Grassmarket

Still think there is a win in there this season.  

Bump for the Luge World Cup starting this weekend, starting at Winterberg rather than Igls for technical reasons (lazy Austrians ).   Since we are now going to Winterberg twice this season, this particular weekend will not count towards Olympic Quals, as discussed already,
 
There has been some changes for us oldsters, so maybe a guide for beginners as well.
 
Broadcasting 
Good and perhaps not so good news. There is a new deal with Discovery/Eurosport. All three days of the weekend are now being covered including the Friday races which usually are not shown.    Unfortunately, not clear whether the FTA option via YouTube and/or the FIL Page will still exist, or will be geo-blocked.  Hopefully also they will stick with the excellent commentary format of one pro comms person on-site paired with a willing volunteer from the non-competing athletes.  
 
Race formats
There are four sets of races now.
 
Nations Cup on Friday - the Qualifying races for the Saturday / Sunday World Cup.  Top sleds are pre-qualified so don't take part here.  
 
Mixed Races on Friday - These races are for the smaller nations who don't have large enough teams to participate in the Team Relays.  Nations can either compete as a pair or as single nation partnerships along the lines of old historic friendships like /, /, /, / etc.
World Cup Races on Saturday and Sunday - The standard four formats of Men's Singles, Women's Singles, Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles
 
Team Relay on Sunday - Always exciting relays races in which the big nations run one team from each of the WC formats.  Unlike every other form of Winter Sports team event, this is the one in which it is quite normal for even the biggest and best teams to seriously mess up & either disqualify themselves or have some kind of significant time delay.  
 
Sprint races - Everyone hates them so hopefully they have been killed. 
 
Beer
The race track at Winterberg is sponsored by a brewery and in the past winners have been given very large glasses of the product!  Unfortunately, this is the alcohol-free version of the beer. 

Bump for the Luge World Cup starting this weekend, starting at Winterberg rather than Igls for technical reasons (lazy Austrians ).   Since we are now going to Winterberg twice this season, this particular weekend will not count towards Olympic Quals, as discussed already,
 
There has been some changes for us oldsters, so maybe a guide for beginners as well.
 
Broadcasting 
Good and perhaps not so good news. There is a new deal with Discovery/Eurosport. All three days of the weekend are now being covered including the Friday races which usually are not shown.    Unfortunately, not clear whether the FTA option via YouTube and/or the FIL Page will still exist, or will be geo-blocked.  Hopefully also they will stick with the excellent commentary format of one pro comms person on-site paired with a willing volunteer from the non-competing athletes.  
 
Race formats
There are four sets of races now.
 
Nations Cup on Friday - the Qualifying races for the Saturday / Sunday World Cup.  Top sleds are pre-qualified so don't take part here.  
 
Mixed Races on Friday - These races are for the smaller nations who don't have large enough teams to participate in the Team Relays.  Nations can either compete as a pair or as single nation partnerships along the lines of old historic friendships like /, /, /, / etc.
World Cup Races on Saturday and Sunday - The standard four formats of Men's Singles, Women's Singles, Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles
 
Team Relay on Sunday - Always exciting relays races in which the big nations run one team from each of the WC formats.  Unlike every other form of Winter Sports team event, this is the one in which it is quite normal for even the biggest and best teams to seriously mess up & either disqualify themselves or have some kind of significant time delay.  
 
Sprint races - Everyone hates them so hopefully they have been killed. 
 
Beer
The race track at Winterberg is sponsored by a brewery and in the past winners have been given very large glasses of the product!  Unfortunately, this is the alcohol-free version of the beer. 

Florent Claude our first outsider chance today - 0 0 0 after 15.  Well 19/20 might get somethon.
 
Rastorguevs is Mr Consistency - misses shot 20 as he always does when he shoots 19/19. 
 
 Mandzyn 0 0 5 .  Ah, dropped his rifle.
 
 

Wierer wins by 0.3!!! 

Wierer wins by 0.3!!! 

Wierer wins by 0.3!!! 

Great article here about Eugenio Monti, the Italian bobsleigh legend after whom the Cortina track is named
 
IBSF | International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation: Eugenio Monti Olympic Sliding Centre - legacy meets history
 
And congratulations to  for getting the track ready so early, the first time since the Emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD) that any Italian major building project has come in ahead of schedule.  

Campbell Wright the man to beat the  Olympic Medal drought in biathlon?

News from the Olympic Test Event / Quaifier at Cortina yesterday
 
Surprises at the dress rehearsal in the Cortina Sliding Center
 
 
 

RTVS really making impressive changes! Live interviews directly from the stadium, every major race on television throughout the season, new broadcast graphics, and all of this will peak with the Olympics. Biathlon is getting even more attention on national television.

Another "should mention" - Queen of the Nordic Combined  Gyuda Wetfolfold Hansen has switched to straight Jumping this season in a bid for an Olympic spot.  Is doing OK with.a run of top 20s, but team competition will be tough.

Just a bump for those who need reminding - The proper sports season begins tomorrow with.two full relays from Ostersund!   
 
 
Then on Sunday, a Single Mixed & a Full Mixed relay.
 
 
https://www.biathlonworld.com/news/weekend-relays-preview-osd-25/46kt7VVjd4HCeFXdr2F7wv

Miracles happen in the final round of women's Round Robin!
 
Scotland and Norway qualify because in the mini-league of teams of four teams on 5&4, they had both won 2 matches, whereas Denmark and Turkey had only won one.  Then Scotland are ahead of Norway because they won that particular head-to-head.  
 
Italy the big losers, they give up 3 in the final end to the Czechs, which took them out of contention.  
 
SWE 8   1     Q SUI 6   3     Q SCO 5   4     Q NOR 5   4     Q DEN 5   4     TUR 5   4     ITA 4   5     LTU 3   6     GER 3   6     CZE 1   8    

What could go wrong?  

Kraft absolutely muffed his last jump, first to ninth.

Document here summarising how the Luge Qualification System will work, for all you Stats obsessives.  Whole circus starts this weekend at Cortina.  
 
milano-cortina-2026-qualification-system-for-luge-v3.pdf

Yeah, Luge were also due to go there but they did not think it was ready and rearranged for Winterberg.  Obviously the athletes have revolted because IBSF had initially passed it, presumably without consulting the athletes.  
 
Also, room in the Calendar to get make-up races done in the New Year.  Bobsleigh get extra practice, so they are happy.

Hmm, we don't seem to have an Athletes Unretirements Thread......
 
 gymnast and three-time Olympic Gold medallist Max Whitlock comes out of retirement with the goal of making a comeback at Los Angeles.  Will be 35 in LA.  Next year will be a fairly gentle reintroduction with just National Champs and the Commonwealth Games on the schedule.  
 
Max Whitlock: Three-time Olympic gold medallist to come out of retirement for Los Angeles 2028 - BBC Sport

Mouat doesn't give an inch & it finishes  8  4.
 
Italy 9-5 up against Poland so I'm calling that  a win.

Well, very ominous signs for the rest of the world as  utterly dominate the two-man.  

I don't know why they didn't have these ECH a week early and have practically the whole TV time to themselves. Next week the schedule is much more crowded with the other winter sports kicking the season. Sometime i think if we made the calendar it would be much more beneficial to over a dozen sports.

Yeah, see the BBC interview.  Coming off a hamstring in the summer.
 
Matt Weston wins 10th World Cup skeleton gold in Italy - BBC Sport
 
 women's team don't do quite so well, but no reason to despair yet.  As ever, starts are excellent, drives are patchy.  the opposite - average starting but great driving.   But everyone with a long way to go.

Lordy, incredible historic 19 wicket first day of the Ashes in Perth! 

starts 35 & last......finishes 2nd!   Great complement to the ice quality if it holds up like that!