Bormio WC Finals

Here's what must be an official write-up posted on fasterskier.com.
Not exactly world championships, but more than the normal weekend.
Is anyone going to be grabbing the races?

RM

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The Valtellina ski area (Italy) is hosting the 2008 FIS World Cup Grand
Finals this weekend. Bormio is already a regular host of World Cup
Alpine skiing competitions, and is now making a welcome return to the
cross-country World Cup. This same event was held in 2000 with a series
of races that witnessed successes by athletes such as Bente Skari
Martinsen, Erling Jevne, Julija Tchepalova and Italian Stefania
Belmondo.

Three days of cross-country skiing will take place in Santa Caterina
Valfurva – the town that brought us the finest female Italian ski
champion of all time, Deborah Compagnoni. The 2.5 and 3.3 km freestyle
prologue is scheduled for Friday, March 14th, the 10 and 20 km
classical mass starts on Saturday, March 15th, and the 10 and 15 km
freestyle pursuits will be held on the Sunday – the last World Cup
races of the 2007-2008 World Cup season.

A “special� race formula has been designed to create a type of “mini�
Tour de Ski. The lead times registered in Friday’s races will be added
to those from Saturday’s races to create a starting order (handicap)
for Sunday’s race. So the first to cross the finish line on the last
day will be the winner of the “mini tour.� No WC points are awarded for
Saturday’s competition, but Sunday’s points will be doubled, and the
points for Friday’s prologue will only be awarded to the athletes that
cross the finish line on Sunday. This is a slightly unusual formula,
but it will certainly jazz things up a bit for this season’s World Cup
cross-country skiers.

The competitions will use the same track as 2000, but with a slight
variation – a mid-course climb. It’s a tough course with a height
difference of 180 meters over 5 km.

There’s already a type B uphill section 200 meters out from the start,
with a 30-meter height difference and an average gradient of 13-14%,
followed by a flat stretch and then another uphill section of 37 meters
with various interruptions. This uphill section is gentler than the
first, but with peaks of 18%. The trail then proceeds into the woods
before reaching the final 38-meter uphill section, which has an average
gradient of 9%. This technical ascent is broken up by a short downhill
section. The athletes then head off towards the finish line: the final
part of the course is fairly free-flowing, even slightly monotonous.
This looks to be a selective course and will definitely be challenging.

The only American scheduled to compete is Kris Freeman. We have not
confirmed which, if any, Canadians will be racing.

Official website: http://www.grandfinals2008.com