Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[gustienordic]

Its ski season again! My first question: has anyone seen what the uniforms will be like for this year? I've seen some pretty awful potential Norway ones...

 

[Pazuzu]

It'll be interesting to see if Bjoergen can continue her dominance. Ever since the 2010 Olympics she's been untouchable. She's won more World Cup races than anyone in history, and the scary thing is, she's not slowing down she's getting faster. Truly a freak of nature, if there ever was one.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Good to see this thread springing up. I've been counting the days down until Östersund for a while.

 

[RedheadDane]

Aaaah... time to get our asses kicked*!
Again...

*Of course you could argue that we won't get anything kicked, coz I don't even think we're competing!

 

[Nastyy]

Aaaah... time to get our asses kicked*!
Again...

*Of course you could argue that we won't get anything kicked, coz I don't even think we're competing!

There has been at least one Danish skier participating in the men's World Cup in recent years. Can't remember his name right now. Oh, and his skis were waxed by the Finnish waxing team. And yes, he got his *** kicked by just about everyone.


I think this will be Johaug's year! Incredible form already in Beitostölen. Other's who I think will do well, aside from the usual one are; Lähteenmäki and Niskanen. Niskanen is a classic specialist so don't expect much from her in the skating races. Lähteenmäki excels in both disciplines and I expect another strong showing in the Tour De Ski. Hopefully she could even podium this time. Though it would require that she would overtake Kowalzcyk or Björgen, as I see that Johaug will be untouchable in the Tour this year.

And Tour de Ski is the main event for me this season. I won't be able to watch the WC so I'm not looking forward to them that much.

In men's World Cup it's going to be another Cologna/Northug duel. Hoping Manificat could spice it up a bit and add victories to his tally that so far includes only one win.

In biathlon I think it will be the same old song and dance. Hopefully the French women have improved their skiing and can challenge for the wins that have been missing due to their poor skiing.

And now that Magdalena is gone, I just wish it won't be all Domracheva.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Gonna cheer for Nordthug becasue he has an awesome personality
And ofc some agressive russians etc in the longer mass starts

 

[Libertine Seguros]

In biathlon I think it will be the same old song and dance. Hopefully the French women have improved their skiing and can challenge for the wins that have been missing due to their poor skiing.

And now that Magdalena is gone, I just wish it won't be all Domracheva.

Marie Dorin-Habert must be the best biathlete on the scene without a career win for sure... well, or Simon Fourcade, who has been robbed a few times, most notably that crazy Hochfilzen sprint last year when the weather went from chronically bad to not-too-bad, and Simon shot clear and skied fast in dreadful conditions, only to be overtaken by a bunch of guys who did alright in the best conditions later.

I don't think it will be ALL Domracheva - unless she can hit last season's ski speed and vastly increase her shooting speed (accuracy isn't always the problem, more that she seems to take a long time to set up for that first shot, especially in prone), whereupon it'll be a one-horse race. Nevertheless, Mäkäräinen is still around, and if Zaitseva has enough left in the tank it could be interesting. You can never count out Tora Berger, and the Norwegian youngsters were really improved last year, so the likes of Solemdal and Ringen could well be this year's breakouts (and what of Olga Vilukhina too?). And I can hope despite my better judgment that this is the year Miri Gößner learns to shoot, can't I?

 

[gustienordic]

Skiing is the only sport I fiercely cheer for Americans I suppose it helps that I skied with Jessie Diggins alot when we were both juniors and have pictures of us on facebook! It also helps that I've skied against Hoffman and have a signed Kikkan poster in my room at home that I got one year!

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Results in the pre-WC opener races

XC skiing

Beitostølen

Women 10k skate

1 JOHAUG Therese 1988 NOR 25:39.6
2 BJOERGEN Marit 1980 NOR 25:48.1 +8.5s
3 HAGEN Martine Ek 1991 NOR 26:31.9 +52.3s
4 STEIRA Kristin Stoermer 1981 NOR 26:45.5 +1.05.9s
5 WENG Heidi 1991 NOR 26:47.5 +1.07.9s
6 JACOBSEN Astrid Uhrenholdt 1987 NOR 27:04.7 +1.25.1s
7 HAGA Ragnhild 1991 NOR 27:06.2 +1.26.6s
8 KRISTOFFERSEN Marthe 1989 NOR 27:10.6 +1.31.0s
9 BRUN-LIE Celine 1988 NOR 27:23.9 +1.44.3s
10 SLIND Astrid Oeyre 1988 NOR 27:26.7 +1.47.1s

Men 15k skate

1 NORTHUG Petter jr. 1986 NOR 35:18.5
2 MANIFICAT Maurice 1986 FRA 35:34.2 +15.7s
3 KROGH Finn Haagen 1990 NOR 35:38.2 +19.7s
4 SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud 1984 NOR 35:43.2 +24.7s
5 GLOEERSEN Anders 1986 NOR 35:53.5 +35s
6 FOURCADE Martin 1988 FRA 35:53.6 +35.1s
7 TOENSETH Didrik 1991 NOR 35:59.9 +41.4s
8 GAILLARD Jean Marc 1980 FRA 36:04.1 +45.6s
9 JESPERSEN Chris Andre 1983 NOR 36:05.8 +47.3s
10 ELIASSEN Petter 1985 NOR 36:11.7 +53.2s
11 ROENNING Eldar 1982 NOR 36:17.7 +59.2s

Women 10k classical

1 JOHAUG Therese 1988 NOR 27:59.4
2 BJOERGEN Marit 1980 NOR 28:51.6 +52.2s
3 WENG Heidi 1991 NOR 29:07.0 +1.07.6s
4 HAGEN Martine Ek 1991 NOR 29:30.9 +1.31.5s
5 JACOBSEN Astrid Uhrenholdt 1987 NOR 29:37.9 +1.38.5s
6 KRISTOFFERSEN Marthe 1989 NOR 29:40.5 +1.41.1s
7 STEIRA Kristin Stoermer 1981 NOR 29:43.7 +1.44.3s
8 FALLA Maiken Caspersen 1990 NOR 29:51.0 +1.51.6s
9 SMUTNA Katerina 1983 AUT 29:57.1 +1.57.7s
10 NYDAL Britt Ingunn 1989 NOR 30:00.7 +2.01.3

Men 15k classical

1 JESPERSEN Chris Andre 1983 NOR 38:39.4
2 GOLBERG Paal 1990 NOR 38:54.0 +14.6s
3 SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud 1984 NOR 39:03.7 +24.3s
4 ELIASSEN Petter 1985 NOR 39:20.8 +41.4s
5 OESTENSEN Simen Haakon 1984 NOR 39:22.2 +42.8s
6 ROETHE Sjur 1988 NOR 39:36.6 +57.2s
7 DAHL John Kristian 1981 NOR 39:40.0 1.00.6s
8 MANIFICAT Maurice 1986 FRA 39:43.6 +1.04.2s
8 AUKLAND Anders 1972 NOR 39:43.6 +1.04.2s
10 IVERSEN Emil 1991 NOR 39:44.8 +1.05.4s

14 GAILLARD Jean Marc 1980 FRA 39:58.0 +1.18.6s
15 DEMENTIEV Eugeniy 1983 RUS 40:03.9 +1.24.5s

24 NORTHUG Petter jr. 1986 NOR 40:33.0 +1.53.6s

Mounio

Women 5k classical

1 KOWALCZYK Justyna POL 00:13:35,64
2 TCHEKALEVA Yulia RUS 00:14:04,65
3 ISHIDA Masako JPN 00:14:11,60
4 MEDVEDEVA Polina RUS 00:14:16,55
5 AHERVO Laura FIN 00:14:18,22
6 SAARINEN Aino- FIN 00:14:18,44
7 KUZIUKOVA Olga RUS 00:14:21,01
8 NISKANEN Kerttu FIN 00:14:25,73
9 TIKHONOVA Julia RUS 00:14:28,85
10 SHAPOVALOVA Evgenia RUS 00:14:29,37

Men 10k classical

1 POLTORANIN Alexey KAZ 00:25:33,61
2 BAUER Lukas CZE 00:25:38,43
3 FILBRICH Jens GER 00:25:46,79
4 FREEMAN Kris USA 00:25:51,91
5 COLLIANDER Niklas FIN 00:25:54,43
6 YOSHIDA Keishin JPN 00:25:55,43
7 NISKANEN Iivo FIN 00:25:56,11
8 TAMMJARV Karel EST 00:25:56,43
9 VELICHKO Yevgeniy KAZ 00:25:57,22
10 CHEREPANOV Sergey KAZ 00:26:00,46
11 VOLOTKA Denis KAZ 00:26:05,06
12 TSCHARNKE Tim GER 00:26:06,01
13 DOTZLER Hannes GER 00:26:06,12
14 TEICHMANN Axel GER 00:26:08,82
15 PENTSINEN Anssi FIN 00:26:10,05
16 BING Thomas GER 00:26:12,65
17 SORIN Egor RUS 00:26:13,25
18 CHEBOTKO Nikolay KAZ 00:26:14,37
19 ANGERER Tobias GER 00:26:19,25

Women 10k skate

1 KOWALCZYK Justyna POL 00:26:21,47
2 STEPHEN Elizabeth USA 00:26:25,93
3 TCHEKALEVA Yulia RUS 00:26:27,06
4 ROPONEN Riitta-Liisa FIN 00:26:27,28
5 LAHTEENMAKI Krista FIN 00:26:36,77
6 KYLLOENEN Anne FIN 00:26:41,18
7 BROOKS Holly USA 00:26:47,67
8 NIKOLAEVA Svetlana RUS 00:26:53,12
9 DIGGINS Jessica USA 00:26:55,37
10 SARASOJA-LILJA Riikka FIN 00:26:56,82
11 NISKANEN Kerttu FIN 00:27:02,53
12 AHERVO Laura FIN 00:27:03,19
13 MIKHAILOVA Olga RUS 00:27:05,50
14 ISHIDA Masako JPN 00:27:10,81
15 HERRMANN Denise GER 00:27:11,76
16 KOROSTELEVA Natalia RUS 00:27:13,45
17 PITKAENEN Marjaana FIN 00:27:19,07
18 IVANOVA Julia RUS 00:27:19,29
19 KUZIUKOVA Olga RUS 00:27:21,16
20 SHEVCHENKO Valentina UKR 00:27:21,40
21 FESSEL Nicole GER 00:27:25,69
22 KOLOMINA Yelena KAZ 00:27:26,88
23 SAARINEN Aino-Kaisa FIN 00:27:30,14

Men 15k skate

1 HEIKKINEN Matti FIN 00:34:40,54
2 BAUER Lukas CZE 00:34:50,40
3 FILBRICH Jens GER 00:35:09,06
4 ANGERER Tobias GER 00:35:12,68
5 DOLIDOVICH Sergei BLR 00:35:20,80
6 STAROSTIN Mark KAZ 00:35:26,38
7 NOUSIAINEN Ville FIN 00:35:30,88
8 SEMENOV Michail BLR 00:35:31,86
9 BING Thomas GER 00:35:45,60
10 VARIS Kari FIN 00:35:49,87

Bruksvallarna

Women 5k classical

1 WIKEN Emma SWE 00:12:33.1
2 KALLA Charlotte SWE 00:12:35.5
3 INGEMARSDOTTER Ida SWE 00:12:42.4
4 BLECKUR Sofia SWE 00:12:44.1
5 HAAG Anna SWE 00:12:59.7
6 NILSSON Stina SWE 00:12:59.9
7 LINDBORG Sara SWE 00:13:00.9
8 CRAWFORD Chandra CAN 00:13:06.8
9 OEBERG Jennie SWE 00:13:07.0
9 FABJAN Vesna SLO 00:13:07.0
11 ERIKSSON Mia SWE 00:13:07.9

Men 10k classical

1 RICHARDSSON Daniel 1982 SWE 00:22:15.3
2 HELLNER Marcus 1985 SWE 00:22:20.5
3 NELSON Lars 1985 SWE 00:22:21.6
4 HARVEY Alex 1988 CAN 00:22:24.0
5 HALFVARSSON Calle 1989 SWE 00:22:32.0
6 JOENSSON Emil 1985 SWE 00:22:34.1
7 ERIKSSON Jens 1987 SWE 00:22:36.7
8 PETERSON Teodor 1988 SWE 00:22:51.1
9 JONSSON Fredrik 1990 SWE 00:22:51.4
10 BRINK Joergen 1974 SWE 00:22:53.6
11 QUICKLUND Carl 1992 SWE 00:22:57.1
12 SOEDERGREN Anders 1977 SWE 00:22:58.7

Women 10k skate

1 KALLA Charlotte 1987 SWE 00:23:06.3
2 WIKEN Emma 1989 SWE 00:23:46.1
3 INGEMARSDOTTER Ida 1985 SWE 00:24:04.6
4 BLECKUR Sofia 1984 SWE 00:24:08.8
5 LARSEN Lisa 1990 SWE 00:24:21.5
6 LINDBORG Sara 1983 SWE 00:24:40.2
7 JOHANSSON NORGREN Britta 1983 SWE 00:24:47.0
8 OEBERG Jennie 1989 SWE 00:24:53.9
9 HAAG Anna 1986 SWE 00:24:55.6
10 NILSSON Stina 1993 SWE 00:24:57.2

Men 15k skate

1 OLSSON Johan 1980 SWE 00:31:17.3
2 RICHARDSSON Daniel 1982 SWE 00:31:28.4
3 BABIKOV Ivan 1980 CAN 00:31:50.0
4 NELSON Lars 1985 SWE 00:32:01.9
5 LINDBLAD Anton 1990 SWE 00:32:04.6
6 JOHANSSON Martin 1984 SWE 00:32:22.9
7 HALFVARSSON Calle 1989 SWE 00:32:29.7
8 SOEDERGREN Anders 1977 SWE 00:32:32.7
9 HELLNER Marcus 1985 SWE 00:32:35.9
10 KERSHAW Devon 1982 CAN 00:32:44.5

Gällivare

Men 15k skate

1) Dario Cologna, SUI, 31:58.52
2) Alexander Legkov, RUS, 32:05.89
3) Curdin Perl, SUI, 32:35.43
4) Ilia Chernousov, RUS, 32:36.07
5) Toni Livers, SUI, 33:07.15
6) Remo Fischer, SUI, 33:12.62

Biathlon

Beitostølen

Men, sprint

1 FOURCADE Martin FRA 0+0 26:54.0
2 HAFSÅS Ronny Andre NOR 0+1 +38.4
3 BJØRNDALEN Ole Einar NOR 0+2 +46.2
4 SVENDSEN Emil Hegle NOR 0+3 +1:15.5
6 BOEF Alexis FRA 0+1 +1:24.6
7 ANDRESEN Frode NOR 0+0 +1:40.5
11 BRATTSVEEN Rune NOR 0+0 +1:47.6
19 FOURCADE Simon FRA 3+0 +3:02.1
20 BERGER Lars NOR 1+5 +3:02.7
32 OS Alexander NOR 3+2 +3:37.3
37 BEATRIX Jean Guillaume FRA 0+3 +3:48.4
40 ROESCH Michael GER 2+1 +3:49.3
47 WOLF Alexander GER 1+2 +4:03.2

Alleged course times

BEATRIX Jean Guillaume 23:40.5 (I don't think so)
FOURCADE Martin +1:03.4
HAFSÅS Ronny Andre +1:03.5
SVENDSEN Emil Hegle +1:09.9
BJØRNDALEN Ole Einar +1:15.9
BERGER Lars +1:43.3
BOEF Alexis +1:57.9
ANDRESEN Frode +2:21.8
FOURCADE Simon +2:23.1
OS Alexander +2:32.2
BRATTSVEEN Rune +2:46.6
ROESCH Michael +3:35.1
WOLF Alexander +4:03.2

Women, sprint

1 BERGER Tora NOR 0+0 21:49.7
2 WANGENSTEEN Maren NOR 2+0 +1:15.1
3 FENNE Hilde NOR 0+2 +1:20.0
4 GEREKOVA Jana SVK 1+0 +1:22.4
5 SOLEMDAL Synnøve NOR 2+1 +1:29.0
9 HORN Fanny Welle-strand NOR 1+0 +2:00.5
10 RINGEN Elise NOR 0+3 +2:04.9
14 ECKHOFF Tiril Kampenhaug NOR 1+3 +2:31.8
15 FLATLAND Ann Kristin Aafedt NOR 1+1 +2:32.3

Course times

BERGER Tora 19:35.4
WANGENSTEEN Maren +0.8
SOLEMDAL Synnøve +6.6
FENNE Hilde NOR +23.9
ECKHOFF Tiril Kampenhaug +25.0
RINGEN Elise +37.1
GEREKOVA Jana +55.1
HORN Fanny Welle-strand +1:20.6
FLATLAND Ann Kristin Aafedt +1:20.7

Women, mass start

1 BERGER Tora NOR 0+0+0+1 37:02.5
2 ECKHOFF Tiril Kampenhaug NOR 1+0+1+2 +1:53.5
3 SOLEMDAL Synnøve NOR 1+3+2+1 +1:58.1
4 GEREKOVA Jana SVK 1+0+2+0 +2:03.7
6 HORN Fanny Welle-Strand NOR 0+0+2+1 +2:14.1
11 RINGEN Elise NOR 1+2+2+3 +3:11.5 +4:00.7
28 KVITTINGEN Ane Sandaker NOR 4+2+4+1 +8:03.5

Alleged course times

KVITTINGEN Ane Sandaker 28:16.5 (yeah right)
SOLEMDAL Synnøve +3:23.2
BERGER Tora +3:57.2
RINGEN Elise +4:00.7
ECKHOFF Tiril Kampenhaug +4:02.4
HORN Fanny Welle-Strand +4:57.3
GEREKOVA Jana +5:07.1

Martin Fourcade will test himself against the XC-elite in the Gällivare WC-opener today.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It looks like the Marit Bjørgen World Cup has begun business as usual.

 

[jens_attacks]

american gurls had a nice day.
also too bad for poltoranin sundby definitely the strongest though

 

[jsem94]

Richardsson had a fall into the woods... but he still clocked a good time, so his form is on the right track. Olsson was a disappointment, as was Cologna.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Team Sky present their latest signing.

http://translate.google.se/translat...oessner/biathlon-hoffnung-26516390.bild.html#

Miriam whined about feeling heavy last season. German papers are saying she has been diagnosed with wheat & lactose sensitivity and has lost quite a bit of weight. Her off-season hasn't been all gluten- and lactose-free roses however. She had major dental surgery in april to replace her titanium jaw implant which was causing inflammation. From what I gather, she had a 2nd painful surgery in the summer, following an infection, and lost some training as a result.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

It looks like the Marit Bjørgen World Cup has begun business as usual.

I was getting my hopes up after Beito... all in vain, probably.

Richardsson had a fall into the woods... but he still clocked a good time, so his form is on the right track. Olsson was a disappointment, as was Cologna.

And M.Fourcade's performance was embarrassing for all of biathlon.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Don't expect Tarjei Bø to bounce back to his World Cup winning level. His off-season has been greatly hampered by illness. He hopes to be in good form at the World Championships in february, but does not expect to contend for the overall title.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Team Sky present their latest signing.

http://translate.google.se/translat...oessner/biathlon-hoffnung-26516390.bild.html#

Miriam whined about feeling heavy last season. German papers are saying she has been diagnosed with wheat & lactose sensitivity and has lost quite a bit of weight. Her off-season hasn't been all gluten- and lactose-free roses however. She had major dental surgery in april to replace her titanium jaw implant which was causing inflammation. From what I gather, she had a 2nd painful surgery in the summer, following an infection, and lost some training as a result.

Wasn't it Garmin who had the whole gluten-free-diet thing?

Anyway, if Miri starts destroying the field I will not complain. Like her former roommate before her, there is no belief that the race is safe until every bullet has been fired and she's safely in front, given her propensity for shooting in such a way as to make Lars Berger look like Olga Zaitseva.

She's had a troubled offseason and a couple of months ago there was the voicing of some concerns from German staff that she had lost too much weight to be able to process all the required calories for competition, but she has such a level of potential. Her 2011-12 shooting wasn't great, but if she can shoot at that level and get back to her ski speed of 2010-11, it's only a matter of time until she wins something.

I was getting my hopes up after Beito... all in vain, probably.



And M.Fourcade's performance was embarrassing for all of biathlon.

Ey, Fourcade was great for 10km, just blew up completely in the last 5. Last year Svendsen and Håfsas entered disappointingly in the 15k at the first XC meet, but Svendsen pulled back a gap of over a minute in the relay. Lars Berger was successful, but then Lars Berger has always been one of the best skiers around when it comes to technique and adapting between XC and biathlon. Among the women, Tora Berger was about 5th at the first XC meet last year, and was probably about fourth fastest woman on average last year (I don't have the stats to hand, but would expect Neuner, Domracheva and Mäkäräinen to be ahead of her over the course of a season).

I guess Martin needs those regular breaks from the skiing to recuperate during the shooting a bit more than the likes of Berger.

 

[Nastyy]

Actually I think the French had poor skis as Manificat was a minute and a half behind Sundby, too. Can't explain it by anything else.

Surprised to see that Fourcade didn't participate in the relay, certainly would've done better than Poirrier.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Interesting (if inconsequential) mixed relay to start us off in Östersund. Things of note:
- Bachmann and Solemdal were way off ideal skiing form, the latter losing time to the likes of Dorin on the skis.
- Krystyna Palka was surprisingly quick, and has obviously worked on her skiing. She had some very good placements last year through her shooting, she may be worth keeping an eye on.
- The Russian women were predictably accurate, but the German girls were dead-eye as well.
- Erik Lesser was quite quick on the skis, leading the bunch back chasing down the less quick Volkov, but both he and Jean-Guillaume Beatrix made a right mess of their standing shoots.
- The Czech tandem looked pretty solid (and I like their new gear).
- Ustyugov is very calm under pressure, and his shooting was excellent.
- Svendsen ate up a decent amount of time in the first half of the last lap, but then seemed to fade, so I would assume he's below top level too.
- Sweden have a pretty good male tandem there, but I figured they were putting in an under-strength female pair, the same as often you find the second string given a test in the mixed relays, such as Lesser and Bjøntegaard in the German and Norwegian teams. But then I thought, with Zidek going last year, and Ekholm and Nilsson this off-season, actually that might be Sweden's strongest pair, which made me a bit concerned - they may be on the way to becoming one of those one-gender teams, like the Austrian men or the Belarusian women.

 

[gustienordic]

Richardsson had a fall into the woods... but he still clocked a good time, so his form is on the right track. Olsson was a disappointment, as was Cologna.

Cologna usually doesn't start out the season that strong. He gets his points in the mid-late season in the form of the TdS and all the other races around then.

Kristofferson has a **** race on the girls side though.

Its pretty hard not to cheer for her...

 

[maltiv]

Martin Fourcade starts the biathlon season by taking yet another victory, his 7th in 2012 (+3 WCs). What an incredible athlete he is, surely one of the best athletes worldwide in 2012.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Closer than I anticipated though - the often unusual results thrown up by the first race of the season meant some intriguing results.

Impressive showings from Lesser and Bjøntegaard, perhaps taking advantage of a bit better race fitness after participating in the mixed relay, while it's too early to say anything, but the Austrians already look like being more threatening than they were for most of 2011-12. But, then again, Sumi and Mesotitsch haven't exactly hit the ground running. Svendsen looks slick and ready to contend. And how about Henrik L'Abee-Lund's ski times? Shipulin as well - very quick.

 

[maltiv]

And how about Henrik L'Abee-Lund's ski times?

Quite surprising, that one. I had heard that he had improved during the summer, but didn't expect him to be faster than Fourcade...After all, he was amongst the slowest last year. Seems like his improvement in speed has caused a decrease in accuracy, though.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Maybe he's this year's shock transforming Norwegian, after Synnøve Solemdal last year. She, however, had a bit of a shocker today, 6 misses and over 7 mins down. Berger wins by virtue of clean shooting and being so much faster than the likes of Glazyrina that it isn't funny, while some very impressive ski times from Mäkäräinen and Gößner keep them competitive despite 4 misses - Domracheva must surely have had the fastest ski time, a minute up on Berger though (I've not seen the figures for ski times yet), about as shocking as the results of the recent inquest into the Pope's religious preferences. Very impressed by Gabriela Soukalova too - didn't expect her to post a time like that with 3 misses on the table.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Great skiing from Peiffer, even better from Svendsen. Good but not great from Fourcade.

But Alexis Boeuf and Florian Graf both excellent, very impressive. L'Abée-Lund's ski times continue to astound in the same way as Synnøve Solemdal's did last year. But Leguellec! Leguellec! What a performance! Solid on the skis, but while all around him were losing their heads (Bjørndalen missed 4 from stand, Bergman 5, Svendsen 3, etc) he shot all 10 targets and Canada are probably going to win!

 

[jens_attacks]

damn insanse finale by grande poltoranin and vylegzhanin. great race