The men's relay race took place today, and it was a resounding victory for Norway. Second place went to Switzerland and Sweden took the final medal spot.

Tomorrow it's the women's turn, and I think it will be an equally clear victory tomorrow. But this time I think Sweden will take home the gold and cross the border, while Norway will have to settle for second place. After Norway and Sweden, it's more open. In my opinion, they will be between three teams: USA, Germany, and Finland.

The women will compete 4 x 7.5 km. The first two will compete in classic and the last two will compete in skating.

We saw on the men's side that the classic section was very tough, with a lot of uphills. We also know that normally there will be a much bigger impact for the women than on the men's. I think in tomorrow's classic section there will be big distances, and those who have good classic runners on those stages have done something smart.

On the skating part it will make little difference. We saw it on Saturday's ski change that it was relatively easy to hang and go backwards. That makes it difficult to go off on the skating part, but easier in the classic part. We saw that with Grond today, that even sprinters can assert themselves on this course here.

Germany

The Germans are fielding Fink-Hennig-Hoffmann-Carl. It is a solid and effective team. Fink is a solid runner who has made good strides this season. She came in at a fine 11th place in the 10 km classic in this championship. She is clearly in good shape.

Hennig has actually been a shadow of herself all season. But she achieved her best of the year in the 10 km classic, finishing 7th. We know what Hennig is good at, and on her best days she is one of the best classic runners in the world!

Hoffmann may be the runner with the least merit on the German team. But she is gaining trust on the team due to her strong results in this championship and is in great shape. With her 12th place

Carl is the most accomplished runner on the German team. She hasn't had the best championship, and is perhaps the only one on the German team who has disappointed during the World Cup.

It must be said that the weather has not been on her side, but it will probably be more or less the same tomorrow. But I think she will be saved by the easy trail that suits her very well.

United States

 

The colorful American ladies are fielding Brennan-Kern-Laukli-Diggins. If this had been 2-3 years ago, this would have been a powerful team, but I think this team will fall short tomorrow.

Brennan has been a shadow of herself this year, and has either not convinced in this championship or not. A 22nd place in her favorite distance of 10 km classic is what she has to beat.

Kern is perhaps the weakest card on this team. She showed good form in the sprint, where she finished 5th. But she had a tougher time in the 20 km ski change, where she finished 27th. She struggles at distance, and when there are such tough trails, I think she will struggle.

Laukli is a strong capacity runner. She has gone fast where the trails are hard and have a lot of uphills. But like all the other American girls, she has gone below par this year. 22nd place in the 20 km ski change is the farthest she has gone in the World Championships. She is probably looking forward to the 5 km on Sunday. She would like tougher trails for tomorrow's skating part tomorrow.

Diggins is the team captain. She might be the best runner to have on the final stage. She thrives on almost any trail when she puts on skate skis, and will be scary if the USA changes up in the medal game.

It must be said that the USA has probably struggled a bit with their skis in this championship, and in the men's relay today it looked like they had good skis.

Conclusion

 

 

As you may have guessed when I introduced the teams, I have faith in the German team to come before the USA. It is for the simple reason that it will make a big difference in the classic part. I think the Germans have much better classic runners at the start than the USA has. This means that a solid gap can most likely be established before the skating stages begin. Brennan is not the runner she was longer, but Kern in particular can lose a lot to Hennig. I can imagine that the Germans can switch a full 1 minute ahead of the USA before the 3rd stage. Then it will take a lot for Laukli and Diggins to catch up with Germany's entire lead. I guess Diggins CAN take about 30 seconds off Carl on a normal day. But I think the gap will be at least double that.

We play the following:

Norway at 13:15 USA – Germany: Germany (1 . 60) 4 units