Medal hunt in Tyrol: Questions and answers about the Nordic World Cup

At the Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld in Tyrol, cross-country skiers, ski jumpers and combined skiers have the chance to win gold, silver and bronze in a total of 13 decisions over 19 days (February 3 to March 22). Here we answer the most important questions about the title fights north of the Brenner.

Which South Tyroleans are at the start? The South Tyroleans nominated so far all come from Val Gardena: Samuel Costa, Aaron Kostner and Lukas Runggaldier will start in the Nordic combined, while Lara Malsiner, Elena Runggaldier and Alex Insam will tackle ski jumping. There will definitely be cross-country skiers from Bolzano Stefan Zelger, who qualified for the World Cup at the weekend . The veteran Dietmar Nöckler from Bruneck, who has been in poor form recently, is still worried about taking part in the World Cup. Italy's final squad will be announced on Monday afternoon. What are your chances in Seefeld? The local winter sports enthusiasts are clearly in the role of outsiders. Should cross-country skier Nöckler, contrary to expectations, compete in the team sprint with Italy's star Federico Pellegrino, he would be an absolute contender for a medal. At the moment, Francesco De Fabiani is clearly ahead in favor. In ski jumping and Nordic combined, Malsiner and Costa respectively have the potential to be in the top ten. In particular, the combined athlete who competes in the team sprint with Alessandro Pittin definitely has a chance of a top placement. Who are the Italian stars? The “Azzurri” clearly focus on cross-country skiers: the in-form Pellegrino and De Fabiani performed brilliantly at the World Cup dress rehearsal in Cogne , are the hottest contenders for precious metal in the Italian team. Where do the competitions take place? The heart of the 52nd Nordic World Ski Championships is in Seefeld. That's where most of the decisions are made and where all the medals are handed out. Because there is no suitable large hill in the 4000-inhabitant town at an altitude of over 1000 meters, some of the ski jumping competitions are held on the Bergisel ski jump in Innsbruck. It gets strange for the combined athletes, who first jump in Innsbruck and then complete their run in Seefeld. Who is missing from the title fights? The renowned ski jumpers Severin Freund (30, Germany) and Gregor Schlierenzauer (29, Austria) missed taking part in the title fights for performance reasons. Austria's cross-country skier Johannes Dürr, who tested positive for blood doping at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and recently spoke extensively about doping practices, also did not qualify. What should be considered? There is more presence for the women's ski jumping, who have their own team jumping for the first time in the history of the World Cup. Former top athlete Andreas Goldberger thinks the upgrade is good. “Maybe they’ll join the tour sooner or later. I would like it. I don't know of many reasons against it. We always have a spot free for the ladies,” said Goldberger.

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Medal hunt in Tyrol: Questions and answers about the Nordic World Cup

How many titles are there to award in Seefeld? What's new? Where is the benchmark for the “Azzurri”? The World Cup in Tyrol is the highlight of the season. A few stars of the scene are missing due to performance reasons.

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