World Cup Makes Sixth Stop of Tour in Whistler, Canada

The bobsled and skeleton World Cup makes its sixth stop of the tour on the 2010 Olympic track in Whistler, Canada this Friday and Saturday. The last time the tour visited the Canadian track was in December 2012.

The detailed Whistler World Cup schedule is outlined below, with race times listed in PT:

Friday, Jan. 22:
2 p.m.: Women's skeleton
6 pm.: Men's two-man bobsled

Saturday, Jan. 23:
10 a.m.: Men's skeleton
2 p.m.: Women's bobsled
6 p.m.: Men's two-man bobsled

Competitions from Whistler are scheduled to air on Universal HD and live on NBC Sports Live Extra. Please check local listings to find the Universal HD channel in your area and for updated air times.

Women's skeleton competitor Annie O'Shea (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) has had a great start to the second half on home ice with a first-career World Cup win in Lake Placid, N.Y. and a fourth place finish in Park City, Utah. O'Shea was ninth in the 2012 Whistler World Cup, and she'll be aiming for a top-six finish with the momentum from her last two races. O'Shea is currently ranked fifth overall in World Cup points. Kendall Wesenberg (Modesto, Calif.) finished just behind O'Shea on her home track in Park City last week with a fifth place finish and the World Cup rookie is ranked 11th on the elite circuit heading into Whistler's race. In only her third season sliding, Wesenberg will be sliding the challenging Canadian course for the first time of her young career.

Men's skeleton competitor Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wis.) has two top-five finishes to his name this season and is a favorite for the medals this weekend. The 2014 Olympic medalist earned his first-career World Cup medal, a bronze, in Whistler during a 2009 World Cup event. Nathan Crumpton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had a monumental weekend in Park City with a career-best fifth place World Cup placing, smashing his previous World Cup best finish of 18th from earlier this season.

Women's bobsled pilot Jamie Greubel Poser (Newtown, Pa.) is on a medal streak, medaling in all five races so far this season. Greubel Poser will pair with Cherrelle Garrett (Hayward, Calif.) in Under Armour's "Humble & Hungry" BMW-made sled. Greubel Poser is just 35 points from the overall lead, which is currently held by Canadian Kaillie Humphries.

Drivers Nicole Vogt (Dallas, Texas) and Brittany Reinbolt (Searcy, Ark.) made their World Cup debuts in Lake Placid and both drivers have finished in the top 10 over the last two weeks of racing. Vogt will race with Malaikah Love (Carbondale, Ill.) in the BMW wrapped sled, while Reinbolt's push athlete in the Aspen Institute's Project Play sled will be determined tomorrow following training.

The Whistler World Cup features double two-man races. Men's bobsled driver Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) will pilot the BMW-made and wrapped sled with Carlo Valdes (Newport Beach, Calif.) on Friday and Sam McGuffie (Cypress, Texas) on Saturday. Holcomb has a history of success in Whistler; the three-time Olympic medalist earned gold at the 2010 Olympic Games in four-man, gold in the 2010-2011 four-man World Cup race and gold in the 2012-2013 two-man World Cup competition. Holcomb enters the weekend ranked 10th in two-man standings, just one point behind teammate Nick Cunningham (Monterey, Calif.).

Cunningham will race the BMW sled dedicated to KOA with Frank Del Duca (Bethel, Maine) on Friday and Valdes on Saturday. Cunningham has two top-six finishes in two-man this season, including a season high fourth place finish in Winterberg, Germany. The two-time Olympian's best finish in Whistler was ninth during the 2012-2013 season.

Dakarai Kongela (Suquamish, Wash.) will make his World Cup debut on Friday. The World Cup debutant will compete alongside Nic Taylor (Hayward, Calif.) in the first two-man race and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor (Powhatan, Va.) in the second race. Kongela raced the North American Cup earlier this season and is currently ranked third in two-man points on the tour.