heywoodu

Valverde takes the win, meaning Alaphilippe doesn't because he finished 2nd

So far it's more like a boring sprint stage than a classic

No

By the way, the above is also one of the reasons why I write updates here. Personally I would like to get updates about, I don't know, Chilean biathletes if someone had "inside information" on them, simply because you never hear anything about that and it's already easy to find information about biathletes of big nations. The other reason is that I show her every supporting post people write here (already quite a few), because every bit of support helps in motivating ("Wow, some random person online is cheering for me...awesome!") and she'll need every tiny bit of help to get to Pyeongchang 2018

Wanderful (Sorry, that was just horrible)

World Cup is the big goal apart from the Olympics eventually It's not very realistic that she'll reach the World Cup next season though, because for that you need to have at least one result of 125 IBU points or less and that's normally just too much for next season. We're both expecting the Brazilian federation to set a result of 180-200 points as goal (last season it was a result below 280 points and she got 244 in Obertilliach), but given the fact that she's more than doubling her training input this summer and she should be in possession of a laser rifle to train shooting at home within a month or so, I think one result below 150 points is very hard, but possible So far only Jacqueline Mourão made it to the World Cup for Brazil (male/female), but when she started in biathlon she was already a very experienced cross-country skier. We can't forget Bruna's first time ever on ski's in the snow was only in August 2014 if I'm not mistaken, so there's still a huge room for improvement. Besides that, she's already shooting at pretty much the same level as Mourão's best days and with only a bit of improvement, she can already be the best shooter ever in Brazilian biathlon.

Short version: Bruna is basically my best friend Longer version: To elaborate a little: having a Brazilian girlfriend a couple of years ago made me support them at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In 2014 I didn't have a Brazilian girlfriend anymore, but I still supported them at the Winter Olympics. In the beginning of 2015 I wrote a big article and "e-mail interview" with Leandro Ribela about his project to help poor children get involved in social activities through sports/roller skiing. Bruna somehow noticed this article on Facebook, starting talking to me there during the biathlon Youth/Junior World Championships in Raubichi where she was participating (her first international competition) and since then we basically became the best of friends and talk every day on Whatsapp/phone/Skype (that's why I travelled all the way to Austria in December to cheer for them during an IBU Cup with only 6 or 7 spectactors watching )

Anyone here into cyber security? I'm trying to make my first steps with Kali Linux these days

Bruna Moura's ( ) unofficial but personal goal for next season: score less than 150 IBU points in at least one competition and so qualifiying for the World Championships in Hochfilzen If she manages to do that, which will be very hard but not impossible, she is very much on track for Olympic qualification I believe

Especially the blue ones look like what they'll be wearing right after they get up and are making ready for breakfast Although personally I think actually wanting to die because of that is a bit harsh

With the finish on the Mur de Huy, I'm already looking forward to it

Well that's great to hear

As expert on the qualification procedures (especially for small nations): do you think it would be interesting to open a thread where we keep track of which countries get the Tripartite quotas in which sports? I think it would be interesting to have a total overview of that, but the thread we're in right now isn't the right one (as of course there might be Tripartite spots going to already qualified NOC's).

Sure you can I'll write down Guam and Tonga as 2nd and 3rd choices for you

Excellent choice

Wanderer, have you decided on your 1st and 2nd choice yet?

Try this, the live results for the qualifying: http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/publicdir/live_results/14829/TRA/qual/qual_wom_ind.php

http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/minisite/schedule.php?idevent=14829 TRA = trampoline

Would you have a problem if I write Samoa down as your 1st choice? Because Fiji is very likely going to have over 50 athletes so it's almost not eligible anymore However, if you're really clear about specifically wanting Fiji, that shouldn't be a problem

I've updated the list and I think I didn't miss anything. A few notes: - hckosice, do you want Nicaragua as 2nd choice as long as nobody else takes them or will you go full focus on Ecuador? - Malik and bestmen, I did not include SADR in the list. It's nothing personal and nothing political, it's just that they are not a nation competing in Rio If they compete in Tokyo 2020, you would of course be completely welcome to support them in this thread - To clarify: countries that have (1st choice) behind them are definitely taken, just like countries that only have a username behind them (like mine or Agger, one choice). Countries which are a 2nd or 3rd choice are still available if you want them as your first choice Wonderful to see so many people participating in this in a matter of hours already

Palestine is already taken because Malik had it as his first choice, so do you accept it if I write down Comores for you? Nobody has chosen Comores as 1st choice yet

That's a nation that's not only ineligible for this thread, but it's not even eligible for the Olympics

The situation is not straightforward at all. It's unfair for her to ban her, but it's quite unfair for the others to be competing against someone who is genetically between men and women.

Sorry, no Slovakia If you want Ecuador, be my guest