November 15, 2015 (Gällivare, Sweden) – Team Canada is in Sweden where fab conditions are the setting for their final preparation as the FIS XC Ski 2015/16 season will soon get underway in Kuusamo, Finland, . We caught Alex Harvey who is in good form and ready for action as he shares his thoughts on his training, his goals this season, his leg following his operation and the team’s new Swix kit.

Alex Harvey on the trails in Gallivare, Sweden ©

The conditions look super in Sweden – is it the same most everywhere in Europe?
Alex Harvey: I think we have the best skiing in Europe right now. We have 13km of very good training trails and the 5km World Cup course is in absolutely perfect conditions at “Hellner Stadion”. I think central Europe has been quite warm lately, they have some skiing in Livigno but not much more than 2km. Norway had 3.75″ Beitostolen…which also isn’t much.

What’s the energy like over there with the WCup about to start ?
AH: Everybody is still in a training phase right now, so I would say the energy is just “normal”. We are still two weeks away before Kuusamo so there’s still time left before we get excited for that!

How are you feeling overall with season just ahead ?
AH: I’m feeling quite good. We did a classic TT this morning and I felt like I was skiing fast, looks good on the video.

Is everything 100% with your leg/operation etc. (we heard 110%)… ?
AH: Legs are 100%.

How has your training gone – did all go as planned and/or did you do anything different?
AH: Training was good this summer. I feel like I’m still able to increase the volume of training year to year so I kept on doing that. We had three really good training camps at altitude during the summer/fall. I was able to stay away from illness and injury so that’s always good. My plan is to finish the year at 925-950 hours of training for the 11-month period. (I don’t really train in April!). Not much was different in the planning this year but I was able to push harder in running with my legs working properly, same in uphill skating.

Do you have a particular focus this season… ?
AH: The focus for me are the two big Tours, with a little edge for Ski Tour Canada 2016 since it’s at home. Kuusamo is early in the season but since it’s also a Tour format, a lot of points will be given there, so if you’re going for the overall, you need to start well there. When you look at the whole season, there are actually more races in Tour formats (3 in Kuusamo, 8 at the Tour de Ski, 8 in the Canadian Ski Tour) than during all of the other normal weekend World Cups… so if your strong in those three Tours, you’ll be looking decent!

Are people talking about SkiTour Can yet or too early… ?
AH: I had people talking to me about the Canadian Tour already at the end of last season – people are psyched for it for sure! The Norwegian girls were also talking about trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas back at Devon and Kristin’s wedding in July… they’re excited to finish the season in North America!

How does everyone like the new Swix kit… ?
AH: The new Swix kit is great. Swix is a very well established XC ski company, perhaps the most established so they know their stuff.

All the best.
AH: Ciao!