September 19, 2008 – Who would think that in the peaceful little country of Austria most of the world’s best Cross Country Skiers and Biathletes would come to for weeks and weeks to train each summer? Since coming to Austria and training here between the two cities of Obertilliach and Ramsau, I have not only seen, met, and talked with many of the worlds best, but actually trained with them on skies and roller skies.

It has been absolutely amazing to live here and experience the hard work that goes on behind the scenes (summer training of the best in the world) of many National Teams and individuals. My trainer knows many of the best in the biathlon world, so when athletes like Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (The Biathlon King) and Thomas Sikora of Poland come alone to train, he ties in my training plan with theirs. It was awesome enough to be able to meet Bjoerndalen, but ten-times more exciting when I was able to complete full workouts with him 1 on 1. Training partners don’t get any better than that.

The National Teams who I have had the honor to train with include: The Sweden Ski Team, German Ski Team, Austrian Ski Team, Estonian Ski Team, Spain Ski Team, Japanese Ski Team, Norwegian Biathlon, German Biathlon, Russian Biathlon, Belorussian Biathlon, Italian Biathlon, Czech Republic Biathlon, Slovenian Biathlon, and Slovakian Biathlon.

As for skiing at Ramsau, with many of the worlds best skiers, just imagine walking down a sketchy icy path leading from the tram to the groomed ski tracks in a crowd and watching Sweden’s best skiers zoom past with all of their gear on their backs. Everyone laughs as some of them like Tobias Fredriksson, Bjorn Lind, Mathias Fredriksson, Mats Larsson, and Anders Sodergren almost wipe out at the bottom, barely clearing some rocks after blasting through a pool of glacial water and losing control over an ice patch. It reminded me of the times in High School when we did such things to be different, extreme, and most importantly to have fun.

Even though these guys are among the top in the World Cup, they still continue to do things outside from their training on skies that most people would consider harmful and dangerous. Why do they do such things? It makes them happy, sets the tone for the day, and as natural born competitors they need a daily competition, even if it is from the minute the tram doors open to the first one to ski on the trails each day. They love to ski. Skiing on the trails among them makes training suddenly become a lot more exciting.

Yesterday I classic skied for an hour with Tobias Fredriksson directly in front of me and Anders Sodergren directly behind. Their easy pace is calm, relaxed and can be easily maintained for hours, they ski easy enough to hold a conversation even at +9,000 feet of elevation. When the Skiers from Sweden plant each pole in the snow, there is some serious power being initiated there. They are so strong it is incredible. Like so many other American Skiers, in the summer, I have only been able to analyze the techniques and timing of the best skiers in the world by videos from past World Cups and Olympics. Well, skiing at Ramsau in the summer allows the worlds best skiers to be visible in every direction and you can even ski with them. Technique is important to a certain extent, but not to be stressed.

A huge advantage they have is to be actually skiing on snow and doing specific drills that are best to be done on snow. Trainers also spend a lot of time working 1 on 1 for hours on skis and roller skis with each athlete attuning to his or her needs. Having time to do the right things. From the many teams I have trained with, I have seen a wide variety of different techniques. For instance, when skating, the Russians are very strong using mostly lower body power with their hands a medium distance from their chest and extend behind the hips when polling. The Norwegians (Bjoerndalen included) plant their poles very near to the chest with a very short but explosive stride. The Germans appear to be utilizing medium ankle bend, but reach very far forward (lifting the elbows) when using their poles. The Swede’s seem to be showing signs of skiing using brute force. They plant their poles with their hands furthest from their chest. All National Teams and techniques have proven to work as they are the worlds best.

The rollerski track at Ramsau is also something to appreciate. There is a good 10 Kilometers of smoothly paved blacktop with each corner banked at precise measurements for optimum rollerski training and safety. Along with the great rollerskiing that exists here, there is a Biathlon range located in the center of the trails. The entire experience is something that this skier will never forget!