Oslo, Norway – The pre-World Championship freestyle sprint at the Holmenkollen Ski Stadium features large strong fields.  76 men and 64 women will start the 1.3/1.5km race.

Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) is back in action after sitting out Saturday’s 30km and will try to end Marit Bjoergen’s winning streak.  The US starts Kikkan Randall and Caitlin Compton while Dasha Gaiazova represents Canada.

This will be Randall’s first skate sprint start since before the Olympics.  She has been racing very well recently and should be in the mix for a spot in the finals.

Petter Northug will not start the men’s sprint for Norway, leaving Emil Joensson (SWE) as the easy favorite.  The Northug family will be represented as Petter’s younger brother Thomas gets his second World Cup start.

The US will run Andy Newell, Simi Hamilton, Mike Hinckley and Brian Gregg while Stefan Kuhn is the lone Canadian to start.

Newell will try to defend his first World Cup podium in two years.  He was 3rd just three days ago in Drammen.  While that race was classic, his other two podiums both came in freestyle sprints.

Predictions

Men:

1. Emil Joensson (SWE)

2. Nikita Kriukov (RUS)

3. Alexia Petukhov (RUS)

4. Andy Newell (USA)

5. Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR)

6. Simen Oestensen (NOR)

Women:

1. Marit Bjoergen (NOR)

2. Arianna Follis (ITA)

3. Kikkan Randall (USA)

4. Hannah Falk (SWE)

5. Pirjo Muranen (FIN)

6.  Natalia Korostoleva (RUS)

Complete Start Lists

It’s a repeat of yesterday’s stunning weather for Thursday’s individual start biathlon races.

The men will ski 20k, with two prone and two standing stages, and the women will do 15k with the same amount of shooting. The favorites are the usual: Ole Einer Bjoerndalen (NOR) for the men, and Sweden’s Helena Jonsson and Germany’s Magdalena Neuner for the women.

In the individual, though, with one-minute penalties for a missed shot, there’s always a chance for an upset, as clean shooting can propel just about anyone to the podium, or at least close to it.

It could be a redemptive day for the U.S.’s Tim Burke, who shot poorly in the sprint last weekend, and was also hindered by the weather.

The women start things off at 10:20 PST, while the men go at 1:20. Check back for updates.

Women’s start list

Men’s start list

Two days after a snow squall ruined the race for two-thirds of the men’s biathlon field, it is again snowing heavily in Whistler.  The good news is that the snow started before the race, not during, so the playing field should be relatively level.

As is par for the course here, the the snow is very wet, with temperatures right around freezing.

The women start at 10:30, the men at 12:45.

Two North American women qualified for the pursuit – Sara Studebaker for the US and Megan Tandy for Canada.  They start in 45th and 46th respectively.  Studebaker is 2:10 back and Tandy 2:12 behind leader Anastazia Kuzmina (SVK).

German Magdalena Neuner, sitting in 2nd, just two seconds behind Kuzmina should be considered the race favorite.  And despite a disappointing race two days ago, Helena Jonsson (SWE), should not be counted out.  She is in 12th, but just 47 seconds back.

The rest of the very strong German team is further back after poor races on Saturday.  But in the pursuit, with four shooting stages, making up 1:30 is not out of the question.

The men’s field is for from standard after the chaos on Sunday.  Jean Philippe LeGuellec (CAN) sits in 6th place just 50 seconds in back of leader Jay Vincent (FRA).  Jeremy Teela (USA) is not far behind in 9th, and after finishing 3rd at the Whistler World Cup last year, he has a legitimate shot for the podium.

The rest of the US team suffered due to the snow, Lowell Bailey and Jay Hakkinen shot clean, but still finished way back.  Tim Burke skied a bit faster, but the combination of the snow and poor shooting left him in 47th, 2:47 back.  Burke has shown an impressive ability to make up huge ground in the pursuit, so it would not be a surprise to see him climb into the top-10.  A medal is unlikely as he is starting 2:47 back, but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

Emil Svendsen (NOR) starting in 2nd, 12 seconds behind Vincent is in good position to take over the lead and claim gold.  Teammate Ole Einar Bjorndalen is 17th, 1:47 back, and will need to shoot much better to capture his 10th Olympic medal.

Women’s Start List

Men’s Start List

FasterSkier Predictions:

Men:

Topher – Joensson (SWE), Peterson (SWE), Vylegzhanin (RUS)
Nat – Dahl (NOR), Joensson (SWE), Newell (NOR)
Patrick -Joensson (SWE), Cologna (SUI), Angerer (GER)

Women:

Topher – Majdic (SLO), Falk (SWE), Kowalczyk (POL)
Nat – Majdic (SLO), Follis (ITA), Longa (ITA)
Patrick – Majdic (SLO), Kowalczyk (POL), Follis (ITA)

Men’s Start List

Women’s Start List

Start lists for the men’s and women’s races are available on the FIS web site here.

The FasterSkier staff also offers some predictions for the races:

Men

Topher: Marcus Hellner, SWE, Dario Cologna, SUI, Giorgio Di Centa, ITA, Ivan Babikov, CAN, Kris Freeman, USA

Patrick: Dario Cologna, SUI, Pietro Piller Cotrer, ITA, Ivan Babikov, CAN, Brent Knight, USA (for rhabdo)

Nat: Marcus Hellner, SWE, Alexander Legkov, RUS, Kris Freeman, USA

Women

Topher: Charlotte Kalla, SWE, Arianna Follis, ITA, Justyna Kowalczyk, POL

Patrick: Justyna Kowalczyk, POL, Petra Majdic, SLO, Arianna Follis, ITA, Holly Brooks, USA, Steffi Boehler, GER (for looks)

Nat: Justyna Kowalczyk, POL, Charlotte Kalla, SWE, Anna Haag, SWE

Tor Arne Hetland, one of the all-time great sprinters, previews tomorrow’s sprint in Duseldorf.

And Oystein Pettersen provides a first person perspective from the podium in Kuusamo…