Women's Relay

I hope the video comes up for the women, because while it wasn't
terribly competitive for first place, Kuitunen and Saarinen put on a
clinic. They smoked the field on the classic legs with identical
times, taking 49 seconds together. I'll admit the thought crossed my
mind about illicit aids, but it looks like they are just that superior
to the competition right now (skis, inspiration, training). Kristin
Steira showed her stuff, taking 26 seconds out of the Finn in leg
three, and she wasn't even the fastest, honors going to Charlotte Kalla
of Sweden (the Swedes came in fourth with two 19 years on the skating
legs). Evi Sachenbacher really turned it on in leg four, catching and
passing Astrid Jacobsen from 1:03 back to give Germany second by 11
secs. The Norwegian women were great in coming out right away to
support their comrade, but I'm sure it will sit hard for awhile being
taken apart like that. And, fittingly, Katka went out in a blaze of
glory with easily the fastest leg of the day, getting the Czechs to
fifth. As for the U.S. and Canadians, they were definitely on another
continent from the above. I wonder if something was wrong with the
skis, with Laura Valas (cl) and Caitlin Compton (sk) each losing 1:30-2
mins in 5k.

The men are on the Eurosport link tonight at 12:30 ET.

rm