The World Cup cross-country ski races in Changchun, China, will be staged, strangely enough, on Thursday and Friday, rather than over the weekend, so as to create the longest-possible break before the World Championships start in Sapporo, Japan, next week.
By hosting a World Cup for the second straight year, Changchun is positioning itself as the center of cross-country skiing in China - a laughable statement now, but one which might matter in, say, five or ten years if the Chinese government decides to fund a crash program in nordic skiing. Changchun just hosted the Sixth Asian Winter Games (in which China won the most medals of every color, including several in cross-country skiing) and annually holds the Chinese Vasaloppet, the 50km counterpart to the bigger, longer race in Sweden (and two other Vasaloppets in Japan and Minnesota).
Given the difficulty of getting to China and the upcoming Worlds in Sapporo, the fields for Thursday's classical-technique sprints are very small. Only 35 women will compete (and fifteen are Chinese racers who are part of the "national group" that is permitted to start as a courtesy to each host nation but aren't likely to do well) and just 47 men. Few classical-technique specialists are racing on the women's side, so that podium should feature some unfamiliar faces. The entire Norwegian and Swedish sprint teams are due to compete in the men's races, though, so they should dominate. My picks: