The Kuusamo Mini Tour (Ruuka Triple) is the first of three tours in the World Cup this season – consisting of a classic sprint on Friday, an interval start skating race on Saturday (10 / 5 km) and a 15/10 km chasing start on Sunday.

• Set up your predictions here for the overall minitour ( by Friday 10:30 CET)
• Set up your predictions for the sprint here ( by Friday 10:30 CET)
• Set up your predictions for the Saturday 5/10 km free here (by Saturday 10:00 CET)
• Set up your predictions for the Sunday chasing start (individual times) here (by Sunday 10:45 CET)

Some skiers (for example Gällivare winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby) are considering not to start due to the cold weather. In addition several Swedish and Norwegian skiers are sick and will not come to the start either. Charlotte Kalla, Ida Ingemarsdotter, Maiken Falla and Johan Olsson are some of the skiers who are not starting.

Note that the following preview is written before start lists were available. Start lists will be published Thursday evening – typically around 18:00 CET.

Note! The race predictions for the overall MiniTour must be in ahead of the sprint start!

Race preview: Women

Marit Bjørgen is the big favourite in the womens class – as always. With victory in both the 2010 and 2011 editions and a victory in Gällivare last weekend, Kalla not starting and Kowalczyk not in top shape, it is difficult to see somebody else taking the victory. The main contender is Therese Johaug – if she manages to get some bonus seconds from the sprint, she could give Johaug a fight for the overall victory.

In addition to the two Norwegian and Kowalczyk (who finished down on 5th place last year), Kikkan Randall is the big name in the womens class after Gällivare. Also count in the rest of the Norwegians for the fight for the podium.

Race preview: Men

The mens class is a lot more open – as always. Petter Northug is a favourite after his victory last year – in the final chasing start he has the advantage of knowing that he can beat anybody in the last 100 meters. Dario Cologna disappointed last weekend – but the skis and snow has to take some of the blame for the result in Gällivare, so the Swiss will surely be in for the fight. Also count in the Russians – Legkov took the Kuusamo mini tour in 2010.

Eldar Rønning finished 3rd last year, and could be in for the fight for the medals this year as well. Marcus Hellner and the other Swedes should also be counted among the favourites.

Previous editions: Men

Name		2011 Kuusamo 2011-11-27 25 km M	2010 Kuusamo 2010-11-28 25 km M
LEGKOV Alexander		7th	1st
NORTHUG Petter jr.		1st
COLOGNA Dario		2nd	2nd
ROENNING Eldar		3rd	21st
RICKARDSSON Daniel		13rd	3rd
HELLNER Marcus		6th	4th
POLTORANIN Alexey		4th	15th
OLSSON Johan		5th	7th
VYLEGZHANIN Maxim		18th	5th
CHERNOUSOV Ilia		27th	6th
SEDOV Petr		10th	8th
MANIFICAT Maurice		8th	19th
BAUER Lukas		9th	9th
KERSHAW Devon		20th	10th

Previous editions: Women

Name		2011 Kuusamo 2011-11-27 15 km M	2010 Kuusamo 2010-11-28 15 km M
BJOERGEN Marit		1st	1st
KOWALCZYK Justyna		5th	2nd
JOHAUG Therese		2nd	10th
SKOFTERUD Vibeke W		3rd	6th
KALLA Charlotte		4th	3rd
FESSEL Nicole		13rd	4th
TCHEKALEVA Yulia			5th
RANDALL Kikkan		6th	19th
MAJDIC Petra			7th
SAARINEN Aino- Kaisa		7th
LONGA Marianna			8th
HAAG Anna		8th	11st
FOLLIS Arianna			9th
KRISTOFFERSEN Marthe		9th
STEIRA Kristin Stoermer		10th

Sprint – Race preview

The Kuusamo Mini Tour (Ruuka Triple) opens with a classic sprint as has been the tradition for some years. The weather forecast for the weekend is winterly cold – with some runners (for example Gällivare winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby) considering not to start due to the cold weather.

Several Swedish and Norwegian skiers are sick and will not come to the start either. Charlotte Kalla, Ida Ingemarsdotter, Maiken Falla and Johan Olsson are some of the skiers who are not starting.

Women Sprint – Race preview

The races this weekend get started on Friday with a classic sprint (qualification from 10:30 CET – finals from 12:30 CET). With victories in the three last classic sprints in the World Cup last season – and the both the 2010 and 2011 edition of the Kuusamo classic sprint in November, Marit Bjørgen (Norway) is the overwhelming favourite. The action will as usually in Kuusamo be on the uphill coming back into the stadium. With the first sprint of the season, we’ll get to see some skiers which we have not seen yet this season.

Behind Bjørgen it is quite open in the classic sprint scene. Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland) is not yet in shape – and has not managed to deliver results in the Kuusamo sprint the last two seasons. Kalla and Falla are not on the start list due to illness. Julia Ivanova finished the last season very well with two 2nd places in the World Cup on classic sprints, but did not perform well in the national classic sprint race in Muono two weeks ago. Kikkan Randall has not been on the very top in the latest classic sprints, but with the shape she has shown lately she could very well finish top 3 – and even fight with Bjørgen for the win. Astrid Jacobsen has shown good shape but no good results yet – she is definitely one to expect in a final.

Men Sprint – Race preview

Most of the big names will be in the field in the mens class – with a tight fight for the win expected. As always in the Tours, this will be a fight between the all-rounders and the sprinters. The sprinters will surely be hungry for success as this is their first chance to show form this season! In the 8 classic sprints selected as relevant for this race, we have 7 different winners! This is a very open race indeed!

Eirik Brandsdal (Norway) finished the previous season in an excellent way – winning the two last classic sprints in Drammen and Stockholm. Emil Jönsson took the Lahti classic sprint a few days earlier, while Cologna and Kruikov were successful in Otepää and Oberstdorf earlier in 2012. The Kuusamo classic sprint of 2011 saw a Swedish winner – Teodor Peterson – while two Norwegians won the 2010 and 2009 editions – Dahl and Hattestad respectively.

In addition to the winners listed above, count in Northug, Hellner, Petukhov, Morilov and Pettersen among the favourites.

Classic sprints: Men

Name		2012 Stockholm 2012-03-14 SP C Final	2012 Drammen 2012-03-07 SP C Final	2012 Lahti 2012-03-04 SP C Final	2012 Otepaa 2012-01-21 SP C Final	2011 Oberstdorf 2011-12-31 SP C Final	2011 Kuusamo 2011-11-25 SP C Final	2010 Kuusamo 2010-11-26 SP 1.4 km C Final	2009 Kuusamo 2009-11-28 SP 1.4 km C Final
JOENSSON Emil		12nd	5th	1st		26th		8th	6th
KRIUKOV Nikita		26th	13rd	3rd	5th	1st	2nd	64th	3rd
PETERSON Teodor		2nd	9th	2nd	26th	10th	1st		29th
COLOGNA Dario		13rd	19th	46th	1st	5th	11st	24th
BRANDSDAL Eirik		1st	1st	16th	3rd		4th
DAHL John Kristian		8th	53rd	35th			48th	1st	4th
HATTESTAD Ola Vigen		4th	38th	4th	2nd	33rd	20th	4th	1st
PETTERSEN Oeystein			54th	34th	6th		3rd		2nd
VALJAS Len		3rd	2nd	19th	21st		5th	29th
POLTORANIN Alexey		5th			19th		45th	2nd
PETUKHOV Alexey		16th	22nd	48th	25th	2nd	9th	25th	32nd
JAUHOJAERVI Sami			20th	5th	24th	19th	26th	3rd	21st
MORILOV Nikolay		6th	8th	8th	28th	3rd	121st	7th	12nd
GOLBERG Paal		22nd	3rd	28th	8th
PANZHINSKIY Alexander			4th	21st	12nd			49th	10th
HARVEY Alex		14th	16th	44th	4th	17th	24th	9th	55th
JAPAROV Dmitriy		30th				4th
PASINI Renato			49th				29th	5th
LASSILA Kalle			39th	25th	10th			34th	5th
PENTSINEN Anssi			14th	22nd	27th		6th	18th	44th
RETIVYKH Gleb		9th	10th	6th	9th
NORTHUG Petter jr.						6th	16th
NEWELL Andrew		7th	6th	15th	7th	25th	19th	6th	7th
PASINI Fabio		15th	34th	7th		14th		59th	37th
VYLEGZHANIN Maxim		46th	41st			7th	69th	61st
MODIN Jesper			31st	24th	18th		7th	22nd	26th
HAMILTON Simeon			7th	11st	33rd	34th		67th
CHEBOTKO Nikolay						16th	8th	35th	38th
KJOELSTAD Johan					17th				8th
MANIFICAT Maurice		32nd			37th	8th	58th	78th
ROENNING Eldar		17th				23rd	17th	33rd	9th
PERSSON Simon			62nd	9th
HELLNER Marcus		10th		59th		9th	53rd	63rd
SELLIS Siim			60th	10th	43rd
PAAKKONEN Lasse			24th	17th	42nd		14th	10th	28th
CHERNOUSOV Ilia		33rd				30th	10th	46th

Classic sprints: Women

Name		2012 Stockholm 2012-03-14 SP C Final	2012 Drammen 2012-03-07 SP C Final	2012 Lahti 2012-03-04 SP C Final	2012 Otepaa 2012-01-21 SP C Final	2011 Oberstdorf 2011-12-31 SP C Final	2011 Kuusamo 2011-11-25 SP C Final	2010 Kuusamo 2010-11-26 SP 1.2 km C Final	2009 Kuusamo 2009-11-28 SP 1.2 km C Final
BJOERGEN Marit		1st	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	1st	1st
KOWALCZYK Justyna		9th	3rd	3rd	1st	1st	13rd	11st	1st
KALLA Charlotte		4th	12nd	9th	18th	8th	2nd	4th
MAJDIC Petra								2nd	2nd
IVANOVA Julia		2nd		2nd		32nd	24th	51st
JACOBSEN Astrid Uhrenholdt		42nd	2nd		21st	3rd	74th	3rd
FALLA Maiken Caspersen		3rd	4th	4th	12nd		11st	12nd	6th
SKOFTERUD Vibeke W		43rd			35th		3rd	10th
PROCHAZKOVA Alena			40th	36th	24th		16th	7th	3rd
MATVEEVA Natalia			28th	7th	3rd	4th	6th
SAARINEN Aino- Kaisa		22nd		26th	4th	16th	18th		4th
RANDALL Kikkan		8th	11st	5th	9th	9th	4th	42nd	36th
VISNAR Katja		5th	13rd	11st	10th	15th	9th	21st	12nd
INGEMARSDOTTER Ida		10th	22nd	39th	8th	5th	15th	15th	15th
SMUTNA Katerina		6th	31st	24th	5th	27th	7th	16th	17th
SHAPOVALOVA Evgenia			20th	27th	26th				5th
CRAWFORD Chandra		12nd	5th	69th	22nd		22nd	45th	49th
NATSUMI Madoka								5th	22nd
KYLLOENEN Anne		11st	7th	8th	15th	21st	5th	13rd	34th
MALVALEHTO Mona-Lisa		13rd	9th	22nd	6th		21st		43rd
DOTSENKO Anastasia		16th	14th	6th		10th	17th	23rd
LONGA Marianna								6th
JEAN Aurore		26th	6th	21st		6th	42nd	39th
FABJAN Vesna		7th	32nd	17th	33rd	11st	25th	53rd	27th
OESTBERG Ingvild Flugstad		20th	21st	15th	7th	7th	36th	36th	30th
FALK Hanna								17th	7th
GAIAZOVA Daria		23rd	8th	13rd	17th		14th	24th
JOHAUG Therese		32nd		42nd	20th	18th	8th	72nd
BOEHLER Stefanie		39th	56th	49th		26th	31st	9th	8th
FOLLIS Arianna								8th	26th
OLSSON Anna									9th
TURYSHEVA Elena									10th
GJEITNES Kari Vikhagen			45th	10th				20th	18th
FESSEL Nicole		14th	10th	12nd	19th	23rd	12nd	26th	41st
BRODIN Hanna		17th	17th	19th	14th	38th	10th

10/5 km Free Preview

10 km Free individual start for men and 5 km Free individual start for women have only been part of the World Cup circuit once in the last years – and that is in last years edition of the Kuusamo Tour.

The shorter distance makes the race a bit more similar to a prologue – especially for the women which race only 5 kilometers. However, expect the same runners to have capacity on the 10/5 km as on the 15/10 km Free in Gällivare last weekend.

In the womens class we have the usual favourites. The 5 km might be Johaugs first big chance to beat Marit Bjørgen this season, though. Also look out for Kikkan Randall who got take a popular World Cup victory if everything plays her way.

In the mens class Martin Johnsrud Sundby could repeat last weekend victory on 15 km free – if he takes the chance on starting in cold Finland. Number two and three from last weekend – Hellner and Poltoranin should also be counted in – as well as Northug and Cologna. One man to keep an extra eye on is Matti Heikkinen who showed excellent shape with a 4th place last weekend in Gällivare – now he is on home ground and wants to show results in front of the home crowd.

Name		2012 Gallivare 2012-11-24 15 km F	2011 Kuusamo 2011-11-26 10 km F	2011 Sjusjoen 2011-11-19 15 km F	2010 Gällivare 2010-11-20 15 km F
HELLNER Marcus		3rd	6th	9th	1st
NORTHUG Petter jr.		7th	1st	2nd
OLSSON Johan		31st	7th	1st	32nd
SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud		1st
CLARA Roland		18th	2nd	3rd	20th
POLTORANIN Alexey		2nd	22nd	10th	22nd
COLOGNA Dario		19th	4th	7th	2nd
RICKARDSSON Daniel			34th	30th	3rd
MANIFICAT Maurice		39th	3rd	17th	17th
HEIKKINEN Matti		4th		40th	82nd
HALFVARSSON Calle		43rd	21st	4th	50th
JESPERSEN Chris Andre			5th	23rd	4th
SEDOV Petr			13rd	59th	5th
HARVEY Alex		36th	27th	5th	34th
ROETHE Sjur		5th	11st	36th	7th
LEGKOV Alexander		9th	11st	11st	6th
DOLIDOVICH Sergei		6th	50th		60th
FISCHER Remo		46th	9th	6th	18th
BAUER Lukas		13rd	10th		8th
HOFER David		12nd	8th	12nd	27th
BERGER Lars				8th
BELOV Evgeniy		8th	17th	52nd	30th
FREEMAN Kris		33rd	24th	55th	9th
JOHNSRUD SUNDBY Martin				13rd	10th
CHERNOUSOV Ilia		10th	65th	85th	24th

Name		2012 Gallivare 2012-11-24 10 km F	2011 Davos 2011-12-10 15 km F	2011 Kuusamo 2011-11-26 5 km F	2011 Sjusjoen 2011-11-19 10 km F	2010 Gällivare 2010-11-20 10 km F
BJOERGEN Marit		1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
JOHAUG Therese		2nd	3rd	4th	7th	9th
KALLA Charlotte		4th	14th	3rd	2nd	2nd
SKOFTERUD Vibeke W		6th	2nd	2nd	3rd	6th
FOLLIS Arianna						3rd
RANDALL Kikkan		3rd	27th	5th	8th	19th
BERGER Tora					4th
KRISTOFFERSEN Marthe		23rd	4th	16th	6th	5th
STEIRA Kristin Stoermer		25th	6th	21st	5th	4th
KOWALCZYK Justyna		27th	5th	6th	10th	7th
BROOKS Holly		5th	13rd	28th	36th
FALLA Maiken Caspersen				7th	24th
LARSEN Lisa		7th	44th	43rd
SAARINEN Aino- Kaisa			7th	18th	27th
HAGEN Martine Ek		8th			35th
FESSEL Nicole		22nd		8th	47th	9th
FAIVRE PICON Anouk		45th	8th	42nd	31st	45th
HAAG Anna		56th	12nd	17th	15th	8th
WENG Heidi		17th	9th	24th	13rd
TCHEKALEVA Yulia		9th				20th
OESTBERG Ingvild Flugstad		30th	45th	30th	9th	35th
LAHTEENMAKI Krista		24th	11st	9th	11st	21st
SARASOJA-LILJA Riikka		20th	10th	15th	20th
KOROSTELEVA Natalia		10th	20th	13rd		51st
KYLLOENEN Anne		19th		10th