In a plot borrowed from The Avengers, Canada’s top ski heroes assembled for an unprecedented two-week ski camp in Canmore, plotting their podium attack on the 2016 Tour de Canada.
For the first time in Canadian history, the Thunder Bay, Quebec and Alberta World Cup Academy training centres all sent their full squads to train alongside the men’s and women’s national teams, while other skiers from the Yukon, Blackjack, the Winsport junior cross-country ski team and Canmore Nordic also joined in the fray. In total, 50 athletes (35 men and 15 women) were put through their paces in a series of challenging workouts. From Sunshine Meadows trail runs to roller ski workouts up Highwood Pass to Ski Bounding up Sulphur Mountain, Canada’s best skiers were pushed to their limit.
“This is the first camp where all of the full training centres have shown up. We’ve had camps in Park City, Utah where a few of them have been there, but this is the first time we’ve had them all,” said Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth.
Geographic constraints often limit Canada’s ability to train together, but Canmore proved to be an excellent host for the event.
“It’s a big country, so we don’t get our people to have exposure to our best skiers all of the time. That was one of our biggest goals. The younger guys get to see how Devon (Kershaw) or Alex (Harvey) or Ivan (Babikov) ski a threshold workout and the low lactates they have. They can see the next level, and try and hop in there with them and feel the speed,” Wadsworth said. “It’s important in our ski culture now that we have some of the best athletes in the world.”
It also gave Wadsworth and his Quebec counterpart Louis Bouchard the chance to scout many young athletes who otherwise they don’t often see. Watching 50 athletes shoulder to shoulder provided a good look at the depth of the Canadian program, and how the skiers match up against one another.
“We get to see them in the weight room. We see how they’re handling the training load. We get to see how they match up with speed, what are their strengths and weaknesses, how they stack up against each other. It’s like a scouting camp,” Wadsworth said.
The older athletes took on a bigger role model role through the camp as well. Harvey, the reigning world champion, spoke to the group before some of the big workouts to provide insight on his goals on the day. Kershaw, meanwhile, led the men’s group on a long trail run around Sunshine Meadows, which may have gone longer than the scheduled three-hour allotted block.
“Everyone is appreciative of everyone else being here. The attitude is important. Sometimes, for our best guys it’s good because the focus isn’t all on them. They’ve had a good attitude through it. The older guys want to get their training done, but they are spreading the wealth of information as well,” Wadsworth said.
The camp provides an opportunity for the coaches to share training philosophies, as they all meet before every workout to strategize.
“The coaches meet before the workouts to discuss the goals of the workouts and how to get them across. The physiologists come out to see the workouts, the strength trainers to see how they respond. It’s really-multi-focused. We’re doing a lot in a short period,” Wadsworth said.
The camp concludes this week before the athletes return home. With Canada hosting the biggest tour event of the season this winter, complete with extra World Cup quota spots, each skier hopes the next time they return to the Canmore Nordic Centre, it will be with the national team colours on their back.
