What did I say about having raised the bar for Canadians?
After today's 4X10 relay, we should be happy no? Despite a few tired bodies on the team, the boys skied very well, posting a solid 7th place, finishing ahead of powerhouses Russia and Italy - A best ever Olympic result, and second best international result ever. But we're not satisfied...
The past few days have been filled with...you guessed it...more testing. The beautiful sunny sky over the past week was a treat allowing us to test in good klister conditions (+5 to +10C), but now the typical CV conditions have returned, zero degrees, snow, fog, rain, sun...and repeat. So we hop on the zero (multi) skis, test structures, skate skis, etc...
With the distance races getting closer on the radar, we have to ensure that our team skiers have the best boards possible. So out we go, testing, testing, testing...So far so good. Of the 'numerous' pairs of skis that we brought to the O-Games, we are sifting through the lot and identifying the cream of the crop.
Athlete Updates...
Babikov (CAN): Yesterday, we found 2 very good pair of klister skis for Ivan to supplement what he already has - He will be aiming to post another strong result in the 50km Classic. Since this race will allow racers to swap skis up to 2 times during the race in specific 'pit zones', racers must have at least 2 pairs of race skis ready to rock!
Caitlin Compton (US): Up until now, Caitlin has been racing on 182cm skate skis - After trying out a pair of teammante Holly Brooks' skis a few days ago, she loved the 'feel' and realized they were 187cms! A bit longer, a bit better glide...We went back to the cabin, found a couple of good matches for the conditions, et voila!
Masako Ishida: The goal for Masako is a podium in the 30km Classic in a few days...The field is very competitive, but she is definitely part of a select group of 10 women who will fight for the podium. Their hard working tech team found 2 pairs that she really liked, a bit stiffer than what she already had, and perfect for CV's wild weather!
Happy Birthday Fabien! Team Japan's tech Fabien Blondeau (far right), celebrates his 26th b-day a la Japanese style. Fabien graduated from the US' Salomon Factory Team to go and work for the Japanese team a few years ago...
The Czech Republic skied a brilliant team relay - Lukas Bauer pulled the team back in medal contention after a strong 2nd leg, and Koukal (leg 4) hung in behind Northug's last km surge to rob France of the Bronze medal - these guys were ecstatic!!
We joined the French Nordic Combined and Biathlon tech team for a bit of after hours goodness as they served up some great cheese fondue! Fabrice Guy (ex-Olympic Gold Medallist - Albertville), shows off his stirring action - not so sure the food dept would approve of the cut-off shovel as an appropriate Fondue utensil!
Bad weather...
Good weather...Don't like the weather in the Callaghan Valley? Wait 5 min... Today's weather was wild. The tech teams certainly got tested to the max today, with everything from toonie sized snowflakes, to fog, to sunny breaks- Crazy.Want more? Follow us here...
Twitter: @philvilleneuve reporting live or @salomonnordic.
Facebook: Salomon Nordic
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