As bobsledding's elite gear up for the first World Cup races of the season in Park City, Utah, on Friday, Olympic analysts Chris Lori and Christina Smith weigh in on what to expect out of the World Cup circuit this year.

Who are the top bobsleigh contenders to watch going into the 2009-10 World Cup season?

Men's four-man bobsleigh:

Smith:
Janis Minins, Latvia
Alexsandr Zubkov, Russia
Steven Holcomb, USA
Andre Lange , Germany
Pierre Lueders, Canada

Lori:
Steven Holcomb, USA
Andre Lange , Germany
Ivo Rüegg, Switzerland
Alexsandr Zubkov, Russia
Janis Minins, Latvia

Men's two-man bobsleigh:

Smith:
Beat Hefti, Switzerland
Thomas Florschütz, Germany
Andre Lange , Germany
Ivo Rüegg, Switzerland

Lori:
Pretty much the same sleds as in the four-man.

Women's bobsleigh:

Smith:
Helen Upperton, Canada
Kaillie Humphries, Canada
Shauna Rohbock, USA
Erin Pac, USA

The Americans are immensely strong in bobsleigh. I would say they will for sure have three sleds at the Olympics again.

Lori:
Sandra Kiriasis, Germany
Cathleen Martini, Germany
Helen Upperton, Canada
Shauna Rohbock, USA
Erin Pac, USA
Kaillie Humphries, Canada

Let's talk Canadians. Tell us about Canada's top two women's pilots: Helen Upperton and Kaillie Humphries, both from Calgary.

Smith: Last year Upperton was injured. She had her rib injury. It was a great opportunity for other people to potentially get ahead. But now Upperton is in tip-top condition.

Kaillie Humphries, she is an absolutely phenomenal athlete, phenomenal pusher. She has dialed into her driving ability and has great coaching from Canada, so she has very much fast-tracked herself with all the support she has been receiving from her team. She's biting on Upperton's heels. Ultimately, that will do them both good, having that competition.

Lori: Helen Upperton has more experience and she's a little bit more consistent in her driving. I watched her drive at Whistler last year. She was quite stable and quite confident at that track and also she's put in a lot of runs on that track. I just think that her experience is going to help keep her stable.

Humphries has a pretty strong start and the distinction of the home track advantage is that she has a good feel for the track. That's going to be to Humphries' advantage. If she can get a strong start and then hang on, her equipment's going to be running pretty well this year as well she's got a good sled, she has some good materials so she's going to do pretty well.

Canadian two-man and four-man pilot Pierre Lueders has proved he is willing to shake things up - his team, his sled - going into an Olympic year. Any insight as to how this could affect his season?

Lori: Any bobsledder is going to continue to test materials throughout the season and Lueders has a lot of experience and he should be able to manage any changes that he has to make. But if the changes are too much, like, you're talking big personnel changes on his crew, then it can create just enough of a deviation between your competitors to keep you out of contention. The races are won and lost by hundredths-of-a-second, so he's going to have those challenges.

I think Lueders is probably pretty clear on what sled he's going to use. He's probably not going to use the new sled, which is no surprise. It's no surprise because you can't reinvent the wheel overnight and anybody who has ever tried, it hasn't worked.

Smith: You know with bobsleigh, a lot of people think that yes you have to create harmony within the team in the sense of the load - when you push the sled and jump in. But we have developed such a team within Canada that every person who is a good pusher is also OK with being put in different units. When train your hardest to be the best that you can be as a brakeman, you also have to permit yourself to be flexible, to be able to go with any driver.

If there are changes you just have to adapt. We all have to be chameleons and make it happen.

Lyndon Rush is back this season with a new sled that he's calling the "Ferrari" of bobsleds. What can we expect out of his team?

Lori: Yeah, that sled that Lyndon Rush has is an excellent sled. It's a good sled and Rush, I think he appears to be more confident than Lueders on the Whistler track. And more comfortable on the Whistler track. He's driving it very well. Lyndon has got his two-man sled is quite good and his four-man sled, we'll have to see how that performs.

The first couple of World Cup races will more or less show where they're at with that piece of equipment. Rush has enough experience now that he can be in contention and after what I saw this week up at Whistler, Rush has a bit of an outside shot in the two-man.

Smith: Rush is so grounded and so real and now to see that he's getting the support and the great equipment, it just gets him closer to realizing what he's aiming to do and that's to perform at his best and the guys that are with him are just an amazing group of guys. Great personalities and great synergies within the team.

Just for fun, who would you two put on the Olympic podium if the Games were tomorrow?

Men's four-man:

Smith:
Gold: Janis Minins, Latvia
Silver: Steven Holcomb, USA
Bronze: Pierre Lueders, Canada
Honourable mention to Alexsandr Zubkov, Russia

Lori:
Gold: Andre Lange , Germany
Silver: Alexsandr Zubkov, Russia
Bronze: This is a tough one. Either Janis Minins of Latvia or USA's Steven Holcomb.

Men's two-man:

Smith:
Gold: Pierre Lueders, Canada
Silver: Thomas Florschütz, Germany
Bronze: Lyndon Rush, Canada

Lori:
Gold: Andre Lange , Germany
Silver: Alexsandr Zubkov, Russia
Bronze: Too close to call, but Pierre Lueders will have his work cut out for him in both events if he wants to finish on the podium.

Women:

Smith:
Gold: Helen Upperton, Canada
Silver: Shauna Rohbock, USA
Bronze: Kaillie Humphries, Canada

Chris:
Gold: Sandra Kiriasis, Germany
Silver: Helen Upperton, Canada
Bronze: Kaillie Humphries, Canada

It's going to come down to: When they drive, who is going to make the least mistakes driving? Kiriasis can't make any mistakes because her start's going to be slower.

The World Cup season begins Friday, Nov. 13 in Park City, Utah.