Olympics viewers guide: When to tune in for Minnesotans, Team USA in Beijing

The NBC family of networks will carry more than 2,800 hours of coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics, though most of its announcers will be staying in the U.S. and calling the events from studios in Connecticut. TV coverage will be anchored on NBC (Ch. 11), USA Network and CNBC, with live streaming and replays on Peacock's premium tier, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

Here are some highlights from those thousands of hours of events:

Alpine skiing

Mikaela Shiffrin, a three-time Olympic medalist and considered the most dominant skier on the World Cup circuit since Lindsey Vonn, is expected to compete in all five Alpine skiing disciplines and is a medal contender in slalom. Up first is the event she won in 2018, the giant slalom (Feb. 6, 8:15 p.m., USA), followed by the slalom (Feb. 8, 8:15 p.m., Ch. 11), Super G (Feb. 10, 9 p.m., Ch. 11), downhill (Feb. 14, 9 p.m., Ch. 11) and combined (Feb. 16, 8:30 p.m., Ch. 11). Prior Lake's Paula Moltzan is expected to join her in the slalom and giant slalom events.

Biathlon

Minnesota could have three representatives in the 20k individual race on Feb. 8 (2:30 a.m., USA): St. Paul's Jake Brown, Marine on St. Croix's Leif Nordgren and St. Scholastica graduate Paul Schommer. The competition is expected to be dominated by traditional powers Norway, Sweden and France.

Bobsled

A fourth event has been added to the sledding program — the women's monobob — which joins the two-man, two-woman and four-man events and is scheduled for Feb. 12-13 (heats, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Ch. 11, USA; medal runs, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Ch. 11). The twist in this event, unlike the others that use customized sleds, all racers will use a uniform sled. Team USA's Elana Meyers Taylor is a favorite.

Cross-country skiing

Jessie Diggins' pursuit of gold at the Winter Games will happen overnight for Minnesotans and begins on Feb. 5 with the 15k skiathlon (1:45 a.m.). The individual sprint is next on Feb. 8 (2 a.m.), followed by the 10k Classical on Feb. 10 (1 a.m.) and 4x5km relay, one of races she said she cherishes, on Feb. 12 (1:30 a.m.). Not until Feb. 16 does she get a chance to repeat in the event she won gold in 2018 in the team sprint (3 a.m.). The competition wraps up with the grueling 30k mass start on the Games' final day, Feb. 20 (2:30 a.m.). All Diggins' races will air on USA Network.

Curling

Mixed doubles kicks off Olympic competition for Minnesotans with Duluth's Chris Plys playing for the U.S. against Australia (Feb. 2, 6:05 a.m., streaming). There will be curling to watch every day through Feb. 19. The U.S. men, the defending Olympic champions skipped by Chisholm's John Shuster, open their tournament Feb. 9 against ROC (6:05 a.m., streaming) and face Sweden, a top rival for gold, in their second match on Feb. 10 (12:05 a.m., streaming). The women's team, led by sisters Tabitha and Tara Peterson of Eagan, also opens Feb. 9 against ROC (7:05 p.m., CNBC), and meets Canada Feb. 15 (7:05 p.m., CNBC) near the end of round robin play.

Figure skating

All eyes will be on Nathan Chen's quest to reach the medal podium and make amends for a disappointing 2018. He will not have to wait long after the Opening Ceremony. The short program is set for Feb. 7 (7:15 pm., Ch. 11) and the much-anticipated free skate and showdown with Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, the two-time Olympic champion, is Feb. 8 (7:30 p.m., Ch. 11).

Hockey

With 18 players with Minnesota ties between the men's and women's teams, all eyes will be on Team USA. The women's team's road back to the gold medal game starts against Finland on Feb. 3 (7:10 a.m., USA) and includes a showdown with Canada on Feb. 7 (10:10 p.m., USA) in the preliminary round. A rematch is anticipated in the gold medal game on Feb. 16 (10:10 p.m., Ch. 11). The men's team, loaded with players from the state's top college programs, opens against host China on Feb. 10 (7:10 a.m., USA), but it gets tougher with Canada on Feb. 11 (10:10 p.m., USA). The knockout rounds begin Feb. 14.

Snowboarding

Two of the biggest stars of the Games are back: 35-year-old Shaun White, who is competing in his fifth Winter Games, and Chloe Kim, returning to defend her gold medal in the women's halfpipe won at age 17. The women's halfpipe final is set for Feb. 9 (7:30 p.m., Ch. 11) and the men's is Feb. 10 (7:30 p.m., Ch. 11).

Speedskating

Expectations are high for the U.S. with a women's team loaded with gold medal favorites like Erin Jackson in the 500 meters (Feb. 13, 7:50 a.m., Ch. 11) and Brittany Bowe in the 1,000 (Feb. 17, 2:30 a.m., USA) and 1,500 (Feb. 7, 2:30 a.m., USA). At 19, Giorgia Birkeland of White Bear Lake is one of the youngest members of Team USA and claimed a surprising spot on the team and competes in the 16-lap mass start on the Feb. 19 (1:45 a.m., streaming).