![Andy Newell and Kein Einaste (EST) - Quarter Finals.](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/11/image0011-560x314.jpg)
The race action started today at 10:45 this morning with ladies sprint followed immediately by the men. Today’s format included a qualification round from which the top 30 are distributed into 5 heats of 6 skiers. The top 2 skiers from each skier and the next two fastest skiers advance to the semi-finals. From the semi-finals, the top two skiers from each heat and two lucky losers advance to the final.
The weather remains close to perfect with -14C today and dry snow. It is a bit on the windy side though, so while Nordic combined was able to complete their competition today, the ski jumpers’ competition has been cancelled for tonight.
Newell had a good day, check out the official results and official news from:
http://www.nordicopening.com/en/
For some videos from Ahvo’s vantage point, check out the following youtube links:
Kris Freeman
Swedish Skier
Andy Newell
Marit Bjorgen
Andy Newell – SemiFinal
![On a non-skiing related note, I met Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus at the finish line. They actually have FIS accreditation! Proof that Santa is from Finland (Korvatunturi) and that he’s the real deal. (Finally!!)](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/11/image003-314x560.jpg)
![](https://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/09/FasterSkier-logo-sq-320x320.png)