March 02, 2012 (Lahti, Finland) – The final World Cup period gets under way in Lahti, Finland, this weekend with skiathlon and classic sprint events. After a two-week break which allowed many younger athletes to compete at the Junior/U23 Nordic World Championships in Erzurum, Turkey, the world’s top skiers will converge on Lahti to begin the final battle for glory and positioning in the World Cup standings.

In the the men’s overall race Dario Cologna of Switzerland, with 1,683 points, has a firm grip on the crown, with a lead of 484 points over second place Petter Northug of Norway (1,199). Canada’s Devon Kershaw sits in third with 1,059 points and with Northug sitting out this weekend’s races (he was planning to race the Vasaloppet but has withdrawn due to a stomach ailment), Kershaw has a great opportunity to narrow the 141-point gap separating him from Northug.

Not far behind Kershaw, however, are Marcus Hellner (SWE) with 906 points, Alexander Legkov (RUS) at 845, and Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS) with 727. Kershaw’s teammate Alex Harvey is currently in seventh overall with 703 points.

On the women’s side, the yellow bib has changed hands back and forth between Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk – the current leader with 1,907 points – and Norway’s Marit Bjoergen (1,893). With a mere 14 points separating them, it’s still anyone’s guess which of the two will hoist the crystal globe in Falun later this month. Norway’s Therese Johaug appears comfortable in third position with 1,380 points, but fourth place, Kikkan Randall of the USA with 1,062 points, has a fight on her hands to hold onto that position, with a surging Charlotte Kalla (SWE) at 1,003, just 59 points back.

This weekend’s races in Lahti kick off with a skiathlon on Saturday, 7.5km CL + 7.5km FR for the women and 15km CL + 15km FR for the men. The women’s race will in all likelihood come down to a three-way battle between Kowalczyk, Bjoergen and Johaug, who have traded positions on the podium at the other two skiathlon events on the calendar so far this year (Oberstdorf and Rybinsk). Look for Canada’s Kershaw and Harvey to do well in the men’s event, having both placed in the top 10 in the skiathlon races in Oberstdorf and Rybinsk.

Even though Bjoergen trails her biggest rival, Kowalczyk, in the overall WCup standings, she has a leg up in the Distance standings after Szklarska Poreba. Bjoergen currently has 1,102 points to Kowalczyk’s 1,050. However, the top two should not discount third place, Johaug, who is a strong distance skier with 924 points to her name. The top North American is Randall in 11th spot with 319 points.

On the men’s side, Cologna tops the Distance standings with 751 points, with Northug in second and trailing by 132 points. A higher step may still be within reach for Kershaw, who is up there in third with 553 points, only 66 points behind Northug. Will the Norwegian star be healthy again for the next round in Oslo? Harvey is currently ranked 11th with 388 points.

Sunday features classic sprint races, which have been something of a rarity on the schedule so far this year. With two more classic sprints after Lahti in Stockholm and Falun, look for the classic specialists to come to the fore. The USA’s Randall has a grip on the Sprint Cup leader’s jersey with 580 points, trailed by Russia’s Natalia Matveeva at 430 points, but classic sprints are not Randall’s forte, and we could see some movement in the World Cup sprint rankings.

“I am definitely excited and anxious to start this final period of racing.  It has been a really strong season so far for me and I am thrilled to be leading the sprint standings with three races to go,” Randall told SkiTrax. “My classic sprinting has improved this year and so I look forward to these next three classic sprints as good events for me to do well and threaten for the podium.

“My overall ranking in 4th has been a nice surprise and I am going to be racing the remaining distance races to try and hold that spot as well.  I’ve been on the road for three and a half months now and it’s nice to have a bunch of exciting races ahead to fill in the final fe

Teodor Peterson (SWE) leads the men’s Sprint Cup with 462 points, followed by Alexey Petukhov (RUS) in second at 411 points, and Nikola Morilov (RUS) in third with 396 points. Kershaw is currently ranked seventh in the World Cup Sprint standings with 283 points while Harvey is also in the top 10 with 179 points. Kershaw is a strong classic skier and will be gunning for podiums and points to help his overall ranking.

Stay tuned for more coverage this weekend from Lahti.

w weeks until I get home.