LAKE LOUIS (DPA) – Now the Olympic winter is really gathering pace. For alpine, the first speed event in Canada is on the schedule, with cross-country skiers meet in Finland and skeleton races in Austria.
Alpine Skiing
World Cup in Lake Louise, Canada
8 p.m.: Departures, men (Eurosport and ZDF streams)
World Cup runners-up Romed Baumann and Andreas Sander led the German Ski Association team in the first speed events of the season over the weekend in Lake Louise. In February at the title fights at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Baumann won silver in the Super-G, Sander silver in the downhill. “I believe, I think the shape is right, and I’m glad things are starting again now,” Baumann said before the race. The German quintet for the race in Canada is completed by Josef Fürstel, Simon Jocher and Dominic Schweiger.
nordic combination
World Cup in Finland, Maine
11 a.m.: Ski Jumping Large Hill (Eurosport 2) 3.10 p.m.: 5 kilometers of cross-country skiing (ZDF and Eurosport 2)
At the World Cup in Finland, combined athletes have to prepare for extreme weather conditions. Temperatures for Ruka are forecast to remain well below freezing point and minus 20 degrees Celsius at night. “The hills are difficult to jump, and the conditions are not easy either,” said Vinzenz Geiger, who was second in the overall World Cup last winter behind the excellent Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riber and the best German. Nevertheless, the team of national coach Hermann Weinbach is looking forward to the start of the season.
ski jumping
World Cup in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, Women
3.30 pm: Start of the first round (Eurosport 2)
A week after the men, the women’s ski jumpers begin the World Cup winter. The season also begins for mixed world champion Katharina Althaus and her teammates in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. The anticipation is great. “We’re starting at the end, we’re finally jumping on the ice,” said Althaus, who lives in Oberstdorf. For the first time ever, the jumpers at the Winter World Cup will be looked after by new national coach Maximilian Mechler. The former athlete has replaced longtime coach Andreas Bauer.
langloff
Stopped, World Cup in Finland
12.30 pm: Sprint Finals, Classic Techniques, Women’s and Men’s
Like combiners, cross-country skiers begin their winter season in Ruka. It starts on Friday with a sprint in classic technique. German athletes are not among the favorites. Laura Gimler has the best potential for the top spot. “I have done everything to the best of my ability and I see some opportunities in the classic sprint,” said the 27-year-old. “Of course everything has to fit because the Scandinavians have been known for their top form from the very first World Cup. In any case, I am well prepared, and then we will see for whom it is enough.”
Skeleton
World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria
10.00 am: Men, 2 runs at 2.30 pm. Women, 2 runs (summary ZDF from 3.30 pm)
National coach Christian Baud was satisfied with the men with the first season at the same venue only a week earlier. The women had huge backlogs, which the national coach attributed mainly to weak start times. This should improve slightly after intensive training units and changes in technology, but he isn’t expecting great success just yet, especially for the women around Jacqueline Lawling and Tina Herman.
