Hi Everyone,

I recently loaded some race footage from the World Cup in Hochfilzen, it is short but it was so that I could show some of the coverage of myself, it is not very good quality after being put on to you tube.  You will see my name after I ski by the split timer and I will be the one with the white hat and red/pinkish race suit.  “I didn’t pick the colors”

Hi Everyone,

Well my last individual race before x-mas is now over, but we have an exciting team relay this morning.  I was hoping to keep the result solid to prove that I can be consistent out there.  If you have looked that the recent results on the IBU page www.biathlonworld.com then you have probably noticed I had my worst Sprint race of the year.  Everything started out really well, I made sure at the start I had some dry gloves, glasses, thermal top and boots.  I was ready my first lap was alright maybe could have been a little stronger but I think it was a good start.  Then as I am approaching the range I go to lift my glasses and they come apart in my hands.  I still had my poles on and my snow covers closed on my rifle,  I kind of sort of managed to glide to my shooting mat.  I put the glasses down and began shooting.  I ended up having one shooting penalty on what would be a one is too much type of day.  The wind in the range was nil.  Next I was out on the course trying to fight my way through the swirling sleet even though it was not windy I could barely see through the sleet with my glasses on and now it was next to impossible, I certainly lost some time on the corners and downhill and areas where I would have liked to better carry my momentum.  After 3.3 km of this I ended up getting a another pair of glasses from one of our wax tech’s it was right before the range and It was necessary. Next I came into the range and starting shooting I hit my first two targets but I was still thrown off a bit.  I should have taken the time to refocus because my next three targets were left standing and that meant I had over a minute of penalty laps to ski before I would be back on the course.  But once back on the course I was doing ok, but the fatigue of 8 World Cup races was adding up and it was a tough fight to the finish.  In hind sight there are two things I should have done differently I should have looked at my glasses and put them back together it probably would have taken 10 sec max and I also should have refocused in standing shooting.

Maybe next time.  Today as I look outside getting ready to race I am looking at pooring rain then I will come back to the hotel where I have already checked out of my room and pack up and leave for the airport.  Yay I will get to open up a soggy bag when I get home.  But atleast it isn’t -30 here.

Hi Everyone,

Today I raced a 20 kilometer individual which is the first race of World Cup #3 which is also taking place in Hochfilzen, Aus.  Because of construction in Solvenia the proposed venue for World Cup #3 the race was moved here.

I was very happy for this change, for one I really like Hochfilzen and it means I don’t have to travel as much.  It can be very hard to race go back to hotel, pack up rifle, ski bag and duffle bag and make sure you don’t forget anyting because there is no turning back.  Only to travel for a half or full day and un pack it all.  But that is the life I have chosen and I seem to be getting better and better at this touring thing.

Anyways back to the race, so today I started with bib 59 which was a pleasant surprise to me because it is the first time this year I have started in the top half of the field.  I started at a very controlled pace making good use of the flow of the course,  in my first two range visits I shot clean and clean what a great start to my 20km.  Now this is where the hard part comes in some snow had fallen over night and it was breaking up the course not only that but the snow underneath had been dragged in from the Mountains was very dirty and slow but this I alreay knew from WC #2.  So throughout this race my skis started to slow down and the conditions got a little softer so I had to focus on keeping my kick phase smooth and not a stomp phase.  I was somewhat successful but not enough to satify my deepest desires,  I want to turn into a skier that can ski well in all conditions hard, soft, slow and fast as well as everything in between because I don’t get to chose which races I race or when I will shoot 10/10.  Okay I have a little part in the later.

So I am now on my 3rd loop and everything is good, I don’t feel great on my skis today but It has been a very physically demanding tour.  I am not too excited and am still skiing controlled, I visit the range for my second prone and take one penatly.  I can handle that so far so good.  Now I am skiing my 4th lap and am still controlled but getting tired I can tell that i don’t quite have what I did earlier in the week.  I come in for the final shooting of the race I know this is make it or break it but I am calm, however I still managed to choke I am not sure what went wrong I supect my first two misses were very close but close doesn’t count.  I managed to hit the next two before having a total flier and squeezing the last shot off two early.

Shiza, Shiza, Shiza.  Ok can’t waste my time I still have some decent shooting to work with and off I go into my final lap the push is on and I am doing alright.  I end up finishing 61st which is dissapointing considering the possibilities I had going into the final standing however it is still my best 20km result on the World Cup, it is not my specialty but you have to be strong in all disiplines in Biathlon if you want have lots of opportunites to achieve podiums.

Keep Warm!

Hi Everyone,

Since my last post the Men’s Canadian Team has had some exciting results.  First of all in the pursuit Jean Philippe Leguellec placed 8th in the Pursuit a personal best for him as well as a personal best for a Canadian Man on the World Cup in the Pursuit discipline.  This was very exciting for him as well as the entire team.

The next day we raced the relay the team was Robin Clegg, Scott Perras, Brendan Green and Jean Philippe Leguellec and we raced in that order.  The team was pretty abused at that point, this was our 6th race in 10 days couple that with travel and slow conditions it made for a bit of a grind.  However we prevailed.  Robin started the mass start of the relay and ended up with one penalty and tagged me in in 8th place.  I had a solid leg and got alot of TV time which is nice when you have family and friends waking up early back home to watch the race.  “Thanks for all the support”  I ended up tagging Brendan Green in fifth place I had managed to gain some spots as well take 20seconds out of the leading team.  Brendan had a solid run especially considering he raced 20km the day before and drove 5 hours to Hochfilzen to join the team.  Not to mention it was his first WC ever, nothing like being tossed into the ring ” here you go B you are in 5th place the team is counting on you”  the rest of us were very impressed with how Brendan handled the pressure.  He then tagged JP who had some tough guys chasing,  although JP demonstrated incredible focus on the range and hit 5 for 5 in the last standing in a brutal wind we were unable to get our selves into the flower ceremonies.  We were only 4 seconds out and when I think of where I could have picked it up I can only think of the range.

So that was the relay 7 out of 23 and 3:30 off the leaders after 30 km of racing is pretty damn good.  Hopefully we can build on it because we are in Hochfilzen for the next relay too.

Enjoy the pictures I know that is what everyone really wants anyways.

Y

Me in the pursuit

I am in the back of the train in this one as well.

Jp at the prize ceremony 2nd from right.

Ostersund on race night,  too bad you can’t see the fans in this one.

Well tomorow I am suiting up for the Pursuit tomorrow in postion 43rd.  I had a good ski today in my 10km race however I paid for some mistakes I made in the range.  Before I started my race many competitors had already gone, being that I was starting 93rd of  125 of the Worlds Best.  I was unhappy about my start postion because it seems like I have to wait but really it seems to work well for me and I can fight hard for a postions and it is all mine when I cross because there are only a  few handfull of competitors out there behind me.

I started this race hard and paid for it in the later parts of the race when the skis slowed down and the legs started to burn.  Because I was starting later I was able to see where others misses were going and that I might have to correct, I did correct however it was not enough and I missed my first two shots before I corrected.  That sucked and I had 2 * 150 penalty loops to complete before I would be back on the course.  After a quick 44 secs around those loops I was back on the course, pushing hard I was forunate that someone was just starting there race in front of me and was willing to go hard, I did everything I could to stay with him and he died and I had to pass him 1/2 through the second loop. Next thing I knew I was in the range and shooting I had 4 targets down but managed to get a little excited and didn’t follow through on the last shot and ended up with one more penalty loop.

At this point I was pretty sure I was placed far back maybe 60th if I was very lucky and I could fight to make the pursuit.  However part way through my loop I was told I was in 44th and that was very suprising but I was already feeling the pain of the prior laps.  However I pushed hard and  passed two athletes in front of me before sprinting to the finish. 

Well I got myself a handsome 43rd which is nice and will be a good start postion for tomorrow, however with clean shooting I would have been top 10 easy and 1 or 2 and I would have been in the top 30 and thats when you start to frown.

So tomorrow I will fight my way back to a top 40.

So since my last post, the day of the 12.5 Pursuit I packed up later that afternoon / evening and left the early the next morning for our departure from Ostersund Airport.  We arrived at our destination 12 hours later at the Landhotel Rupertus in Hochfilzen, Austria.  We were tired it had been a long day of travel with some delays spent on air planes, we were ready for a great meal and a good sleep.

We woke up this morning had a slow start and took off to do some training which was very enjoyable because of the recent 50cm of snow the fell in Austrian mountains.

So that is basically how it is like, move from WC – WC trying to train enough to keep your form but so that you can also perform at a high level consitently throughout the season.  Christmas will be a nice break but will also provide a great opportunity for some volume training that must be taken advantage of.

Ciao

Today I raced my first World Cup pursuit of the year, starting in 43rd it was a very quick start.  With the field finishing so close in the Sprint the start line was hectic.  After getting in my position in the line I dropped my poles so that I could sway my arms and warm my hands up.  Well another athlete who was late getting in line was trying to get to his postion which was in front of mine skied on top of my poles nearly breaking them 30 seconds before the start will no spares in sight.

I quickly picked them up inspected them and was moving forward, with the race being so tight you can barely move in the line fast enough to make your start there was athletes starting every second sometimes 3 per second.    The first lap was a brutal pace and I working hard just to keep my position.  With the loops only being 2.5km each I was in the range very fast and hand to focus on trying to shoot even though my hands were very cold and there was fog everywhere.  I had one miss in the first prone and two in the second not the start I had pictured.  I was picturing 9/10 in prone.  I was back on the loop a little further back then I had started and found myself more controlled and skiing my own pace.  I can into the first standing and shot clean and was gone in a giffy I was pumped that I had shot a clean bout it had been awhile for me.  The next prone I took one penalty which cost me at least 10 positions but I can only blame myself.  I was now out on my final loop and knew that I was in 43rd or so.  My goal was to finish 40th today so I pushed the best I could and thought that if I could catch and keep up with the two guys in front of me I might be able to out sprint them to the line.  However as soon and this thought occured Lars Berger XC World Champion and Biathlon medalist comes ripping by I was un able to match his ski speed nor could many others.  I was know fighting it out with the same two guys. I was able to pass one and leave him behind which was motivating because he has won many World Cup medals.  I then tried to catch the next guy in front, he was dieing and I was making up time, my thinking was that if I can catch him before the last downhill I will have a chance to out sprint him on the final stretch to the finish.  I pushed the best I could but lost a postion to him by .02 oh well next time I guess.  I finished 45 my best Pursuit finish to date and by far one of the most enjoyably difficult races of my career.  Next time I want a top 40.

Hi Everyone,

Today I raced my second WC of the 2008/09 season.  I was starting in the fourth seed of competitors which meant I would be starting near the end of the race.  I was not very happy about this generally I like to be seeded as high as possible so that I can spend as much time around the big guys as possible, most of the 15 Biathletes in the world chose the 1 or 2 seed and I would not see them this race.

However I managed to push the limits even though I had very few competitors around me.  I opened up with what felt like a very hard first lap I wasn’t very settled and was just working the tempo a little too much. My 1st lap was ranked 63/118 not what I expected with the effort I was pushing but I have a real difficulty moving fast off the start and it is definately not because I lack a proper warm up, today I actually got lost on the Warm Up loop and was panicing a bit while skiing around in z3 to try to find the exit so that I could make my way to the start.  But I made it and quickly found out team mate JP Leguellec had had the best race of his WC career, this motivated me a ton.  I know knew the skis were good which they often are with our wax team.  I started the race really hard I really pushed it everywhere and tried to get the most out of every corner, however at times I was just flaleing around and not moving as fast as I should be for the effort I was using.  I do have to work on my downhill ability though because I lose time around corners when I am unsure of the conditions and this is hindering my ski time slightly because I often take the softer less skied portion of the downhills.  In my first shooting I had one penalty and was off on too my second loop, Ronny Hafas (NOR) was about 50 meters in front of me and one of the top 10 skiers in the field on a daily basis, he was on his finishing loop and I still had standing I chose to not fight so hard to make ground and instead focus on maintaining good technique.  I entered the range and struggled mentally for a bit the range was totally empty only me and the Swedish fans.  While I settled in thought were flying through my head this all happens in a matter of 15 seconds before I take my first shot, but I once again managed to settle down I hit my first shot but moved on two fast to my second and missed high, I refocused took a breath and shot.  Because of this I was in the penalty loop and knew that the opportunity was there to make the pursuit I struggled a bit on when to pull down my glasses only to do it in the worst spot possible in the corner of the penalty loop losing a precious couple push phases, anyways I was now on the course for my final loop and knew I had to go for it I was by myself again but dug deep and managed to sqeak in for a 53rd placing outskiing many athletes I look up too!

So tomorrow will be a great opportunity it will be my second WC pursuit and I should steepen my learning curve.

Wish me luck!

Hi Everyone,

Since my last post t I had probably my worst World Cup performance of my career, the day started out pretty good I went for a easy classic ski to clear the mind and activate the body a little bit.  Then returned to the hotel did some dry firing and lied down for some quick rest.  Then it was off to the race site,  In biathlon you have to arrive at the competition venue much earlier then most other sports.  Our race was due to start at 17:15 and we arrived at 15:45.  Because there are many tasks that must take place between your arrival and your start, you have to test skis, zero rifle, go through equipment check and warm up the order may differ depending on what you prefer and where you are on the start list but all the tasks still have to be completed if you want to start the race, oh and don’t forget your race bib or leg numbers at the hotel because then you will be SOL.

I managed to complete all the tasks with out a hitch not to mention my zero was incredible.  So I was ready to go.

I started the first lap a little faster then I thought I should but in reality it was slower the it should have been, it was ranked 83/120 and I ended up with a total course time of 57/120 so it is hard to say when I look back at it because I was able to hold a pretty even ski time.  But I don’t know why bother talking about the skiing it was not the problem based on the same race last year on a easier course and faster condition I have gained nearly a 1 minute in ski time over 20km. My shooting however was a different story I had 4 additional minutes of penalties added which certainly undid any improvements I made this year.  So where does this leave me, well this is where the Deja Vu comes in 104th again the same result at the WC opener last year, wow I didn’t think that was possible.

I have to move on though so move on I will focus on the races this weekend a 10km Sprint and 12.5 Pursuit after last year I was able to redeem myself a bit and shooting 80% and be the top Canadian.

A big thank you goes out our wax techs who spent 2 days testing and re testing because of the constantly changing conditions because of this we had great skis.

Wish me luck