ZHANGJIAKOU, China – It’s no exaggeration to say that Canada’s cross-country ski program is currently in the process of rebuilding after its boom years at the turn of the century. That doesn’t mean that expectations for its nine young competitors won’t be high at the Beijing Olympics.

“I want to see them offer their best skiing of the season during these Games,” said Norwegian Erik Braten, head coach of the national cross-country team at Nordiq Canada since 2018. In order to achieve his goals one day , you have to be at the right level of physical fitness, but also be able to offer a performance “on demand”. You have to be the best when you need to be the best. If, crossing the finish line, they are able to say that they have just had the best race of the year, to obtain their best result, it will be a great learning curve. »

“There are a lot of super fit athletes who have all kinds of difficulties with this aspect of competition. They win races in the fall, but when it really matters, you don’t see them anymore. I hope my group will be able to deliver the goods here. »

His proteges, for the most part, have little experience on the international scene. Seven of the nine athletes will be having their first Olympic experience. Only Cendrine Browne and Dahria Beatty experienced the Pyeongchang Games. The four male cross-country skiers are aged between 20 and 23 only.

“It’s clear that we are in reconstruction,” said Braten. In the early 2000s, the program was dominated by good female athletes. Then, from 2010 to 2018, it was mainly the men who were at the forefront. Now, we have more of a “Next Gen” team, both for men and women. It’s a fascinating transition, as we’re now looking to get back to those levels of performance with this new group. […] It’s really cool to be at the head of a young up and coming team. »

“We had the chance to participate in World Cups at the start of the year; it allowed us to set realistic goals, added Quebecer Olivier Léveillé. We will mainly focus on gaining experience during these Games. Some have more chances for medals, but it is certain that we are here to gain as much experience as possible. »

These objectives are mainly based on the quality of the performance offered for the athletes met on Wednesday, before one of the last training sessions of the team.

“I don’t like to talk about the result less, because I don’t want to put pressure on myself,” explained Browne, the most experienced in the group. Above all, I want to have good feelings, to ski well technically, to give everything I have. If I succeed in doing this, the results I want will come. »

” [Les objectifs] are unique to each and I do not want, for my mental preparation, to talk about mine right away, added Antoine Cyr, who however promised to reveal if he had achieved his objectives. What we want is to arrive here with confidence and to offer good performances. Be in the game at all races. »

Championship course

Organizers set the bar high with the course they built at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Center.

“It’s a typical championship course: extremely difficult,” said Cyr. It’s a course that may resemble what we saw in Soldier’s Hollow, Park City [Utah]. It’s not an unknown route, because we’ve seen similar ones, but it’s unique. »

The cold and the altitude, the starting line is 1650 m above sea level, make the challenge even greater.

“The course is so cold it’s slow,” Braten said. It is therefore a double difficulty. The fittest person will win! Altitude is also a factor. The highest point of the course is at 1750m, which is very high. The cold, the slowness of the route, the altitude and the degree of difficulty make it a very challenging track. But we are ready for it. »

“It’s difficult for me to ski at this level (1650m), but that’s why we did several altitude camps this season,” noted Browne. So far, I feel good, but in the race, it will be different: to exert such a high effort for so long, the oxygen supply to the muscles will be deficient. I’m confident, but it’s the hardest course I’ve skied. »

The founders will compete in 14 races staggered from February 5 to 20.