Relay is definitely not 90%. Team sprint is not a foregone conclusion either. I think Valnes will find it tough on those courses. If the Russians are in shape and have their ski preparation nailed, they’ll definitely push the pace on the classic legs, just as they did in 2018. They played it right then, unfortunately Chervotkin had just recovered from illness that had him sidelined after the TDS and (Bolshunov had the same issue but he was able to recover more quickly though) and was far from his best. He had to against Krüger who had won the skiathlon and finished 2nd in the 15km. Spitsov then had to make up time on Klæbo and Backscheider of France with some less than ideal skis under his feet. The Russians also didn’t have Ustiugov, Belov, Bessmertnykh, Legkov, Vylegzhanin, etc, on that team, which cost them. That’s why Chervotkin had to ski the third leg. Melnichenko made the Olympics then but he came into his own the following season. In short, the Russians were at a disadvantage before the Olympics even started. Things should be different now. Ustiugov is more than likely going to be a part of the relay, plus they’ll have Yakimushkin, Maltsev, Semikov, Terentjev as options for the relay.