<p>Speed racing is a winter sport that is far from mainstream viewing, but it’s an integral discipline in the Winter Olympic Games.</p> <p>There are 14 medal events on a 400m indoor oval, with athletes racing against the clock in pairs for distance events like the women's 3,000m (Feb 7) and men's 10,000m (Feb 13), switching lanes each lap for fairness, while mass starts (Feb 21) and team pursuits involve direct competition.</p> <p>Key dates include opening races on Feb 7-9 (women's 3,000m, men's 5,000m, women's 1,000m), mid-events on Feb 11-15 (men's 1,000 m, sprints, team pursuits), and closes on Feb 19-21 (1,500m races, mass starts).</p> <h2>Milano - Cortina Olympic Speed Skating Betting Preview</h2> <p>To bet on speed skating events with informed decisions, it’s important to understand how these events work.</p> <p>In standard events, skaters pair up for time trials over fixed distances, with the fastest overall time winning. There is a requirement for athletes to change lanes throughout to ensure equity. Athletes can reach speeds of nearly 60 km/h.</p> <p>Mass starts pack 20-24 skaters racing together for points based on position, while team pursuits pit three skaters per team in elimination heats against the clock.</p> <h2>Milano - Cortina Olympic Speed Skating Betting Predictions</h2> <p>American <strong>Jordan Stolz </strong>dominates as the heavy favourite across multiple men's events. He enters Milano-Cortina holding 25 world track records and winning 22 straight events last season despite illness, positioning him for multi-gold sweeps in the sprints and 1,500m.</p> <p>His status as a heavy favourite and likely winner stems from recent World Cup golds in the 500m, 1,000m, and 1,500m, early Olympic qualification, and his resilience after winning silver and bronze post-pneumonia.</p> <p><strong>Femke Kok </strong>rules the women's 500m event after going unbeaten in the World Cup and her record-holding status. She has three straight World Sprint titles (2023-2025) and shattered the 12-year-old world record of 36.36s with a 36.09s at the 2025 Salt Lake City World Cup. She's won 7 World Cup 500m golds this season alone, including track records at Dutch Olympic Trials (36.87s).</p> <p><strong>Damian Zurek</strong> could be worth value in the betting of the men’s 500m and 1,000m, having defeated Stolz in World Cups. <strong>Jutta Leerdam</strong> could offer value in the women's mass start or team pursuit, should Kok and her Dutch teammates fail to get going. Leerdam could also be worth outside value in the women’s 1,000m, as she has the power to challenge Kok on varied ice.<br /> Still, we do think that it is likely that <strong>Stolz and Kok will be the gold medallists </strong>in their respective events.</p>