Britain don't have an entry in the women's team sprint, but Andrew Young and Andrew Musgrave will link up for the men's sprint. They'll go in the first semi-final at 10:05 GMT.

Russia are the reigning world champions, while the Swedish pairing of Teodor Peterson should be in the mix having claimed silver and bronze respectively in the individual sprint.

You'll be able to watch that in the video stream at the top of the page later this morning.

Two golds are on offer at the Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Centre when the women's and men's team cross-country sprints take place. It features a semi-final and final, with one team per nation. A team comprises two athletes, who each take three turns to ski. The top two in each semi-final, plus six fastest losers, progress to the final. The semi-finals begin at 09:15 GMT.

Tom Clay:, external Only five more days of Winter Olympics, and I'll be able to have a lie in before work again!

Paul Trueman:, external No disrespect to the curling, but compared to the bone-shaking, terrifying giant slalom it's basically Olympic darts!

Kay Sidebottom:, external Day off with the kids. Wondering how to persuade a four and six year old to spend the day watching the Winter Olympics?

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

"Bit of a delay in racing after Spain's Ferran Terra takes a nasty spill and lies there clutching his leg. The medics arrive and he is taken off the hill in the "blood wagon" (ambulance), waving to the crowd as they slide gingerly into the finish. Still more than 40 racers to go yet. Very much the blunt end of the race."

Image source, Getty Images

We're deep into the first period of the first men's ice hockey quarter-final between world champions and 2006 gold medallists Sweden against Slovenia, who are making their Olympic debut. Neither side have managed to find the back of the net as yet. The winner will play Finland or Russia.

Want more curling facts? Well, curlers can burn up to 1,800 calories during a game - that's nearly the recommended daily intake for an average-sized woman.

The sport is nicknamed the "Roaring Game" because of the rumbling sound the 19.96kg granite stones make on the ice. The stones used in Sochi, and indeed in the Olympics since 2006, have all come from an uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland.

I'm told that curling is recognised as the fastest growing winter sport. It's come a long way since the first games were played on frozen ponds and lochs in Scotland during the 16th century. Now Scotland has more than 25 rinks providing bespoke ice for the game.

Curling has captured the nation's imagination once again, the lawn bowls of ice proving to be addictive viewing throughout the nine days of Winter Olympic competition in the Ice Cube Curling Centre so far.

Later today, GB's women and men's teams will be in action, with Eve Muirhead's quartet taking on unbeaten Canada at 10:00 GMT and David Murdoch's rink playing Sweden at 15:00 GMT.

If you think you've got the touch and finesse to excel at curling or simply want to have a go to see what the fuss is all about, head to our Get Inspired pages where you can find out where and how you can get involved.

Image source, AP

American Ted Ligety, who topped the rankings after the first run, is the reigning world champion and is aiming to become the first men's Olympic giant slalom champion from outside Europe.

He began skiing aged two in Park City, Utah, and started doing it competitively as a 10-year-old. By the time he left high school, he was already on the US ski team.

The 29-year-old won Olympic gold in the super combined as a 21-year-old at the 2006 Games. He has four world titles to his name and is a four-time World Cup winner in giant slalom (2008, 2010, 2011 & 2013).

With credentials like that, it's no surprise he is holding a 0.93secs lead over the field and is the overwhelming favourite for gold.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

"That's the top 30 gone in the first run of the men's giant slalom and you have to say this is Ted Ligety's to lose. With a gap of 0.93secs over Czech Ondrej Bank, Ligety - the best GS skier of his generation - looks set to land the only title that has so far eluded him. The caveat is that Bank went second from start number 28, and we don't know how much the others are saving for run two. But it's really all up to Ted."

The other two quarter-finals see reigning champions Canada take on Latvia at the Bolshoy Arena at 17:05 GMT which means USA, who play Czech Republic at the same time, must play their fixture at the nearby but smaller Shayba Arena.

Tensions step up a notch in the men's ice hockey competition today as the quarter-final matches get under way. World champions Sweden are the first in action, the 2006 gold medallists taking on Slovenia at the Bolshoy Ice Dome at 08:05 GMT.

In arguably the highlight of the round, Finland take on hosts Russia in the next fixture at 12:35 GMT. Finland, the bronze medallists in Vancouver earned a bye through to the last eight following an impressive performance in the group stage while Russia had to beat Norway in a play-off to progress and keep their gold medal dreams alive.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

"Ted gives it some shred to open a massive early lead. The American is 1.33 up on France's Thomas Fanara. Bode Miller makes a big mistake mid-course which dumps all his speed and the super-G bronze medallist goes 16th, more than two seconds behind."

The giant slalom is a technical event, in which skiers have to pass through a series of gates on the course.

Competitors make two runs - each down a different course on the same slope. The two times are added together with the fastest combined time determining the medals.

If two competitors finish with the same time, as happened in the women's downhill with Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin sharing gold, the medals are shared.

You can follow the first run of the alpine skiing giant slalom on BBC Two or online in the video stream at the top of the page.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

Image source, Getty Images

"The USA fans at the finish have gone potty for Ted 'the Shred' Ligety, who takes the lead. Big things expected of the American. Still no sign of the Austrian band in the stands. Still drying out their soggy sousaphones."

Riders race head-to-head on adjacent identical courses. The course is set out using gates and triangular flags. Each round consists of two runs, with competitors swapping courses for the second run.

In qualifying, each rider completes two runs against the clock rather than an opponent, with the combined time of both runs giving them their ranking.

The fastest 16 progress to the final elimination phases. The loser of the first run starts with a time delay equivalent to his or her losing margin from that race. That means that whoever crosses the line first in the second run is the winner while the other is eliminated.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

"France's Alexis Pinturault kicks us off in the men's GS. His parents own a posh hotel in Courchevel. Mum's Norwegian. Next up Germany's Felix Neureuther, whose participation was in doubt after getting whiplash in a car crash on the way to Munich airport to head to Sochi. Two runs remember, this one about getting into position, the next for the chocolates. Like the back nine of a golf major on a Sunday."

The men have been in action, too, in their parallel giant slalom qualification event with Russia taking the top two qualifying spots through Andrey Sobolev and Vic Wild. They'll be back at 09:12 GMT for their 1/8 finals.

The women's parallel Giant Slalom qualification run is all done and dusted with Tomoka Takeuchi of Japan topping the rankings. She'll head to the 1/8 finals along with 15 other riders after achieving a combined time of 1:46.33 from her two runs. The 1/8 finals start at 09:00 GMT.