The Canadian team has a good chance to land on the podium. The reigning silver medalists from Turin in 2006, the team is now composed of Denny Morrison, Lucas Makowsky and Mathieu Giroux, and they're very familiar with the Richmond Oval. Home ice advantage could pay off.
Here is a look at the competition in the men's speed skating team pursuit, which starts on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET:
The Contenders
Because of its almost chaotic nature, team pursuit can be a hard event to call. In Turin four years ago, the Dutch were the clear favourites going in. But that all changed when speed skating superstar Sven Kramer fell in a corner.
Fast forward to 2010 and the Netherlands team, which includes Kramer, is again the favourite going in. Kramer will be especially determined to get the Dutch team a medal after a mistake by his coach
disqualified him from the 10,000-metre race.
Norway, led by the world's second best distance speed skater Havard Bokko, are also strong contenders. They won the final pursuit World Cup of the 2009-10 season in Salt Lake City.
The Top Five (World Cup standings)
1. Netherlands 260 pts
2. Norway 230 pts
3. Canada 186 pts
4. United States 180 pts
5. Italy 178 pts
Canadian Medal Hopes
The Canadian team has a good chance to land on the podium. The reigning silver medalists from Turin in 2006, the team is now composed of Denny Morrison, Lucas Makowsky and Mathieu Giroux, and they're very familiar with the Richmond Oval. Home ice advantage could pay off.
The Dark Horse
The Italians are the defending Olympic champions, but their gold in 2006 was more a matter of circumstance than actual skill. The team led by Enrico Fabris could, nevertheless, still pull off a surprise upset.
