Wednesday 16.02.2022 - Womens Team Sprint (Classic):

Winter Olympics Beijing 2022 - Cross-Country Skiing

Zhangjiakou Zone - National Cross-Country Skiing Centre

Event start: 12:00 CET (19:00 Local time)

The Womens Team Sprint events have been dominated by Sweden the latest years, two straight World Championships have been won (Seefeld 2019, Oberstdorf 2021), and they ended 2nd in the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018.
Maja Dahlqvist have won gold medals in both the two latest Team Sprints in the World Championships, and she proved that her form is still intact when she won the Classic Sprint in the season opener in Ruka with ease.
Dahlqvist won the Team Sprint gold medal with Jonna Sundling in Oberstdorf 2021, and Sundling also won the gold in the Classic Sprint then.
Sundling got injured one week ago, and will most likely have to rest her hand for 3 more weeks, before she can get back to her preparations for the Olympics. If she reaches top form in time, they will be very hard to defeat again.
Frida Karlsson showed that she is capable of defeating Therese Johaug at her best at distance races in Ruka, and she impressed when she made it to the final in Classic Sprint.
She stated that she wanted to compete at Classic Sprint in Ruka, because of the possibilty to participate in Team Sprint in the Olympics. That would have been a very good alternative for Team Sweden.
Add that Johanna Hagstrom ended 2nd behind Dahlqvist in Ruka, and she would be a gold favorite team member as well imo.

Norway are rated the closest candidates for the gold, and while I do believe Maiken Caspersen Falla can surprise and fight in the top in the Classic Sprint, I believe it will be hard to defeat the Swedish team here.
The Weng twins, Ane Stenseth and Anna Svendsen are all competing for a spot in this team, and Tiril Udnes Weng and Falla ended 6th in the World Championships in Oberstdorf 2021, 0:18 min behind Dahlqvist/Sundling.
Norway can claim medals, but Switzerland, Slovenia, Russia and USA ended in front of Norway in Oberstdorf, and Finland and Germany are on the rise now in the start of the season.

The Germans Victoria Carl and Katarina Hennig both proved solid form at the Classic distance race in Ruka, while Laura Gimmler won a Classic Sprint during pre-season two weeks ago. Big outsiders.

Finlands Krista Parmakoski and new rising talent Johanna Matintalo can absolutely get a good result with some more progress before the big event. Kerttu Niskanen also showed good Classic form in the opening weekend.

The Russians didnt impress in the opening weekend in Ruka, but be sure they will be close to top form for the Olympics.
Stupak/Nepryaeva have been their main Team Sprint duo lately, and at their best, they will fight in the top here.
Tatiana Sorina can also be a good alternative in a Classic Team Sprint.

Sweden have lost Sprint star Stina Nilsson (now competing in Biathlon) since the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics, and one of the best Sprinters last season, Linn Svahn, is (most likely) out for the rest of the season.
The World Champion from the Classic Sprint in Oberstdorf 2021, Jonna Sundling may reach top form just in time for the Olympics, but is small doubt.
Still Sweden is my clear favorite to win this event. The odds 2.20 isnt great, but it will most likely drop to under 2.00 before the event, unless more sickness/injuries occur.

Pick: Sweden, 4/10 stakes, odds 2.20@Unibet.
Pick: Sweden, 6/10 stakes, odds 2.20@Expekt.

Good luck!