Petter Northug of Norway fights his way to a first-place finish in the 2010 Tour de Ski Men's 30 km pursuit race in northern Italy. A grueling event modeled on cycling races, it includes eight races in 10 days, taking place in three different countries. Elvis Piazzi/AP
Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland celebrates her World Cup win in 10km in Otepää, Estonia, this year. Issued a two-year ban for doping in 2005, Kowalczyk got her sentence reduced to one year, enabling her to win bronze at the 2006 Torino Games – Poland's first medal in cross-country skiing. Ints Kalnins/Reuters
An icy Justyna Kowalczyk at the finish of the 2010 World Cup in Rybinsk, Russia, where she collected more points for the overall World Cup title awarded at the end of the season. She and Petra Majdic of Slovenia, both tall, intimidating women from former communist countries with little skiing tradition, have been vying for the top spot. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP
Emil Joensson of Sweden (l.) and Nikita Kriukov of Russia collapse after diving across the line in a World Cup sprint. In cross-country skiing, where the first toe – not head – across the line wins gold, it's good to have big feet. In this case, Joensson prevailed. Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Hometown girls Holly Brooks (l.) and Kikkan Randall lead the pack at US Nationals in Anchorage. Randall, a top World Cup skier, won the 20 km by 10 seconds. But second was stellar for Brooks, a mediocre college skier turned coach who decided last summer to pursue the Olympics – inspiring a whole community that is now sporting "Go Holly!" stickers on its bumpers. Michael Dinneen/AP
Norway celebrates a World Cup relay victory in 2008 – an event that always causes thousands of living rooms to erupt in cheers across their home country, where skiers are treated like NFL stars in the US. The team is looking to redeem a disappointing performance at the 2006 Games, where they were trounced by their Italian hosts. Anders Wiklund/Scanpix/Reuters/File
Andrew Newell practices explosive sprint starts from a starting gate at a pre-season camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. Part of a resurgent US Ski Team, Newell – a maverick who skateboards and does back flips over cars on his skinny skis – is one of at least three athletes who could win America's first medal in the sport since 1976. Alfredo Sosa/The Christian Science Monitor
American Kikkan Randall made history by winning silver in the sprint at 2009 Nordic World Championships. If she makes the podium in Vancouver, she would be the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. Keep an eye out for girl with the hot-pink hair. David W. Cerny/Reuters/File
Canada is bringing one of its strongest-ever cross-country skiing teams this year. Retired Canadian skier The success of Beckie Scott, who won the first medal for a North American woman at the 2002 Games, inspired a new generation of skiers that is now consistently placing in the top 10 internationally. Todd Korol/Reuters
In 2006, Vermont native Andrew Newell won America's first World Cup medal since 1983 – the year he was born. Ranked in the top three for sprints since then, he spends most of his winters living out of a bag in Europe, traveling from Scandinavian climes such as Trondheim, Norway (below), to the sunny Alps. Philip Bowen
Kris Freeman, the best US men's distance skier, leads the pack at a World Cup in Norway earlier this season. Freeman came within less than two seconds of the podium at Worlds last year, and is looking to win America's first medal since 1976 in Vancouver. Cornelius Poppe/Scanpix/Reuters/File
New Hampshire native Kris Freeman, makes his way to a second place finish in the 30 km classic at US Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska, this year. Freeman is a member of one of the strongest American Olympic cross-country skiing teams in years. Michael Dinneen/AP
Petra Majdic (l.), voted Slovenia's Sportswoman of the Year three times in the past four years, celebrates a silver-medal performance on the Tour de Ski in January. Sweden's Hanna Falk, a young sprinting sensation, took gold, and Finland's Aino Kaisa Saarinen, placed third. AP Photo
Kikkan Randall – who as a spunky teen dubbed herself Kikkanimal – powers toward another national title in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. She won all four races at the championships in January, bringing her total national titles to 14. Michael Dinneen/AP
A former alpine skier, Liz Stephen switched to cross-country after burning out on alpine in high school. Her coach taught her to ski in November; in March she won Junior Nationals. She went on to tie for first at US Nationals in 2006 (below) and last year had the best distance results of any US woman, finishing 15th at Worlds. Douglas C. Pizac/AP
Petra Majdic (fluorescent yellow suit) of Slovenia leads a sprint heat on the World Cup. Majdic, one of the best sprinters in the world, could win the first Winter Olympic medal for her country in Vancouver. Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Two-time gold medalist Björn Lind of Sweden competes in the qualifying round of a World Cup sprint earlier this season. The top 30 qualifiers go on to the heats, with six skiers vying for gold in the final. Though technically a "sprint" of about a mile, the event demands physical and mental endurance to remain focused and fast for up to four heats spread out over the course of the day. Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Sara Renner, a 2006 silver medalist, is returning to the Olympic scene as a mother. Though she has yet to return to her previous form, she will have the advantage of an enthusiastic home crowd. Todd Korol/Reuters
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed hundreds of thousands of his cheering supporters in Istanbul saying, 'My patience has run out' with anti-government protests.
Turkey’s largest city was divided on Sunday by competing shows of force, between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who staged a mammoth rally of loyalists, and anti-government demonstrators, who clashed with police on Istanbul's streets once again to protest his rule.
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