Mikaela Schiffrin is back!

[randoskier]

The problem isn't the snow. WC races happen on water injected ice anyway so the course doesn't get all rutted out. The problem is that it isn't a real ski venue. Every other olys had a preview comp or used past stops on the tour. No one could get on any of these runs until race recon because they didn't exist. Makes it really tough.

Now... the XC racers... pure artificial snow is really bad there. But certainly not the first time a big xc event has had to be contested on bad/trucked in/dirty/ice/artificial surfaces. It isn't ever a good thing though.

Norway will handle it!

[corlay]

Norway will handle it!

NotSoFast... for the Men, anyway.

Norway did not medal in the Men's Skiathalon... which was a surprise.
Also no medal in the Men’s Individual Sprint Freestyle, but that may not be their strong-suit?

They have medaled in other XC events like:
Biathlon – Men’s 20km Individual: (bronze)
Nordic Combined – Men’s Individual Normal Hill (silver)

[randoskier]

Norway will handle it!

NotSoFast... for the Men, anyway.

Norway did not medal in the Men's Skiathalon... which was a surprise.
Also no medal in the Men’s Individual Sprint Freestyle, but that may not be their strong-suit?

They have medaled in other XC events like:
Biathlon – Men’s 20km Individual: (bronze)
Nordic Combined – Men’s Individual Normal Hill (silver)

Its the MSG in the Chinese food in the Olympic Village!

I am not watching the Olympics this time around because China is a genocidal terror regime and a threat to global security. It should never have been held there. The US should have boycotted totally.

[Transplantskier]

Norway will handle it!

NotSoFast... for the Men, anyway.

Norway did not medal in the Men's Skiathalon... which was a surprise.
Also no medal in the Men’s Individual Sprint Freestyle, but that may not be their strong-suit?

I think this is incorrect. Klæbo took gold in the Sprint Freestyle. (Making up for a surprisingly bad performance in the Skiathlon.)

[corlay]

I think this is incorrect. Klæbo took gold in the Sprint Freestyle. (Making up for a surprisingly bad performance in the Skiathlon.)

you are correct. - I mis-read the listing of medal results... it was the Women's Sprint that Norway did not medal in...

[randoskier]

Good to see her finish a race. I doubt she does much in the Downhill except hopefully finish it, it is not her event and I don't think she is going to risk injury by pushing it in that one, I think she has probably written off these games.

[randoskier]

The problem isn't the snow. WC races happen on water injected ice anyway so the course doesn't get all rutted out. The problem is that it isn't a real ski venue. Every other olys had a preview comp or used past stops on the tour. No one could get on any of these runs until race recon because they didn't exist. Makes it really tough.

Now... the XC racers... pure artificial snow is really bad there. But certainly not the first time a big xc event has had to be contested on bad/trucked in/dirty/ice/artificial surfaces. It isn't ever a good thing though.

That is not quite accurate- Lake Placid had only hosted one World Cup race ever before the Olympics and that was only one-year before them. Other World Cup races do not feature regularly on the WC circuit like Fulpmes in Austria that had the WC exactly once (1975)- those skiers who competed in that race had no previews of that course whatsoever, had never raced it- and they no problems or excuses skiing it.

Many other WC courses have not been skied on the by the current generation of skiers because it has been a long break between race dates at those venues. Not all WC stops are part of a well worn circuit like Kitzbuehl is.

Shiffrin has not made any excuses and kudos to her for that, none are necessary, she did her best.

Yeah the XC stuff is a real mess, but if they had held it here in the Val di Fiemme, Dolomiti ,which frequently hosts the World Cup races and will host the next Olympic XC races, they would be skiing on man-made snow too- it is an absolutely shit snow-year in the Dolomiti. Asiago, my local X-country area, also has hosted the WC- it is almost totally barren up there right now- I live in the Dolomiti foothills (Picolo Dolomiti) and our Apple tree blossomed yesterday!

Cortina d'Ampezzo hosts the next Olympics, we ski there quite a bit in good years but the Dolomites do not always have good years- extremely variable year-to-year during the past ten (thankfully we can reach Stubai, Austria (glacier skiing) in just under 3 hours drive).

Russia should be banned permanently from all future Olympics they are world-class dopers.