Tomorrow will see the last sprint race before the Christmas break. This is the first time Slovenia has hosted a World Cup in almost 17 years. The last time the World Cup circuit hit Slovenia was in Bohinj in January 1993. The last winner was the great Kazakh Vladimir Smirnov (there was no women’s race that weekend). The conditions are pristine and the weather is perfect which should make great skiing and a great time for the spectators. There are some notable absentees from the start list including Arianna Follis and Emil Jönsson, but the majority of the big hitters are revving to go tomorrow. Here are some predictions for tomorrow.
Men
1. Ola Vigen Hattestad
2. Øystein Pettersen
3. Kalle Lassila
Women
1. Petra Majdic
2. Marit Bjørgen
3. Anna Haag
Skier to note: Known as Hanna #2 in Sweden, Hanna Brodin will be making her first World Cup start of the season. The 19-year-old has won three of
the last four FIS races she has entered in Sweden, including two sprints. I expect her to have a good race tomorrow with a top 12 finish.
North American News:
According to Kershaw’s twitter account “Rogla is a no-go for me. Sick with a head cold and rocking Kulm life in Davos solo. Sunday will mark the worst birthday in Devon history…”. Very unfortunate and a little depressing, but this means Alex Harvey will be the lone Canadian male this weekend. The Americans have four guys on the start list, including Kris Freeman. On the women’s side, Crawford, Renner, and Randall are the only North Americans on the start list for the freestyle sprint. Back on home snow, the final qualifying race for the Olympics take place in Canmore this weekend with two classic sprints and a classic distance race. There will be lots of big names for a Nor-Am race with numerous American athletes hitting the start line as well.
Til Tomorrow.
