09. Linus Strasser just green at 2 but has gained a little to 3 which is impressive and he leads by 0.23! Lucas Braathen has gained a lot from 1 to 2 and a little more to 3 and he leads by a full second! Fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4! Henrik Kristoffersen has gained to inter 1, lost a little to 2, steady to 3 and then gaining again to lead by 0.49 – great skiing from the Vikings! I think Henrik is pleased with that. Just Loic Meillard to go – he’s lost a little to inter 1 and more to 2, just 0.01 green at 3 - he’s made a big error on the steep and into 2nd. That was a good race – Kristoffersen takes a win with a superb run, ahead of Meillard and Braathen. Strasser 4th ahead of McGrath and Noel with Schwarz in 7th; Dave Ryding ended up 21st.

St Anton [Karl Schranz] – Women’s Super G, 15 Jan 23: It seems Sofia Goggia has decided not to race today? After her crash yesterday she’s heading back for a check-up. The weather isn’t as nice as yesterday, flatter light, but they are going to race from the usual start so this is a full length Super G. That’s not the best start – Laura Gauche first away and her boot clips have caught; she’s fallen but the soft snow by the side of the course has stopped her pre nets. Kasja Vickoff Lie on course after a DNF yesterday – safely down today but maybe not that fast? Joana Haehlen has missed a gate and that’s another DNF; not sure what the timing is doing – keeps showing +52.xx at inter 3 [for the last 2 skiers], which can’t be right as Nicole Schmidhofer is down and in the lead by 0.66. That’s better – Ramona Siebenhofer green all the way and into the lead by 0.42. Corinne Suter into 3rd; Lara Gut-Behrami lucky to stay on course, although of course it wasn’t luck, what a recovery – risky stuff but she leads by 0.79! Elena Curtoni green all the way to 3 but a late error has cost her half a second – into 2nd, +0.52. Ragnhild Mowinckel very close to a couple gates and into 4th; 10 away – Lara G-B leads from Curtoni and Siebenhofer. Michelle Gisin still nicely in touch at inter 3 and into 4th; Connie Hütter well green at inter 1 but she too has missed a gate – this is a tricky course! Romane Miradoli into 5th, and now it’s Federica Brignone – fast through the second speed gun but red at inter 3; fastest so far on sector 4 which has pulled a little back to go 2nd, +0.15. Tamara Tippler has skied out near the finish; 15 away, Lara G-B leads from Brignone and Curtoni. That’s a great run from Marta Bassino [bib 19], fast through the final 2 sectors and into 3rd, +0.19. Alice Robinson had a stumble near the start and she’s skied out; Nicole Delago also out, as is Breezy Johnson. Val Grenier [bib 32] still in touch at inter 2 but she’s slow in the final 2 sectors and just 23rd today, at present. Isabella Wright [bib 42] into 19th and that was the last change to the top 20! Well done to Lara G-B taking another win, ahead of Federica Brignone and Marta Bassino; then Curtoni, Siebenhofer and Gisin.

Ruhpolding – Men’s 20 Km Individual, 11 Jan 23: Quite a bit of green beside the tracks, in places. JoBø away with bib 3; this event is the one where every miss just adds a full minute to your time- no penalty loops today! At 2.1 Km JoBø is 16.1 faster than Hartweg; Giacomel is a little closer, +12.9. Given the conditions going really early might be a good idea – maybe that’s why Johannes is pushing while the tracks are good? Hartweg at S1 and he’s missed 1 – but so has JoBø! Kireyev clear but still behind JoBø – Tommaso Giacomel however is clear and out 43.4 ahead! Michal Krcmar also clear and in touch; Andrzej Nedza-Kubiniec [POL] clear but only 10 seconds ahead of Bø – similar story for Pavel Magazeev [MDA]. Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 2; Sturla Holm Laegreid clear and fastest out of the range so far, but only 0.9 ahead of Giacomel. Benedikt Doll clear at S1 and he too is in touch – a happy crowd, but I wonder if they saw how lucky he was with one of those! Eder and Komatz also clear but almost 30 seconds off the pace. The crowd are happy about David Zobel going 5/5 too. At S2 Hartweg and JoBø are clear and away; back at S1 Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen is clear and 6 seconds ahead of Laegreid! Giacomel is clear at S2; out 28.3 ahead of Johannes. Fabien Claude clear at S1 and just 1.2 off the pace; Laegreid has lost a little time to Giacomel on the lap. Krcmar clear at S2 but he’s only just ahead of Bø; Roman Rees clear at S1. Laegreid clear at S2 and out 5.2 behind Giacomel; Samuelsson has missed 1 in his first shoot. Doll clear at S2 but he’s 20 seconds off the pace; JoBø is flying – at 11.3 Km he’s just 4.5 behind Giacomel and he’s clear at S3 as well! Christiansen clear at S2 and 7.8 ahead of Giacomel, who has just missed 1 at S3. Fabien Claude has missed 1 at S2; Zobel 10/10 but doesn’t have the ski speed to exploit it. Jakov Fak 10/10, +32.2; QFM has missed 1 at S1, so has Andersen. At S3 Laegreid is 15/15 but he’s out just 3.1 ahead of JoBø [1,0,0]. Doll has missed his first shot at S3 which leaves him 1:17.5 behind Laegreid. JoBø at S4 and the wind has picked up a little – he’s missed 1! That’s interesting – Christiansen 15/15 and 23.0 faster than Laegreid as he leaves the range! Lost video on the IBU site – not good. Even worse is that the data feed has frozen – no idea what is happening! It’s all gone, just the occasional audio, but now even that has gone, probably as Pat and Mike have also lost the feed? Video and audio back but still no data [although the time is still working!]. Data back – at S4 Christiansen has missed 1 and out only 6.9 ahead of JoBø who has one more miss! In summary at S4 it was Christiansen [0,0,0,1], JoBø [1,0,0,1] + 6.9; Giacomel [0,0,1,0, +21.6] Laegreid [0,0,0,1, + 21.9] and Doll [0,0,1,0, +48.3]. Fak has just become the first 20/20 and he's out 2nd, +5.2. At 18.1 Km Christiansen is now behind JoBø, by 1.7 seconds. Fabien Claude has missed 2 at S4; QFM [1,1,0,0] out in 9th. At the finish it’s currently JoBø, Christiansen +9.9, Laegreid +42.8, Giacomel, Doll and Krcmar. Now, can Fak get on the podium? He’s 10 seconds up on Laegreid at 18.1 Km and still has that gap at 19.3! He’s done it - +29.3 to Laegreid’s +42.8! Well done Jakov Fak – still the only 20/20 – no, I lie – Raul Flore [Romania] is 20/20 as well, but almost 3 minutes back after S4! We’ve lost video again – not an impressive performance by Ruhpolding/IBU today! Rastorgujevs [0,0,0,1] into 7th, ahead of Krcmar and Hartweg. Video back but it’s only showing a fence! Tarjei Bø [0,0,0,1] out from S4 in 11th; Dale [0,1,1,0] 12th there. QFM over the line currently in 9th, behind Krcmar but he and Tarjei are ahead of Hartweg. At present Jesper Nelin [0,1,0,1] is the best of the Swedes in 18th; Samuelsson with 3 misses, Ponsiluoma 5 and Femling 3. Well, that’s it – Johannes Thingnes Bø wins again, having effectively taken almost 70 seconds out of Christiansen on the track – quite astonishing! Delighted to see Fak in 3rd thanks to his perfect shooting score, then Laegreid [who effectively lost over 100 seconds to JoBø], Giacomel and Doll. Nice to see Rees and Kühn in the top 20.

Ruhpolding – Women’s 15 Km Individual, 12 Jan 23: Missed this as I was having an excellent lunch at the time! A very impressive win for Lisa Vittozzi [0,0,0,0] who was 39 seconds clear of Lou Jeanmonnot [0,0,0,0] – delighted for Vittozzi after her shooting problems last season. Julia Simon [0,0,0,1]  took the final podium place, just 6.2 seconds behind Jeanmonnot! Doro Wierer was 4th, after 1 miss at S4, just ahead of Hanna Öberg who had 1 miss at S2 with sister Elvira [also 1 miss at S2] another 10 seconds or so back. Tandrevold 7th, ahead of Røiseland [both 1 miss]. Vanessa Voight best German in 11th with 1 miss, Denise H-W in 15th after 3 misses! I was surprised to see Sophie Chauveau in 43rd, after 5 misses [1,1,2,1].

Ruhpolding – Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km Relay, 13 Jan 23: I expected to miss this as I hoped to be out walking but with all the wind, rain and tree debris I’ve decided to wait a little longer! More wet snow and warm temperatures today. Norway – Laegreid, Tarjei, Christiansen and JoBø – no prizes for guessing the favourites! At 1.2 Km Laegreid and Samuelsson are leading but the top 10 are separated by only 4.2 seconds. In for S1 – Eric Perrot [FRA] clear and out just ahead of Laegreid, Harjula [FIN], Stalder, Zahkna [EST] and Zobel [+3.3] – all with no spares. Samuelsson has used all 3 spares and he’s out last, +27.7. At S2 Perrot is clear and away again out 9.8 ahead of Zahkna with Harjula and Zobel close behind – all the chasing 3 with 1 spare used. Samuelsson has used 1 more spare and out 10th – amazingly Laegreid has missed his first 3 shots and ended up on the penalty loop  - out 16th, +41.3! Perrot going well to the first exchange, gaining a little with Harjula past Zahkna; Samuelsson up to 9th at 6.2 Km, with Laegreid 12th, Krcmar making up time very fast. At exchange 1 it’s FRA/CZE/FIN/AUT/EST/SUI. Zobel has faded a little to 7th, Sweden up to 8th and Norway 10th, +40.7. At 8.7 Km QFM is  16 seconds clear of Hidensalo and Stvrtecky, with Finello, Kühn and Femling close behind. Tarjei Bø in 11th, and he’s made up nothing so far. S3 – QFM clear and away, 12 seconds ahead of Simon Eder [no spares], then Femling [0], Kühn [0], Hidensalo [0] and Doherty [1]. Tarjei used 1 spare and out +51.3 but he’s started to gain time on the track. QFM in for S4, some 15 seconds ahead of the chasing group of 4. He’s used 1 spare and out – Hidensalo clear and out +18.2, then Eder [2 spares], Kühn [1], Tarjei [0] and Doherty [2]; Femling on the penalty loop. Stvrtecky has used 5 spares on this leg and out 12th; QFM losing time on the lap. At exchange 2 it’s FRA/FIN/GER/AUT +17.2/NOR +34.2/SUI +50.3. Sweden in 8th, +51.1 after Femling’s loop. Guigonnat is 10.4 ahead of Doll  at 16.2 Km, then Ranta [FIN], Unterweger [AUT], Christiansen and Brown [USA]. S5 – Guigonnat clear and out, Doll also clear and out +2.1, then Christiansen [0, +9.2], Ranta [0], Unterweger [0], Brown [0] and Nelin [0, +42.4] – good shooting there! Doll, Guigonnat and Christiansen pulling away a little from Ranta and Unterweger. The French skis look better than Doll’s? S6 and it’s raining – Christiansen [1 spare] leads out, Doll [1] +6.0, Ranta [0] +33.8, Guigonnat [penalty loop] +37.6, Brown [2] +1:01.8, Unterweger [penalty loop] + 1:09.4. Nelin in 7th after needing all 3 spares. Doll is holding Christiansen, Guigonnat past Ranta and Nelin up to 6 at 21.2 Km. Final exchange – Doll just past Christiansen so GER/NOR +0.2/FRA +37.0/FIN/USA/SWE +1:13.0. Roman Rees the man who has the dubious honour of racing against JoBø! At 23.7 Km JoBø has the gap up to 7.7; Fabian Claude has also lost time. Otto Invenius, Maxime Germain and Martin Ponsiluoma having a good battle behind the leading 3. JoBø in for S7 looking very relaxed; clear and out. Rees [1] out +26.3 but Claude needed all 3 spares and he’s out +1:19.2. Ponsiluoma also using all 3and out +1:53.5 ahead of Dudchenko [1] and Giacomel [1]. Germain [USA] on the penalty loop as was Invenius [FIN]. The final shoot – JoBø has used 2 spares and lucky not to need more! Roman Rees clear and out +26.4 to the delight of the crowd! Claude also clear this time and looking to have the final podium place secure, especially as Ponsiluoma has used all 3 spares – he’s out +2:05.4 and only just ahead of Giacomel [1, +2:08.9]. JoBø has cruised in to take the win for Norway [1+7], then Germany [0+4] and France [1+7] – two of the podium having been on the penalty loop. Sweden [1+15] have held on to 4th, ahead of Italy [0+10] and Ukraine [0+7]. Not the nicest conditions!

Ruhpolding – Women’s 4 x 6 Km Relay, 14 Jan 23: Late change to the Swedish team – Elvira out, apparently with a cold, and Linn Persson back in. I’m a little worried about Schneider who goes on leg 3 for Germany – her shooting stats aren’t that good, but it seems the Germans are having snags with illness? Possibly Norway or Sweden for the win today; France the other option? The race is on – it’s very icy today as the tracks have been salted, so with the warm conditions it’s going to be hard work – I wonder if the Fischer skis might have problems again today? At 0.9 Km Jeanmonnot leads from Baserga and Weidel but there’s only 4.6 seconds separating the top 10. Even closer at the next timing point – in for S1, wind very light at present. It’s Knotten who leads out, ahead of Zdouc [AUT], Baserga [SUI], Brorsson, Jeanmonnot and Comola [ITA, +6.0] – all with no spares. Weidel has used all 3 spares and out 10th, +18.7; no penalty loops that I can see. Looks like Weidel is losing time on the lap too. The first 6 out of the range are opening up a slight gap on the lap. In for S2 – Amy Baserga out first, ahead of Jeanmonnot, Knotten, Zdouc, Comola [all those 5 clear] and Vobornikova [CZE, 1 spare]. Weidel [1 spare here] out +28.5, but Brorsson has ended up doing 1 penalty loop as have Bulgaria and Poland. Knotten, Zdouc and Comola have lost quite a bit of time on the lap; Weidel has lost even more and dropped to 12th from 7th after S2. At the first exchange it’s FRA/SUI/NOR/AUT/ITA/CZE +39.7; Germany in 12th about a full minute back; what happened to Sweden – Brorsson did a penalty loop but so did others who are at the exchange before her – she’s in +1:43.4. Chloe Chevalier has opened out a gap of 10.7 by 6.9 Km over Aita Gasparin; Femsteinevik in 3rd +15.9, ahead of Juppe [AUT], Vittozzi and Jislova [CZE, +49.9]. S3 – Chloe Chevalier clear and away but lucky with her 5th. Vittozzi also clear and +28.1, then Gasparin [2 spares], Femsteinevik [3 spares, +32.8], Dzhima [0], and Jislova [0]. Voight clear and out 8th but Juppe is on the penalty loop; Magnusson clear but +1:54.0 and losing time on the lap too. S4 – Chevalier clear and out with Vittozzi [2] +30.9, then Femsteinevik [3] +48.1 and Voight [0, +59.9]. Magnusson clear this time but +2:02.4. The gap between Chevalier and Vittozzi is fairly steady; Femsteinevik and Voight losing a little. At the second exchange France are 27.0 ahead of Italy as Sophie Chauveau and Rebecca Passler take over, then NOR/GER/CZE/FIN/EST/SUI. Sweden in 12th, +1:57.5 with Hanna Öberg taking leg 3. Schneider in a sandwich behind Røiseland and ahead of Davidova! In for S5 – Chauveau has missed her first and the second – all 3 spares and out but only 1.8 ahead of Røiseland who was clear! Passler [1, +7.3], Schneider [2, +38.6] but only just ahead of Davidova and Elisa Gasparin who were both clear. Hanna Öberg needed all 3 spares but she’s got the gap down to 1:35.2. Lampic [SLO] has ended up on the penalty loop at S5. In for S6 – Røiseland clear and out and that was good shooting; Chauveau is doing 2 penalty loops. Passler clear and out 2nd, +20.3 then Davidova [1], Gasparin [2] and Schneider [2], +53.5. Öberg clear this time but the gap is still +1:33.1. Røiseland pulling away, Schneider up to 3rd. Final exchange – Tandrevold away with 29.2 to Doro Wierer. Schneider has gone well on the final lap to hand over to Denise H-W, +39.7 then CZE/SUI/FRA/FIN/SWE, +1:22.1. Denise H-W into 2nd on the lap but she hasn’t made too much time up on Tandrevold. S7 – Tandrevold clear and out, 34.9 ahead of Wierer [0] with Denise H-W [1] another 10m seconds back just ahead of Lena Haecki-Gross [1] with Charvátová another 5 seconds back. Linn Persson clear and 6th, +1:23.7. The commentary team seem to be doing their best to jinx Tandrevold by harping on about how reliable she is! The chasing 3 are about 40 seconds back, with a 10 second gap to Charvátová. Tandrevold in for the final shoot – clear again so she’s defied the commentators’ curse! Great shooting! Doro [1] out +42.4, then Denise H-W [1], +43.9, and Lena H-G [3], +57.3. Charvátová in 5th, ahead of Anais C-B with Persson in 7th after needing 2 spares. Final lap, at 23.4 Km Denise is 2nd, 13.2 ahead of Wierer who is 11 seconds ahead of Lena H-G. That’s it – Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold bringing it home for Norway [0+6], who have done the relay double. Germany [0+10] in 2nd with Italy [0+4 - great shooting!] 3rd as Doro just holds off Haecki-Gross! Czech Republic 5th, then France, Sweden and Estonia.

Ruhpolding – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start, 15 Jan 23: Again, quite warm conditions; top 30 in the rankings only today, and they are all racing – no withdrawals. At 1.9 Km the top 10 are separated by just 8.1 seconds; 5 Norwegians in the top 6! Christiansen keeping with JoBø, but they are some 7 seconds clear of the rest. In for S1 – advantage France – QFM clear and away just 0.8 ahead of Fabien Claude with Tarjei Bø 3rd, +6.2 just fractionally ahead of Emilien Jacquelin, then Lapshin and Samuelsson – all clear. JoBø, Doll, Laegreid and Christiansen among those missing 1, Giacomel and Andersen have missed 2 and Rees and Dale 3. JoBø back to 5th early in the lap; it’s a tough pace! In for S2, the second prone – JoBø clear this time and out, 0.8 ahead of Fabien Claude then Christiansen, Strelow, Zobel and Tarjei Bø – all clear here; QFM has missed 1 and out 11th, +20.8. Ponsiluoma [1,2], Dale [3,1], Rees [3,0] and Andersen [2,2] not having a good day. At 8.3 Km Claude, Christiansen and JoBø are clear but the chasing pack have gone from 15 seconds behind to 11; Laegreid and Samuelsson leading the charge with Tarjei Bø. In for the first standing shoot – JoBø heading for lane 1; JoBø has missed 1 but it’s Tarjei who leads out, ahead of Samuelsson +0.3 – both 15/15 but JoBø is 3rd, just +0.8. Christiansen and Laegreid have missed 1 more each, Claude 2 here, Strelow and Zobel 1 each here, Doll on 1,1,1; QFM 0,1,2. At 11.3 Km JoBø is 5.7 ahead of his brother, then Christiansen +6.4, Samuelsson +7.0 and Strolia [LTU] +12.0. Laegreid in 6th but +33.7. JoBø in for his final shoot – he’s missed his 2nd but that was fast; Christiansen clear this time and away, 5.9 ahead of JoBø; Tarjei has finally missed 1 and +20.7, Laegreid clear at S4 +28.5. Samuelsson has missed 2 at S4; Strolia has missed 1 so no 20/20 scores today. At 13.9 Km JoBø just in front of Christiansen and JoBø is away up the hill! Tarjei in 3rd just ahead of Laegreid, then Jacquelin and Strolia. At the finish it’s yet another win for Johannes Thingnes Bø [1,0,1,1] despite those 3 misses; Christiansen [1,0,1,0] holding 2nd with Laegreid [1,0,1,0] just faster than Tarjei Bø [0,0,0,1]. Jacquelin in 5th, ahead of Strolia, Samuelsson and Strelow. Doll has missed a total of 5 targets and 15th, QFM 16th, Dale 18th. Interesting race!

Ruhpolding – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start, 15 Jan 23: Slight snag as I somehow selected the range coverage only! Soon rectified. Not quite the top 30 here as there are a few absences, letting a few of the lower ranked racers in. No Røiseland today, no Denise H-W nor Elvira Öberg. At 1.2 Km it’s Julia Simon, who rested yesterday, ahead of Wierer and Davidova but just 5.4 between the top 10. In for S1 and the wind seems to have eased since zeroing; Lisa Vittozzi clear and out just 0.5 ahead of Lena Haecki-Gross with Hauser just 0.2 further back then Tandrevold, Anais C-B and Magnusson - all clear. Julia Simon, Hanna Öberg, Linn Persson and Vanessa Voight among those missing 1; Doro has missed 2 and Davidova 3 – unusual. Vittozzi, Anais C-B, Tandrevold and Lena H-G in the lead group 7 seconds or so clear of the pack. In for S2 and it’s raining hard; Vittozzi clear and out 2.4 ahead of Simon who is clear this time, Hauser +14.7 ahead of Magnusson, both 10/10 and Voight 5th ahead of Persson. Lena H-G and Tandrevold have missed 2 here, Elvira [1,1] as are Femsteinevik and Chauveau. Vittozzi and Simon away, chasing group over 22 seconds back; at 6.8 Km that gap is now 27! The first standing shoot – 1 miss each for the leaders but even so Simon leads out 2.9 ahead of Vittozzi; Anais C-B clear and +11.6 with Voight +13.3. Hanna Öberg clear here +25.9, ahead of Knotten [+29.2], Persson and Hauser. Tandrevold has missed another 1 and Doro 2 more, Schneider is [2,2,2,] – I can’t see her in the team once Germany’s illness woes are over? Julia Simon pulling away a little, odd to see Öberg losing time. Final shoot – Vittozzi clear and out with 19/20 but she’s had a snag with the rifle. Out Vittozzi, Simon +1.0, Anais C-B [0,1,0,0, +1.5] then Persson +20.1 with Voight in 5th ahead of Elvira – both with 1 miss at S4. Lead 3 just 1 second apart at 11.2 Km. At 11.8 the gap is just 0.6, Hauser past Öberg behind them. Julia Simon has pulled clear on the downhill – Simon [1,0,1,1] takes the win 2.6 ahead of Lisa Vittozzi [0,0,1,0] whose skis seemed to be a bit slower than the French ones, with Anais C-B [0,1,0,0] in 3rd. Persson 4th ahead of Voight and Öberg. Hauser in 7th, Tandrevold [0,2,1,2] in 16th, Doro Wierer [2,0,2,3] in 23rd! Schneider has missed 8 – 2 every shoot! No perfect shooting score today, in either race.

Cortina d’Ampezzo [Olimpia delle Tofane] & Kitzbühel [Streif] – Downhills, 20 Jan 23: I missed both of these due to dentist appointments! For the women in Cortina d’Ampezzo,  Sofia Goggia took the win – her 4th victory in 5 downhills do far this season. Ilka Stuhec was second just 0.13 behind with Kira Weidle [+0.36] taking the final podium place. Several skiers were ahead of Goggia at intermediate three, but none could match her in the final sectors. Typically Mikaela Shiffrin was 0.25 up at inter 3 but lost time lower down, to finish 4th, 0.14 off a podium place. Lara Gut-Behrami was 5th, ahead of Tamara Tippler.
In Kitzbühel I did catch the later runs, joining just as Miha Hrobat [SLO, bib 45] went into joint 7th with Travis Ganong, by which time Kilde had slipped to 15th – a bad day by his standards! Vincent Kriechmayr still in the lead as I saw on my phone while in the waiting room, but Florian Schieder [bib 43] has just gone into 2nd ahead of Niels Hintermann, knocking Jared Goldberg off the podium!  I gather he has never got into the top 10 before? The weather has changed for the better, it seems, it’s certainly unusual to see Henrik von Appen finishing ahead of Beat Feuz!!  Ryan C-S was off the pace here today, currently down in 39th and Marco Odermatt hopefully wasn’t hurt in an incident that left him down in 47th at the moment. Justin Murisier [bub 47 into 12th!  Long delay after Henrik Roea crashed at the finish – best wishes to him. Nice to see Roy-Alexander Steudle get safely down here, given the lack of support from Britain! Well done to Kriechmayr for the win, which was arguably done in the worst weather conditions today. Great run from Florian Schieder to take 2nd, with Niels Hintermann  in 3rd. Goldberg in 4th, Sejersted tied with Paris in 5th – delighted to see Paris getting back on form; Kilde finished 16th!

Cortina d’Ampezzo [Olimpia delle Tofana] & Kitzbühel [Streif] – Downhills, 21 Jan 23: Sadly I missed both of these too; a combination of an early walk and then a lunch date with my wife! In Cortina d’Ampezzo strong winds meant the start had to be lowered to below the Tofana Schuss, making the race about 30 seconds less than yesterday’s race. Ilka Stuhec continued her successful weekend by adding a victory today, her first in about 4 years during which she had considered retiring after a series of knee injuries! Second place went to Kasja Vickoff Lie, also on the recovery trail after a leg injury in Val di Fassa almost 2 years ago – quite a run from bib 30! The final podium place went to Elena Curtoni, who was just one one hundredth ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami and Ragnhild Mowinckel who ended up tied in 4th! Priska Nufer was 6th. Sofia Goggia was among those who didn’t finish the course, but luckily seems to be pretty much unhurt. Her last 7 races here have either been wins or DNFs! Mikaela Shiffrin did race again today and finished in 7th.
Over in Kitzbühel normal service was resumed after yesterday’s rather unusual results – with snow falling and fresh powder on the track Aleksander Aamodt Kilde bounced back after yesterday’s disappointing 16th place to take the win by an impressive margin of 0.67 seconds. I was delighted to see Johan Clarey take second place – the commentary team keep mentioning that he is 42 now, but that didn’t seem to worry him today! The final podium place went to Travis Ganong, with Mattia Casse in 4th ahead of yesterday’s winner Vincent Kriechmayr with Cameron Alexander and Otmar Striedinger tied in 6th! Dominik Paris ended 14th, with Beat Feuz 16th in his final race before he retires. Roy-Alexander Steudle again finished the race! Marco Odermatt didn’t race today after yesterday’s injury – it seems that further investigation are needed but “a meniscus injury cannot be ruled out”. Here's hoping it isn’t too serious. Meanwhile Henrik Roea, who also crashed yesterday, was flown to hospital – first reports say he has an open thigh fracture; again all the best to him for a complete recovery.

Kitzbühel [Ganslern] – Men’s Slalom, 22 Jan 23: I joined run 1 slightly late with Manu Feller leading from Lucas Braathen and Linus Strasser; Henrik Kristoffersen in 6th, +1.45! Dave Ryding into 7th, +1.56; I see McGrath was a DNF. Clement Noel into 4th; Johannes Strolz out again – I think that’s 5 DNFs in 6 races? Alex Vinatzer has also joined the 1 finish from 6 races club, and he’s fallen too – into the advertising banners but he seems OK. Marco Schwarz almost 3 seconds off the pace; this is a real beast of a course, with some tricky terrain – Alexis Pinturault can only manage 10th, +2.70! Albert Popov into 9th from bib 19; Adrian Pertl into 10th, Ryding down to 13th. It’s getting rutted! Interesting comments from Kristoffersen who isn’t impressed with the course preparation, although as Finlay pointed out others have skied it faster! Thirty away – no change to the top 6 since Noel went into 4th; coverage shifts to Cortina, which seems to have German commentary at present!? That’s good – Billy Major into 20th from bib 40. No late changes to the top 10.
Run 2: Course set by a Swiss coach – a bit of extra swing! That really is an interesting use of terrain. Erik Read first away but Armand Marchant is almost a second faster! Michael Matt into 2nd; Sam Maes did well to qualify for run 2 from bib 60, but an early error has spoilt his second run. What is going on – Kristoffer Jakobsen should surely have taken the lead here but he’s into 3rd – good final sector though and he did finish here! Seb Holzmann into 2nd; at last, Alex Steen Olsen takes the lead by 0.49. Big error from Billy Major but a quick recovery and he’s finished in 7th, so into the points. Joaquim Salarich [ESP] into 2nd; now it’s Dave Ryding – 0.43 ahead as he leaves the start hut and he’s gained to inter 1, lost a bit to 2, pulled it back to 3 and he leads by 0.83 – great run! Henrik Kristoffersen into 2nd, +0.07 – that’s quite a scalp for Dave Ryding! Tanguy Nef living very dangerously and no surprise that he's a DNF. Adrian Pertl into 3rd; I’m getting worried about Nick’s blood pressure as Ryding continues to gain places! Daniel Yule lost a bit to inter 1 but he’s gained it back to 2 and it’s green all the way to take the lead by 0.40! No matter what happens though it’s Dave Ryding’s best result this season. Ramon Zenhaeusern into 4th; now Loic Meillard has taken over 4th. Clement Noel can only manage 6th; Linus Strasser just red at 2 and redder at 3 – he’s into 3rd, so Kristoffersen is off the podium. Strasser just 0.02 behind Ryding! Lucas Braathen next and he’s lost a little to inter 1, and he’s only just green at 2 – red at 3 and he’s into 3rd – Dave Ryding will be on the podium! Braathen was just 0.01 behind Ryding! Manu Feller away, huge pressure and he’s straddled! So, Daniel Yule takes the win, Dave Ryding in 2nd with Lucas Braathen in 3rd. That’s an excellent result for Ryding!

Cortina d’Ampezzo [Olimpia delle Tofana] – Women’s Super G, 22 Jan 23: Well, the German commentary has vanished but now there’s no commentary at all! Tessa Worley first away and it’s a beautiful day – sun and blue skies although parts of the course are in shade. Eurosport has coverage on 2 channels but there’s no commentary on either one – very annoying! Worley safely down and Kasja Vickoff Lie is 0.51 red at inter 2; better at 3 and fastest in the last 2 sectors to take the lead by 0.08. Not for long though as I don’t think she’s even got to the chair before Laura Gauche takes over, and she in turn is displaced by Marta Bassino who leads by a mighty 0.69! There is now a note on screen apologising for the lack of commentary! Ah, Matt is back it seems. Ramona Siebenhofer into 2nd – Mikaela Shiffrin green all the way but only 4th fastest in the final sector and into 2nd, +0.15. Rats, Elena Curtoni into 2nd, +0.09, Shiffrin down to 3rd. Italy first and second, which is popular! Good work in sectors 3 and 4 has got Romane Miradoli into 2nd, just 0.06 0ff the lead. Mirjam Puchner into 5th; Ragnhild Mowinckel nicely green at inter 3 and she’s into the lead by 0.47! Federica Brignone into 7th; now Michelle Gisin has taken over that place. Lara Gut-Behrami 0.69 red at inter 3 but a great final sector gets her up to 3rd, despite clattering a gate! Fifteen away – Mowinckel leads from Bassino and Lara G-B; Miradoli in 4th, then Curtoni and Shiffrin. Connie Hütter in touch and she’s into 2nd – a great final section. Kira Weidle into 9th; highest bib number in the top 10 at present. And, no late changes to that top 10 – very well done to Ragnhild Mowinckel on the win, ahead of Connie Hütter and Marta Bassino. Lara G-b in 4th, then Miradoli, Curtoni and Shiffrin in 7th. That gives Mowinckel the lead in the Super G standings on 272 to Lara G-B’s 242 with Brignone on 233 and Curtoni on 230 – all close! In the overall Shiffrin is n 1317 to Vlhova’s 796 with Lara G-B on 781 and Bassino up to 4th with 612.

Antholz-Anterselva – Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint, 19 Jan 23: Quite cool, for a change – 98 starters today! Brorsson and Røiseland among the later starters; the commentary team reckon the tracks should hold up, but still feel the winners will come from group 1? Anna Magnuson first away; Tandrevold with bib 3. Early best times at 0.8 Km – Julia Simon, Lisa Vittozzi and Lucie Charvátová. Magnusson at S1 and clear; so are Aita Gasparin and Tandrevold who is 15.7 faster than Magnusson! Vittozzi had 3 perfect shots then missed 2, maybe a little unlucky with the wind? Julia Simon clear – the last shot was perfect – and she’s 10.2 ahead of Tandrevold. Paulina B-F clear at S1 and just 2.5 behind Simon; Hanna Öberg has missed 1 – bit unlucky as it was a split round. Janina Hettich-Walz clear but a slightly slow shoot; Knotten has missed 2 – not like her! Magnusson already at S2 and she’s missed her final shot. Elvira Öberg clear at S1, but her sister is losing time on her lap. Meanwhile at S2 things are changing – Tandrevold has missed 4, which is astonishing for her – altitude perhaps? Julia Simon has missed 2 at S2, so has Paulina B-F; Hanna Öberg clear this time and out but only 2.0 ahead of Simon with her 2 misses! Janina H-W is 10/10 but just 2.4 ahead of Hanna – so far she has the only perfect score. Denise H-W has missed 2 at S1 but Elvira is clear at S2 and out comfortably in the lead. Odd to see that the Öbergs aren’t skiing as fast as they were – possibly a hangover from the illness – Elvira is losing time to Janina H-W! Back at S2 Doro Wierer is 10/10 and out 15.6 ahead of Elvira; Doro has gained time against Elvira. That was a good final lap from Janina H-W [0,0] – over the line ahead of Julia Simon [0,2]. Elvira [0,0] over the line 14.9 ahead of the German, but Doro is still nicely ahead of Elvira. Now, that’s interesting, Anamarija Lampic has had a good shoot – [1,1] and out 7th – up to 4th at 5.8 Km and in 3rd at 6.5Km! Doro over the line ahead of Elvira; Denise H-W clear at S2 and away but she’s not catching Lampic, who is over the line in 3rd, behind Doro and Elvira! Looking back at S1 Røiseland is clear and in touch, as is Tilda Johansson [SWE] with Brorsson also clear. Denise H-W over the line in 4th just fractionally ahead of Janina H-W! Chloe Chevalier clear at S1 and currently fastest there; Røiseland has missed 1 at S2 but just 3.7 behind Elvira. Brorsson has missed 2 at S2, as have Voigt and Schneider. Johansson has also missed 2 at S2 but Chloe Chevalier has joined the 10/10 group and she leaves the range 5.8 ahead of Doro Wierer! Røiseland hasn’t managed to catch Elvira, but over the line in 3rd – great effort although it’s sad to see Lampic off the podium. Chloe losing a bit to Doro by 6.5 Km and they are both quite slight in build, so don’t have the weight on the descent to the line where Elvira gained time. Chloe Chevalier over the line for a possible first podium – she’s 2.8 behind Doro but ahead of Elvira! Hanna Kebinger the last of the Germans with bib 92 and clear at S1. Looks like Ida Lien has fallen as she’s trying to clear snow from her rifle – 1 miss at S1 but a good effort. Nice to see Franzi Preuß back but she’s not on form yet – currently 35th with just 1 miss. At present Doro Wierer leads from Chevalier, Elvira Öberg, Røiseland, Lampic and Denise H-W. Janina H-W in 7th ahead of Simon, Jeanmonnot and Hanna Öberg. That’s good from Caroline Colombo [1,0] who left the range after S2 in 5th, +34.1 – not bad for bib number 91! Poor Ida Lien has missed 3 at S2 – that fall has spoilt her day! Caroline Columbo over the line in 8th, just behind Janina H-W but ahead of Julia Simon! Hanna Kebinger into 19th, not bad for what I think is a World Cup debut? Well done to Doro for another win, delighted for Chevalier who got her first WC podium with Elvira taking the final podium place on her return.

Antholz-Anterselva – Men’s 10 Km Sprint, 20 Jan 23: Lovely looking day there – blue skies and light winds and cold overnight. A total of 303 metres climbing on this course, and that’s at altitude too. Some fairly well-known names in the later starters but can they keep the race alive, especially as JoBø is on such form? At 1.5 Km JoBø is fastest , 12.4 ahead of Doll. Jakov Fak at S1 and he’s missed 1; Dudchenko is clear but out only 14.0 ahead of Fak. Doll has missed 1 at S1, but is out ahead of Dudchenko; Artem Pryma clear but just 4.1 ahead of Doll. Now, here’s JoBø at S1 and he too has missed 1 but out 18.1 ahead of Pryma [clear] and 22.2 ahead of Doll with the same number of misses. David Zobel is clear but +13.5; Niklas Hartweg clear, so is Laegreid but although he hit all 5 he is still +11.9 against JoBø! At 5.5 Km JoBø is now 34.7 ahead of Doll – he’s taking massive amounts of time from some very competent athletes! Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 1 at S1; Doll 2 more at S2. JoBø clear at S2 and away, so that’s the race over, surely? Especially as Seb Samuelsson has missed 2 at S1. Hartweg is 10/10 but out 45.9 behind JoBø; Laegreid also 10/10 but +22.9 as he leaves the range! Back at S1 Jacquelin and Giacomel are both clear but neither is ahead of Johannes who did a penalty loop there. QFM has missed 2 at S1; another rash sight adjustment? Christiansen has also missed 1 at S1; Ponsiluoma clear at S2 and out +18.9 so he’s ahead of Laegreid. JoBø [1,0] over the line with Doll [1,2] who is 2nd at present but +1:30.5! Jacquelin has missed 1 at S2 and so has Giacomel but Simon Eder is clear, although over a minute back on Johannes. Laegreid over the line in 2nd, but +37.3 despite being 10/10! Simon Eder 3rd at present at the finish; Christiansen at S2 – a little slow but clear this time and out 5th, +39.1. Ponsiluoma over the line in 2nd and ahead of Laegreid despite doing a penalty loop. Guigonnat was clear at S1 and in touch but he’s missed 2 at S2, and so has Rastorgujevs. So far only 3 10/10 scores – Laegreid, Eder and Hartweg. Roman Rees [1,0] out 9th just behind Giacomel Hartweg and Eder. Christiansen currently 4th – 3 Norwegians in the top 4! Adam Runnalls [CAN] also 10/10 but I don’t think he has the speed to build on that; Justus Strelow clear and that was fast shooting – out +44.2, just ahead of Eder. Roman Rees has had a good final lap and he’s pipped Christiansen by 0.3 to take 4th place! Strelow over the line in 9th having lost quite a bit of time since S2, now +1:23.6! I see Runnalls is currently in 13th – lost less than I expected on his last lap! That’s it – JoBø wins again, 31.4 ahead of Martin Ponsiluoma – both with 1 miss, then Sturla Holm Laegreid [0,0]. Roman Rees the best German in 4th, ahead of Christiansen and Jacquelin. Doll [1,2] ended up 12th, Tarjei Bø [1,2] in 14th, QFM [2,1] 20th, Samuelsson [2,1] in 30th. Amazing that JoBø will have an advantage of 31.4 in the Pursuit – bit bad for the morale of those chasing him!

Antholz-Anterselva – Pursuits, 21 Jan 23: Sadly I missed both of these, as well as the downhill races today; a combination of an early walk and then a lunch date with my wife! In the women’s race Denise Herrmann-Wick [0,1,0,1] who started in 6th took the win today – well done to her, nice to see her back, on the podium! I was also delighted to see Lisa Vittozzi hit all 20 targets and finish second from 13th at the start, ahead of Elvira Öberg [0,1,0,1] with sister Hanna [0,2,1,0] in 4th. Marte Olsbu Røiseland was 5th, ahead of Marketa Davidova. Doro Wierer who won the sprint finished 7th [0,0,1,2]. Among others who gained places were Lena Haecki-Gross [24-9], Hanna Kebinger [19-10], Anna Magnusson [31-14], Linn Persson [22-16, Karoline Offigstad Knotten [43-19], Johansson [33-20], Passler [54-28], and Tandrevold [52-38, but still with 4 missed targets]. Those losing ground included Hettich-Walz [7-12], Chevalier [2-15], Simon [9-18], Colombo [8-23], Eder [17-31], Zuk [18-35] and Comola [25-40].
The men’s Pursuit was more predictable and I saw some of the data on the app as I was drinking my coffee – JoBø was on imperious form gaining considerable amount so time early on and clearing both prone shoots. Despite missing 1 at each standing shoot he still took the double today, finishing 40.2 ahead of Sturla Holm Laegreid [0,0,0,0] – Johannes hasn’t been beaten in 2023! Martin Ponsiluoma [1,1,0,0] took third ahead of Rees, Dale [up from 15th] and Christiansen. Gainers include Hartweg [11-7], Stalder [16-8], QFM [20-13], Fak [29-15], Samuelsson [30-18], Zobel [33-20], and Kühn [54-25]. Going the wrong way the lists includes Giacomel [7-12], Jacquelin [6-14], Strelow [9-16], Fabien Claude [10-23], Runnalls [13-28], Seppala [23-36], and Guigonnat [19-47, 8 penalties!].

Antholz-Anterselva – Relays, 22 Jan 23: Missed the early stages of the women’s race as, unusually, I preferred the alpine Super G. Sadly Mikaela Shiffrin hasn’t won her 83rd race yet, so I joined this at exchange 2 – France leading by just over 30 seconds ahead of Italy and Germany , then Austria +47.6, Sweden and Canada + 52.3. Norway have done a penalty loop! Chloe Chevalier in for S5 – clear and out; Hannah Auchentaller [ITA] clear and +37.7, Hanna Öberg [1 spare] in 3rd +44.7 just ahead of Juppe [AUT, 0] and Janina H-W [1], +46.5. As expected Hanna Öberg has pulled back some 10 seconds on the lap – Chevalier clear again in the stand and away but Hanna Ö is also clear and now +27.5 with Janina H-W [1] +41.5; Auchentaller is on the penalty loop, so Juppe 4th just ahead of Røiseland but just over a minute back. Final exchange Julia Simon out 12.7 ahead of Elvira Öberg then GER/AUT/NOR/ITA. Tandrevold is right on Schwaiger’s heels at 18.7 Km; Julia Simon in for S7 – clear and out. Elvira also clear but the gap is now 20.0. Tandrevold clear and out 3rd, fractionally ahead of Kebinger [2] and Schwaiger [0] all about 1:08 back with Vittozzi clear and out +1:37.9. Final shoot – Simon clear again and off to the finish; that was excellent shooting. Elvira has missed her first shot and needed all 3 spares to get the final target down. Kebinger [1 spare] and out 3rd about 8 ahead of Schwaiger [1] with Vittozzi [0] right on her heels – a good fight in progress for the final podium place! Poor Tandrevold is doing 2 penalty loops – what has happened to her recently? Julia Simon has cruised to the finish to take a win for France [0+2] – great shooting and good speed, well done! Sweden [0+8] in 2nd, but not Elvira’s best, and Kebinger has held off Vittozzi to get Germany [0+10] the final podium place. Good try by Vittozzi to get Italy [1+6] back into the race, and over the line 4th, ahead of Austria [0+3] and Norway [3+9]! Good to see Canada in 8th, great effort.
Men’s Relay: Guigonnat the early leader, ahead of Krcmar and Zobel but it’s a fairly easy pace. The first shoot – Stalder [SUI] first away, ahead of Harjula, Pryma, Krcmar, Braunhofer [ITA] and Laegreid +2.7 – all with no spares. Nelin using 1 spare and out 15th, Pletz [CAN] on the penalty loop. In for the first standing shoot – Laegreid has missed his first and it’s Guigonnat [1 spare at S1, clear here] who leads out, ahead of Stalder [1], Harjula [0], Zobel, Zahkna and Pryma – Laegreid 7th +13.0. Rastorgujevs on the penalty loop, as is Kaukenas [LTU] – Sirik [KAZ] is doing 2 loops. Guigonnat is flying but it’s very close between the chasing 4. Fabien Claude has 11.2 in hand as he takes over – behind him it’s CZE/NOR/SUI/GER/FIN +19.3. Sweden back in 10th after Nelin used 3 spares on leg 1. At 8.3 Km Claude is 13.4 ahead of Tarjei Bø, with Kühn, Wiestner [SUI] and Mikyska [CZE] in close company. S3 – 1 spare for Claude but he leads out ahead of Kühn [1], Tarjei [1], Ranta [1], Siimer [EST, 0] and Mikyska [2]. Wiestner on the penalty loop, as is Germain [USA]. Kühn and Tarjei are closing a little on Claude but behind them the gap to the rest of the chasers is opening. S4 – Tarjei clear and out 0.9 ahead of Claude [1] with Kühn [1] +8.6. Then a gap of about 30 seconds to Giacomel [2]; Ranta, Femling and Dovzan [SLO] on the penalty loop. On the lap Tarjei Bø has opened a good gap to Claude and Kühn, who has got up to 2nd. At 14.7 Km Tarjei is 10.2 ahead, with Kühn and Claude very close and then a 39 second gap to Giacomel. Exchange 2 and it’s JoBø’s turn – he’s away 9.4 ahead of Jacquelin and Doll then ITA/SUI/EST/SWE/AUT. By 15.8 Km JoBø has the gap up to 17.2; he’s in for S5 with the best part of 30 seconds in hand – he’s missed number 5 and needs 2 spares. Johannes out 11.8 ahead of Jacquelin [0]; Doll using all 3 spares and out +38.7. Bionaz clear and out a further 20 seconds back, with a good gap to Hartweg [1] and then another good gap to Vaclavik [CZE]. No mistakes at S6 for JoBø, ye gods that was fast shooting but Jacquelin has done the same and out +16.3! Doll clear this time but out +58.8; then a 45 second gap to Bionaz [2], and Hartweg [1]. Ponsiluoma has used all 3 spares and out 7th, but +2:17.1. JoBø is still pulling away on the lap and he’s handed over a 30 second gap to Christiansen – that’s a huge amount for QFM to try to pull back! Roman Rees is 1:10.1 back and he’s got some 50 seconds before Elia Zeni is away for Italy! Sweden up to 6th but Samuelsson has 2:23.2 to try and close down. Christiansen in for S7 – lucky with the first 2 and needs 1 spare after a miss. QFM has also missed 1 and out 33.7; Rees has missed 2 and needed 2 spares to clear – he’s now 1:30.1 back. Zeni clear and out +2:11.8, nicely ahead of Finello and Samuelsson. Final shoot – Christiansen has all 5 down with just 1 spare and he’s away; QFM going fast but he’s missed 2 – 2 spares and away +42.2. Roman Rees has missed his first – rest down fast but he's having the shakes and he’s on the penalty loop! Out 19 seconds ahead of Zeni [1] with a further 9 seconds to Samuelsson [2]. There might be a good race here for the final podium place? Well the first two places are set, unless there is a major fall or something of that magnitude! Norway [0+6] cruise to another win, QFM has kept France [0+6] in second , Germany [1+11] get the final podium place, with Sweden [1+13] 4th as Samuelsson has passed Zeni – Italy get 5th ahead of the Czechs.

Kronplatz – Women’s GS, 24 Jan 23: Well, I missed this one which is all sorts of pity as it was won by the amazing Mikaela Shiffrin – her 83rd World Cup win, and a new record for women in Alpine ski racing, one ahead of Lindsey Vonn! Shiffrin was 0.45 ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami with Federica Brignone third and Petra Vlhova in 4th ahead of Tessa Worley and Sara Hector! Shiffrin was fastest on both runs, and has now won 18 World Cup races in Giant Slalom, only 2 short of that record, currently held by Vreni Schneider. I’m sorry I missed it!!

Schladming [Planai] – Men’s Slalom, 24 Jan 23: Henrik Kristoffersen first away – clean enough it seems but he didn’t seem entirely convinced that it was good enough?  Manu Feller is 0.21 slower; Daniel Yule is well off the pace – into 3rd but +1.18! Lucas Braathen also a bit off – he’s into 3rd, +0.57; Linus Strasser has straddled the second gate! Loic Meillard now into 3rd, +0.30 having been green at inter 3; Clement Noel can  only manage 5th. Dave Ryding red all the way and into 5th, +0.74 – that  will mean he has a second run on better snow than the higher placed skiers? Ramon Zenhaeusern into 5th; Ryding drops to 6th. Poor Pinturault is just over 4 seconds off the pace and unlikely to get a second run? Kristoffersen leads from  Feller, Meillard, Braathen, Zenhaeusern and Ryding. Alex Vinatzer into 12th; that’s a bit better from Johannes Strolz to go 9th. Filip Zubcic’s coach set this course but sadly he’s straddled. At present Timon Haugan [bib 20] is the highest bib in the top 10, in 10th. Sadly Billy Major has joined the DNFs, and now so has Laurie Taylor; no late changes to the top 10.
Run 2: With 5 away it’s Joaquim Salarich who leads, ahead of Seb Holzmann and Sam Kolega, with Juan del Campo in 4th – Spain going well! Stefano Gross into 3rd; Luca Aerni well  in touch and into 2nd , +0.08. Armand Marchand has gained from inter 1 and more from 2 – bit slower on the final sector but into the lead by just 0.02. Alex Steen Olsen is green all the way and he leads by 1.35; very impressive!  Kristoffer Jakobsen has gained from 2 to 3, lost a bit later but he’s actually finished – even better he leads by 0.07! Fabio Gstrein red at 1, green at 2, red again at 3 and into 3rd.  Half way – Jakobsen leads from Steen Olsen and Gstrein. Seb F-S into 4th; Alex Vinatzer has straddled again – he’s hiked back up and technically will finish.  Atle Lie McGrath losing from inter 2 but he’s kept enough in hand to lead by 0.14; Marco Schwarz down but continuing. Tommaso Sala much the same; McGrath still leads. Timon Haugan into 4th; Johannes Strolz can only manage 9th, but at least that isa finish. It seems to be getting misty; Daniel Yule skiing hard but he’s fallen. That’s good from Clement Noel – a great final sector too and he leads by 0.95! Now, Dave Ryding and he’s just red at inter 1, slightly better at 2 but then a big error and he’s into 7th. Ramon Zenhaeusern just red to inter 3 and he’s into 2nd, +0.07; Lucas Braathen just red at inter 3 and into 3rd. Loic Meillard into 4th; Manu Feller under enormous pressure but he’s a little error prone tonight – into 4th.  Just Henrik Kristoffersen and he has 0.77 advantage – good at inter 1 but that’s a huge error – he’ s11th! Clement Noel takes the win ahead of Ramon Zenhaeusern with Lucas Braathen 3rd. Manu Feller in 4th, then Meillard and McGrath. Dave Ryding ended in 12th. Interesting race!

Kronplatz – Women’s GS, 25 Jan 23: Well, can Shiffrin make it 84? Marta Bassino away first again and it’s murky in places – she’s down, time is similar to run 2 yesterday. Tessa Worley quite red at inter 3 after an error but she’s pulled back a little on the final flat to end up +0.40. Visibility looks poor on the top section – Lara G-B into the better weather but she’s making errors and that’s 1.15 off the pace. Mikaela Shiffrin green at inter 1, better at 2, lost a bit to 3, but fast from there to lead by 0.65, fastest in sector 4 too.  Petra Vlhova red at inter 1 and redder at 2, steady to 3 but a big error gets her just 4th, +1.22. Sara Hector more in touch to inter 2, on a course that I think her coach set? She’s into 2nd, +0.51. At which point I have to go out again! Looking at the start order for run 2 it seems Ragnhild Mowinckel went into 4th, ahead of Federica Brignone with Worley 6th and Vlhova 7th.
Run 2: I joined this at half way – 15 away and Neja Dvornik [SLO] is still leading – she’s made up 11 places so far and leads from Valerie Grenier and Thea Louise Stjernesund. Hilma Loevblom [SWE] 0.59 green at inter 3 but she’s made a couple errors and into 2nd, +0.25. Nina O’ Brien is flying – she’s losing a little time on the way down but she has enough speed to take the lead by 0.22. Lara Gut-Behrami has been gaining time and no surprise that she’s just done the best time on run 2, 0.30 faster than Dvornik  – another good second run charge and she leads by 0.82 – superb! Julia Scheib still in  touch at inter 3 but not as fast on the flat – into 3rd. Alice Robinson has lost a lot from 2 to 3 and more to the finish but that’s still good enough for 2nd at present, +0.75. Paula Moltzan not exactly error free but still into 2nd, +0.59; Tviberg has fallen but seems OK. Petra Vlhova gained to inter 2, lost a bit to 3 and more to the finish – she has taken the lead but by just 0.01! Tessa Worley also losing time on the final section to go 3rd; big errors from Federica Brignone drop her to 5th. Ragnhild Mowinckel is obviously back on form and she’s gained from inter 3 to lead by 0.55 – that’s a good margin! Marta Bassino just red at 2, back to just green at 3 and looking good but she’s missed a gate – lucky not to go down, hopefully that collision hasn’t caused any damage? Sara Hector holding on to the green light to inter 2 but 0.39 red at 3 and into 2nd, +0.37. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – she now has 0.72 in hand; she’s gained time to inter 1, steady to 2, she’s lost a bit to 3 but pulled it back to the finish – that’s win number 84 by 0.82! That’s the double at Kronplatz for the amazing Mikaela Shiffrin! I’m delighted to see Ragnhild Mowinckel in 2nd, with Sara Hector 3rd. Vlhova 4th, ahead of Lara G-B [fastest on run 2] and Worley; Dvornik, who had the second fastest time on run 2, ended up 12th. History time.

Schladming [Planai] – Men’s Giant Slalom, 25 Jan 23: Well, Marco Odermatt was in the start list as bib 2 but is now listed as DNS – hopefully his knee problem [?] won’t stop him going to the World Championships. Joined run 1 with 11 away – Loic Meillard leading from Gino Caviezel and Henrik Kristoffersen [+1.06!], then Feller, Kranjec and Pinturault [+1.69]. Braathen down in 9th, +2.12; McGrath into joint 8th, +1.92 with Stefan Brennsteiner. Visibility doesn’t look brilliant in places; course set by an Italian coach. Marco Schwarz can only manage 11th; 15 away and Meillard still leads from Caviezel and Kristoffersen. Kilde into 8th, just behind Alex Schmid! Charlie Raposo didn’t get into the top 30 – pity, although he did beat Alex Vinatzer! Good effort by Hannes Zingerle [ITA, bib 58] to get into the top 30, in 26th place. That was it for run 1
Run 2: Semyel Bissig [SUI] first away – the visibility early on looks a bit odd – he’s down. Stefan Luitz is over a second off the pace; Brian McLaughlin [USA} well green at 2, then an error but still 0.11 ahead at 3 and he leads by 0.23 – great recovery. Joan Verdu [AND] 1.20 green at 3 and he takes the lead by 0.79. That’s an impressive run from Hannes Zingerle until the very finish – over the line [hopefully] and if he’s fallen the right way he leads by 0.15. Quick break and Thomas Tumler into 2nd; Giovanni Borsotti still green at 2 but he’s red at 3 – relatively slow in the final sector though [as so many seem to be ] and he’s 4th. It looks very easy to lose time on this course especially from 2 to 3 and then even trickier to he finish. Mathieu Faivre into 4th; Alex Steen Olsen has 0.72 advantage at the start – over a second ahead at 2 and 1.31 green at inter 3 and he elds by an enormous margin – 1.36! Filip Zubcic into 2nd, but +0.97; great run from Marco Schwarz this time and he’s gained from inter 3 to lead by 0.48 – best time on run 2. Lucas Braathen into 3rd but he’s lost time all the way down; Raphael Haaser into 4th. Stefan Brennsteiner losing time and a bit ragged but even so he’s into 4th – it’s getting a bit bumpy out there. Atle Lie McGrath out again – his third DNF in GS in a row; Aleksander Aamodt Kilde red at 2, redder at 3 and he’s into 3rd – very impressive! Alex Schmid into 4th; Alexis Pinturault, whose coach set this run into 3rd. Zan Kranjec has taken over 3rd; Manu Feller out! Henrik Kristoffersen 1.32 ahead as he starts but just 0.03 green at inter 3 and he’s just 3rd, +0.49. Gino Caviezel was 1.31 ahead at inter 1 but he too is losing time – he’s just held on to lead by 0.22, but Schwarz’s time is still the best on run 2. Loic Meillard steady to inter 2, he’s still green at 3 AND he’s gained to the finish! Good effort and he takes the win by 0.59 – great final sector. Loic Meillard wins, ahead of Gino Caviezel [Switzerland 1 and 2] with Marco Schwarz 3rd. Steen Olsen 4th, then Kristoffersen and Kranjec; Kilde in 8th and that’s 32 points for the overall!

Forgot to post this on Saturday and missed the Sunday races completely as I was out, but I note that Lena Dürr won the Sunday slalom - apparently the first German woman to win a world Cup slalom event since 2012 [Maria Höfel- Riesch], so well done her. It seems that although Shiffrin missed the crucial 86th win this time she has already secured the slalom crystal globe for this season; meanwhile Zrinca Ljutic took 3rd place. - her first World Cup podium - full report HERE

In the men's Super G on Sunday Marco Odermatt took the double, ahead of Dominik Paris and Daniel Hemetsberger; unusually Kilde was a DNF - advantage Marco! Full report HERE

Anyway, back to Saturday!

Spindleruv Mlyn [Cerná Svatý Petr (Black St. Peter)] – Women’s Slalom, 28 Jan 23: Not the best of days – overcast and a bit misty, so visibility is not ideal. I joined run 1, set by a Swedish coach, slightly late – with 9 away. Mikaela Shiffrin [bib 2] leading ahead of Lena Dürr [+0.29], Petra Vlhova [+0.46] and Wendy Holdener; Katarina Truppe into 5th and Hanna Aronsson Elfman has just gone into 6th. TV break with no change to the top 6, but that’s just changed – Zrinka Ljutic [bib 18] into 6th, +1.51. Highest bib number in the top 10 at present is 24, Franziska Gritsch, in 10th. That’s a good run from Elena Stoffel [bib 34] into joint 14th with Neja Dvornik and Thea Louise Stjernesund – 3 way tie! Reece Bell safely down but she won’t get a second run. That’s run 1 over – no change to the top 6 since Zrinka Ljutic.
Run 2: I joined this as Martina Dubovska took the lead, on home snow! Anita Gulli [bib 46, ITA] takes over the lead; Camille Rast red by inter 3 and only 5th. Leona Popovic on course and she’s gaining time- she leads by 0.64 ahead of Gulli and Dubovska. Nicole Good into 2nd, and the course is cutting up already. Ali Nullmeyer into 4th; Laurence St-Germain has taken over that place; Popovic still leads and with the fastest time so far on run 2. Elena Stoffel can only manage 5th; even so she’s best of the trio who were tied on 14th after run 1. A good recovery by Ana Bucik to get into 2nd; Michelle Gisin already red at inter 1 and only 8th. Paula Moltzan has gained from 2 to 3 and she takes over the lead by 0.34; second fastest on run 2 as well. Franzi Gritsch into 3rd; Sara Hector off the pace and only 6th. Anna Swenn Larsson red at 2, back to green at 3 and into 2nd just 0.05 off the win! Hanna Aronsson Elfman into 4th; that’s a shame – a massive error by Zrinka Ljutic and all the speed has gone. Wendy Holdener has lost time from 1 to 2 but she’s got it back by 3 and she leads by 0.58! Petra Vlhova has 0.67 in hand as she starts, it’s down to 0.26 by inter 2 and barely green at 3 – she’s into 2nd, +0.25. Two to come – Lena Dürr has an advantage of 0.84 – she’s gained a little to inter 2, still nicely green at 3 and she leads by 0.71! That was good! And now Mikaela Shiffrin who starts with just 0.29 in hand, she’s lost some to 1, steady to 2, gaining to 3 and very fast to finish 0.60 ahead – that’s number 85! So, Mikaela wins, ahead of Lena Dürr and Wendy Holdener. Petra Vlhova in 4th, then Moltzan and Swenn Larsson. Popovic in 7th having gained 13 places.

Cortina d’Ampezzo [Olympia delle Tofane] – Men’s Super G, 28 Jan 23: And it is Cortina, not Garmisch as Eurosport titled it – that changed a while ago! Marco Odermatt back in the battle; the weather looks better here than for the women; cold, grippy snow and a course set by a French coach! This is a new venue for the men, so the course will be new to them. Well, that’s an interesting start – Romed Baumann first away and he’s missed the gate off the first jump! Nils Allegre safely down; Loic Meillard almost a full second ahead at inter 3, 1.24 ahead at inter 4 and then he’s missed a gate – he’s going to be really annoyed when he sees the timings! Daniel Hemetsberger also green at 4 but he’s missed the same gate as Meillard – 4 away, 1 finisher! Blaise Giezendanner down and into the lead by 0.22 – only the French have finished so far! James Crawford nicely green at 3, better at 4, he’s just made that gate and now he leads by 0.20. Alexis Pinturault also green at 3, fractionally red at 4 after a mistake but it’s a good recovery and he leads by 0.16. Gino Caviezel red at 3 and 4 and into 4th; Raphael Haaser into 3rd, +0.28. Now, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde – very fast through the first speed gun but slightly red at inter 3; green at 4 and fastest in sector 5 to lead by 0.74! It looks to be getting a bit cloudier. Andreas Sander into 6th; Vincent Kriechmayr in touch at 3 redder at 4 and into 2nd, +0.41. Stefan Rogentin into 6th; Marco Odermatt on course and nicely green at inter 3, still green at 4 and that’s an amazing run after that knee injury – he leads by 0.35! Justin Murisier into 4th; that’s an impressive run from Mattia Casse – into 3rd, +0.49 and that might be his first Super G podium? It looks like the course may be getting faster – Stefan Babinsky [AUT, bib 21] into 4th! Christof Innerhofer down and into the nets – he's through the first but stopped in the second layer – luckily he seems pretty much OK, but that must have hurt. Good run from Marco Schwarz [bib 30] into 6th, but he’s not there for long – Cyprien Sarrazin [bib 34] into 6th, and coverage has shifted back to the women’s slalom. It’s not over yet – Lukas Feurstein [bib 43] into 6th and Jeff Read [44] into 7th – another of those odd days when the conditions improve for the later starters. Matteo Marsaglia [bib 49] into 10th! That was the final change to the top 10 – Marco Odermatt is back, taking the win ahead of Kilde and Casse; Babinsky 4th ahead of Kriechmayr and Feurstein.

Chamonix [Verte] - Men’s Slalom, 4 Feb 23: Well, no Lucas Braathen as he had appendicitis last week and was reported as having surgery in Zell am See – all the best to him, hope he’s fit for the World Championship. I joined run 1, set by an American coach, a little late – Clement Noel leading from Daniel Yule and Henrik Kristoffersen on course – he’s into 3rd, ahead of McGrath and Strasser. Very slick and hard on the course today and Kristoffer Jakobsen becomes today’s first DNF! This isn’t a steep piste so if you do make an error it's very easy to lose time and not be able to get it back. Ramon Zenhaeusern green at inter 1, still green at 2 but 0.44 red at 3 – he’s pulled time back in the final sector to go 2nd, +0.15! Bib 12 is Dave Ryding – in touch to inter 2 but a couple errors from there get him into 7th, +0.98. Seb Foss-Solevaag into 5th; 15 away and Noel leads from Zenhaeusern, Yule and Kristoffersen. Albert Popov is well in touch at inter 2 but he’s lost time from there – 7th, +0.80; the Austrians are having a bad day – currently 13th [Pertl] to 17th [Schwarz] – maybe the pressure of trying to get selected for the Worlds? Billy Major down safely but he won’t get a 2nd run. Alex Schmid [bib 42] into 10th! Austria’s woes continue – Marco Schwarz and Michael Matt won’t even get a second run; Manu Feller already down to 26th, Pertl their best and he’s currently 20th. Maybe there’s scope for a second run charge? Now, Laurie Taylor is down and currently 30th, by just 0.01, with just 2 left to ski – can he stay there? Yes, both of them have DNF’d so Laurie will start run 2! Dave Ryding in 9th.
Run 2: Rather odd to see Feller, Strolz and Gstrein all going in the first 5 of run 2! This course set by an Austrian coach, and the temperature is rising, which could make things interesting later? Laurie Taylor first away – he’s down; Manu Feller over a second ahead at inter 3 but he’s in trouble on the final sector – he leads by 0.74, great recovery! Oh dear, Johannes Strolz is a DNF, again, after an early straddle. Good final sector by Fabio Gstrein to take advantage of Feller’s error there – he leads by 0.18. Simon Maurberger into 3rd and the course is already cutting up! Alexander Steen Olsen has also lost a bit of time from inter 3 but even so he leads by 0.33; AJ Ginnis [GRE, bib 45] is gaining time all the way and he now leads by 0.81 – a good run and clean on the final sector. Sam Maes [BEL] into 5th; Adrian Pertl was the best Austrian on run 1 but he’s only 7th on run 2, at present. Sam Kolega into joint 2nd, +0.81 with Steen Olsen; Tommaso Sala goes 4th. Loic Meillard has straddled; Luke Winters into 5th. That’s half way – AJ Ginnis [8 places gained so far] still leads ahead of Kolega/Steen Olsen, then Sala, Winters and Gstrein. There are some good skiers losing time on this course; Marc Rochat into 8th, which is then taken over by Luca Aerni. Filip Zubcic into 7th; Alex Vinatzer more in touch but even so red at inter 3 and into 2nd, +0.75 – over the line on his back! A nice run from Jett Seymour [USA, bib 59] into 2nd – a career best, I think. Dave Ryding on course and nicely green at inter 1, but he’s straddled. Linus Strasser into 2nd, but only briefly as Atle Lie McGrath has taken over that place – Ginnis has now made up 17 places and he’s still fastest on run 2 by a good margin! Seb Foss-Solevaag into 3rd, but he’s lost a lot of time on that run; Henrik Kristoffersen has almost a second in hand but he too has straddled, on the same gate as Ryding! Daniel Yule has 1.36 in hand, but it’s drifting away – he goes 2nd, +0.04 – that’s an amazing amount of time lost! That means AJ Ginnis will be on the podium! Ramon Zenhaeusern still has over a second in hand at inter 2 and that was a brilliant final sector – he leads by 1.02, and that was the second fastest time on run 2! That’s quite a challenge to Clement Noel who is already just in the red at inter 1, steady to 2 but he’s out – another DNF. Ramon Zenhaeusern takes the win, ahead of AJ Ginnis and Daniel Yule. McGrath in 4th, then Foss-Solevaag and Strasser. Lucas Braathen still leads the slalom standings, Yule up to 2nd, 36 points behind with Kristoffersen down to 3rd, 41 adrift.

Courcheval Méribel [L’Eclipse] – Alpine combined 6/7 Feb 23: Sadly I missed both races – the weather was just so good I had to get out and enjoy it! There were certainly a few upsets – Mikaela Shiffrin straddled in the women’s slalom leg, 3 gates from home and both Marco Odermatt and Dominik Paris were DQ’s in the Super G leg of the men’s race. A number of the men used the Super G leg as practice and didn’t do the slalom leg, including Sander, Baumann, Kriechmayr and Kilde.  In the end Federica Brignone took the women’s race, amazingly her first major title, with Wendy Holdener taking silver and Ricarda Haaser bronze [good news for Austria!]. In then men’s race local hero Alexis Pinturault was quickest in the Super G leg and held on over a tricky slalom leg to take gold, ahead of Marco Schwarz and Raphael Haaser, who matched his sister’s bronze yesterday – not bad for someone who has never skied slalom on the World Cup!

Full reports HERE and HERE

Courcheval Méribel [Roc de Fer] – Women’s Super G, 8 Feb 23: Another one I missed as the weather stayed good and I went walking! It sounds as though it was a tricky day – after a high speed top section the course went into the shade and the snow conditions changed, which seems to have caught out a few of the favourites. The skier who got the course just right was Marta Bassino; arguably more a Giant Slalom skier who has never won a World Cup Super G – she finished just 0.11 ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin who was another one who lost a little time on the crucial icy turn near the end of the course. Even so, she takes silver ahead of the joint bronze medal winners – Connie Hütter and Kasja Vickoff Lie, who hasn’t been better than 15th in Super G this season! Full report HERE

Courchevel Méribel [L’Eclipse] – Men’s Super G, 9 Feb 23: Sad news today – apparently Elena Fanchini has died aged just 37 after a long illness. Course set by a Swiss coach – supposedly ideal for Odermatt and his fellow Swiss skiers and quite straight? Joined this a little late – Pinturault [bib 8] leading ahead of Marco Odermatt, but Aleksander Aamodt Kilde [bib 9] has gone 0.25 faster to take the lead. Now, here’s a surprise – James Crawford [CAN, bib 10] has taken the lead by just 0.01 – fastest in sectors 3 and 4 as well. So, with 15 away Crawford leads from Kilde and Pinturault – Odermatt now 4th ahead of Haaser and Meillard. Dominik Paris and Gino Caviezel both DNF. Adrian Smiseth Sejersted into 6th – just one Swiss in the top 6 now. Nick does get excited – that wasn’t a bad run from Jeff Read but surely never likely to get on the podium – he’s 9th at present.  Marco Schwarz in touch, just 0.19 off the pace at inter 3 and fastest in sector 3 but he’s caught an edge – great recovery and he’s just made the gate to finish, but that’s dropped him to 6th. Nasty fall for Atle Lie McGrath  but he's up – that must have hurt though as he took out a gate, but he’s skiing down and looks OK? Brodie Seger [CAN, bib 23] into joint 9th with Andy Sander. Later came the three GBR skiers – Steudle a DNF. Vinter currently 37th of 37 finishers with Langmuir still to come – but at least they are there, despite the lack of funding!! Calum Langmuir has finished 38th, best Brit today as Owen Vinter ended 41st of 56 starters. So, congratulations to “Jack” Crawford on the gold medal, just ahead of Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Alexis Pinturault. Odermatt in 4th ahead of Haaser and Schwarz.

Courchevel Méribel [Roc de Fer] – Women’s Downhill, 11 Feb 23: Joined a bit late – Breezy Johnson the only DNF but amazingly Sofia Goggia is listed as DSQ! Not sure what happened – I presume she missed a gate? At present Jasmine Flury leads for Switzerland, ahead of Nina Ortlieb and Corinne Suter – Connie Hütter in joint 4th with Mirjam Puchner then Ilka Stuhec. Lara Gut-Behrami currently 9th; Stuhec [bib 15] highest bib number in the top 10. Ah, Nick has just updated me – Goggia apparently crashed out and straddled a gate. Priska Nufer on course – rather controversially as she knocked out Michelle Gisin in a “ski off” for the place! She’s into 11th; maybe having Flury in the lead and Suter in bronze will satisfy the Swiss fans? Well, that’s it – just 29 starters. Well done to Jasmine Flury – a gold medal which it seems came as a surprise to her! Nina Ortlieb [AUT] takes silver and Corinne Suter [SUI] bronze, effectively her comeback race after a bad crash in January – good race.

Courchevel Méribel [L’Eclipse] – Men’s Downhill, 12 Feb 23: I joined with Florian Schieder [ITA] leading ahead of Vincent Kriechmayr – Niels Hintermann has just gone into 3rd!  Marco Odermatt on course now – red at inter 1, just green at 2, more green at 3; slow though the speed gun but 0.48 ahead at inter 4 and almost double that at 5 – Odermatt leads by a massive 1.09! James Crawford into 2nd, but +1.01 so there’s plenty of space to fill! Dominik Paris going more into the red and just over a second off at inter 5 – he’s into 4th. Now, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on track and just red at 2, 0.28 red by 4, redder at 5 and he’s into silver again, +0.48. He was fastest in the final sector, but only by 0.01! Nick seems to think it’s all over, as the top 15 have all finished! Thomas Dressen into 6th; Cameron Alexander nicely in touch and a good final sector with an impressive recovery gets him into bronze medal spot, knocking his fellow Canadian off the podium! Marco Schwarz also going well on the final sector to get himself into 4th, just 0.04 off the podium! Maxence Muzaton is certainly in touch green to inter 3, just red at 4, redder at 5 but he’s lost it – into 6th. Brodie Seger out – looks like a right knee injury after a hard landing? He’s being taken off by sled – nasty injury. Race back on and Miha Hrobat into joint 8th with Paris.  Well, that’s it – well done to Marco Odermatt for winning the gold by such a margin; another silver to Kilde and bronze to Cameron Alexander. Marco Schwarz in 4th, then Crawford and Muzaton.

Courchevel Méribel  – Parallel Events, 14/15 Feb 23: In the team parallel event [14 Feb] the final went all the way to the final pair – Tommy Ford taking the win against Timon Haugan to secure gold for the USA team. Norway took the silver and Canada managed to beat Austria to take bronze. FIS report HERE. Later we had the qualification events for the individual parallel event;  no sign of Mikaela Shiffrin in the list that I could see? I missed the actual  individual parallel races – it’s not a format I like and I had other things to do – well done to Alex Schmid who won the men’s event ahead of Dominik Raschner and Timon Haugan, and to Maria Theresa Tviberg who took the gold in the women’s event ahead of Wendy Holdener [great result!] and Thea Louise Stjernesund.

Courchevel Méribel [Roc de Fer]  – Women’s Giant Slalom, 16 Feb 23:  First run set by a French coach; Tess Worley will be first away, Mikaela Shiffrin bib 3, Petra Vlhova 4 and Lara G-B 5. Race on and that looked pretty good from Worley? Sara Hector next and she’s off the pace – over a second off at inter 3 – she’s recovered a bit to be +0.84 at the finish. Shiffrin next and the US have apparently told her coach that he isn’t being employed next year! She’s red at 1, better at 2, redder at 3 and a great final sector gets her the lead by just 0.12. Petra Vlhova just red at 1, almost half a second off at 2 – that’s not her best – exactly a second off the pace at the finish and that’s 4th place at present. Lara Gut-Behrami fractionally green at inter 3 but there was an error just before the timing point and it’s 3rd, +0.64. Now Marta Bassino – green at inter 1 but there’s a big error as she goes into shade and that’s a bad place to lose speed – she’s 6th, +1.46. Federica Brignone on track and she’s nicely green at inter 1, still there at 2 and 0.14 ahead at 3 but it’s not as clean on the final sector after 3 days off training with flu – into 3rd, +0.31 – that’s in touch for run 2. It looks very easy to lose time on the final sector - Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 6th, +0.99. Val Grenier nicely in touch to inter 3 but she’s lost it – she’s finished but no second run, surely? Ragnhild Mowinckel into 5th, +0.71, as the course begins to get rutted. A DNF for Paula Moltzan, who broke a hand in the parallel team event,  but what a recovery! Fifteen away – Shiffrin leads run 1 from Worley, Brignone, Lara G-B, Mowinckel and Hector. That’s a good run from Mina Fuerst Holtmann [bib 20] into 6th, +0.82. Highest bib number in the top 10! Alex Tilley is down but no time shown – I suspect that the briefly visible 8.05 ahead of Shiffrin might be an error! Tilley now shown as DSQ and the timings on the ticker went badly wrong for a while. It seems to have settled but I’m not sure why Tilley is a DSQ? I think the GBR team will be protesting?  I suspect I won’t stay for all 114 starters! Hmm – Alex Tilley no longer shown as DQ but given a time that seems to be over a day behind Shiffrin?? Finally it looks like they have agreed on +3.62 which puts her outside the top 30. Highest bib number in the top 20, at present, is Neja Dvornik [29] in 19th. And that’s how run 1 ended.
Run 2:  I see the top 60 are getting a second run but numbers 31 to 60 go after Shiffrin, who is the 30th to ski. Val Grenier gets run 2, set by a Swiss coach,  started – it’s quite warm now so there will be a considerable variation in the snow conditions; she’s  down but that looked a tricky set. She doesn’t look happy with that run; certainly it seemed slow on the final sector – Alice Robinson is 0.40 red at inter 3 but she’s gained on that final sector to lead by 0.40! Michelle Gisin off form and maybe with equipment problems too – into 4th. Katharina Liensberger much the same and she’s into 4th; Maria Theresa Tviberg green at 1 but red again at 2  and into 2nd, +0.39. Zrinka Ljutic massively green at inter 1 but she’s lost a lot to 2 and only just green at 3 – she’s into 2nd, +0.09. It seems that the sector from 1 to 2 is where it’s really easy to lose time – Clara Direz almost a second ahead at inter 1 but into 2nd, +0.07.  Britt Richardson [CAN] into 6th; Nina O Brien has gained from 2 to 3, and more to the finish – she leads by 0.75! Ten away, O Brien leads from Robinson and Direz. Wendy Holdener still in touch at inter 3, but she’s lost time from there and into 5th; another skier who was in the parallels event yesterday – it’s a demanding programme. Franziska Gritsch still green at 3 but into 2nd, +0.27; Thea Louise Stjernesund into the lead after the break but only briefly as Marta Bassino now leads by 0.46 – impressive! At  present Bassino leads from Stjernesund and O Brien. Coralie Frasse Sombet into 3rd; Petra Vlhova has lost almost all her advantage by inter 2, steady to 3 and into 2nd, +0.13. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 5th; Sara Hector making errors and into 8th! Mina Fuerst Holtmann losing time slowly all the way – into 2nd, +0.12; Bassino has gained 7 places so far! Ragnhild Mowinckel has gained a little to inter 1, lost some to 2, better to 3 and fast from there too – she leads by 0.58 – that’s a good run! Lara G-B next and she’s gained 0.50 from 1 to 2, lost a little to 3 and she’s into 2nd, +0.09! Federica Brignone lost a bit to 1, gained a lot back by 2, still in touch at 3 and she’s gone well on the lower section to lead by 0.10. That’s a certain medal for Brignone; great effort after being sick for 3 days! Tessa Worley has gained almost half a second to inter 1 but it’s almost all gone by 2, still in touch at 3 but she’s fallen – DNF. Just Mikaela Shiffrin left of the top 30 from run 1; she’s gained to inter 1, lost some to 2, steady to 3 and she wins, but only by 0.12 – all very close! That’s great skiing after an error on the same gate that took out Worley. Great race – Shiffrin takes gold, Brignone silver and delighted to see Mowinckel take bronze. That’s Shiffrin’s 7th World Championship gold medal!  Lara G-B finished 4th, ahead of Bassino and Holtmann, Vlhova 7th. Alex Tilley a DNF sadly. Of the later starters, so far only Jelinkova and Pykalainen have got themselves into the top 30 – 29th and 30th respectively. That’s it – congratulations to all the podium team; great run from Shiffrin.

Courchevel Méribel [L’Eclipse] – Men’s Giant Slalom, 17 Feb 23: This looks a really tough course – it’s VERY icy in places and mostly in the shade at present! Marco Odermatt will be first away on run 1 – set by an Austrian coach. He’s down but there was one big error; good recovery – even he looks tired! Henrik Kristoffersen on course – green at inter 1, slightly red at 2, +0.18 at 3 and a bit late at the same gate that gave Odermatt a problem – he looks shattered and he’s +0.83 at the finish. Marco Schwarz just red at 1, but green at 2, greener at 3 and he’s kept the momentum – into the lead by 0.58! Loic Meillard into 3rd; Manu Feller into 4th so Kristoffersen is now 5th. Alexis Pinturault briefly green but a big error puts him well into the red by inter 2 and he’s 6th, +2.48! Good run from Zan Kranjec into 3rd, +0.76, but he lost a lot in the final sector; Rasmus Windingstad well off the pace and just 8th, +3.32 – not like him! Mathieu Faivre is the defending champion but he’s had a disappointing season so far – into 9th, +3.97! Gino Caviezel, nursing a cut leg after a fall in training into 7th; Stefan Brennsteiner [bib 14] another one who is making small errors as he tires but he’s into 6th – best for a while today! Fifteen away – Schwarz leads, ahead of Odermatt and Kranjec – Meillard in 4th then Feller and Brennsteiner.  Interesting to see Aleksander Aamodt Kilde racing today – a good start but he’s skied out. A nice run from Filippo della Vite [bib 19] into 10th; that might well be the last change to the top 10 as some of the time gaps now are huge by alpine racing standards. Well done to Charlie Raposo – finished the course and currently 25th! Sadly Calum Langmuir was a DNF. That was run 1 – no change to the top 20 since Mattias Roenngren [SWE, bib 29] went into a very creditable 15th. Charlie Raposo ended up 26th.
Run 2: I missed this as I was out at lunch [again] but I did manage to keep up with events on the phone app. This time the course was set by a Swiss coach, which was presumably aimed at helping Odermatt and Meillard! For a brief period early on Charlie Raposo [26th on run 1], led the field and was steadily managing to gain a few places. All good things come to an end and he was eventually moved off the provisional podium, but it was nice while it lasted. As we moved towards the fastest from run 1 first Henrik Kristoffersen and then Stefan Brennsteiner took the lead. They were succeeded by Loic Meillard, with just two to go – Marco Odermatt survived the pressure and duly took the lead, but Marco Schwarz couldn’t quite hold on to his advantage and ended up 3rd. So, another gold for Odermatt, silver for Meillard and a consolation bronze for Marco Schwarz after a brilliant first run. Brennsteiner 4th, ahead of Kristoffersen , Kranjec, Pinturault and Zubcic. Charlie Raposo finished a very creditable 17th – an impressive result on this very tricky course.

Courchevel Méribel [Roc de Fer] – Women’s Slalom, 18 Feb 23: For some reason my Eurosport player didn’t want to load so I actually missed Mikaela Shiffrin’s run live – it must have been good as Ana Bucik was 1.23 off the pace and she was the best of the first couple to challenge. Wendy Holdener was much more in touch and green at inter 2 – into 2nd, +0.19. Petra Vlhova seems to be rather tentative at these championships – she’s 3rd at present but +0.99. Lena Dürr into 3rd now, +0.92; Anna Swenn Larsson better but just as Nick is getting excited she has a huge error – she’s finished but way off the pace. I’m a little surprised that Zrinka Ljutic wasn’t more in touch – 6th, +1.29; as a fan of Michelle Gisin I’m sorry to see her struggling with her new kit, and she’s lost a pole as well – 9th, +2.69. The snow conditions are changing – Finlay thinks run 1 might effectively be over! Certainly many competitors seem to be losing a good amount of time to inter 1; Sara Hector into 8th. That’s better,  Laurence St-Germain into 3rd, +0.61 so maybe Finlay is wrong? Twenty away now, Shiffrin leads from Holdener and St-Germain – Dürr in 4th, then Vlhova and Bucik.  Highest bib in the top 10 is Mina Fuerst Holtmann [19]; a good run from Emma Aicher [bib 25] into 12th. And an even better run from  Aline Danioth [SUI, bib 27] into 9th! Charlie Guest back from a shoulder injury – a bit off the pace – into 29th at present, +2.99. Alex Tilley a DNF.  That’s popular – Marie Lamure [FRA, bib 42] into 19th. That is run 1 over at last – 122 in the start list! No late changes to the top 20; Charlie Guest in 38.
Run 2: Run 1 was supposed to be fairly “easy” – this run, set by an Austrian coach, is supposed to be even easier [or so they say!] – very heavily salted too. I wonder what state it will be in by the time the fastest 5 go? Franzi Gritsch first away and safely down; she’s held off the next 3 but Lara della Mea has gone 0.15 faster. Nastasia Noens into 3rd; with 10 away there has been no further change to the top 3 – della Mea, Gritsch and Noens. Lots of head shaking in the finish area! Thea Louise Stjernesund much more in touch and into joint 2nd with Gritsch, +0.15; Marie Lamure into 5th. That’s good – Ali Nullmeyer green to inter 3 and into 2nd, +0.14. TV break and then Katharina Huber is green to inter 3, but then she can only take over 2nd +0.13! A series of impressive recoveries for Katharina Liensberger but that cost her time – currently 10th. The piste is getting more shaded, which might help conditions? Lara della Mea has now gained 13 places, and still leads; at last – Sara Hector has been steadily losing time all the way but there was just enough left to take over the lead by 0.07! Mina Fuerst Holtmann has gained time from 2 to 3 and more to the finish – that was good – she leads by 0.41! Aline Danioth gained from 1 to 2, and a little more to 3 but she’s lost it to the line and it’s just 2nd, +0.26 – just 8 to go. Hanna Aronsson Elfman into 5th; Zrinka Ljutic has skied out. Ana Bucik gained nicely from 1 to 2 but after that she was losing time – 5th, +0.51. Next is Petra Vlhova, 0.50 in hand as she starts, still 0.20 green at inter 3 but red at the line and 2nd, +0.14. Lena Dürr has gained a tiny bit to 1 and 2, still 0.50 ahead at 3 and she does lead but only by 0.02! Laurence St-Germain on course – steady to inter 1 and 2 despite an error, she’s gained to 3 and fast to the finish too – she leads by 0.69 and that was a very gutsy run! That’s a magnificent attempt – right on the limits. Wendy Holdener is gaining time to inter 2 – 0.72 ahead there but with a medal almost in her hands she’s out after a straddle. Mikaela Shiffrin the last of the top 30 to go – she’s lost a lot to inter 1, steady to 2 but in the red at 3 and she’s 2nd, +0.57b – scrappy by her standards! So Laurence St-Germain takes a gold in the slalom – Canada hasn’t done that for a while [63 years, Nick says], well done to her! Shiffrin takes another silver and Dürr will be delighted with bronze. Holtmann in 4th, then Vlhova and Danioth. Charlie Guest currently in 31st, having gained 7 places; I missed Victoria Palla on run 1, but she’s safely down on run 2 as well and 36th – good effort.

Courchevel Méribel [L’Eclipse] – Men’s Slalom, 19 Feb 23: Seems this course will be in the shade all day so the snow conditions should be consistent? Loic Meillard first away on a course set by a Norwegian coach, and out at gate 3! Daniel Yule almost down early on, a very nervous start but he’s settled now and he‘s down, but not happy! Ramon Zenhaeusern has made a much better job of the early turns and he’s over the finish line 0.56 ahead. Manu Feller apparently had a crash earlier today while warming up – doesn’t seem to have affected him too much as he’s green all the way and leads by 0.81! I hope he’s going to be OK for run 2. Linus Strasser green to inter 3 but then it drifts away – into 2nd, +0.14. Now it’s Henrik Kristoffersen – red at inter 1, steady to 2 but losing more time from there and he’s only 4th, +0.91 – luckily I can’t lip read Norwegian! Lucas Braathen racing today despite his recent appendix operation – 0.44 green at inter 2 and he ends up 2nd at present, +0.13. Fabio Gstrein just in the green at 1 and 2 but red at 3 and he’s 4th, +0.56. Alexis Pinturault red all the way and into 5th; sadly Dave Ryding well off the pace – red all the way and 8th, +1.17! That’s better – Seb Foss-Solevaag into 4th, +0.35; Kristoffer Jakobsen out again. Marco Schwarz into 6th, +0.71; Tommaso Sala has exactly matched him – also 6th +0.71! Sixth seems to be popular Clement Noel well in touch at inter 2 but an error has cost him time and now he’s 6th, +0.64. Alex Vinatzer [bib 17] has gone 5th and that’s the last change to the top 10 for a while. Twenty two away – Feller leads from Braathen and Strasser; Seb F-S in 4th, then Vinatzer and Gstrein. Kristoffersen in 15th and Ryding 17th at present. That’s much better – AJ Ginnis [bib 24] green at 2 and 3 and he’s into joint 2nd, +0.13 – that’s woken up the crowd! Billy Major into 23rd, +1.76 – that’s just 3 places behind Dave Ryding! Both GB skiers down a place as Steven Amiez [FRA, bib 36] goes 18th. Billy Major down to 27th now; Laurie Taylor into 36th. While the top 60 will get a second run, being in places 20 to 30 guarantees fresher snow! Ed Guigonnet into 46th. Run 1 over – no late upsets, highest bib in the top 30 seems to be Tijan Marovt [[SLO, bib 46] who ended up 25th! Billy Major will be third away on run 2!
Run 2: Huge offsets early on in this course, which looks very challenging – set by a German coach to hopefully suit Linus Strasser? I doubt I’d make it through the first two gates!! Armand Marchant first away and safely down – he was 4 seconds slower than his first run time. Joaquim Salarich out early on; Billy Major in trouble but he’s recovered and he’s down, +0.54. That’s a good run from Tobias Kastlunger [ITA, bib 40] to take the lead by an impressive 1.07. Tijan Marovt into 3rd; that’s good from Filip Zubcic to lead by 0.30. Juan del Campo into 3rd; I’m amazed to see Daniel Yule over a full second off the pace on run 2 and only 4th at present! Dave Ryding has gained a little to inter 1, more to 2, slightly less green at 3 and after a late error he’s into 2nd, +0.09. Great run from Seb Holzmann to take the lead by 0.11. Henrik Kristoffersen next and despite it looking ragged he’s gained a little to inter 1 and 2, still green at 3 and an excellent final sector to lead by 0.62! Adrian Pertl into 4th; Ramon Zenhaeusern always make me think of a giraffe on skis – I’m amazed he can be so neat a slalom skier with such long levers – he’s into 3rd, +0.69. Alexis Pinturault off the pace here and just 11th. Marco Schwarz into 3rd; Clement Noel into 2nd, +0.41. Alex Vinatzer still nicely green at 3 but he too has lost time from there to go 2nd, +0.38. That’s a poor run from Seb F-S just red at inter 1 and it’s gone wrong from there with a bad error on the flat – 15th! Now, it’s Linus Strasser – he’s losing some of his 0.77 advantage and it’s almost gone by inter 3 – into 6th! Kristoffersen can’t bear to watch! I do hope Linus Braathen isn’t coming back too early after what is, after all, a major operation. He’s gained to inter 2 where he’s 0.93 ahead; still 0.65 green at 3 but there’s a huge error and he’s dropped to 6th – Henrik Kristoffersen is guaranteed a medal! AJ Ginnis has lost half his advantage by inter 1 , just 0.03 green at 3 but neat from there to go 2nd, +0.20. That’s a medal for him – the first ever for Greece! Kristoffersen the first to congratulate Ginnis! Just Manu Feller to go and he too is not at full power after an injury this morning – into the red at inter 3 and he’s into 7th – what a pity for him. So, there’s a real surprise – Henrik Kristoffersen, with the best time on run 2, has gained 15 places to take the gold medal. AJ Ginnis takes silver, an amazing result for him, with Alex Vinatzer [who was heading back to the hotel apparently] taking bronze! Interesting race, I bet the US team regret dropping Ginnis!! Dave Ryding in 15th, Billy Major 28th and Laurie Taylor 33; Ed Guigonnet a DNF on run 2.

Oberhof – World Championships, Mixed Relay, 8 Feb 23: I missed this race as I was out enjoying another nice day myself!  Perhaps predictably the Norwegian team of Tandrevold, Røiseland, Laegreid and JoBø took the gold medal [1+9] although they didn’t have it all their own way – Tandrevold had to do a penalty loop after her standing shoot and JoBø needed all 3 spares in his prone. Credit to Laegreid for shooting clear in both his shoots. Italy [1+5] took silver; Vittozzi and Wierer needing only 1 spare each – Giacomel left the final shoot, also needing just 1 spare, level with JoBø but was outpaced on the final lap! France [0+9] took bronze – again Julia Simon and Anais Chevalier-Bouchet using just 1 spare each.  Austria were 4th, ahead of the Czech Republic and Germany. Sweden lost touch with the podium after Seb Samuelsson had to do 3 penalty loops after his prone shoot and finished 9th just behind Canada – interview without coffee for Seb tonight! IBU report is HERE

Oberhof – World Championships, Women’s Sprint, 10 Feb 23: I should really have been out walking but was feeling idle and decided to watch this instead! Seems a few coaches might have missed the changes to the quota rules? Anyway, Mari Eder first away and just behind her is Anamarija Lampic; in fact Lampic is 6.4 seconds ahead by 1.1 Km. Even Elvira Öberg can’t match that pace; Eder has missed 2 at S1, Lampic is clear and away – interesting that she takes the centre target first! Marketa Davidova is quick on the range and clear – out 2.0 ahead of Lampic. Paulina Batovska Fialkova is even faster and out 4.7 ahead of Davidova. Elvira has missed 1; Janina Hettich-Walz clear also and out +12.7. Julia Simon clear at S1 and out 2nd, +2.2; Karoline Offigstad Knotten clear too and +4.0. Doro Wierer has missed 1 at S1 – a slow shoot by her standards; by contrast Lisa Vittozzi is clear and out in the lead by 4.7 seconds. That’s a pity – Lampic has missed 4 at S2; Davidova is 10/10 though and that’s a good time. Mari Eder isn’t having a good day 3 more misses at S2; Paulina BF has missed 2 there, Elvira another 1. Back at S1 Denise Herrmann-Wick is clear and out just ahead of Vittozzi. Julia Simon has missed 2 in the stand – one looked rather unlucky? Knotten has missed 2 at S2; back at S1 Hanna Öberg is clear and 3.1 faster than Denise H-W, but Røiseland has missed 1. Interesting - Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold clear at S1 and even faster than Hanna! Vittozzi has missed 1 at S2, but out just 2.3 behind Davidova, who is still the only 10/10 at present. And, just as I wrote that Lisa Theresa Hauser also 10/10 but out from S2 +14.3. Elvira over the line in 2nd despite the 2 misses, but back at S2 the crowd have gone wild as Denise H-W has gone 10/10 and leaves the range 25.4 ahead of Davidova! Julia Simon over the line ahead of Elvira; at S2 Hanna Öberg has joined the 10/10 club and she’s 9.4 faster than Denise H-W. Marte Olsbu Røiseland has cleared at S2 and out +20.2 but Tandrevold has missed 2 there. Vittozzi has crossed the line ahead of Davidova, Elvira off the podium. At 6.1 Km Hanna has dropped to 0.9 behind Denise H-W but there’s a lot of track left! Denise H-W over the line and lying in the snow, completely exhausted. The gap top Hanna at 7.2 Km is now +2.5; at the line the gap is still 2.2 and Hanna goes into 2nd – she’s exhausted too! Røiseland [1,0] over the line in 3rd, pushing Vittozzi off the podium. The background music has moved on from Gladiator to GOT! Anna Magnusson also 10/10 and currently 6th – I missed her at S2; likewise Sophia Schneider [0,1] going well despite the miss and she’s into 6th! However – Linn Persson is at S2 and 10/10 – out ahead of Røiseland, +16.7 against Hanna’s time there. Persson going well on the final lap – she’s managed to take 3rd place at the finish; potentially 2 medals for Sweden? At present the top 6 are Denise H-W, Hanna, Persson, Røiseland, Vittozzi and Davidova; Schneider holding on to 7th, Magnusson in 9th. Back at S2 Juni Arnekleiv [NOR], brought into the team at very short notice, is 10/10 and out 5th! She’s losing a bit of time on the last lap but this is a pretty impressive run – not sure she’ll hold on to a top 10? Not quite – over the line in 12th. That’s it – well done to Denise Herrmann-Wick, Hanna Öberg takes silver and Linn Persson bronze – good result for Sweden, especially with 3 in the top 10.

Oberhof – World Championships, Men’s Sprint, 11 Feb 23: Joined this one late as well, as I ended up doing a longer walk than planned! Gosh that’s misty! As I joined JoBø [1,0] was leading, ahead of Laegreid [0,1] and QFM [0,1]. Samuelsson [0,2] in 4th then Strelow and Krcmar. Tarjei Bø has just gone 10/10 and he’s left the range just fractionally ahead of Laegreid and 3.2 behind his younger brother. Now, Christiansen left S2 in 4th, but he’s losing time on the lap – he’s over the line in 3rd but Pidruchnyi is ahead of him at 9.7 Km and now he’s over the line in 3rd to push Christiansen off the podium. It looks like Ponsiluoma was in touch after S1 but he missed 3 at S2 and he’s currently 13th!  Tarjei Bø over the line in silver medal position, just 14.8 behind Johannes – an all Norwegian podium at present! Just 41 of 112 starters over the finish line though, although I doubt that anyone will catch either Bø!? Looks like Tuomas Harjula has had a fall or something as his rear sight seems to be packed with snow – he’s losing a lot of time. Now, Andrejs Rastorgujevs has just gone 10/10 and he’s left the range in 4th, +20.0. Guigonnat also 10/10 and out +33.2 – potential here for change to the top 6?  Dale has missed his last shot but still out ahead of Guigonnat. Meanwhile Kühn [0,1] over the line in 6th at present, just ahead of QFM. Rastorgujevs seems to be falling back on the lap – at 8.6 Km he’s now behind Christiansen; it’s a similar story for Guigonnat too – maybe the snow is softening? Rastorgujevs into 6th, ahead of Kühn but on the tracks Johannes Dale is up to 4th at 8.6 Km; at 9.7 Km he’s just 4.6 behind Laegreid! No, he's missed it and into 4th! That’s 5 Norwegians in the top 6. A bad day for Benedikt Doll – 5 misses in all [3,2] and he’s currently 49th and 2:47.5 off the pace! Interesting that JoBø was apparently a bit lucky with some of his shots today, a couple split rounds at least, but it doesn’t matter as he’s taken the gold medal! Brother Tarjei gets sliver, and Laegreid bronze. A really dominant performance by the Norwegians today! Johannes Kühn best German in 8th and QFM best of the French in 9th. It should be an interesting pursuit!

Oberhof – World Championships, Women’s Pursuit, 12 Feb 23: Denise H-W will be the first away but Hanna Öberg is just 2 seconds behind. Elvira and Vittozzi not racing today. Misty again but probably not as bad as yesterday? Hanna has closed up on the lap but it’s a sensible pace. The leading two are in for S1 – 1 miss each and Hanna leads out 5.1 ahead. Linn Persson clear and out +8.7, then a gap of about 18 seconds to Julia Simon and Sophia Schneider, both clear. Davidova has missed 2, dropping her from 6 to 19. On the lap Denise H-W and Hanna Ö are back together and have been joined by Persson; I think the fog is getting thicker?  Persson has dropped off again as they head in for S2 – Denise H-W clear and out, Hanna has missed 2 as have Persson and Schneider. It’s Julia Simon who is out 2nd, +23.4 with Juni Arnekleiv [NOR] +34.3; Hanna Ö +49.6. Sophie Chauveau among those with 10/10 and up to 7 from 27! Denise H-W in for S3 – 1 miss, but Simon is clear and away – the German just 1.5 behind. Tandrevold [0,1,1] out 3rd, +34.2 with Schneider [0,2,0] +49.8. That’s odd – Tandrevold briefly appeared in the S4 results and now her position after S3 is shown as 4th, behind Schneider.  Arnekleiv has missed 2 here as has Chauveau. Hanna Ö [1,2,2] down in 10th. I think Julia Simon is the only one with a perfect shooting score? Denise H-W in for the final shoot – Simon 1 miss, Denise 2, so she’s out 28.3 behind the French woman. Røiseland clear for the first time and she’s out 3rd, +36.4. Schneider has missed 2. I suspect that the medals are decided although it will be interesting to see if Denise can hold off a charging Marte Olsbu Røiseland. Certainly Denise isn’t pushing to try and catch Simon. So, Julia Simon [0,0,0,1] takes gold from 10th at the start. Denise Herrmann-Wick [1,0,1,2] takes silver with Marte Olsbu Røiseland [1,1,1,0] back on form and taking bronze. Tandrevold in 4th [from 14] then Schneider 5th and Lou Jeanmonnot [0,0,1,0] in 6th from 26 at the start. Other gainers include Vobornikova [18 to 7], Kebinger [17-8], Chauveau [27-9], Wierer [19-11], Dzhima [29-14], Brorsson [22-15], Knotten [37-17], Femsteinevik [36-21], Minkinnen [35-24], Baserga [39-26], Elisa Gasparin [50-28] and Gandler [49-29]. Those losing ground include Persson [3-10], Hanna Öberg [2-12], Davidova [6-16], Magnusson [9-18], Hauser [13-27], Lunder [11-30], Lotte Lie [21-35], and Aita Gasparin [20-38]. Well done to the podium, nice to see Røiseland back!

Oberhof – World Championships, Men’s Pursuit, 12 Feb 23: Still misty and visibility looks variable! JoBø away 15 seconds ahead of brother Tarjei; the fog is thick enough that it’s quite hard to see the bib numbers! QFM gaining a couple places on the lap; JoBø coming in for S1 – I wonder if he’s looked at the shooting he did yesterday? First 3 were well left and low but he’s cleared all 5; Tarjei, Laegreid and Dale all clear too – in fact a lot of good shooting although QFM has missed 3 and is out 19th, over 2 minutes back. That’s among the worst shooting of the first set, although Giacomel, Schommer and Raenkel have matched it! JoBø has the gap up to over 30 seconds as he comes in for S2; 3 of them were low again but he's 10/10. Tarjei also clear and +31.0; Laegreid clear but Dale has missed 1. Samuelsson 10/10 and up to 5th from 11th. Christiansen also clear but losing time; QFM has missed 2 more – not his day! Rastorgujevs has fallen – they had the speed gun on the course earlier and some of the athletes are hitting 80kph. JoBø in for S3 – not the best grouping but he’s 15/15 and that was fast too! Tarjei lucky with his first, but missed the next 2; Laegreid clear and out 2nd but over a minute back, Christiansen 15/15 and a further 26 seconds back with Samuelsson and Tarjei on his heels. Finello was skiing fast but he’s missed all 5 here. It looks like Christiansen, Tarjei and Samuelsson have given up on the top 2 places and are saving themselves for a three way fight for the bronze medal? That was impressive – JoBø was amazingly fast on his final shoot and they all went down! Quick fist pump and he’s off; Sturla Holm Laegreid also 15/15 and out with silver pretty much secure. Now, for the interest – the chasing 3 have all missed 2, Dale 3 and Kühn 2 – Tarjei out 3rd, but only barely ahead of Samuelsson and Christiansen; Kühn a further 20 seconds back. Johannes is cruising to gold, Laegreid to silver but behind them Tarjei & Seb Samuelsson are dropping Christiansen. That’s JoBø over the line and yet another win this season – a very impressive performance! Laegreid comfortably taking silver. Seb Samuelsson making the most of doing 2 fewer penalty loops by out-sprinting Tarjei Bø for the final medal, up from 11th at the start. Christiansen in 5th ahead of Kühn; QFM somehow 12th despite 7 misses! Apart from Samuelsson other gainers include Rees [19 to 10], Strømsheim [22-13], Doll [a very impressive 55th to 15!], Hartweg [25-17], Nelin [45-23], Seppala [47-24], Vidmar [43-26], Finello [52-28 despite the 5 misses at S3], Cisar [54-30], Mikyska [60-31], Perrot [49-32] and Langer [56-34]. Those losing ground include Komatz [13-27], Eder [23-37], Lapshin [26-38], Tsymbal [29-40], Giacomel [17-43, 8 penalties], Hidensalo [30-50], Vaclavik [24-51] and Schommer [31-52].

Oberhof – World Championships, Individuals, 14/15 Feb 23: Sadly a couple very busy days, trying to get past a “computer says no” mind set! As A result I missed both the Individual races – no great surprises in the men’s race where JoBø [0,1,1,0] took another gold, ahead of Laegreid [0,0,0,1] with Seb Samuelsson [0,0,1,0] on better form and taking the bronze. QFM was 4th, ahead of Doll and Hartweg, Tarjei in 7th. In the women’s race it was a good day for Sweden as Hanna Öberg [1,0,0,0] took gold by just 10.3 seconds from Linn Persson [0,0,0,0]. Liza Vittozzi [0,0,0,1] took bronze ahead of Comola, Simon and Tomingas. Tandrevold missed 3 targets at S2 and finished 11th; Denise H-W [0,2,0,2] only 15th!

Oberhof – World Championships, Mixed Single Relay, 16 Feb 23: No big climb on today’s track profile, which I’m sure they’ll all appreciate! Nice to have a camera following the athletes – gives a great feel for the terrain. Early on Marte Olsbu Røiseland leads ahead of Jeanmonnot and Haecki-Gross. Already in for S1 – it’s Lisa Vittozzi who leads out, ahead of Hauser, Schneider and Hanna Öberg [1 spare, +5.5] – Røiseland in 12th, + 16.1 after using 2 spares; Korea on the penalty loop. In for S2 after which it’s straight to the exchange – Lisa Vittozzi out in the lead again [1 spare], just 1.8 ahead of Hauser, then Hanna, Røiseland, Schneider and Minkkinen. At the exchange it’s ITA/AUT/SWE/NOR/GER/FIN. France down in 15th after Jeanmonnot used 5 spares over the 2 shoots. Early on leg 2 Samuelsson is up to. 2nd, JoBø slowly gaining in 4th. In for S3 – Giacomel [1 spare] out ahead of Komatz [1], JoBø [1], Nawrath [0], Hidensalo [1] and Samuelsson [3 spares, +20.2]. Fabien Claude has France up to 7th after a clean shoot. S4 and Komatz is clear and out just 2.2 ahead of JoBø [0], Giacomel [1], Nawrath [3] after trying to stay with Bø, Samuelsson [1]and Hidensalo [1]. Austria lead at the 2nd exchange ahead of NOR/ITA/GER/SWE/FIN/FRA. In for S5 – Vittozzi [0] out 2.6 ahead of Røiseland [0] then Hauser [1], Hanna [0, +27.5], Minkkinen [1] and Jeanmonnot [1]. Schneider has done a penalty loop! Final shoot for the women – Røiseland [0] leads out, 7.8 ahead of Vittozzi [2] then Hauser [1]. Hanna has used 2 more spares and out 4th, +38.4; Jeanmonnot [1] out 5th but over a minute back, Schneider [0] up to 7th. Final leg – JoBø away and steady to 9.6 Km. Johannes in for S7 – he’s missed his first and 2 more! He’s on the penalty loop! Komatz [1] leads out , just 1.4 ahead of Giacomel [1], then JoBø +11.0. Samuelsson [1, +33.8] then Fabien Claude [+51.0] and Fak. Nawrath [2] down in 7th, +1:16.4. In for the final shoot with 1 lap to follow – amazing – JoBø clear [fast too] and leading out, 9.8 ahead of Komatz [1] then Giacomel [2 penalty loops, +41.8]. Luckily for Italy Samuelsson is also on the penalty loop [1 loop] and +1:11.9, and France are also on the loop and 6 seconds or so behind Sweden. JoBø cruises to yet another gold for Norway [1+6] – well done to him and Røiseland. Good to see Austria [0+6] take silver with Italy [2+9!] getting bronze. Sweden [1+12] in 4th then France [1+12] and Germany [1+12]. Switzerland missed 21 targets!

Oberhof – World Championships,  Relays, 18 Feb 23: Missed the men’s race – I had expected Norway to take it, but all credit to the French [1+9] team - Guigonnat, Fabien Claude, Jacquelin and QFM – for taking gold despite Jacquelin ending up doing 1 penalty loop. Norway [2+14] had a bad day on the range but still took silver; Christiansen used 5 spares, Tarjei Bø clear in prone but doing a penalty loop after his standing shoot, Laegreid the same as Tarjei, and JoBø using 3 spares in prone! Sweden 1+13] in bronze – Femling doing the penalty, Ponsiluoma using 3 spares, Nelin just 2 and Samuelsson 3. The Czech Republic [2+10] in 4th, then Germany [5+8!! Strelow just 1 spare, Kühn doing 3 penalties, Rees absolutely clear but Doll with 2 more penalties!] and Switzerland [6+8!!!] in 6th. Conditions must have been bad; it seems the jury were considering postponing the events due to the weather, but I thought that was because of warm conditions?  
Women’s 4 x 6 Km race: It seems warm temperatures are not the problem as the women are all wrapped up? Actually it seems it’s four degrees and wet, with gusty winds! The mega climb is back today. The poor Aussie is apparently all on her own so can’t go in a relay [just like GB] ; just her coach as backup – I think Scott [standing in for Mike?] was a little confused by CET versus UK time? I reckon Sweden should win this but as I got the men’s race wrong … Early on Jeanmonnot leads ahead of Persson, Comola and Voigt. It doesn’t look nice there – puddles of water on the course with icy bits as well – several crashes in the men’s race it seems. In for the first prone – Minkkinen away with no spares, 0.6 ahead of Voigt [0], then Knotten [0.7, 1 spare], Comola [0], Baserga [0], Jeanmonnot [0]. Persson in 12th, +15.6 after using 2 spares; Ermits [EST] doing 2 penalty laps. Quiet a modest pace on the lap so Persson has closed up, just 2.9 behind. First standing shoot – Persson leading in and she’s clear and away 6.6 ahead of Comola [0], Voigt [0], Vobornikova [0 here], Knotten [1] and Minkkinen, +19.2. Deedra Irwin doing a penalty this time. It’s raining hard now; Vobornikova up to 2nd at 5.1 Km – top 5 separated by just 9.2 seconds. Vobornikova keeping up with Persson on the hill – at the first exchange Sweden lead the Czechs by just 0.5, then NOR/ITA/GER/FRA{+14.0}. On the lap Anna Magnusson is 3.7 ahead of Tandrevold at 6.6 Km, with Doro Wierer into 3rd; Hanna Kebinger taking leg 2 for Germany and currently 6th. Wierer seems to have fallen after clipping a bollard, Canada a bigger fall. In for S3 and it’s Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [0] who leads out, 5.1 ahead of Doro [0], Magnusson [1], Tandrevold [1, +9.5] and Kebinger [2] but +39.6. Anais C-B has the gap to Tandrevold up to over 11 seconds on the lap, but the chasing 3 are very close on some of those corners. I’m not sure Doro’s skis are running that well? Quiet windy in the range, Anais C-B in for S4 – missed the first and the last.  Doro has used 1 spare and she’s out, but it’s a penalty for Anais C-B but she’s still out 2nd, +26.2. Kebinger [clear] 3rd, +43.8. Some poor shooting here – Magnusson 2 penalty loops and 4th, +1:05.0, ahead of Eder and Vinklarkova – Tandrevold has done 3 penalty loops and is 9th, +1:28.2! Some discussion about whether Anais C-B used all 3 spares before going on the loop but no asterisk by her name [note to Patrick – Asterix was a Gaul!]. Exchange 2 and Italy lead by 21.4 ahead of France, then GER/SWE [+53.9]/FIN/CZE. Norway +1:08.9, so Tandrevold has pulled back 20 seconds. Now, Italy have Hannah Auchentaller on leg 3 – big pressure for her. Chloe Chevalier has the gap down to 16.3 at 12.6 Km, Sophia Schneider a little closer. Elvira Öberg hasn’t closed much and neither has Ida Lien. Öberg making up more time later on the lap. Leading 2 in for S5; Auchentaller clear and out, Chevalier has missed 3 and out 3rd, +34.9 just behind Schneider [1], Davidova [0] in 4th, Öberg [1] just behind her with Ida Lien [1] +1:06.3. Schneider and Chevalier are closing on the lap, Davidova with them and Elvira, who doesn’t look well, some 10 seconds back. Kinnunen has lost a ski in a fall and the spares are at the bottom of the hill! Auchentaller away with 1 spare, Schneider [2] +16.0, then Elvira [2] +40.8. Davidova was on the penalty loop and out + 46.0 ahead of Chevalier [2]. Ida Lien is also doing a loop and almost 2 minutes back. Elvira losing time against Auchentaller, who is doing a great job, but Elvira is staying ahead of Davidova and Chevalier. Final exchange and Vittozzi leads out 5.6 ahead of Denise H-W. Hanna Öberg +38.2 then it’s CZE/FRA/AUT. Marte Olsbu Røiseland starts 1:50.9 back – I wonder how hard she’ll go given there is a Mass Start tomorrow – difficult! What a team on the final lap – Lisa Vittozzi, Denise H-W, Hanna Öberg, Julia Simon, Hauser and Røiseland! In for S7 – Vittozzi and D H-W both clear and out in that order 5.8 apart. Hanna has missed 2 and out +48.7, ahead of Simon [1], +57.7. Simon losing a bit of time on the lap; it’s still raining hard. Final shoot – it does look vile there, it’s looking a bit misty too! Vittozzi clear and away – great shooting. Denise H-W used 2 spares, I’m sure, but it shows a just 1? Out +31.2; Hanna [0] + 44.4. Julia Simon clear but 25 seconds back in 4th, ahead of Hauser and Røiseland; I think she’s eased off for the Mass Start? Hanna seems to have eased off too with bronze secure. That’s it – very well done to Italy [0+2] – excellent shooting and brilliant legs by Hannah Auchentaller and Lisa Vittozzi. Silver for Germany [0+6] with a quite new team as regards legs 2 and 3. Sweden [2+11] in bronze despite the penalties. France [1+12] take 4th ahead of Austria [0+12] and Norway [4+13] – Tandrevold will need some support after that awful leg.

Oberhof – World Championships, Mass Starts, 19 Feb 23: Looks like more wind and rain; lots of green on the range. The “rubber dinghy” trip down the bobsleigh run looked fun! Men first, over 15Km; Hartweg unwell and will not start today and neither will Elvira Öberg. Men away – how damaged are the tracks? The rain looks heavy; the snow seems very soft too. At 2.3 Km the leading 10 are separated by just 2.6 seconds; looks a sensible pace? In for S1 – JoBø has missed 1. Sturla Holm Laegreid leads out 2.6 ahead of Martin Ponsiluoma, then Fabien Claude, QFM, Samuelsson, Strelow, Kühn and Rastorgujevs [+13.3] – all clear. JoBø in 14th, +21.7. Giacomel and Doll have missed 2 each, Iliev 3. No one seems to want to lead into the wind; that’s letting the field close up – at 5.3 Km the leading 4 are just 1.2 seconds apart and JoBø is 5th, +4.6. In for S2 – Fabien Claude clear and out just 2.0 ahead of Samuelsson both 10/10; Jacquelin clear this time and out +2.5, then Rastorgujevs. Ponsiluoma has missed 1 and out +18.2, Laegreid also 1 miss and +23.1, just ahead of JoBø [1,1] then Strelow and Kühn. QFM had 1 miss and +29.9, Femling [1,2] Giacomel [2,3], and Iliev [3,2] at the back end of the field. At 8.3 Km JoBø is back up with the leaders; Laegreid in 7th but he hasn’t made up as much. Here we go, S3 – JoBø clear and out, Samuelsson 15/15 and out +9.8, then Laegreid [0,1,0] +17.7, and Ponsiluoma [0,1,1, +23.7]. Rastorgujevs missed 2 here, as did Jacquelin and Guigonnat – Kühn has missed 3 here and Doll 2 more; Strelow the best German [0,0,0] in 7th, but +34.4. Only 3 athletes are 15/15 – Samuelsson, Stalder and Strelow. JoBø is in for S4 – 1 miss! Ponsiluoma is clear here and out despite his two earlier penalty loops! Samuelsson [20/20] +1.2 and JoBø is +6.8. Laegreid has missed another and he’s 34.6 back just ahead of QFM. Seb Samuelsson pushing hard and going early; is Ponsiluoma closing up again? At 13.9 it’s Ponsiluoma who is 6.8 back and JoBø is +16.5 and seems to have settled for bronze? That’s it – a great day for Sweden, Seb Samuelsson [0,0,0,0] takes gold, Martin Ponsiluoma [0,1,1,0] silver and Johannes Thingnes Bø [1,1,0,1] takes bronze – that’s 7 medals here I think? Laegreid [0,1,0,1] in 4th, then Rastorgujevs [0,0,2,1] and QFM [0,1,1,0]. Seb Stalder in 7th – with all 20 targets hit – not bad for someone who was only told he was racing late on when Hartweg had to drop out. Fabien Claude in 8th, Tarjei in 9th, Strelow best German in 13th after missing 1 at S4; Doll missed 6 in all and was 26th!
Women’s 12.5 Km: The crowd must be tough people – they seem to be in good spirits despite the weather! A bit of bumping and barging going on early as everyone is so close. At 1.7 Km the top 10 are separated by just 4.9 seconds. Seems the headwind isn’t as bad as it was earlier; the leaders are in for S1. Denise H-W, Julia Simon and Hanna Öberg have all missed 1! It’s Linn Persson who leads out, fractionally ahead of Doro Wierer, then Anais C-B, Hauser, Røiseland and Vittozzi – all clear and just 5.4 seconds between them. A good number with 1 miss but poor Anna Magnusson has missed 3. The snow looks slow – not much acceleration on the downhill sections. Julia Simon has made up time after that first miss as has Öberg but Denise H-W is going backwards – fatigue setting in, or maybe her skis – I didn’t think they looked good downhill? In for S2 – Persson clear again and out, just ahead of Anais C-B, Hauser, Tomingas, Jeanmonnot and Comola – all 10/10. Simon has missed 1 more and out 8th, +26.0 just ahead of Doro who missed 1 at S2. Hanna Öberg is [1,1] and 13th, Denise H-W the same and 24th, 1:15.0 back - it’s not a blistering pace either. First standing shoot – Anais Chevalier-Bouchet clear and out; Julia Simon clear here and 7.8 back. Öberg clear here too and 10 seconds further back, just ahead of Tandrevold [0,1,0], Persson and Hauser. Røiseland [0,1,1] in 13th, Wierer [0,1,1] is 15th and poor Denise H-W has missed 3 at S3 and 29th! Kebinger [0,1,0] best German in 9th – not a good day for them. At 9.2 Km Anais C-B still leads but Simon is just 1.4 back, Tandrevold up to 3rd and just past Öberg. Final shoot – leading 2 have missed – Öberg clear and out just ahead of Tandrevold who was also clear – Julia Simon out +8.6 with Anais C-B just behind. Comola is 20/20 and 5th ahead of Davidova. On the lap Simon is past Tandrevold already; at 11.1 Öberg is 4.4 ahead of Simon with Tandrevold close astern – Anais C-B dropping back. I think Hanna Ö has this – Tandrevold is past Simon who seems to have given all she has. Ye gods Tandrevold is going flat out – a great effort! Hanna Öberg [1,1,0,0] takes gold, ahead of Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold [0,1,0,0] who gets a silver on the final day – well done to her, and a great effort after the relay. Julia Simon [1,1,0,1] taking bronze after a tough set of races. Anais C-B in 4th ahead of Davidova and Knotten. Comola the only 20/20 I can see in 10th, Kebinger best German in 12th. Røiseland 17th with 3 misses, Denise H-W 24th with 5 misses. A fitting end to the championships for Hanna, Ingrid and Julia! It’s still raining.

Nove Mesto – Men’s’ 10Km Sprint, 2 Mar 23: I was out all day so missed this live, but predictably, given that he short clean, it was yet another win for Johannes Thingnes Bø! Brother Tarjei also shot clean and took 2nd place, ahead of Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen [1 penalty]. Strømsheim [NOR] was 4th, then Fabien Claude and Ponsiluoma – 4 Norwegians in the top 6! Roman Rees best German in 8th, QFM in 14th [2 penalties] and Samuelsson 15th [3]. The IBU report is HERE

Nove Mesto – Women’s’ 7.5 Km Sprint, 3 Mar 23: Mari Eder first away with Denise H-W next – the warm up loop is tiny! That steep hill, just after the road tunnel, looks a right beast! Eder in for S1, the wind is erratic to put it mildly but she’s clear and out; Denise H-W has missed 1. Liza Vittozzi clear and out 29.2 ahead of Denise H-W, who has lost a couple seconds to Eder on the lap. Mona Brorsson has missed 1, but Vanessa Voigt is clear and out 7.8 behind Vittozzi. Julia Simon in for S1 with bare arms – 1 miss! Marketa Davidova has missed her final shot – very loud support from the crowd! Elvira Öberg has missed 3 at S1, I wonder if she’s fully fit? Sister Hanna has also missed 3; Denise H-W clear at S2 but Mari Eder has missed 3 – the wind has got up! Vittozzi has missed 1 but out 4.7 ahead of H-W. Tandrevold has missed 1 at S1, but I see Røiseland was clear there and out ahead of Vittozzi. That’s good shooting – Voigt 10/10 and out 9 seconds ahead of Vittozzi after S2. Julia Simon clear at S2 and out 3rd. Doro Wierer clear at S1 and that was quick too – out 2.5 behind Røiseland, who has just gone 10/10 and she’s 29.7 faster than Voigt and 38.7 ahead of Vittozzi! Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [1,0] out +31.7 in 3rd after S2, but only for a moment as Tandrevold [1,0] is now 2nd, just 23.2 behind Røiseland. At present at the finish it’s Voigt, Denise H-W, Vittozzi and Simon. Tandrevold is flying today – gaining time on Røiseland, who has just crossed the line 36.7 ahead of Voigt! Anais C-B over the line in 2nd, but Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold has taken over that spot by a good margin, although she lost a little against Røiseland in the final kilometre. Doro Wierer [0,1] over the line in 4th at present – pity about her final shot at S2! That’s not bad from Hanna Kebinger [1,0] – she’s some 98 seconds ahead of Denise H-W after S2! The Swedish coach at the range isn’t looking happy as Magnusson misses 2 in the stand – not a good day for the Swedes - Persson [1,1], Brorsson [1,1], Magnusson [0,2], Hanna Öberg [3,0] and Elvira [3,0]. Back at S2 Karoline Offigstad Knotten is 10/10 but a little slow; Lisa Theresa Hauser 10/10 and out 3rd, 3 seconds behind Tandrevold. Lampic has missed 3 at S1, but she’s skiing fast. Hauser is losing a little time on the final lap and over the line in 7th. Poor Lucie Charvátová was clear at S1 but she’s missed 3 at S2 – maybe the pressure of shooting at home? So, it looks as though Marte Olsbu Røiseland is back on form – an impressive win, ahead of Tandrevold whose speed was excellent, with Anais C-B taking the final podium place. Doro in 4th, then Voigt and Herrmann-Wick. Hauser finished 7th, then Vittozzi, Simon and Haecki-Gross. Davidova in 16th, Magnusson best of the Swedes in 28th, Hanna Öberg 30th, and Elvira 63rd – as the commentary team suggested she obviously isn’t fully recovered yet!

Nove Mesto – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 4 Mar 23: I was out so missed this one, but looking at the results I’m not sure I missed too much! JoBø [0,0,1,1] led all the way, taking yet another win, and once again his brother Tarjei [0,0,1,0] was second [+34.6]. I’m not sure how Martin Ponsiluoma [0,3,1,1] managed 3rd place despite those 5 penalties, but he did, although he was 1:11.0 back! Benedikt Doll [0,0,1,1] took 4th, from 12th at the start, ahead of Fabien Claude and Guigonnat – both with 4 penalties. Among others gaining places were Samuelsson [4 penalties, 15-7], Florent Claude [the only 20/20 today it seems; 24-10], Nawrath [30-11], Giacomel [26-14], Seppala [29-15], Zobel [38-18], Eder [25-19], Rastorgujevs [59-23], Cisar [41-25] and Christian Gow [52-29]. Those losing ground include Christiansen [3-8], Strømsheim [4-13], Nelin [9-26; 7 penalties], Komatz [11-30], Dudchenko [17-38], Invenius [FIN, 23-41], Magazeev [MDA, 34-46] and Langer [28-47. I see QFM was a DNS?

Nove Mesto – Women’s 10 Km Pursuit, 4 Mar 23: This is a lot closer than the gaps in the men’s race – Røiseland away, Tandrevold has pulled back a little early on. No Elvira today, which is probably wise and Eder and Schneider are also DNS. At 1.6 Km Tandrevold has the gap down to 16.1 seconds from around 21 at the start., Julia Simon up to 6th from 9th. Røiseland in for S1 – clear and out; Tandrevold has missed 1 – Anais C-B out 2nd, +27.2 ahead of Doro Wierer, Julia Simon and Denise H-W, +33.5 – all clear. Tandrevold out 7th; Magnusson clear and out 19th from 28 at the start. Hanna Öberg has missed 2, Lena Haecki-Gross 3. At 3.6 Km Simon is up to 2nd; Tandrevold has pulled back about 8 seconds. In for S2 – 1 miss for Røiseland, and Simon and Denise H-W have done the same. Anais C-B clear and leads out, 6.0 ahead of Røiseland with Doro just 1.2 behind and clear, then Vittozzi, 10/10, Tandrevold, then Kebinger and Voigt, both 10/10. Simon in 8th, Denise H-W 9th. It’s all very tight on the next lap – the leading 9 are very close! The first standing shoot – Røiseland clear this time and away, but just 3.3 ahead of Tandrevold and Anais C-B who were clear too. Simon clear at S3 as well and +7.1, then Kebinger and Voigt [both 15/15]. Vittozzi missed 1 and +29.6, Doro missed 2 and +49.5, Denise H-W [0,1,2] is 13th, Hanna Öberg [2,0,0] in 15th from 30 at the start. At 7.6 Km Tandrevold is just in the lead but Røiseland and Anais C-B are within 0.5; Simon 4th, +9.8. This is exciting stuff! The final shoot – the leading 3 are all clear – out in order Røiseland, Tandrevold +3.7, Anais C-B +4.3. Julia Simon has missed 1 more and out 4th, +37.2. Vittozzi [0,0,1,1] over a minute back, Kebinger has missed 2 and out 6th, just ahead of Denise H-W who was clear this time. Hanna Öberg [2,0,0,1] in 12th and Doro Wierer [0,0,2,2] in 14th. The two Norwegians have slightly dropped Anais C-B – it’s a sprint to the line and Marte Olsbu Røiseland has it – what a superb race! Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold into 2nd, +2.2; Anais C-B in 3rd, Julia Simon gets 5th and it’s a photo between Vittozzi and Denise H-W for 5th and 6th – the Italian just gets it! So, the top 3 are the same people as yesterday, and in the same order! Good run by Hanna Kebinger to get 7th from 12 at the start, just ahead of Marketa Davidova [16 to 8th]. Other gaining places include Hanna Öberg [30-10], Magnusson [28-14], Chauveau [42-17], Comola [29-19], Chevalier [33-21], Weidel [31-25], Lunder [54-28], Auchentaller [58-30], Gandler [48-33] and Vobornikova [41-34]. Those losing ground include Voigt [5-12], Wierer [4-15], Baserga [19-29], Haecki-Gross [10-31], Elisa Gasparin [14-32], Kinnunen [20-36], Moser [24-37], Juppe [34-49] and Tachizaki [25-51]. A good day for Norway!

Nove Mesto – Mixed Relay, 5 Mar 23: Conditions are looking good, but the snow is a bit heavy and slushy in places; the women are away first today. In for S1 and the wind looks tricky – Lisa Vittozzi clear and away just ahead of Elia Gasparin and Lou Jeanmonnot, then Magnusson, Knotten [1 spare], and Gandler. China and South Korea both on the penalty loop. Janina Hettich-Walz also used 1 spare but losing a little on the lap. A leading group of 7 heading in for S2 – Vittozzi clear again and away, 4.9 ahead of Jeanmonnot, Knotten has used 2 spares but still out +13.5 with Janina H-W [1 more spare] +18.6, then Gasparin [2]. Magnusson has used all 3 spares and +34.0, Gandler also using 3 spares and +33.4. Vittozzi isn’t shaking off Jeanmonnot – at exchange 1 Samuela Comola leads away with just 2.5 seconds advantage over Caroline Colombo; Tandrevold out +17.1 then Voigt in 4th. I thought it was supposed to be Doro Wierer on leg 2 – late change it seems. Comola has fallen on the early part of the lap – at 6.9 Km Colombo leads by 9.9 ahead of Comola, then Tandrevold, Hanna Öberg, Lampic and Haecki-Gross. In for the prone shoot of this leg – Colombo has missed her first shot and one more – it’s Tandrevold who leads out after 1 spare, then Haecki-Gross [1, +11.0], Voigt [1, +12.4] and Colombo [3, +13.8]. Lampic [1] out 5th ahead of Öberg [3]. Lampic is going well on the lap – she’s up to 2nd. In for S4 – Tandrevold has missed her 3rd and 1 more, Lampic on the penalty loop. It’s Colombo [1] who leads out just 1.9 ahead of Tandrevold [3], Olena Bilosiuk [UKR, 0], Haecki-Gross [3] and Öberg [2, +13.6]. At present Tandrevold isn’t pulling away from Colombo – the 3 chasers are about 14 seconds back. Norway lead at the second exchange but only 0.5 ahead of France, then UKR/SWE/SUI/GER. Martin Ponsiluoma taking over for Sweden – amazed to hear the commentary say he shot well yesterday – 5 penalty loops!? At 12.9 Km Johannes Dale is just 0.8 ahead of Eric Perrot with Ponsiluoma just 4.8 back, then Pryma and Stalder 9 seconds off the lead. Nawrath is 6th, +30.1 then Komatz +40.7. In for S5 - Dale and Perrot have both missed 2 but they aren’t alone! Perrot [3] leads out 6 seconds ahead of Ponsiluoma [3], Pryma [2, +7.2], Stalder [2] and Dale [3, +14.6]. Nawrath and Komatz both still in touch but Bionaz is +42.3 and Krcmar is 9th, +1:15.8. In for S56 – Perrot clear and away, Pryma [1] +22.9 and ahead of Ponsiluoma [3 more spares, +26.5]. Komatz [0] in 4th, ahead of Nawrath, who did a penalty loop, and Dale [3]. At the final exchange France lead out but only 2.1 ahead of Sweden – poor shooting by Ponsiluoma but he’s very fast! Then UKR/AUT/NOR/GER [+47.6] – no one else within a minute. At 18.9 Km Fabien Claude and Seb Samuelsson are almost together, Dudchenko +24.3, Strømsheim +36.1, Lemmerer +37.1 and Doll +49.4. The final prone shoot – Fabien Claude clear and out, Samuelsson missed his last – he’s used 2 spares and out +22.6. Dudchenko is clear and +32.8, Strømsheim [3] +45.7 and Doll [0] +50.7. Lemmerer on the penalty loop, Wiestner [AUT] is doing 2 loops. Samuelsson is pushing hard on the lap, as is Benedikt Doll. Claude is clear again at S8 and out, that’s 10/10! Samuelsson [2 spares] +24.8. Strømsheim [0] and out +42.7 – great shooting! Doll [3] now 1:06.2 with Giacomel [1] 10 seconds back. Poor Dudchenko on the loop and 6th. That looks like it unless there is a fall – Samuelsson has eased off a bit! France [0+7] take a very well deserved win, Sweden [0+18] 2nd and Norway [0+16] recovering to take 3rd. Germany [1+13] in 4th ahead of Italy [0+6] and Ukraine [1+8]. Interesting race.

Nove Mesto – Single Mixed Relay, 5 Mar 23: Norway have Røiseland and Christiansen, France Chevalier-Bouchet and Guigonnat; who is left to partner Brorsson for Sweden given Ponsiluoma and Samuelsson have already gone – missed the graphic? Looks like Anais C-B has fallen? All very close as they head for S1 - Røiseland has missed 1 and 1 more; it’s Suvi Minkkinen who leads out, just ahead of Amy Baserga and Lisa Theresa Hauser who were clear; then Passler, Bendika and Lunder – also clear. Anais C-B [1 spare] in 9th, Røiseland [2] 12th, +11.7, Kebinger [2] down in 18th, +21.9. Already coming in for S2 – Anais C-B and Røiseland are back up with the leaders. Røiseland clear this time and out just ahead of Minkkinen [0], Hauser [2], then Passler, Jislova and Klemencic; Anais C-B is on the penalty loop. At exchange 1 it’s Norway just 0.5 ahead of Finland then AUT/ITA/CZE/SLO/LAT/ROM/SUI/SWE. Germany in 11th. Interesting to see Rastorgujevs up to 3rd on the lap, Christiansen leads into S3. Christiansen leads out despite using 2 spares, Rastorgujevs [0] out +1.3 just ahead of Jesper Nelin [0], then Hartweg, Eder and Shamaev [ROM]. Seppala [3] in 12th, Guigonnat [1] down in 16th, +38.1. It’s Jesper Nelin [0] who leads out, ahead of Rastorgujevs [1], and Christian Gow [0]. Then Hartweg, Christiansen [2], and Dovzan [3]. Straight to the next exchange – SWE/LAT/CAN/SUI/NOR/SLO – France in 7th, Germany 11th, Italy in 17th after Elia Zeni did 2 penalty loops at S4. S5 – Mona Brorsson clear and out, Lunder clear and +17.1, Bendika [LAT, 1] +18.9, then Baserga, Røiseland [0] and Hauser. This Swedish team are shooting a lot better than the team from the Mixed Relay! At 8.6 Km Røiseland up to 2nd fractionally ahead of Hauser and Lunder; Anais C-B 7th, +29.6. Final shoot for the women – Brorsson has used 1 spare but she’s away – Røiseland [1] out +6.8, then Hauser [1], Anais C-B [1], Baserga and Kebinger. Lunder is doing 2 penalty loops as is Klemencic. Final exchange – SWE/NOR/AUT/FRA/SUI/GER. I’m not a fan of this format – all very compressed with exchanges right after the standing shoot. Christiansen clear at S7 and out 11.4 ahead of Eder [0], then Nelin [2, +18.1], Rastorgujevs [0], Rees [0] and Hartweg [1]. Guigonnat has used all 3 spares and out +56.8. Poor Zeni on another penalty loop. Final shoot – Christiansen is a bit shaky but he’s cleared all 5 with no spares; Hartweg has all 5 down too and he’s out +24.6 ahead of Rastorgujevs! Guigonnat [1] in 4th ahead of Eder [1 penalty loop!]. Rees has also done a loop and out 7th, Tsymbal also doing 1 loop and Nelin 2! All over – Norway [0+7] take the win without either Bø [Covid?], Switzerland [0+10] in 2nd and Latvia [0+9] in 3rd and understandably delighted. France [1+11] in 4th ahead of Austria [1+10], Ukraine [1+8] – Germany [1+10] in 7th, Sweden [2+7] in 9th and Italy [3+12] down in 18th. Interesting race – what was I saying about Sweden shooting better this time?

Aspen and Kvitfjell: Well another weather affected program – the men’s downhill scheduled for 3 March had to be abandoned due to poor visibility and strong gusts of wind. Bad luck for Sejersted who was first away and was still  leading, ahead of Kriechmayr and Ryan C-S with Kilde 6th and Odermatt 14th – sadly with 23 away conditions became too dangerous and the race was abandoned – no points for anyone!  I missed the women’s’ Super G from Kvitfjell which was won by Connie Hütter who was just one one hundredth of a second faster than Elena Curtoni! At last a win for Austria; Lara Gut-Behrami was 3rd, with Mikaela Shiffrin in 4th.

Women’s Downhill 4 Mar 23, Kvitfjell [Olympiabakken]: I joined this a little late with Kasja Vickoff Lie leading from Corinne Suter [+0.41] and Mikaela Shiffrin [+0.79]; bib 5 was Ramona Siebenhofer who went into joint 3rd with Shiffrin. Ilka Stuhec went well from, inter 4 to the finish to pull back enough time to get into 3rd place. Bib 12 is Sofia Goggia – red at inter 1 and 2, bit redder at 3 and 0.40 off the pace at 4 – good final sector and she’s into 2nd, +0.29. That’s enough to get Goggia the Downhill small globe, her third in a row!  Mirjam Puchner was fast in training and green at inter 2 but then it went red and she’s 9th. Ragnhild Mowinckel seems to be having the worst of the wind, hopefully race this won’t follow the example of Aspen yesterday – Mowinckel is only 13th, unlucky! Lara Gut-Behrami off the pace and 14th; Federica Brignone into 7th and Breezy Johnson goes 8th. Laura Pirovano briefly green at inter 2  but like Puchner it’s gone away from her from there – into 14th. At present Stephanie Venier [bib 26] is the highest bib number in the top 20 in 16th. Or she was – Stefanie Fleckenstein [CAN, bib 46],  the final competitor in the race,  has just gone into 19th place – what an effort!  Congratulations to Kasja Vickhoff Lie for her win, amazingly the first time a Norwegian woman has ever won a World Cup Downhill, ahead of Sofia Goggia and Corinne Suter; then Stuhec in 4th and Siebenhofer/Shiffrin in joint 5th. Pretty sure that means Mikaela Shiffrin has the overall crystal globe for this year – yes, confirmed, that’s her 5th Overall title.

Men’s Downhill 4 Mar 23 – Aspen [Ruthie’s Run/America’s Downhill]: Hopefully a suitable weather window for this one and although this is a relatively short course there are some “High G” turns! Otmar Striedinger first away and a good bit of fresh snow on the hill after yesterday’s storm – very important to stay on the racing line! He doesn’t look happy with that; Florian Schieder can’t match him on the upper section – 0.48 red at inter 2 but he’s good in sectors 3, 4 and 5 to lead by 0.10. Thomas Dressen is nicely green at 2 and 3 but he’s lost it near Strawpile – DNF; Cameron Alexander into 3rd. Romed Baumann very green at inter 2 but he’s been steadily losing the advantage from, there – he goes 2nd, +0.09. Dominik Paris nicely in touch and 0.24 ahead at inter 4 – he’s over the line in joint first – tied with Schieder – nice for Italy! Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on course and gaining time to inter 2, a big gain to 3  and by inter 4 he’s 0.86 ahead – what an amazing run – he leads by 0.97! Fastest in sectors 1,3 and 4 as well; that was really an impressive performance.  Johan Clarey in touch at 2 and 3 and he’s into 2nd, +0.82 – some stunning recoveries! Sadly the storm is coming back up the valley – hopefully not too quickly! Marco Odermatt has had a long season – red at 1 and 2 but gaining a bit from there – better at inter 4 and now he’s into 2nd, +0.63. Jack Crawford more in touch at inter 2 and still just 0.54 adrift at 4 – he’s into 2nd, +0.61, just 2 hundredths faster than Odermatt. Niels Hintermann into 5th; Vincent Kriechmayr into 4th. Bryce Bennett in touch at inter 2 but he’s lost a bit from 4 – into 9th. Andreas Sander also in touch and he’s now into 9th from bib 29. Marco Schwarz into 11th; great effort by Sam Morse to go 14th from bib 38! After doing so well in the abandoned race Adrian Smiseth Sejerested was a DNF today. So, Kilde wins again, and by 0.61 which is a dominant margin – that also clinches Kilde's fifth crystal globe – back to back Downhill titles! Jack Crawford in 2nd and Marco Odermatt 3rd, with Kriechmayr in 4th which leaves him 68 points ahead of Odermatt in the Downhill standings with 1 Downhill race to go. And, finally, farewell to Travis Ganong and Steve Nyman who retire after this race!

Women’s Super G,  5 Mar 23, Kvitfjell [Olympiabakken]: That looks an interesting course, tricky! The weather looks nasty – visibility isn’t good but the snow is falling and heavier at the top – looks like the sort of day to sit in a café and drink gluhwein! Jasmine Flury away first and looking good until an error about 3 gates from home – good recovery! Ramona Siebenhofer green at 2, red at 3 and 4 and strangely slower on the final sectors to go 2nd, +1.83! Alice Robinson in touch at inter 4 but she’s into the safety netting – nasty hit. We are seeing her which is a good sign and she’s upright and seems OK – she’s making her way down on one ski, and now seems to have found the second ski!  There’s a delay while they refresh the blue lines – the snow isn’t getting any lighter, and the mist is thickening. Joana Haehlen nearly 2 seconds off the pace at inter 3 but better from there to go 2nd, +0.78. Laura Gauche into 4th; Jasmine Flury may have made an error but conditions were better for her and her time will take some beating unless the weather eases. Tessa Worley into 3rd, but she too isn’t happy with things. Even Mikaela Shiffrin is well into the red at inter 2 – over a second red at 4 but brilliant from there to go 2nd, +0.10 – very impressive in the conditions. Fastest in sectors 4 and 5 too. Michelle Gisin into 4th as conditions slightly improve. Corinne Suter making the most of better visibility on the top sections and into 3rd; Ragnhild Mowinckel just over a second off at 3 but she too has gained on the final sectors to go 4th, +0.32. Mirjam Puchner going well at inter 2 but she’s skied out; conditions look a bit better now!   Elena Curtoni into joint 3rd, +0.26, having made up nearly a second from inter 4. Federica Brignone looking a bit ragged – into 6th; Connie Hütter quite red at 3 and 4 and again making up time to go 5th, +0.29 – it’s all very close at the top; just 0.32 between the top 6. Lara Gut-Behrami only a second off at 4 but maybe the conditions aren’t as good on the finals sectors – she’s 7th, +0.62. Sofia Goggia on course and just under a second off at 3, very much in touch at 4 and she takes the lead, at last, by 0.19! That was impressive – and a brilliant recovery at the point where she skied out on Friday! Goggia leads form Flury and Shiffrin. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie has done what most others haven’t done – she’s actually lost time on the final sectors to go 8th. Tamara Tippler green at 1 and 2, in touch at 3 but red – what happened then, nothing obvious but she’s 12th, +1.24! Kira Weidle also green at 1 and 2 and nicely in touch at 4 – better than Tippler from there to go 4th, +0.38. The top sections seem to be getting faster but now the technical lower sections are causing more problems. Wendy Holdener still green at 3 but she too has lost time form there to go 4th, +0.37 – what a change to conditions! Ilka Stuhec also still green at 3 but once again the final sectors have bitten her and it’s just 10th? Conditions are now much better at the start, still misty and snowier lower down!  After another break it’s looking better all the way – this isn’t necessarily over; pity as it clashes with the biathlon mixed relay.  Nadine Fest into 6th; Franziska Gritsch massively green at 2 and 3 and she’s taken the lead by 0.31 – very lucky with the conditions, but that’s ski racing! Stephanie Venier has also had a good run, and she leads by 0.26, ahead of Gritsch, Goggia, Flury, Shiffrin and Holdener.  All change again as conditions remain good – Nina Ortlieb has taken over the lead by 0.12. That’s good news for Austria – all 3 podium places at present! Emma Aicher into 5th; conditions are very variable it seems! That’s the race over Nina Ortlieb takes the win ahead of Venier and Gritsch with Goggia 4th ahead of Aicher and Flury; Shiffrin in 7th. Well done to the podium, but a very odd race where conditions were so important – look at the bib numbers of the top 6 – 31, 29, 26, 16, 33, 1. I don’t think Goggia was very happy in her interview “we came down in criminal conditions and now there is the sun and everything is really fast”! The Austrians however are very happy!

Men’s Super G, 5 Mar 23 – Aspen [Ruthie’s Run]: I joined a little late with Stefan Babinsky leading from Loic Meillard and Justin Murisier; Marco Schwarz a DNF. Marco Odermatt taking a different line and he’s really pushing hard – he’s into the lead by 0.47, that was risky but impressive. Andreas Sander green at inter 1 and he’s keeping it green although less so later – he’s into 2nd by just 0.05! Jack Crawford also green early on and his coach has set this course – just 0.01 red at 3 but he’s off line and into the soft stuff – into 6th, +0.81. Alexis Pinturault also green early but quite red at 3 and he’s into joint 6th with Crawford. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde almost half a second up at inter 1, and the same at 2, just green at 3 though and the errors are creeping in – into 3rd, +0.34. I think that gives Odermatt the Super G small globe, if things stay as they are? Dominik Paris has skied out; so has Raphael Haaser – the light has changed at the top of the course! Vincent Kriechmayr into 6th; Nils Allegre goes 8th. Good run from Romed Baumann to take over 11th place with Niels Hintermann [bib 30] going 13th. Highest bib number in the top 20 is currently Gilles Roulin [33] in 18th; honourable mention to Henrik von Appen [Chile, bib 37] who got into joint 21st! Johan Clarey and River Radamus among the DNFs. Well, it’s still changing – Jared Goldberg [bib 45] into a very creditable 12th! A late charge by Erik Arvidsson [USA, bib 52] into joint 14th with Goldberg. Even better – Nico Gauer [LIE, bib 53] into an amazing 6th! Well done Marco Odermatt – I think that’s the Super G small globe? Great run by Andreas Sander to get 2nd and another podium for Kilde!

Östersund – Women’s 15 Km Individual, 9 Mar 23: Firstly it seems that JoBø has already won the large crystal globe – I think that’s number 5? No less than 98 starters for this race today – minus 13 degrees here, but it’s sunny! Marketa Davidova first away; Hanna Öberg is bib 6, and aiming for the Individual small globe. Davidova at S1 – nice shooting and away clear; Anna Magnusson clear and +8.4. Back at 1.5 Km Julia Simon is currently fastest, with Anna Gandler just 1.1 slower. Meanwhile Hanna Öberg has missed 2 at S1; Karoline Offigstad Knotten clear and +4.5. Røiseland has missed 2 as well, bit unlucky as they clipped the edge. Doro Wierer arguably a little slower than normal but she’s cleared and she leads out 9.3 ahead of Davidova. Julia Simon clear too and out +1.4. Denise H-W has missed 1 at S1. This race is a little odd as not only does every miss incur a full minute’s penalty but the prone and standing shoots alternate. Davidova clear at S2; Hauser has missed 2 at S1. Magnusson has missed 1 at S2; Hanna Öberg clear this time and out +1:49.2. Knotten now 10/10 and +8.7; odd after last week but Røiseland has missed 2 more at S2. Doro also 10/10 and 23.1 ahead of Davidova! Elvira Öberg clear at S1 but +16.0; Lisa Vittozzi clear at S1, but Simon has missed 2 at S2. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold clear at S1, +6.6; Lena H-G clear at S2 [10/10] and so is Denise H-W this time. Davidova now 15/15 – great shooting; Linn Persson clear at S1 and just faster than Knotten. Hanna Öberg has missed 1 more at S3; Knotten clear and also 15/15, +25.4. Doro Wierer clear again at S3 and leads by 35.7! Elvira has missed 1 at S2 but Lisa Vittozzi is 10/10 and 6.3 faster than Wierer. Tandrevold 15/15 and +12.0 as she leaves the range; Denise H-W [1,0,0] out 4th after S3 and only 14 seconds behind Knotten [0,0,0]. Pity – Davidova has missed 2 in her final shoot; back at S1 Sophie Chauveau clear and in touch, +9.2. Hanna Öberg [2,0,1,0] clear at S4 and +35.5, just ahead of Magnusson [0,1,0,1]. Knotten is the first to go 20/20 and she’s away; however Doro Wierer has just gone 20/20 as well and she’s 1:40.2 ahead of Knotten. At S3 Vittozzi is 15/15 and fractionally faster than Wierer. Tandrevold also 15/15, bit lucky with 1 but it went down, +13.8; Denise H-W clear at S4 but +1:26.9 on Doro’s time despite just 1 miss. Poor Chauveau has missed 4 at S2; Doro Wierer is flying – the Italians have the wax sorted and the shooting is great too. Julia Simon [0,2,0,0] +1:42.1 after S4. Looks like Knotten has had a fall; Elvira is [0,1,0,1]. At S4 Lisa Vittozzi is 20/20 but +6.8 against Wierer; good news for them is that Tandrevold has missed 2 at S4. Amy Baserga 10/10 and +25.4 after S2; Janina Hettich-Walz 15/15 and +41.4. At the finish Vittozzi has faded and ends 25.5 behind Doro Wierer; currently Wierer, Vittozzi and Denise Herrmann-Wick, then Simon, Lunder [20/20] and Voigt. Back at S3 Baserga has missed 1; at S4 Janina H-W has missed 2. Everyone through S3 now, doesn’t look like a late surprises – a good day for Italy with Doro Wierer taking a very powerful win and Lisa Vittozzi crossing the line second and taking the Individual [15Km] small crystal globe. Denise Herrmann-Wick taking the final podium place despite the 1 miss, but losing time to Wierer and Vittozzi! Julia Simon n 4th, ahead of Lunder [20/20 but still over 2 minutes back] and Voigt. Tandrevold ended up 7th, Chevalier 8th, Knotten 9th. The Öbergs had a bad day – Elvira [0,1,0,1] in 20th, Hanna [2,0,1,0] in 23rd; Linn Persson [0,2,2,0] 45th, Hauser [2,1,1,1,] in a very atypical 46th and Røiseland [2,2,1,0] down in 55th!

Östersund – Men’s 20 Km Individual, 9 Mar 23: No Bø brothers today, Samuelsson, QFM and Laegreid also off sick! Lucky Johannes has already got the big globe sewn up. At 2.8 Km the early leader is Antonin Guigonnat [bib 2], who is into S1 ahead of Zeni [bib 1] – Guigonnat has missed 1, Zeni 2, but Jakub Stvrtecky [CZE] is clear. Roman Rees also clear and +5.9; Andrejs Rastorgujevs clear and leads, 4.4 ahead, but Benedikt Doll has gone clear too, 6.6 faster! Johannes Dale in – clear +4.0; Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen now the best Norwegian, clear and 6.2 ahead. Fabien Claude very much to the low right of his targets – 2 misses. Guigonnat fast into S2 but he’s missed 1 at each shoot; Stvrtecky has missed 2 at S2. Roman Rees is 10/10; back at S1 Tommaso Giacomel is clear and +7.3 – the Italian skis seem to be going well today. Martin Ponsiluoma has missed 1 at S1; Rastorgujevs now 10/10 and 12.6 ahead of Rees; almost at the same time Benny Doll also 10/10 and 14.8 faster. Jesper Nelin clear at S1, +8.7; Dale has missed his 10th shot. At S1 Niklas Hartweg has missed 1 – the Individual globe is wide open with JoBø not racing today; Pepe Femling has missed 2. Christiansen at S2 – 1 miss but still only +49.5 so he’s fast; Simon Eder 10/10 but +37.2. At S3 Rees is 15/15; Ponsiluoma clear at S2. At S3 Rastorgujevs has missed 1 but Doll is clear again and 40 seconds faster than Rees. Dale is [0,1,1]; Christiansen [0,1,0] now +49.6 and Simon Eder is 15/15 but out behind Christiansen! Johannes Kühn has missed 1 at S2; Guigonnat is certainly consistent – he’s out from S4 having missed 1 at each shoot! Rees has missed 1 at S4; Ponsiluoma has missed 1 more at S3. Benedikt Doll is 20/20 and away – excellent shooting! After S4 it’s currently Doll, Rees, Dudchenko, Rastorgujevs, Stvrtecky and Guigonnat but there is 4:45.0 between those 6. Johannes Dale [0,1,1,0] into 3rd at S4; Christiansen [0,1,0,0] out 2nd at S4. At S3 Adam Runnalls [CAN] is 15/15 but +1:16.0; Kühn clear at S3 and in touch with Nelin – both with 1 miss. That’s good from Sebastian Stalder [1,0,0,0]currently 4th after the final shoot. Even better from Giacomel [0,1,0,0] who is out 2nd +1:01.8 so he’s pretty much matching Doll’s speed. Ponsiluoma [1,0,1,0] 7th after S4; Nelin has missed 2 here. At S3 Philipp Nawrath [1,0,0] out 3rd, ahead of Rees. Looks like Christiansen might have won the Individual small globe, especially as Hartweg is out of S4 +3:48.1 despite having missed just 1? Kühn has missed 2 more at S4. At the finish with 30 of 97 over the line it’s Doll, Giacomel, Christiansen, Rees, Stalder and Eder. Ponsiluoma into 6th. Eric Perrot 19/20 and out 4th, just ahead of Rees; shame, Nawrath has missed 1 more at S4 – but he’s faster than Rees. Perrot over the line in 5th, Nawrath holding on to 4th on the final lap at present – over the line 4th, ahead of Rees despite his extra penalty! Aleksander Fjeld Andersen into 10th, just ahead of Dale. That’s everyone through S4 – arguably Andersen was the last excitement! So, well done Benedikt Doll – the only one today with all 20 targets down and good ski speed – a well deserved win. A good run from Tommaso Giacomel [0,1,0,0] into 2nd, ahead of Christiansen [0,1,0,0] who takes the 20Km small globe. Nawrath [1,0,0,1] in 4th ahead of Rees [0,0,0,1] and Perrot [1,0,0,0], best of the French today. Ponsiluoma in 8th, Eder 9th, Andersen 10th, Nelin 15th, Kühn 18th, Fabien Claude, second Frenchman, 23rd!

Women’s Giant Slalom – Åre [Störtloppsbacken], 10 Mar 23: Course, which has been shortened a little, set by an Austrian coach – apparently it’s really cold! Petra Vlhova first away – probably not her best but she got down; Lara Gut-Behrami has skied out! I think that hands the GS globe to Shiffrin? Apparently not quite yet – commentator error! Ragnhild Mowinckel came close to repeating Lara G-B’s error – she’s into 2nd +0.43. Federica Brignone looking good – green at inter 2 and getting greener – she leads by 0.56 and fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4. Marta Bassino into 3rd; Sara Hector much more in touch and into 2nd, +0.09. Mikaela Shiffrin has the sun shining and she’s flying – green all the way and she leads by 1.04! Fastest in every sector too. Thea Louise Stjernesund into 4th; Tessa Worley goes 5th.  That’s a good run from Maryna Gasienica-Daniel, into 3rd and joint fastest on the last sector. It seems Aline Danioth and 3 of the French team have all had ACL problems and are out for the rest of this season. This is better news – Val Grenier just green at 3 and into 2nd, +0.58 – she’s the only one within a second of Shiffrin. Fifteen away – Shiffrin leads from Grenier and Brignone, then Gasienica-Daniel, Hector and Stjernesund. Good start after the break for Franzi Gritsch who’s into 3rd, +0.93; Mina Fuerst Holtmann has fallen near the finish – lucky I can’t lip read Norwegian! Another break – Shiffrin leads from Grenier and Gritsch. Tviberg a DNF, a backwards straddle – hope she’s OK, she has skied away but holding her knee. Estelle Alphand into 11th, just behind Vlhova. Oddly there is no data shown for sectors 3 and 4?  That was the last change to the top 20 – run 1 over, Shiffrin leads!
Run 2 – set by a Swiss coach and it has a few quite tricky bits, judging from the camera run. Katharina Truppe first away; Hilma Lövblom has lost 0.56 on the final sector to go 2nd by just 0.01! Zrinka Ljutic green at inter 3 but she’s down and into the soft stuff – she seems OK. Lisa Nyberg [SWE] green at 2, just green at 3 and into the lead by 0.29 – the crowd are happy! Nice run by Elisa Platino [ITA] to lead by 0.33; Roberta Melesi briefly green at 2 – into 2nd, +0.18. Stephanie Brunner has 0.35 in hand at the start and she’s building on it, over a second ahead at inter 3 and she leads by 0.96, despite a late scare! Paula Moltzan still suffering from her broken hand but even so into 2nd, +0.35 after a very good final sector. Alice Robinson red at inter 3 but she’s made up time on the final sector to lead by 0.17 – good recovery! Ragnhild Mowinckel into 3rd; that’s 15 away – Robinson leads from Brunner and Mowinckel, then Moltzan, Scheib and Platino. Nina O Brien into 5th; Ana Bucik 6th. Coralie Frasse Sombet has fallen but seems OK. Marta Bassino just red at 2 and 3 and she’s into 3rd; Estelle Alphand getting less green all the way and into 4th. Petra Vlhova holding her advantage and she takes over the lead by 0.55.  Tessa Worley red at 2 but she’s pulled a bit of time back to go 2nd, +0.36; Wendy Holdener in touch at 3 but she’s lost time form there to go 6th. Stjernesund into 4th; Sara Hector still green at inter 3 and she’s gained time from  there too to lead by 0.50. That’s the fastest time on run 2 by 0.03! Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 6th; Federica Brignone has gained a lot to inter 1 and more to 2, better still to 3 – lost a bit from there but she’s enough ahead to take the lead by 0.28, that’s a new best time for run 2. Franzi Gritsch has joined the DNFs; Val Grenier already red at inter 1 after almost going down, after that 5th is all she can manage. Hector guaranteed a podium finish. Mikaela Shiffrin on course, with 1.04 in hand – about half gone by inter 2 but she’s gained a little to 3 and kept that to the finish – that’s win number 86!! That’s a bit of history, very glad to see it. That is the GS small globe too! Another podium for Federica Brignone and Sara Hector too. Vlhova in 4th, ahead of Worley and Grenier; Brignone with the best time on run 2.

Men’s Giant Slalom – Kranjska Gora [Podkoren 3], 11 Mar 23: Looks nice there – some sun, but maybe too much! Loic Meillard the first away but Zan Kranjec is flying and he’s gone really well in the final sector to lead by 0.61! Marco Odermatt next and just 0.01 red at inter 2, back well into the green at 3 and he’s into the lead by 0.53 – “dancing through the turns” rather sums it up, after a slightly nervous start. Marco Schwarz has done the reverse – briefly green at inter 2 and then red – into 3rd, +0.94. Lucas Braathen into 5th; Henrik Kristoffersen green at inter 2, just red at 3 and into 3rd, +0.54. Alexis Pinturault into 4th; it seems the conditions are a bit warm, as the gaps to Odermatt are getting bigger! Stefan Brennsteiner more in touch and into 4th, +0.65. Manu Feller has DNF’d again; 15 away, Odermatt leads from Kranjec and Kristoffersen, then Brennsteiner, Pinturault and Schwarz. That seems to be it – none of the later starters seem to be able to make an impression – Alex Steen Olsen [bib 24] into 12th, and Roland Leitinger [27] is 19th but no change to the top 6 since Brennsteiner. Time to swap to Åre. One late effort worthy of note – Hannes Zingerle [bib 45] into 18th! Sadly Charlie Raposo was among the DNFs.
Run 2:  I missed this as we were out, on foot, buying food! Yet another win for Marco Odermatt, but delighted to see Alexis Pinturault produce the second fastest time on run 2 to go second. Henrik Kristoffersen in 3rd, ahead of Brennsteiner, Kranjec and Caviezel.

Women’s Slalom – Åre [Störtloppsbacken], 11 Mar 23: First run set by a Slovenian coach and it’s reported as fairly straightforward? Wendy Holdener first away – it doesn’t look straightforward to me! Ana Bucik into 2nd but +0.64; Petra Vlhova in touch and nicely green at inter 2 but a massive error drops her to 3rd, +1.21. Paula Moltzan going well and into 2nd, +0.33; Mikaela Shiffrin next and half a second ahead at inter 2 – she leads by a very impressive 0.94! Fastest in every sector too. Anna Swenn Larsson into 2nd, +0.69; Laurence St-Germain into 5th. Zrinka Ljutic a DNF; neat skiing from Hanna Aronsson Elfman into 4th, +1.22 – very popular with the crowd! Mina Fuerst Holtmann into 10th. A good effort from Emma Aicher [bib 26] into 13th; Melanie Meillard into 14th.  I thought Charlie Guest was looking good for a second run but she’s skied out. That was good from Cornelia Öhlund [SWE bib 36] – she’s into 18th.  Marie Lamure [FRA, bib 38] has done even better going into 10th! That’s run 1 over – Shiffrin takes an advantage of 0.69 into run 2.
Run 2: Set by a Slovakian coach. I joined late for this one, as we were out buying food, just as Petra Vlhova starts her run – nicely green at 1 but then another huge error puts her well red at 2 and now  she’s skied out. Melanie Meillard leads at present from Leona Popovic and Cornelia Öhlund. Marie Lamure has done a Vlhova – very green at inter 1 but then a big error  - she has finished but in 18th; a great effort to recover that! Sara Hector just red at inter 2 and getting redder from there – into 6th. Lena Dürr still green at 3 and she’s taken over the lead by 0.15. That’s a really nasty final gate – 7 to come!  Ana Bucik has gained to 1 but she’s red by 2 and into 4th. Laurence St-Germain just barely green at inter 3 but she’s been very fast from there to lead by 0.44. Paula Moltzan has her pole taped to her left hand but even with her injured hand that’s a fast run – into the lead by 0.05! Hanna Aronsson Elfman is flying from inter 2 to 3 but she’s straddled! She’s going to be very disappointed when she sees that run later – all going well and then lost in an instant. Wendy Holdener has gained all the way to inter 3 and takes the lead by a very impressive 0.62. Anna Swenn Larsson 0.28 red at 3 but she’s pulled back time from there to go 2nd by just 0.03! Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – 0.94 in hand; still 0.60 green at inter 3 and that’s a superb final sector to win by 0.92! That’s it – World Cup win 87 [I won’t repeat what Anna SW called it!]!! That’s the absolute record – 1 more than the great Ingemar Stenmark. Wendy Holdener in 2nd and Anna SW 3rd; Paula Moltzan in 4th, then Laurence St-Germain and Lena Dürr. What a race! Worth mentioning that Cornelia Öhlund, who finished 10th, was fastest on run 2 – only 17 years old too!  Late news – it seems Marie Lamure has been disqualified – presumably a straddle that we missed?

Men’s Giant Slalom – Kranjska Gora [Podkoren 3], 12 Mar 23: Another day, another GS, cold overnight so the snow is good. First away is Alexis Pinturault and he’s down, although I thought he didn’t look too happy with it? Henrik Kristoffersen into 2nd, +0.19; Lucas Braathen +0.54 and almost certainly still recovering from his recent operation. Marco Schwarz off the pace by his standards, +1.38; Marco Odermatt slightly red all the way to 3 but very neat from there to lead by 0.28 – fastest in sectors 3 and 4. Zan Kranjec into 5th; I suspect some of the athletes are having set up problems as there are some huge time gaps. River Radamus has broken a pole while on course – not a help! Filippo della Vite into 6th; Manu Feller very scrappy and off the pace. Amazing that only 4 racers are within a second of Odermatt – Pinturault, Kristoffersen, Braathen and Kranjec. Luca de Aliprandini into joint 7th with Schwarz, but that’s +1.66. That’s a welcome relief – Hannes Zingerle [bib 30] into 13th, +2.95 – highest bib number in the top 20. Now that accolade belongs to Livio Simonet [SUI, bib 34] who is currently joint 17th, with Loic Meillard; oh no it isn’t, it’s Mattias Rönngren [SWE, bib 37] now in 17th! Charlie Raposo apparently picked a shin injury yesterday – a DNF today. That’s run 1 over – in 30th place and just qualifying for run 2 is Erik Read, but +4.10!
Run 2: And the course has been set by Marco Odermatt’s coach – faster and much less twisty! Erik Read first away and safely down; Christian Borgnaes [DEN, bib 48] just red at 2 but he’s gained over half a second to 3 and he leads by 0.43! Joan Verdu [AND] has also gained from inter 3 and he leads by 0.42; not for long though as Thomas Tumler [SUI] has also had a good final sector and now he leads by 0.20. George Steffy [USA] just green at 3 but slower on the final sector and just 4th, +0.64. That’s better from Tobias Kastlunger [ITA, bib 58!] into 3rd place. Adam Zampa into 3rd, but that was scrappy for a man of his experience; Sam Maes [BEL] still hasn’t got his luggage back after Palisades but he's nicely in touch and leads by 0.36. Manu Feller into 4th, after a back injury yesterday; Loic Meillard trying to make amends for a disappointing first run – he leads by 0.57. Mattias Rönngren into 6th; that’s half way; Meillard leads form Maes and Tumler. Raphael Haaser into 2nd, but he's lost a good deal of time on that run. I’m swapping to the women’s Mass Start biathlon coverage with the skiing on data feed only. Rasmus Windingstad has lost a lot of time but he had enough in hand to lead by 0.16; Gino Caviezel just red at 3 and into 3rd. Great run from inter 2 by Filip Zubcic, gaining time and into the lead by 0.66. Not for long though as Marco Schwarz is green all the way and into the lead by 0.49! Luca de Aliprandini has made up time to inter 1 but just red at 3 and into 2nd. Filippo della Vite has just nicked the lead by 0.06, but again not for long as Zan Kranjec is 0.21 faster! Lucas Braathen into 2nd by just 0.01! That’s an astonishing margin, even given his advantage at the start – Henrik Kristoffersen into the lead by 1.30! Pinturault into 2nd, +0.38; Marco Odermatt just green at inter 2 but he’s been fast from there to take the double by 0.32 – 4th fastest on run 2 – Kristoffersen fastest! So, second win of the weekend for Odermatt, Kristoffersen in 2nd and Pinturault taking a second podium this weekend in 3rd. Then Kranjec, Braathen and della Vite. Nice to see Sam Maes ending up 14th, having gained 9 places on run 2. Loic Meillard in 11th, which is a bit more like it.

Östersund – Women’s 4 x 6Km relay, 11 Mar 23: Joined this very late – a busy day! At 18.8 Km Denise Herrmann-Wick [Germany 0+2] is just ahead of Marte Olsbu Røiseland [Norway 0+3] with Anais Chevalier-Bouchet [France 0+5] +17.5. In for S7 – Røiseland out with 1 spare used and over 20 seconds behind her are Anais C-B [2 spares] and Denise H-W [3]. Lisa Vittozzi [1] +47.2 and Hanna Öberg [0] +58.7. Final shoot – Røiseland clear and away! Anais C-B also clear and away, Denise H-W used 1 spare and out +38.1; Vittozzi also used 1 and out 10 seconds back from Germany, with Hanna Öberg [1] +1:10.9. I think the leading 4 have decided that they can’t change the positions and there’s a Mass Start to come – Norway [0+4] cruise to the win, France [0+7] take second and apparently the small globe [?], with Germany [0+7] in third. Italy 4th, then Sweden and Austria.

Östersund – Men’s 4 x 7.5 Km relay, 11 Mar 23: Joined this at S1, and with various absences due to illness there are some less well-known names today – it’s Christian Gow who leads out, just ahead of Cappellari [ITA] and Krcmar [CZE] – all clear. Tyshchenko 4th, Jesper Nelin also clear and 5th, just ahead of Roman Rees, Strømsheim [1 spare] 7th, +5.3 so it’s all very close. Latvia on the penalty loop. In for S2 – Michal Krcmar clear and out just ahead of Strømsheim and Cappellari tied at +0.8 then Tyshchenko, Rees and Gow. Nelin has used 2 spares and out 9th, +19.3, Lombardot [FRA] 14th, +31.7. Lithuania are doing 2 penalty loops. At exchange 1 it’s CZE/NOR/GER/ITA/SUI/CAN. Sweden in 7th; Nelin having pulled back some 6 seconds on that lap. At 8.8 Km Vebjørn Sørum [NOR} who just leads from Kühn, Bionaz and Mikyska. In for S3 and it’s Hartweg who makes the best of the tricky conditions – clear and out 5.6 ahead of Runnalls [CAN] – Sørum [1 spare] in 3rd, +8.2 then Bionaz [1], Pryma [0] and Stefansson [1]. Kühn [all 3] in 7th, +27.7 just ahead of Guigonnat [0]. Now for S4 – Hartweg clear again but so is Sørum who is out just 2.8 behind. Runnalls [3] +21.2, Bionaz [2] +26.3 then Pryma [1] and Guigonnat [2]. Kühn is on the penalty loop, as is Mikyska! Sørum past Hartweg on the lap and opening up a good gap – at exchange 2 it’s NOR/SUI [+13.3]/CAN/ITA/FRA/UKR. Sweden 9th, +51.8, Germany 10th, over a minute back. At 16.3 Km Johannes Dale has the gap to Serafin Wiestner up to 15.8 – the Norwegian coach certainly has a loud voice, he’ll be hoarse later! Eric Perrot just ahead of Trevor Kiers [CAN] and Patrick Braunhofer [ITA] just over 30 seconds back from Dale. S5 – Dale has missed 2 so it's Wiestner [1] who leads out a second ahead of Dale [2];; Perrot clear and +7.9, then Braunhofer [0] and Martin Ponsiluoma [0] now just 16.7 behind. Kiers [2] +20.9 and Nawrath [0] is on +25.6 – Sweden and Germany back in it, perhaps! On the lap Ponsiluoma in 4th but now just 9.9 back. In for S6 – Perrot is clear and out, but so is Ponsiluoma and just 4.2 back with Dale [1] and Wiestner [1] within 10 seconds. Braunhofer [2] +32.8, Komatz [0] and Nawrath [2] +37.8. Final exchange, Christiansen and Femling away pretty much together! Then SUI/FRA/AUT/GER +38.4. Poor handover by Nawrath and Doll – hope it was OK. At 23.8 Christiansen is now 8.0 ahead of Femling, with Fabien Claude 3rd, +17.2. Then Danuser [SUI], Jakob [AUT] and Doll, who is +51.5. And, Patrick, Asterix is a Gaul, asterisk is the word you wanted! In for S7 and the light has changed a lot – Christiansen has missed 1; he’s out but Fabien Claude is clear and just 2.2 back. Femling [1] +8.6, then Doll [0] +44.3 who is just ahead of Danuser [3]. Femling losing quite a bit of time on the lap. The leading 2 are in for the final shoot – Christiansen is clear and away, Claude has missed his first 2 and 1 more. Claude on the penalty loop, Femling has used all 3 spares! Poor Danuser is doing 2 loops and so is Giacomel. Christiansen out 45.9 ahead of Claude, then Femling +1:03.1 who is just 2 seconds ahead of Beni Doll [2]. On the lap Doll is away from Femling and closing on Claude, but I can’t see him making up that deficit. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen cruising in to take the win for Norway [0+7], France [1+8] in second and Germany [1+10] taking 3rd again! Sweden in 4th, then Ukraine and Austria. Interesting day – lots of activity on the penalty loop!

Östersund – Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start, 12 Mar 23: Another nice looking day although the tracks do sound icy. A slightly slow pace at first; At 2 Km Julia Simon and Hanna Öberg lead but the top 10 are only 2.5 seconds apart. In for S1 – Julia Simon clear and out just ahead of Doro Wierer and Anais C-B – leading 10 all clear and just 7.7 between them. Hanna Öberg has missed 1, so have Persson, Tandrevold and Elvira among others; Lisa Vittozzi has missed 2. All very close at 4.5 Km – less than 5 seconds between the top 10. Hanna Öberg has lost a little time though. Elvira losing even more – surely she’s not well? At S2 Simon clear again and gone, 2.2 ahead of Doro, then Jeanmonnot, Røiseland, Davidova and Voigt [+12.1] – all 10/10. Hanna Öberg clear this time but 21.5 back, Tandrevold also clear here +28.4, Denise H-W has missed 4 at S2, Elvira 2 more [1.2] and Anais C-B 3! At 7 Km the order of the top 6 is the same but the gaps are opening a little. The first standing shoot – Julia Simon clear and 7.0 ahead of Jeanmonnot who is 1 second ahead of Doro Wierer, then Røiseland and Lunder – all 15/15 - Hanna Öberg clear again and now +12.8, well ahead of Voigt who is 15/15. Tandrevold [1,0,1] in 10th +54.5. Final shoot and Simon has missed her last target! Doro Wierer is 20/20 and out 3.1 ahead of Jeanmonnot [also 20/20], with Simon +12.6. Røiseland also missed 1 here and out +32.2, then Colombo and Hanna Öberg [1,0,0,1], +48.5. Voigt 20/20 but +51.5 in 8th; Tandrevold [1,0,1,1] + 1:10.7 in 10th. Poor Denise H-W [0,4,1,0] in 26th just ahead of Persson and Elvira, both with 4 loops done. On the lap Doro is opening from Lou Jeanmonnot who has Julia Simon about 3 seconds back! That’s another win for Doro Wierer, with Jeanmonnot holding on to take second ahead of Julia Simon – good race. Røiseland seems to have just pipped Caroline Colombo for 4th, with Hanna Öberg in 6th. Voigt ended up 7th, with excellent shooting, Tandrevold in 9th, Vittozzi in 18th with 4 penalties, Denise H-W 23rd and Elvira Öberg 27th.

Östersund – Men’s 15 Km Mass Start, 12 Mar 23: Still no Bø brothers, no Samuelsson, no QHM, but Laegreid is back and starting today. At 2.5 Km we have 3 Norwegians and 1 Swede in the top 4 – Christiansen, Ponsiluoma, Dale and Laegreid. In for S1 and it’s Justus Strelow who is out first, just ahead of A F Andersen, Laegreid, Christiansen, Fabien Claude and Rastorgujevs, +2.6 – all clear. In fact the leading 21 were all clear, Ponsiluoma, Hartweg, Nelin, and Giacomel among those with 1 miss. On the lap Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen is beginning to open up a gap; at 5.5 Km he’s 8.8 ahead of Fabien Claude, with Eric Perrot, Laegreid, Dale and Krcmar close behind. Guigonnat has fallen, I think? In for S2, Christiansen clear and out, 10.3 ahead of Laegreid, with Kühn, Krcmar, Doll, Dale and Strelow all clear and in touch. Ponsiluoma clear at S2 and out in 9th, +14.9. Fabien Claude, Andersen, Nawrath, and Perrot among the 1 miss team, , Nelin and Hartweg among those who have missed 1 at both prone shoots, Doherty has missed 3 at S2 and Guigonnat has missed 4 at S2 and retired, possibly with an injured shoulder after the fall? At 8.5 Km Christiansen is 8.6 clear of the chasing pack, with Ponsiluoma up to 4th. Now for the standing shoots – Christiansen clear again and 8.2 ahead of Laegreid, then Kühn, Dale, Krcmar – all 15/15. Strelow has missed 1 but out 6th just ahead of Perrot and Andersen. Doll, Nawrath and Rees have all missed 1 at S3, Ponsiluoma has missed another 2, as has Fabien Claude. That Norwegian coach isn’t hoarse yet – I’m amazed! The chasers are a little closer at 10.5 Km but they are working harder; at 11.5 Km Christiansen is 8.6 ahead of Krcmar with Laegreid, Dale and Kühn close. Amazing that Martin Ponsiluoma, with 3 penalties, is ahead of Doll and Strelow who have just 1. That’s great shooting – Christiansen clear again and away! All the chasing 4 have missed at least 1! It’s Stalder who is out 2nd, +26.9 just ahead of Perrot an Dale, then Andersen, Krcmar and Doll, +38.4. Laegreid missed 2 and out +50.5, Kühn also missed 2 and +55.9, Strelow missed 2, Nawrath 3 at S4; Ponsiluoma [1,0,2,2] in 16th, + 1:21.3. At 13.5 Km Christiansen is 17.1 ahead of Dale, then Perrot 0.8 further back, with a gap to Krcmar and Stalder. Christiansen nicely clear but Dale and Perrot are very close, but if they get tactical Krcmar could well catch up. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen [0,0,0,0] cruises to the win, Johannes Dale [0,0,0,1] has beaten Eric Perrot [0,1,0,0] to the line. Krcmar in 4th, then Stalder and Andersen; Simon Eder has out-sprinted Beni Doll to take 7th. Laegreid in 13th, Ponsiluoma somehow 14th despite 5 penalties! An impressive performance by Christiansen, the only 20/20 today.

Downhills - 15 Mar 23: From, my point of view this was a bad day for the downhills - a busy morning so I missed pretty much all of it. The men's race was led by Romed Baumann for a while until Vincent Kriechmayr took over the lead by just 0.09. That was the last change to the top 6 as Kriechmayr took the win from Baumann and Andreas Sander. Daniel Hemetsberger was 4th, then Dominik Paris with Mattia Casse and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde tied in 6th.  Kilde had already won the Downhill small globe for this season - for the second year running, I think. Marco Odermatt was 15th!  The FIS report is HERE. Congratulations to the podium and to Kilde for the globe.
The women's race was won by the very much back in form Ilka Stuhec; not bad for someone who was thinking about retiring last year! Sofia Goggia was 0.51 back in second, but that was no real worry as she too had already lifted the discipline globe. Lara Gut-Behrami in 3rd, then Federica Brignone, Mirjam Puchner and Breezy Johnson. The FIS report is HERE
Super G races tomorrow and the women's race will see who takes the Super G globe!

Super G - Grandvalira Soldeu - El Tarter, 16 Mar 23: The women’s race is on first and this is the one I’m looking forward to as the globe isn’t yet decided and the competition is very close. There have been 7 Super G races so far this season and they have been won by 7 different winners!  As they head into this final race there are only 26 points between the top 4 in the standings and the leader at present, Elena Curtoni, is not one of the 7 winners! However Lara Gut-Behrami has won three Super G globes already and lies 2nd in the standings ahead of Conny Hütter and Ragnhild Mowinckel. Federica Brignone still has an outside chance too. Lots to look forward to; I note also that Curtoni crashed in yesterday’s downhill. Course set by a New Zealand coach – quite straight and fast, and the conditions are expected to get warmer – commentary team reckon the race should have started an hour earlier. This set will also be used for the men’s race – some of the women reckon it’s more like a mini downhill! Nina Ortlieb first away and looking rather tentative after her crash yesterday; Franzi Gritsch just green early but red at 3, better from  there to lead by 0.07. Kira Weidle into the nets – she’s up and seems OK. Kasja Vickoff Lie is over a second faster by inter 2 – a little off the pace lower down where it gets more technical but into the lead by 0.69. Joana Haehlen into 2nd; Federica Brignone next and 0.64 red at 2 – great work to get that to 0.47 green at 3 – she’s flying on the technical stuff and she leads by 0.97! That was a brilliant run in sectors 3 and 4. Corinne Suter nicely green at inter 2 but red by 3 and into 2nd, +0.33; Ragnhild Mowinckel just red at 2 and less red at 3 – now she’s into 2nd, +0.25 and fastest in sector 3. Mirjam Puchner into 6th; now it’s Lara Gut-Behrami and she’s 0.32 green at inter 1, still green at 3 and she leads by 0.22 – fastest in sector 1 which was probably the key? Marta Bassino into 5th; Mikaela Shiffrin well red at 1 and 1.57 off the pace at 3 – into 7th. Stephanie Venier into 10th; Conny Hütter red at 1 and 0.50 red at 3 and she’s into 5th – that’s looking good for Lara G-B! Elena Curtoni next and the last of the contenders – quite red at 3 and she’s slow [relatively] through the speed guns – just 8th +1.23. That’s Lara G-B’s fourth Super G globe, currently 45 points ahead of Brignone and 47 ahead of Mowinckel. Those points might change and the placings alter, but the discipline globe win is set! Tessa Worley into 9th; Sofia Goggia could help Curtoni get back to 3rd in the standings but she’s just 6th, so no change there. Michelle Gisin in touch and into 5th, which will help Mowinckel keep 3rd in the Super G standings. Wendy Holdener is in touch at 2 but she’s lost time to 3 in the warmer conditions – just 20th. A disappointing run from Ilka Stuhec into 21st; Petra Vlhova into 20th but a useful recce for the GS! Nicole Schmidhofer in fancy dress for her last run before retiring, although shorts might be a good choice in these conditions! So, Lara Gut-Behrami wins the race from Federica Brignone and Ragnhild Mowinckel, which is the same order for the Super G standings – Lara G-B on 413 points, Brignone 368 and Mowinckel 366. Corinne Suter 4th today ahead of Michelle Gisin and Conny Hütter.  
Men’s race: Apparently the plan is to salt the course before the men race which might cause a slight delay. No, it’s as scheduled – Raphael Haaser first away with the forecast saying temperatures might reach 14 degrees! Ryan C-S red at 2 but better from there to lead by 0.16. A bit disappointing from Mattia Casse, into 2nd, +0.13 but I would have expected him to lead. Jeff Read into 2nd, +0.01;  Marco Schwarz green at 2, better at 3 and he leads by 0.57 – that’s more like it! Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is bib 7 and green at 1 and 2, but just red at 3 – into 2nd, +0.42 – was that barracking from Shiffrin? Schwarz leads from Kilde and Ryan C-S. Marco Odermatt on course and green at 1, just 0.01 green at 2, much better at 3 and he leads by 0.29. Vincent Kriechmayr out early on his run; Andy Sander into 6th. Alexis Pinturault into 10th, not his best work! That’s half way – Odermatt leads from Schwarz and Kilde; Ryan C-S in 4th, then Read and Sander. We’ve lost sound! And now picture too; it keeps trying to show the same thing again and then freezing! We are getting pretty photos and some bits from the women’s race now! On the data feed I can see Jack Crawford is a DNF. That was pretty much it anyway – another impressive win for Marco Odermatt, ahead of the increasingly versatile Marco Schwarz with Aleksander Aamodt Kilde taking 3rd. Ryan C-S in 4th, then Read and Sander.

Team Parallel event - Grandvalira Soldeu - El Tarter, 17 Mar 23: I’m not a fan of this format so missing it was no real concern!  In the semis Switzerland [Rast, Simonet, Ellenberger & Bissig] beat Germany [Dürr, Sander, Hilzinger & Strasser] on time difference as they won 2 legs each [Dürr beat Rast, Simonet beat Sander, Ellenberger beat Hilzinger  and Strasser beat Bissig]. In heat 2 Norway beat Austria 3 – 1; Gritsch beat Tviberg, but then Haugan, Stjernesund and Windingstad all won their legs against Gstrein, Scheib and Pertl respectively. In the small final Austria won all 4 legs against Germany to take third. The big final, Norway v Switzerland was close – 2 wins all but Norway won on elapsed time [Stjernesund and Haugan won their legs, Simonet and Ellenberger theirs].

Giant Slalom/Slalom day 1 - Grandvalira Soldeu - El Tarter [Avet], 18 Mar 23: Today it’s GS for the men and slalom for the women – a different hill too. Henrik Kristoffersen first away on run 1 of the GS  – in his pre-race interview he suggested that this course set is too open for him, certainly it isn’t error free and he’s not happy with his run. Alexis Pinturault green all the way and into the lead by 0.61. Loic Meillard into 2nd, +0.52; Marco Odermatt red at inter 1, slightly green at 2 and then accelerating to lead by 1.09! Fastest in sectors 2, 3 and 4. The weather is deteriorating, the flat light is getting worse and the clouds are gathering. Marco Schwarz off the pace and 5th; Lucas Braathen just green at 1 and 2 but then well into the red at 3 and he goes 3rd, but +1.14. River Radamus off form and the first DNF. At present it’s Odermatt in control, well ahead of Pinturault, Braathen, Meillard and Kristoffersen – the only ones within 2 seconds! Ah, Luca de Aliprandini into 5th, +1.68. Stefan Brennsteiner into 7th, +2.19; I’m a fan of Manu Feller but he’s off form today, +2.87. Gino Caviezel into 7th, +1.87; Rasmus Windingstad nicely in touch at inter 2 but then losing time to go 6th, +1.69. At last, Alex Steen Olsen in touch and into 3rd, +1.12, just 0.02 ahead of fellow Norwegian Lucas Braathen. That’s run 1 over – Odermatt over a second clear of anyone else; Pinturault in 2nd, then Steen Olsen, Braathen, Meillard and di Aliprandini. Kristoffersen in 8th, +1.70; Kilde in 20th, Kriechmayr 24th!
Run 2 – GS: Joined a bit late – Filippo della Vite just into 2nd, behind Thomas Tumler, Manu Feller in 3rd. Filip Zubcic well green at 1 and 2, less so at 3 and over skied the final section to end up 4th. Zan Kranjec has gained to inter 2, lost nearly half of it to 3 and he too has lost time on the rougher close out – into 3rd!  Marco Schwarz has gained from 2 to 3 and he’s better on the final section to lead by 0.27. Rain is moving up the valley – the women’s slalom run 2 might be tricky? Big error from Brennsteiner and into 8th; Gino Caviezel has almost doubled his advantage to inter 1, but into the red at 3, big error and just 7th. Henrik Kristoffersen has almost doubled his advantage to inter 1, 0.92 ahead there, back to 0.42 green at 3 and he leads but only by 0.18 with 7 to come. Rasmus Windingstad red at 1, back to just green at 2, still OK at 3 but the final section has taken its toll – 4th, +0.49 – it’s rough and bumpy there! Luca de Aliprandini into 6th; Loic Meillard already red at inter 1 and only 7th.  Lucas Braathen into the red at 3 and he goes 3rd; Alex Steen Olsen still 0.51 green at 3 despite a massive error, then another mistake and he’s lost a ski – DNF.  Alexis Pinturault still green at 3 but by just 0.03, and he’s just 7th. That final section is getting very rough. Just Marco Odermatt to come with 1.70m in hand – he’s gained from 1 to 2 and more to 3 – he takes the win by an astonishing 2.11! That’s the second best time on run 2 despite the conditions! Henrik Kristoffersen in 2nd, having gained 6 places with Marco Schwarz 3rd, and he gained 8 places! Braathen 4th, Tumler in 5th with the best time on run 2 ang 11 places gained! Windingstad 6th. Next season may be rather boring if Odermatt goes on like this!


Run 1 – Women’s Slalom: Same slope as the men’s GS; Petra Vlhova will be first away, on a course set by a Swiss coach? Vlhova away, it looked neat and that’s a tricky looking set – the snow is already getting softer on the lower section.  Now Mikaela Shiffrin and she’s just green at 1 and 2, 0.16 ahead at 3 and then it’s gone slightly wrong – she looks tired and into 2nd, +0.59! Wendy Holdener into 3rd, +1.16; Leona Popovic more in touch and she’s into 2nd, +0.32. Anna Swenn Larsson into 3rd, 0.03 ahead of Shiffrin, +0.56; Ana Bucik into joint 6th with Paula Moltzan, +1.29. No further changes to the top 6, which probably isn’t surprising as the temperature rises.  Run 1 over.
Run 2:  Sleet at the start, rain at the finish; course set by an Austrian coach. The weather is already worse – proper snow at the start. Jess Hilzinger away and safely down. Katharina Truppe into 2nd, Amelia Smart into 3rd.  Martina Dubovska had 0.76 at inter 1 but it’s all gone – into 2nd, +0.08. Katharina Liensberger has got lost – DNF; Thea Louise Stjernesund 0.94 ahead at inter 1 but only 0.23 ahead at 3 and she’s into 3rd, +0.20 – that’s a lot of lost time! Hanna Aronsson Elfman has gained a little to 1, still 1.01 ahead at 2, just 0.39 left at 3 then a huge error and it’s 7th.  Elena Stoffel losing time all the way and she’s a DNF; Franzi Gritsch has fallen after the second gate. Sara Hector on course and still has 0.73 of her advantage left at inter 3 – she’s actually gained from there to lead by 0.88! Michelle Gisin still struggling with her new kit – into 4th; Laurence St-Germain has skied out – Jess Hilzinger still 2nd and has gained 11 places. Mina Fuerst Holtmann in touch to 3 but another error on that tricky gate and she’s 9th! Lena Dürr into 10th; Paula Moltzan just 0.01 green at inter 3 and “that” gate has taken another scalp – into 12th, +4.39! Ana Bucik out early on; Wendy Holdener has lost a lot from 2 to 3, she’s into 2nd, +0.31 – Hilzinger down to 3rd, having gained 15 places! Mikaela Shiffrin has gained from the start to inter 1, lost a bit to 2, more gone by 3 but she’s finished well through the gate – not exactly error free but she leads by 0.67!  Anna Swen Larsson into the red at inter 1, back green at 2 and she’s straddled. Leona Popovic has apparently gained a full second from 1 to 2, which seems odd, although suddenly the sun is out – the timing shows her as leading by 0.43! I do hope that’s correct. Petra Vlhova just red at 2, same at 3 – the sun is still out and she’s gained from there to lead by 0.43. So, a very peculiar race – Petra Vlhova skied that last sector brilliantly to take the win, ahead of Leona Popovic who gets her first World Cup podium with Mikaela Shiffrin taking another podium. Sara Hector in 4th, Holdener 5th and Hilzinger 6th, still with the fastest time on run 2, and a gain of 16 places.

Giant Slalom/Slalom day 2 - Grandvalira Soldeu - El Tarter [Avet], 19 Mar 23: This time the women are going first on their Giant Slalom – seems Tessa Worley could be retiring today, if the rumours are true? First away today will be Mikaela Shiffrin – she has already won the overall globe and the slalom and GS small globes. Course set by a Norwegian coach and it looks fast – Shiffrin down and looking happy! Lara Gut-Behrami next and red at 1, redder at 2 – she’s lost a pole too – down but +0.80. Marta Bassino into 2nd, +0.63; now, Tessa Worley – a bit off the pace and +1.05. Petra Vlhova is bib 5 and also quite red at 2 and she’s down – no problems, she’s OK, but it does suggest a shake up in the GS standings. Now here’s another surprise – Federica Brignone green at inter 1, but she’s missed a gate and she’s out too! The clatter of calculators as everyone tries to work out who will get the remaining GS standings places [and the cash from a podium] – just to complicate things, Sara Hector has also skied out! What were they doing last night?? What odds against 3 such experienced racers all going out in succession? Ana Bucik into 5th, +1.27; Val Grenier in touch at inter 2, a good recovery from an error and she’s into 2nd, +0.62, just 0.01 ahead of Bassino. Thea Louise Stjernesund in touch at 2, on a course set by her coach, but she’s lost a bit from there to go 4th, +0.71. Ricarda Haaser into 7th; Alice Robinson 9th. That’s a good run from Maryna Gasienica-Daniel – steady from inter 2 to go 4th, +0.65, just 0.02 behind Bassino. Paula Moltzan into 10th; Ragnhild Mowinckel into 10th in her turn. That looks like being the last change to the top 10, that big roller is still causing errors. Yes, that’s run 1 complete with no late changes to the top 10. Shiffrin leads, then Grenier, +0.62, Bassino, +0.63 and Gasienica-Daniel, +0.65!
Run 2: Well, Vlhova, Brignone and Hector are out, leaving Lara Gut-Behrami and Marta Bassino with a chance to move up to 2nd in the GS standings – I’ll leave the maths during the race to the commentary team! The course has been set by a French coach and from the TV run it looks tricky – I’m sure the camera person almost missed at least two gates? Estelle Alphand first away and down; Michelle Gisin has skied every race on the World Cop this season – she’s 1.01 red at 3 but better from there, to end just 0.01 behind Alphand. Some errors from Andrea Ellenberger also making mistakes on the top section but a better later section has got her the lead by 0.32. Katharina Liensberger into the lead by 0.10; Stephanie Brunner goes 3rd, +0.13. Coralie Frasse Sombet, on her final race before retiring, is hugely green at inter 1 and although she’s losing from there she’s into the lead by 0.46! Apparently she aims to return to the World Cup as a physio! Marie Therese Tviberg just green at inter 1 but she’s actually gaining time from there, especially in the final sector, to lead by 0.85. Franzi Gritsch has gained from 1 to 2 but she’s lost 0.68 from there to go 2nd by 0.05. That’s good from Alice Robinson – 0.88 green at 3 and she leads by 0.43. Wendy Holdener into 4th – the piste is getting rough! Mina Fuerst Holtmann green at 2 and into the lead by 0.13 – a good final sector. Ragnhild Mowinckel into 3rd – the slow motion shots show just how very bumpy it’s getting. How did Ricarda Haaser recover that – into 6th. Tessa Worley into 5th – I do hope she doesn’t retire but it seems she will do so. Lara Gut-Behrami starts with 0.62 in hand; slightly better at inter 1, just 0.28 green at 2 and she leads by 0.18. Thea Louise Stjernesund has gained from 1 to 2 and more still to the finish to lead by 0.40; that’s cost Lara G-B 20 points in the standings! That’s her season’s best in GS. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel into 5th; Marta Bassino green at 1, just red at 2 and into 4th, +0.63 – crucially 2 places behind Lara G-B, who will now take 2nd in the GS standings. Bassino takes 3rd in the standings. Val Grenier well in touch all the way despite a few errors – into 2nd, +0.14. Just Mikaela Shiffrin to come – she’s lost a little to inter 1, a little more to 2, and she crosses the line just 0.06 ahead – that’s win 88!! So, a 7th GS win for Shiffrin this season, ahead of Thea Louise Stjernesund [a massive PB for her] and Val Grenier. Lara G-B in 4th, then Holtmann and Bassino. That means the final points totals in the GS standings are 800 for Shiffrin, 532 for Lara G-B and 515 for Bassino. Vlhova lost 2 places today to finish on 486.

Men’s Slalom, Run 1: Set by a German coach; Manu Feller will be the first to try it – apparently it’s a very technical course. The slalom small globe is still not decided, Braathen leading at present from Kristoffersen and Yule. That looked a good run from Feller? Henrik Kristoffersen red at 1 and 2, 0.21 red at 3 but he’s stepped up from there to lead by 0.04 – fastest in sectors 3 and 4. Lucas Braathen nicely green at inter 1 and 0.71 ahead at 2; over a second green at 3 but he’s lost more than half by the finish – still good enough to lead by a massive 0.54. Fastest in sectors 1, 2 and 3 but only 3rd in sector 4. Ramon Zenhaeusern red at 1 and getting redder – at inter 3 he’s 0.59 red but from there he’s really flying – he leads by 0.26! What a final sector – 0.85 faster there than Braathen! Having your coach set the course hasn’t worked for Linus Strasser, +2.14. It looks like the course isn’t going to hold up well? Daniel Yule next, green at 1, red at 2, big error on the steep and he’s 6th, +2.30! Loic Meillard still just 0.07 red at 3 but an error on the same gate as Yule and he’s 5th, +0.98. That’s good from Timon Haugan – in touch at 3 and he’s into 3rd, +0.67. Albert Popov into 7th; Dave Ryding green at 1, red at 2 but then errors and he’s 1.34 off at inter 3 – into 11th, +2.50. By contrast Fabio Gstrein green all the way to 3 and into 3rd, +0.55. Alex Steen Olsen into 8th; Clement Noel a DNF, again. Marco Schwarz 10th; Ramon Zenhaeusern leads from Braathen, Gstrein, Haugan, Kristoffersen and Feller. I think that might be the end of any changes to the top 10? The snow conditions really are bad; Marc Rochat did well to get into 12th. That’s run 1 over, Dave Ryding in 18th.
Run 2: Joined a little late as I was watching the Men’s Mass Start biathlon – nasty conditions there! Course set by Alex Vinatzer’s coach and Vinatzer is leading as I joined – Adrian Pertl just into 2nd; that’s a disappointing run from Daniel Yule – over a second red at 3 and he’s out – no small globe for him. Sadly I missed Dave Ryding, who was also a DNF. Linus Strasser into the red at 2 and he’s only 6th. At present it’s Vinatzer leading from Pertl, Seb F-S, Pinturault and Sala. That’s much better from Marc Rochat – he’s gained from 2 to 3 and he leads by 0.12. Marco Schwarz red from 2 and getting redder – into 6th; Albert Popov has gained a little to inter 1 but red by 3 and only 7th – the rough surface is getting more tricky. Alex Steen Olsen still just green at 3 and into 4th, +0.31; Loic Meillard has 1.04 in hand as he starts – even so he’s red at inter 3 and he’s only 9th, +0.76 - that’s a lot of time lost! Now – Manu Feller, he’s down from 1.18 green at the start to just 0.13 green at 1 – possibly caught a tip? He’s just 11th, +094; Henrik Kristoffersen starts 1.22 ahead, still 1.00 ahead at 2, 0.66 at 3 and he takes over the lead by 0.39. Timon Haugan next and already red at inter 1 – into 7th +1.00. Fabio Gstrein steady to inter 2and still green at 3, but he’s fallen! Kristoffersen will be on the podium! Lucas Braathen next and he’s gone from 0.54 green at the start to 0.81 at inter 1, still 0.59 green at 3 and he takes the lead by a massive 0.57 – great effort on that lower section. That’s the small globe for Braathen – well done him! Just Ramon Zenhaeusern to come, he’s gained a bit from 1 to 2, slightly red at 3 but again he’s great on the steep to take the win by just 0.06! Good effort - Ramon Zenhaeusern takes the win ahead of Braathen and Kristoffersen. ! The points in the crystal globe are 546 to Braathen, 494 to Kristoffersen and 467 to Ramon Zenhaeusern who steals 3rd from Daniel Yule. What an end to the season!

Oslo Holmenkollen – Season End – Sprints, 16/17 Mar 23: Lots of news about  retirements after these  final races – including Røiseland, Hermann-Wick and Chevalier-Bouchet.

Men’s 10Km - I have actually been to Holmenkollen but sadly in thick fog, so I missed the view! JoBø back in action today, as is Tarjei and so is QFM. Tommaso Giacomel the first away and currently holding on to the fastest time at 1.7 Km – Sturla Holm Laegreid is 2.1 slower, but he knows this course rather better. Giacomel quite slow at S1 but even so he’s missed 1; we’ve lost the video again, this is poor by Eurosport – OK, it’s back.  Justus Strelow has cleared all 5; so has Vytautus Strolia, who is quicker but Laegreid has also just gone 5/5 and he leads by 10.8. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen has also missed 1 – the picture keeps breaking up! Jesper Nelin clear and 9.3 behind Laegreid; Beni Doll clear and +3.7 – now we have another commentary overtalking the UK commentary. Giacomel clear at S2 and back at S2 Rastorgujevs is clear and 2.0 faster than Laegreid. QFM clear at S1 and +12.0; Strelow is 10/10 but 5.5 slower than Giacomel despite his 1 miss at S1! Laegreid is 10/10 and he’s out 42.1 ahead of Giacomel; Simon Eder 10/10 and +27.0. Interesting – at 1.7 Km JoBø is 9.5 ahead of Laegreid’s time; Martin Ponsiluoma +18.3 there. Ha, JoBø at S1 and clear – out 16.0 ahead of Rastorgujevs who is skiing faster than Laegreid at present. Jesper Nelin has missed 3 at S2, his coach has his head in his hands – it did look like he had gone too hard as you could see the barrel moving as he shot. No such problems for Beni Doll – 10/10 and +5.8 against Laegreid. Ponsiluoma clear atS1 and out 3rd, +17.6. Rastorgujevs has missed his final shot at S2 – even so he’s still in touch, +10.7 and skiing faster than Laegreid and Doll. QFM also 10/10 but also slower than Rastorgujevs.  Tarjei Bø has missed his 5th at S1; JoBø has missed 1 at S2 but even so he’s out 16.1 ahead of Laegreid, who is fading a lot on the final lap. Rastorgujevs also missed 1 at S2; Ponsiluoma has left S2 with 10/10 and just 7.2 behind JoBø in 2nd.  At the finish Doll leads from Rastorgujevs, Laegreid and QFM but JoBø is really flying. Once again Tarjei has missed his final shot, this time at S2 and it was a big miss. Ponsiluoma has lost a lot to JoBø by 8.4Km and he’s also skiing slower than Doll on the early stages of the final lap, but still 5.2 ahead.  JoBø over the line 28.9 ahead of Doll; Ponsiluoma has steadied against Doll and he’s over the line in 2nd, still 5 seconds up on Doll.  It looks very much like JoBø will win today – that means he’s won every sprint this year! Johannes Kühn 10/10 but 7th, +39.1; Tarjei over the line in 16th at present. Nawrath has missed his 10th shot – out 17th. That’s a good effort, Kühn over the line 6th at present ahead of QFM and Christiansen; Nawrath finishes, currently in 9th, just behind Christiansen. Amazing race by JoBø – 1 miss and still 23.9 ahead of Ponsiluoma who hit all 10! Doll in 3rd, then Rastorgujevs, Laegreid and Kühn.

The women’s race on 17 March was cancelled due to very poor weather conditions and rescheduled for 18 March, as a result of which the women’s pursuit has been cancelled. I see that Tiril Eckhoff has also confirmed that she will also be retiring this season – pity as I would have liked to see her go out while on form! Women’s 7.5 Km Sprint – 18 Mar – after the men’s pursuit! Aita Gasparin first away; fastest at 0.9 Km early on is Lisa Theresa Hauser; Røiseland +3.9 there, Elvira Öberg +6.7. Aita G at S1 – 1 miss which looked a bit unlucky. Lou Jeanmonnot clear at S1; Elvira has missed 2 and lucky with a third. Suvi Minkkinen saw Elvira miss and moved her sights – she’s clear and fastest there so far. Marte Olsbu Røiseland clear atS1 and away – great grouping; Dunja Zdouc [AUT] also clear and 4.5 faster than Røiseland. Anais Chevalier-Bouchet has missed 1 at S1; Hanna Öberg clear at S1 and out 1.8 ahead of Zdouc. Jeanmonnot at S2 and she’s missed 1; Knotten at S1 and clear, +7.9. Denise Herrmann-Wick at S1 – a problem with the final shot a round didn’t feed properly but she’s clear and out just ahead of Røiseland, +5.4 against Hanna Ö. Doro Wierer has missed 1 at S1, Røiseland has missed 2 at S2 and Elvira another 1. Zdouc has missed one of her standing shoot; Minkkinen 10/10 and away. That was quick from Lisa Vittozzi [1,0] at S2 and out +6.5. Anais C-B is [1,1], back at S1 Julia Simon is clear and fractionally faster than Hanna Ö, who has just gone 10/10 and 24.0 ahead of Vobornikova who is also 10/10. Tandrevold clear at S1 and well in touch; Denise H-W has cleared at S2 and she’s out 6.0 ahead of Hanna Öberg there. At 5.9 Km Hanna Öberg is 28.3 ahead of Vobornikova who is just ahead of Vittozzi’s time there. I missed that – Hauser [2,2],Davidova [1,1]. Julia Simon in for S2 but she’s missed 1 – looking good overall but not so good for the sprint globe. At 6.9 Km Denise H-W has lost a little to Hanna Öberg, who was +10.7 at 5.9 Km but is now +6.1. Over the line Denise H-W is 3.5 ahead. Tandrevold has missed 2 at S2; Anna Magnusson atS1 – clear and in touch, as is Femsteinevik. Chloe Chevalier also clear at S1 and faster than Denise H-W there! At the finish it’s currently Denise H-W who leads Hanna Öberg by 3.5, then Vobornikova, +42.7 – Julia Simon has just crossed the line into 3rd, +39.3 with 1 miss. It seems that is the overall title secured? Anna Magnusson 10/10 but 20.7 behind Denise H-W and 13.3 behind Hanna Öberg; Femsteinevik has missed 1 at S2. Chloe Chevalier a little slow on the range at S2 but 10/10 and out +17.5. Mona Brorsson also 10/10 but +34.9; Magnusson at 6.9 Km and nicely ahead of Vobornikova; she’s over the line in 3rd, ahead of Julia Simon! Meanwhile back at S1 Paula Botet [FRA] is not only clear but just 0.2 behind Simon’s time, ahead of Hanna Öberg! That’s a shame – Chloe Chevalier fading a little, 0.3 behind Magnusson at the finish! At present it’s Denise H-W’s race [and the sprint globe], ahead of Hanna Öberg, then Magnusson, Chevalier, Simon and Vobornikova. Lisa Vittozzi in 78th, ahead of Janina H-W. Paula Botet at S2 – one miss, arguably a little unlucky – out 17th, +49.2. Good run by Marthe Krakstad Johansen, 10/10 and over the line 18th, so a top 20 finish. So Denise H-W has “done a Lesser” by winning on her final weekend, and she’s won the sprint globe too. No late changes to the top 8, Anais C-B in 9th and Davidova 10th. Odd to see that Knotten is the best Norwegian, down in 12th. Doro Wierer 23rd, Tandrevold 27th and Røiseland 32nd.

Oslo Holmenkollen – Season End – Men’s 12.5 Km Pursuit, 18 Mar 23: All rather odd – a pursuit before the second sprint! JoBø away with 24 seconds advantage, with Martin Ponsiluoma away in second. At 1.7 Km the gap to Ponsiluoma is 28.7! JoBø in for S1 – a bit low, but clear and out; Ponsiluoma has missed 3! Beni Doll clear and out +36.8, Laegreid also clear and +52.0 then QFM clear and +56.6. Christiansen and Kühn have both missed 1, Rastorgujevs 2. At 4.2 Km the gap between JoBø and Doll is now 50.8, Laegreid and QFM also losing time. Johannes in for S2 – clear again and out, but a bit lucky with at least 1. Doll has missed his first; Laegreid 10/10 and +55.8, QFM also clear again and +1:06.2 about 4 seconds ahead of Doll. Tarjei Bø 10/10 and 8th from 20 at the start. Niklas Hartweg also 10/10 and out 10th from 32! At 6.7 Km JoBø is over a minute clear, Doll closing on QFM, Laegreid about 14 clear of those two. JoBø shooting very fast but he has missed 1 at S3; Laegreid clear and +45.0, QFM also 15/15 and +58.2. Beni Doll has missed his last shot here, so out just behind Tarjei who is clear with Hartweg also 15/15 and 10 seconds further back. Further down the field Ponsiluoma is [3,0,1], Christiansen [1,1,1] Rastorgujevs [2,1,2] and Kühn [1,2,3]. Well, JoBø has cleared the last 5, breaking is position, hushing the crowd and then making very sure of the last one! QFM 20/20 and he’s out 10 seconds ahead of Laegreid who missed 1. Doll clear here but 19 seconds back on Laegreid. Fabien Claude out 5th ahead of Hartweg who is 20/20, but just 7 seconds clear of Simon Eder. Tarjei has missed 2and out 12th. On the lap the podium looks settled; Johannes cruising, thinking of the Mass Start tomorrow! Johannes Thingnes Bø has won all the sprints and all but 1 of the pursuits – another impressive win today. QFM second with perfect shooting, Sturla Holm Laegreid in 3rd. Beni Doll 4th ahead of Fabien Claude [up from 19th] and Niklas Hartweg [up from 32nd]. Ponsiluoma in 7th [from2 at the start, 4 4 penalties]. Other gainers include Seppala [22-11], Tarjei Bø [20-12], Femling [45-17], Doherty [29-19], Fratzscher [27-21], Mikyska [38-24], Strømsheim [43-26], Strolia [49-34], Stvrtecky [53-35 despite 5 penalties!!], Pryma [50-38] and Dudchenko [58-39]. Going the wrong way the list includes Rastorgujevs [4-18], Invenius [12-22], Guigonnat [13-23], Vidmar [15-25], Christiansen [8-32, 4 penalties], Hedegart [28-40], Kühn [6-50, 9 penalties!!] and Horn [24-52, 6 penalties]. Well done JoBø, nice to see QFM and Laegreid coming back on form after illness.

Oslo Holmenkollen – Season End – Mass Starts, 19 Mar 23: Men first today over 15 Km – very damp and misty looking! It’s all very quiet – no commentary, I wonder if Eurosport have messed up again and put the range cameras on the main, advert free, feed as they did last week? Yes, they have – sloppy, although we did get to see the race advert free anyway! JoBø and Ponsiluoma the early leaders at 2.2 Km, Laegreid about 8 seconds back with Christiansen, QFM, Fabien Claude, Dale and Tarjei Bø. All very close though and the fog won’t help the shooting. In for S1 – JoBø and Ponsiluoma have both missed 1; it’s Beni Doll who leads out, 1.2 ahead of QFM, then Fabien Claude, Christiansen, Laegreid and Hartweg [+2.8] – all clear. Ponsiluoma in 11th, +9.2, so a fast penalty loop. At 5.2 Km Fabien Claude just leads from QFM, Christiansen, Laegreid, Hartweg and Doll; JoBø up to 8th, +1.5. It’s raining hard and visibility is variable around the lap. In for S2 – Hartweg clear and leads out, 2.0 ahead of Christiansen with JoBø 3rd, +5.5 – all clear at S2. Tarjei in 4th, ahead of Stalder and Rastorgujevs, all 10/10. Fabien Claude, Laegreid, and QFM among this with a miss here, Ponsiluoma is [1,2] as is Dale, Doll has missed 2. At 8.2 Km JoBø is 9.4 ahead of brother Tarjei, then Christiansen, Hartweg, Rastorgujevs and Stalder [+12.5]. JoBø in for S3 – clear and away; Christiansen 15/15 +14.5, Hartweg also 15/15 +19.5. Tarjei has missed 1, out just ahead of QFM [0,1,0], Laegreid, Stalder and Eder. Rastorgujevs missed 2 here, Ponsiluoma [1,2,1] in 14th but ahead of Rees and Fak who are both 15/15. Beni Doll [0,2,2] now 22nd, Dale 26th. At 11.2 Km it looks like Christiansen and Hartweg might be content not to try to catch JoBø who is over 35 seconds ahead. I think Christiansen might be concentrating on the Mass Start small globe? Final shoot – Johannes has missed his first, but got the rest fast, he’s away. Hartweg and Christiansen both 20/20 and it’s the Swiss who leads out +16.7 to Christiansen’s +19.4. QFM [0,1,0,0] +34.3, then Laegreid [0,1,0,0] +38.4 with Stalder +54.9. A disappointing day for Germany – their best is Roman Rees, 20/20 but +1:25.0 as he leaves the range. Doll has missed 5 today. Compare that to Martin Ponsiluoma [1,2,1,0] who left the range in 8th, +58.6. On the lap Niklas Hartweg has dropped Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen who should have the small globe wrapped up. JoBø heading for his 19th win this season. Hartweg takes a very well-deserved 2nd, with Christiansen just holding on to 3rd, chased by QFM who ended just 1.6 behind. Laegreid 5ht with Ponsiluoma somehow 6th despite those 4 penalties! Tarjei in 7th, then Seppala, Stalder and Eder. Rees in 13th, beaten by Fabien Claude who had 3 penalties! No Samuelsson today and Johannes Kühn was apparently quite ill after yesterday so didn’t start today either. What to say about Johannes – quite amazing!

Women’s 12.5 Km Mass Start: It doesn’t look any better there, possibly a bit worse – the fog does look thicker. Elvira Öberg a DNS today, probably a good idea, and Linn Persson also not starting after a fall yesterday. There seem to be a lot of French fans there! Difficult skiing in these conditions – at 1.7 Km Julia Simon just ahead of Denise Herrmann-Wick, Hanna Öberg, Anais C-B, Davidova and Vittozzi [+2.4]. I can barely see the athletes as they enter the range - Hanna Öberg leads out 2.5 ahead of Simon, then Vittozzi, Davidova, Tandrevold and Røiseland [+6.9] – all clear. Anais C-B, Doro Wierer and Denise H-W among those with 1 miss and about 30 seconds back. Unusually Voigt is among those with 2 misses, which includes Chevalier and Lunder; Columbo and Eder have missed 3 each. At 4.2 Km the leading 8 are separated by just 4.1 seconds. Denise H-W isn’t closing and Doro is losing ground. In for S2 – Julia Sion clear and out just 1.8 ahead of Hanna Öberg, then Jeanmonnot +10.8, all 10/10, with Hana Kebinger also 10/10 but +28.3 in 4th. Tandrevold, Davidova, Magnusson and Røiseland among those with 1 miss; Vittozzi has missed 3 here, Denise H-W 2 more. On the lap Kebinger is losing ground, but Tandrevold and Davidova are closing a little. Røiseland and Wierer are also falling back a little. In for the first stand shoot and the fog is arguably even worse – Simon has missed her first and 1 more. Hanna Öberg clear and out, Jeanmonnot clear and +13.0, Kebinger 15/15 but +29.3. Røiseland [0,1,0] clear this time and +44.5, then Simon + 47.7 and Wierer. Tandrevold has missed another 1, as has Vittozzi. On the lap Öberg is pulling away from Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon up to 3rd but not gaining much; Kebinger 4th, only just ahead of Davidova, Tandrevold and Røiseland. The final shoot – I can’t even see them coming in! Öberg has missed her last shot but Jeanmonnot has missed 4! Simon has missed 2! It’s Marte Olsbu Røiseland [0,1,0,0] who is out 2nd+15.9 with Kebinger [0,0,0,1] +47.1 just ahead of Anais C-B [1,1,0,1] and Doro Wierer [1,0,0,1]. Simon in 6th, +1:05.8 then Gandler and Denise H-W. On the lap Anais C-B past Kebinger, Simon and Denise H-W very close. I think Røiseland has eased back, safe in 2nd, and nice to see Kebinger just about hanging on to Anais C-B at 11.7 Km, Simon past Doro and slightly up on Denise H-W. Hanna Öberg takes the win with just 1 miss, Marte Olsbu Røiseland getting 2nd in her last race, and as I feared Anais Chevalier-Bouchet has out-sprinted Hanna Kebinger for the final podium place. Julia Simon in 5th, with the overall globe and the Mass Start small globe too, to add to the Pursuit globe taht she won yesterday, and Denise H-W 6th. Gandler 7th, then Wierer, Magnusson and Brorsson. Davidova in 16th, with 6 misses, Tandrevold missed 4 at S4 and ended up 19th. I think Mari Eder is also retiring? Anyway, well done to the podium – Öberg, Røiseland and Chevalier-Bouchet, and farewell to 2 of them!