January 25th, 2008
Another beautiful morning in Canmore. Tempertures are a bit warmer, and it looks to be a great day for skating.
The women’s 10km individual start freestyle race begins at 11:00AM MST. The course is similar to the classic loop used for the pursuit with several additions to bring the length to 5km. The racers will again be challenged by the long steep climb that broke up the pack in the classic leg of the pursuit. Starting roughly 1.25km into the loop, the hill meanders up for nearly a kilometer, with several sort plateaus.
The US will be racing five athletes - Kate Arduser, Evelyn Dong, Lindsey Dehlin, Lindsay Williams, and Tazlina Mannix. Canada has 13 on the start line, including Sara Renner, who will be looking to better her 25th place finish in the opening pursuit.
Favorites in the race include pursuit winner Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), Virpi Kuitunen (FIN), currently second in the overall World Cup standings, and Norweigans Astrid Jacobsen and Kristin Stoermer Steira.
The men’s 15km event follows at 12:30. They will be racing on the same loop, skiing three laps. The US has 9 athletes entered - Zack Simons, David Chamberlain, Mike Sinnott, Leif Zimmermann, Lars Flora, James Southam, Garrott Kuzzy, Zach Violett, and Kris Freeman. The Canadians are racing 13, led by Devon Kershaw.
Favorites include a strong German contingent of Axel Teichmann, Tobias Angerer Jens Filbrich, and Rene Sommerfeldt. Italian Girogio DiCenta is skiing well and is always a force to be reckoned with along with teammate Pietro Piller Cottrer. The Norweigans have entered only three skiers, led by Tord Asle Gjerdalen. Petter Northug looks to rebound from a mediocre pursuit race, and biathlete Lars Berger could challenge for a podium spot. Pursuit winner Nikolai Pankratov (RUS) leads teammates Alexander Legkov and Vassili Rotchev.
