Today we start our season with a World Cup competition in Canmore, Canada. The races are on from the 9th to 17th December and will consist of cross country and biathlon all various distances. I will be racing in 6 different events over the 8 days.
We arrived in Canmore on the 30th November and our journey couldn’t have gone any smoother, we were treated like kings by the British Airways crew on the flight and even got an upgrade to business class which was a real treat. Thanks again Capt Norris-Worton and your crew for looking after the team.
Training in Canmore this past week has been incredible the scenery is beautiful and we couldn’t have asked for better weather the only thing that has been little disappointing is the lack of snow but the organisers have had the snow machines on constantly and the venue is looking as good as if it was the real stuff.
Over the weekend we had our first two cross country races, first up was the sprint race 750m. This is probably my worst event as I don’t class myself as a sprinter, it didn’t help that I crashed on the finish straight (yes, the straight about 20m from the line!) which meant I was out in the first round. Overall though I was happy with my race and know I have more to give next time in the sprint - all I need to do is stay upright!
Sunday was the 7.5km middle distance race this race is on a 2.5km loop which you do three times, being my fifth race ever I was happy to come 27th setting a time which I’m fairly happy with. Yet again, I had a couple of falls losing me a fair bit of time but I also learnt I need to work a bit more on my right turns as it’s definitely my weaker side with a shorter stump.
Next race is on Tuesday (15km cross country) then Wednesday is a rest day before the biathlon starts on 14th, 16th and 17th.
So far the team has performed pretty well. Every one of us has stepped up our game from last season so we know the summer training has paid off so with the first two races this season under our belts. We know if we can find a few seconds here and there we will move up in the ranking, and make our dreams come true of being on that plane in March next year.
