The relatively relaxed week of preparation that the US team has had here in Germany is about to come to a close. Now that everyone has finally showed up, the athlete count is at 23, and there are about seven or eight coaches. It’s pretty easy to see the level of experience of this support staff, because even with so many athletes needing so many different things, everything has been pretty chill. On any given day, there are skiers doing intervals, testing skis, time trialing, doing over-distance, skiing short and easy, and of course taking the day off. The coaches have been amazing at transporting, waxing, and advising on all of these unique plans, and the athletes have been working alongside one another to get stuff done.

With the Junior Sprint opening up the week of racing tomorrow, things will likely get a little crazier from here on out. The stadium is now pretty packed with national teams of all flavors. The big guns like Russia, Norway, Sweden, and Germany have been pulling in over the last few days, and the venue is taking on its World Championship form.

Skiing around with other athletes from all over the US, athletes that we don’t normally get to train with, is definitely one of the highlights. It’s sweet everyone ripping around in the high tech red gear, and the Fairbanks crew spun a few laps together:

The venue is really sweet. The wax cabins (mansions?) are some of the most plush I have seen, and believe it or not, there is actually a small amount of room in ours:

Any guesses on whos skis these are?

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