December 12, 2014 – It’s a green light for the upcoming Davos World Cup weekend. Everything will get underway this Friday at 18:30 with official bib hand-out to the Top-Three FIS World Cup distance World Cup leaders along with the Swiss Ski team members competing this weekend.

Final Davos 2013 podium (l-r) Randall 2nd, Bjoergen 1st, Hermann 3rd © Nordic Focus

Community effort
Mother Nature has not been kind to the Davos World Cup organizers, keeping temperatures too warm in the valley to produce snow. However, a massive effort from the local organizing committee (OC) has seen many truckloads of snow brought down from the nearby Fluela pass.

The OC has produced snow high up on the pass where temperatures been low enough to be able to make snow. Pisten Bully’s have also been pushing natural snow down the surrounding mountainsides to be collected on the pass and transported down. As of Tuesday night, it was estimated that over 70 hours had already been spent bringing snow down for the competition tracks.

“After two tough weeks with many difficult decisions, we are very happy to present the athletes our tracks. Even if we were able to produce snow only for one night on the competition area, we made the impossible possible. Many thanks to all the helpers up in the mountain and out in the tracks who have been working day and night,” Adriano Iseppi, head of the LOC said.

In addition to the local OC, Swiss Alpine legend Paul Accola – now the owner of a Forest Company – has donated his time and equipment for three days to help the OC transport snow onto the competition courses.

“We really appreciate the effort of Davos Nordic. They did an amazing job working all day and all night long to make sure that the cross-country track in Davos will be ready. We are convinced that athletes alike visitors can expect stunning competitions,” Hippolyt Kempf, head of Swiss Cross-Country said.

Competition updates
Due to the lack of snow there have been changes to the competition format with the 15/30 km interval start classic event being reduced to 10/15 km. The OC will prepare a 5 km course for Saturday’s distance competition. The start time for the men’s 15 km classic competition has been changed from 14:30 to 13:30 on Saturday. Sunday’s free technique sprint competition will go as planned.

Facts and Predictions

WOMEN

Johaug ready to end Bjørgen and Kowalczyk’s 10km classic dominance?
– Therese Johaug (NOR) won the 10km classic race in Ruka, the last regular World Cup race held in this discipline. This was the first time this discipline had another winner than Bjørgen/Kowalczyk in a regular World Cup event for five years, since Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) won in Ruka in Nov 2009.
– Justyna Kowalczyk (8) and Marit Bjørgen (5) won all the 13 regular World Cup races held in 10km classic style in the five-year span between Nov 2009 and Nov 2014.
– Kowalczyk has a total of 11 World Cup wins in this discipline, while Bjørgen has 10 WC-wins.
– Including Tour stages and WCH/OG races, Justyna Kowalczyk has 19 wins in 10km classic races, while Bjørgen has won 12. Kowalczyk won eight consecutive 10km classic races between Dec 2011 and Jan 2013, but has only won four of the last nine since then.
– Kowalczyk has 27 international podiums in 10km classic, one more than Bjørgen (26).
– Kowalczyk has finished on the podium in 20 of the her last 23 starts in 10km classic on World Cup, Tour stages and WCH/OG. She has finished outside the podium in three of her last six starts (2x4th place, 1x5th place) after 17 consecutive podium finishes.
– Bjørgen has finished on the podium in 15 of her last 17 starts in 10km classic, going back to January 2010. Her only two starts outside the podium: 4th in World Cup final 2012, and 5th in Olympic Games 2014.

Bjørgen most-winning in Davos World Cup
– Marit Bjørgen has a total of five World Cup wins in Davos. Three of her wins are from distance races, and two are from sprint races. She is one win ahead of Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) and Elena Välbe (RUS). Both Välbe and Kuitunen have won four distance events, meaning Bjørgen will equal them with a win on Saturday.

Kikkan Randall main favorite for sprint freestyle
– Kikkan Randall has won six of the last nine regular World Cup events held in sprint freestyle. Bjørgen (2) and Maiken Caspersen Falla (1) are the other two to win in the last nine WC races
– Randall has 11 World Cup sprint wins, all in freestyle.
– Randall has one win in Davos, in 2011. Bjørgen and Petra Majdic (SLO) are the only two women with two sprint wins in Davos.
– Randall has three consecutive sprint freestyle podiums in Davos.

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MEN

Dario Cologna to finally win on home snow?
– Dario Cologna (SUI) is the reigning Olympic Champion in the 15km classic. He has, however, never won a World Cup race or a stage race in his home country. In seven starts in distance races, Cologna has finished on the podium just once, when he was second in Davos in February 2013 (15km freestyle).
– Including sprint races, Cologna has 13 starts in Switzerland in World Cup and stages without a win. He has two second place, and one third place finish.
– Cologna has only won one regular World Cup event in 15km classic style, in Otepää in January 2012. In addition Cologna has two stage wins in 15 classic, and the Olympic gold medal from Sochi.
– The last eight 15km classic races on World Cup, stages and championships have seen eight different winners, going back to January 2013. The only athlete to win more than one of the last 10 races is Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ), with three wins.
– The overall World Cup winner from last season, and the winner of the Lillehammer mini-tour, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, has not won a 15km classic race on World Cup, stages or championships since he won in Ruka in November 2008. This is also his only win in this event.
– Lukas Bauer (CZE) has six wins in the 15km classic on World cup, stages and championships. That is most of today’s active athletes, and equal with Bjørn Dæhlie in second place overall. The only one still ahead is Gunde Svan (SWE), with seven career wins.
– Bauer has 12 podiums in 15km classic style, equal with Gunde Svan in second place. Only ahead is Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass (NOR) with 13 podiums in 15km classic.

10th consecutive classic race with a new winner to come in Davos?
– The nine previous distance races in Davos in classical style have seen nine different winners, going back to Bjørn Dæhlie, who won both 1997 and 1998 (both 30km classic).
– Norway has four winners in this period: Dæhlie, Frode Estil (1999), Erling Jevne (2001) and Jens Arne Svartedal (2006). No other country has won more than once.
– Dæhlie has the most classic wins (3). None of today’s active athletes have won more than once.
– The only of today’s active athletes to finish twice on the podium in classic races in Davos is Sami Jauhojärvi (FIN). He was third both 2007 and 2008.

Five sprinters with a chance to be the first to win twice in Davos
– Seven sprint races have been held in the World Cup in Davos, with six of them in freestyle. Anders Gløersen (Dec 2013), Alexey Poltoranin (Feb 2013), Alexey Pethukov (2011), Emil Jönsson (2010), John Kristian Dahl (2009), Ola Vigen Hattestad (2008) and Björn Lind (2006) all have one win each in Davos. All except Lind and Dahl are still active in the World Cup and might be the first athlete to win twice.
– Pål Golberg could win his third consecutive sprint freestyle race on World Cup. Golberg won in Lillehammer last weekend, and the final sprint freestyle last season, in Lahti in March.
– None of today’s active athletes have won three consecutive sprint freestyle races. The last (and only) athlete to manage this was Björn Lind (SWE) from Dec 2005 to Feb 2006 (including Olympic Games win).
– Golberg is the only one to win twice in the 10 previous events held in sprint freestyle in World Cup and Tour stages (not including OG). Petter Northug, Emil Jönsson, Anders Gløersen, Calle Halfvarsson, Simeon Hamilton, Sergey Ustiugov, Alex Harvey, Ola Vigen Hattestad all have one win each in the last ten events.
– Emil Jönsson (SWE) did not win any Sprint races last season. Jönsson has won eight sprint freestyle races in World Cup/Tour stages and needs one more to equal most-winning Tor Arne Hetland (NOR) with nine wins.

Competition schedule

Saturday 13 December 2014
11:15 CET Ladies 10 km classic technique
13:30 CET Men 15 km classic technique

Sunday 14 December  2014
12:30 CET Ladies & Men – sprint free prologue
14:30 CET Ladies & Men – sprint free – Finals

National Team Rosters for Davos

FRANCE

LADIES – 10 km classic
Celia Aymonier

SPRINT
Celia Aymonier
Marion Buillet

MEN – 15 km classic
Adrien Backscheider
Ivan Perrillat
Mathias Wibault

SPRINT
Baptiste Gros
Renaud Jay
Paul Goalabré
Cyril Miranda
Cyril Gaillard

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SWEDEN

LADIES – 10 km classic
Sofia Bleckur, IFK Mora SK
Anna Haag, IFK Mora SK
Sofia Henriksson, Piteå Elit
Charlotte Kalla, Piteå Elit
Sara Lindborg, Falun-Borlänge SK
Emma Wikén, Åsarna IK

Sprint F
Maja Dahlqvist, Falun-Borlänge SK
Hanna Falk, Ulricehamns IF
Ida Ingemarsdotter, Åsarna IK
Charlotte Kalla, Piteå Elit
Stina Nilsson, IFK Mora SK
Linn Sömskar, IFK Umeå

MEN – 15 km classic
Calle Halfvarsson, Falun-Borlänge SK
Marcus Hellner, Gellivare Skidallians
Martin Johansson, IFK Mora SK
Lars Nelson, Åsarna IK
Johan Olsson, Åsarna IK
Daniel Richardsson, Hudiksvalls IF

Sprint F
Johan Edin, IFK Mora SK
Calle Halfvarsson, Falun-Borlänge SK
Marcus Hellner, Gellivare Skidallians
Emil Jönsson, IFK Mora SK
Gustav Nordström, Borås Skidor
Teodor Peterson, IFK Umeå

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FINLAND

LADIES
Anne Kyllönen
Mona-Liisa Malvalehto
Laura Mononen
Kerttu Niskanen
Krista Pärmäkoski
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen
Riikka Sarasoja-Lilja.

MEN
Sami Jauhojärvi
Matti Heikkinen
Iivo Niskanen
Ville Nousiainen
Martti Jylhä
Juho Mikkonen
Anssi Pentsinen
Matias Strandvall

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ITALY

LADIES
Virginia de Martin
Lucia Scardoni
Gaia Vuerich
Greta Laurent
Ilaria Debertolis
Francesca Baudin
Giulia Stuerz

MEN
Federico Pellegrino
Francois Vierin
David Hofer
Roland Clara
David Hofer
Francesco Defabiani
Mattia Pellegrin

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NORWAY

LADIES
Marit Bjørgen, Rognes IL
Therese Johaug, Nansen IL – WC winner
Heidi Weng , BUL
Celine Brun-Lie, Njård
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Gjøvik Skiklubb
Ragnhild Haga, Åsen IL
Maiken Caspersen Falla, Gjerdum
Martine Ek Hagen, BUL
Kathrine Harsem, IL Varden – COC winner
Mari Eide, Øystre Slidre IL

MEN
Eirik Brandsdal, Kjelsås IL
Ola Vigen Hattestad, Ørje IL – WC sprint winner
Finn Hågen Krogh, Tverrelvdalen IL
Anders Nøstdahl Gløersen, Rustad IL
Tomas Northug, Strindheim IL
Sondre Turvoll Fossli, Hokksund IL
Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Røa IL – WC winner
Petter Northug, Strindheim IL
Sjur Røthe, Voss IL
Chris Jespersen, Korlevoll-Odda IL
Didrik Tønseth, Byåsen IL
Simen Håkon Østensen, Fossum – COC winner
Eldar Rønning, Skogn IL
Pål Golberg, Gol IL
Niklas Dyrhaug, Tydal IL
Emil Iversen, IL Varden