October 24, 2013 (Montreal, QC) – Canada’s top-level and perhaps most promising XC skier, Alex Harvey, was in Montreal this week to accept an award from Auclair Gloves. The St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que. skier can podium in both sprint and distance events and has several historic accomplishments under his belt. At Vancouver 2010, Harvey finished fourth in the team sprint with teammate Devon Kershaw Canada’s best Olympic placing ever in the sport.

The next year, Harvey and Kershaw won Canada’s first-ever Nordic Worlds gold in the team sprint again at the 2011 Nordic Worlds in Oslo. That same year, at the 2011 Junior Nordic Worlds, Harvey won the 30km pursuit race. He followed this with Canada’s first individual men’s medal at the Nordic Worlds in 2013 Worlds, winning bronze in the 1.5km CL Sprint at Val di Fiemme. SkiTrax caught up with the 25-year-old Quebecer in Montreal to ask him about how things look for the season ahead and the 2014 Olympics.

Alex, we understand you were just in Truckee, California training with the team. Tell us how that went and when was your last time on snow?
Alex Harvey: It was good; we were just doing dry land training. The last time I was on snow was in August in New Zealand at a camp at the Snow Farm.

How has your training been going and how are you feeling overall – are you where you want to be at this time?
AH: It’s going well…I’ve been injury-free and sickness-free so far [during the off-season]. And my shape is good. I am heading to Europe on November 10 in advance of the first World Cup race of the year in Finland (the first stage of the 2013-14 FIS Cross-Country World Cup to be held in Kuusamo, Finland, Nov. 29-Dec. 1).

You’ve been training at the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre in Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC, a centre named after your dad, Pierre. A 4.9km roller ski course was just completed there – how were you involved and how has it been going there?
AH: I’ve been quite involved; they asked me what kind of design I wanted for the course and I told them to build the hardest possible. The new course has steep uphills and was built for both offset and striding. It was constructed on a limited budget and had to involve a lot of volunteers. The asphalt guys gave us a very good deal; many people made donations or were giving their time for free. Canmore [Nordic Centre in Alberta] by comparison has hills that are not so big. Mont Ste Anne is big and steep enough for long, big uphills. [read SkiTrax’s earlier report on the roller ski track here.]

You received the Auclair Team Spirit Award – congrats – so how is the spirit on the Canadian team these days with such a big season ahead?
AH: It’s pretty good as I said we’re just back from California. Dasha (Daria Gaiazova), Peri (Perianne Jones), Devon (Devon Kershaw), Ivan (Ivan Babikov), Lenny (Len Valjas) and I were together with our coaches Eric (de Nys, NST coach) and Justin (Wadsworth, head coach). It was a fun camp!

Many of our team members are home now with their families, and me, too. This is the final prep before the season starts. I don’t want to try anything different with my training. When you have a good recipe, you stick to it. I just plan to follow my normal training schedule and program, and do nothing special.
It’s an Olympic year and you’ve been on the podium in both sprint and distance races – what are your goals this season i.e. World Cup, Tour de Ski, Olympics… ?
AH: My goal is the same as usual; I just need good day whether it’s a 50km distance or a sprint. I’m not focusing on one particular event or distance. Instead I am trying to be an all-rounder.

Have you been able to preview the courses at Sochi – we understand they’re quite tough?
AH: Yes, I skied Sochi last season at the World Cup there. The classic course is really nice and flowing. It’s the old-school style. The men’s sprint course – which is quite different from the women’s – is long and hard. Many top skiers didn’t even qualify last season. And the skiathlon there has one huge climb.

Which is your first official race and your schedule until then – are you racing in Canmore at Frozen Thunder on Oct. 24…or going straight to Finland?
AH: I’m not going to Frozen Thunder because that would involve a lot of travel. I also hear that it’s pretty good but warm there right now. I saw videos of people skiing in t-shirts.

All the best with the coming season…
AH: Thanks