PRESSMANIA

The Norwegian is already the most successful biathlete in Olympic history with 11 medals and he will be looking to add to his six golds in Sochi in what will be his sixth Olympics.

Bjorndalen, who turned 40 this month, has not enjoyed his best season and has not won a World Championships individual medal since Vancouver where he won silver in the individual and gold in the team relay.

"I really want to do well in the sprint. This used to be one of my best disciplines," said Bjorndalen, who has won 50 Olympic and World Championship medals.

"Not everything has gone right for me over the last few years. Last year I prepared well for the World Championships and was close to getting the result I wanted.

"Therefore, I am going to put in a lot of effort into doing well in the sprint (in Sochi)."

His Norwegian team mate Emil Hegle Svendsen, who won four gold medals at the 2013 World Championships in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, and Frenchman Martin Fourcade are the two big favourites going into the Olympics.

Fourcade has been in excellent form and has been ranked the best overall biathlete for the last two seasons in the World Cup.

The host nation's hopes will rest on Evgeni Ustyugov, who won gold in Vancouver in the Mass Start and Anton Shipulin, who claimed two medals at the last World Championships.

However, there best hope of bringing home a medal could be in the relay, where the country is ranked number one in the world rankings.

Following Magdelena Neuner's shock retirement at the age of 24, the women's field is wide open.

The German was the most successful female athlete at the World Championships with 17 medals, but suffering from a lack of motivation she decided to quit the sport in March 2012.

Tora Berger looks set to take over from where Neuner left off, the Norwegian having won four gold medals at the last World Championships in Nove Mesto.

She is currently third in the World Cup rankings and will be determined to put in a good performance in Sochi, with the 32-year-old intending to retire after the games.

Daria Domracheva and the young Czech biathlete Gabriela Soukalova are more than capable of upsetting Berger.

Domracheva, from Belarus, is the reigning mass start world champion and has won two World Cup events this season.

However, it is the 24-year-old Czech who has been setting the pace on the World Cup this season with three wins putting her top of the rankings.

Germany's 36-year-old Andrea Henkel is in the twilight of her career, having first competed at the Salt Lake City Games, but is still a force to be reckoned with although it would be a surprise if she adds to her four career Olympic medals in Sochi.

Russia won just one medal in the women's biathlon event at the Vancouver Olympics, in the relay, and they have a relatively young squad, with Olga Vilukhina and Irina Starykh 25 and 26 respectively.

They will be led by 35-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist Olga Zaitseva, who is also hoping to enjoy a golden swansong in Sochi before retiring.

The squad are coached by German Wolfgang Pichler and Zaitseva agrees with his belief that Russia's women will win at least one individual gold.

"He always thinks we will be the best, but of course that is not always the case," she said. "We are doing everything to try and win. We are not sitting around or not getting a suntan.

"We are doing everything in our power to try and win."

The 19-year-old rose from 31st to a career-high 19th thanks to her surprise run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open last week.

"Early at the beginning of the year I said as a ranking goal I wanted to be in the top 20 so I have accomplished that," Bouchard told reporters in Singapore.

"So now I need to change my goals, of course its all about consistency as well and staying in the top 20 and getting to a certain level and staying there."

Having dispatched former world number one Ana Ivanovic with some powerful hitting in the quarter-finals, the former junior Wimbledon champion struggled to a straight sets defeat to eventual champion Li Na in the last four.

Undeterred, the tall blonde haired right hander said the experience of reaching a first grand slam semi had been invaluable.

"Yeah I had a good experience at the Australian Open this year, I played really well and am happy with how it went but of course I'm never happy when I lose a match so disappointed with that but really happy to get the experience," she said.

"I'd never played a tournament longer than a week before so still being in the same tournament 10 days after it started was new to me and really interesting so I hope I can experience that many more times.

"It gave me more self confidence and showed me that I belong at the top level and that I can play against great players and play well and keep my composure on big courts as well. I played three matches on Rod Laver and it was such a good experience."

Bouchard was in the southeast Asian citystate to help the WTA promote their end of season championships, which will take place in Singapore for the first time in October.

Her strong run in Melbourne left her joint third in the Road to Singapore rankings and she revealed she was eyeing a spot in the top eight which would earn her a berth at the finals in Singapore.

"I think this year is going to be my second full year on the Tour so I'm looking forward to doing everything again," said the Montreal-born Bouchard, who is yet to win a WTA event.

"I know all the experiences, I've been to all the cities and the big tournaments so I'm just looking forward to being on tour and playing the sport I love and improving as a tennis player.

"Of course it will be really tough to make them, the top eight in the world is a great achievement so its one of my goals and I'm just really looking forward to working hard and trying to get there."

Professor Wayne McLaughlin of Caribbean Toxicology made the claim on day two of the JADCO hearing examining the case of former 100 metres world record holder Powell, who tested positive last year and faces a two-year ban if found guilty.

"It (oxilofrine) doesn't improve speed," McLaughlin said, noting his company carried two standard tests similar to those used in the WADA-accredited laboratory in Montreal that found oxilofrine in the supplement Epiphany D1.

Powell, 31, was one of five Jamaicans, along with former training partner Sherone Simpson, to test positive at the national championships in June. Her hearing resumes on Feb. 4.

Both sprinters have blamed Canadian trainer Chris Xuereb for the failed tests, saying he supplied supplements, including Epiphany D1, which has since been found to contain oxilofrine.

Xuereb has denied providing them with performance-enhancing drugs and said the sprinters should take responsibility for their failed dope tests.

On Wednesday, Powell's agent Paul Doyle refuted suggestions by JADCO's attorney Lackston Robinson that not enough due diligence had been carried out before the Canadian physical therapist was hired to work with the Jamaican sprinter.

"I simply relied on the referrals of well known and trusted physios who we had worked with in the past," he told the hearing.

The JADCO attorney underlined that Xureb, who, in addition to handling Powell's physical recovery, was also administering anti-inflammatory injections and Vitamin B12, was neither certified as a doctor, massage therapist, chiropractor or physiotherapist.

The hearing for the twice world championship bronze medallist will resume on February 12.

Britain's Chris Froome must successfully navigate a number of traps lurking around a tricky 2014 Tour de France route if he is to retain his title in cycling's most prestigious stage race.

Starting in northern England on July 5, the Tour features stretches of cobbled roads in northern France, a treacherous crossing of the Vosges mountains and only one time trial - a favourite discipline of Team Sky leader Froome. "Uncertainty is part of the competition," Tour director Christian Prudhomme told reporters when asked about the cobbled sections, which could turn the fifth stage into a lottery.

"It would not make sense to avoid the cobbles when we go through northern France," he added.

But Froome told reporters: "If you know a rider who likes the cobbles, you tell me."


Team Sky sports director Nicolas Portal told Reuters: "It's an interesting route, anything can happen, we'll have to be careful. It's good for the pure climbers. They (the organisers) made it spicier.

"It is going to be an intense battle every day on every terrain."

Asked if Froome should fear the cobbles, Portal replied: "Even though he does not have a beautiful style on the bike, Chris is rarely on the ground. He knows how to handle his bike."





Prudhomme said the 2014 Tour would pay its respects to those who died in World War One as the peloton will ride on the Chemin des Dames and Verdun where many battles took place a century ago.

"I'd like to see Bradley Wiggins there," International Cycling Union (UCI) president Brian Cookson told a media briefing.

Wiggins won the 2012 race but sat out of this year's edition through injury and it is unclear whether he will take part in the 2014 Tour along with team mate Froome.

"It will keep the media guessing in speculation," said Cookson.

Should Froome cope with the 15 km of cobbles spread out over nine sections, where his rivals will hope to catch the Team Sky juggernaut off guard on a terrain unlikely to suit them, the Briton will then need to combat three mountain ranges.

They will start in the Vosges, with the 10th stage being "a real mountain stage where the best GC (general classification) riders should fight", according to Prudhomme.

The stage ends at the top of the Planche des Belles Filles, where Froome triumphed last year.