The nordic skiing season in Europe is almost on hold for lack of snow - a situation which one Nordic meteorologist predicted may all but end skiing in Scandinavia by 2050. In the here and now, it's just messy. Last weekend's cross-country sprint and distance competitions in Italy were replaced by a pair of distance races this Wednesday. The weekend's jumping competition in the Czech Republic were cancelled outright, after the previous weekend's competition was moved from Trondheim to Lillehammer, Norway - where Swiss Simon Amman and Austrian teenager Gregor Schlierenzauer won.
Only biathlon seems to be surviving relatively unscathed, and then only by staging two back-to-back events at Hochfilzen, Austria: three sets of races originally scheduled there last weekend, and four sets of races that had been scheduled for snowless Orsblie, Slovakia, this week. So far, men's biathlon has been all Ole Einar Bjørndalen: in addition to a World Cup XC race at Gällivare, Bjørndalen has won all five of the individual races this season - including one while wearing a Speedo over his racing suit. On the women's side, a range of winners have emerged. At the opening biathlon competitions two weeks ago at Östersund, Sweden , Linda Grubben won the women's pursuit while two first time winners - Magdalena Gwizdon of Poland and Irina Malgina of Russia - won the women's sprint and individual races, respectively. The past weekend's races at Hochfilzen saw Andrea Henkel of Germany win the sprint and pursuit events, and the Russian relay teams take both the men's and the women's events. North American biathletes have been doing well. Nina Kocher of Canada finished third and Lanny Barnes of the U.S. finished fifteenth in the women's individual race at Oestersund; American Tim Burke surpassed strong results at Oestersund by finishing 10th in the sprint and 20th in the pursuit - and then racing hard on the scramble leg of the men's relay, tagging off in fifth position. Burke's skiing is as strong as almost anyone's on the circuit, so if his shooting improves, he may yet contend for a podium spot.
Meteorological troubles notwithstanding, the cross-country circuit resumes on Wednesday with rare mid-week distance races at Cogne/Val d'Aosta, Italy: 10km for women (down from a mass-start 15km), 15km for men (down from a mass-start 30km). Skied in the classical technique from an interval start, the races are the penultimate competitions before the Tour de Ski at the year's end; next weekend sees sprints and a mass-start skating race at La Clusaz, France. My picks for Cogne:
Women's 10km Classical Style
1. Kristina Smigun (EST)
2. Virpi Kuitunen (FIN)
3. Marit Bjørgen (NOR)
Men's 15km Classical Style
1. Eldar Rønning (NOR)
2. Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset (NOR)
3. Vincent Vittoz (FRA)