Things on the World Cup aren't like they used to be. Gone are the days when one could almost count on Bjorn Daehlie or Vladimir Smirnov (or Gunde Svan or Bill Koch) placing top three in just about every race. Whether it's the new head-to-head race formats, increased competition from many nations, or some other factor(s), today's World Cup results are getting more and more impossible to predict with even remote accuracy.
 in his first World Cup race of the year. </p>
<p><BR><center><img decoding=)
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=CC&raceid=9120
