January 4, 2009 (Prague, Czech Republic) – Canada’s George Grey is currently competing in the Tour de Ski with the National Team. He has been posting updates after each stage about the highs and lows of the experience. Here are his reports from the frontlines of the first three stages of the 2010 Tour de Ski.

Tour de Ski – Stage 1
The fourth Tour de Ski began today with a stacked field all looking for a spot on the podium. There will be eight grueling races totaling one hundred and two kilometers in eleven days. Eighty-eight men and seventy-four women hit the start line today. It won’t be long before that number is significantly whittled down by fatigue, sickness, injury, and tactics.

I am not sure why I like the 3.8km prologue distance but I do. The last three prologues I have done went well for me. Today I finished 17th, just thirteen seconds from the leader Petter Northug. Alex Harvey was a mere point two seconds behind me in 18th. Devon and Ivan finished 37th and 50th respectively with Sara finishing 27th in the women’s prologue. I was really hoping to challenge the top five today and had to settle for less but I am not disappointed. I raced as hard as I could and came up a handful of second short. There is lots of racing to come and no time to dwell on what might have been. In the Tour you have to prepare, race, recover, and prepare again. There is no time to waste time. The Tour is something special that takes a great deal of energy and perseverance.

This year I am racing from day to day. If my energy should take a serious dive or if previous injuries should begin to surface then I am going to consider stopping. The Olympics is the main goal of the year and I need to be in my best shape of my life there.

Time to sleep and prepare for tomorrow’s battle. I am hoping to close on the leaders and stay there as long as possible in tomorrow’s 15km classic pursuit start.

Tour de Ski – Stage 2
The race today was a 15km pursuit start classic race. Because of the short distance yesterday, the pursuit start was more or less a mass start. Overall our team did well with all in the top thirty except for myself. Yesterday I was the team king but today Devon was even better placing 10th and very close to the win.

Today my body did not cooperate and I lost time and positions and wound up crossing the line in 51st position. It could be worse but it should have been better.

Tough races are just part of the game and they are what make the successes such a high. I am glad for my teammates who fought hard and made the day worthwhile for Canada.

Tomorrow is a classic sprint and not the best event for our team but we are going to put our heads down and make a run at the top thirty. After the race is done well will jump in the van and drive to Prague where we will ready ourselves for the downtown skate sprint. Last year I finished 19th in Prague and so I am looking forward to Prague 2010!

I need to pack my bags for the busy day tomorrow. So good day, good night, and good bye.

Tour de Ski – Stage 3

The last two days of the Tour have not been ideal for me. With sugary conditions and broken down tracks I fell back in the overall standings. The sprint race didn’t come together for me but I am moving past that and trying to look ahead.

Today is the city skate sprint in Prague and I am looking forward to that more than the past two days. The sprint prologue is starting at four-thirty tonight and the course looks tight and fast. With some strength, good cornering, and luck I stand a chance at qualifying for the rounds. Nothing is for free on the World Cup and you can cross the line feeling good and look at the scoreboard only to find a result that just doesn’t seem to fit. Forget that though…I want in to those sprint rounds.

One of the biggest disappointments on the World Cup is the lack of time to look around some of the cities we frequent. I am sitting in the Movenpick Hotel near to downtown Prague and I need to conserve energy for the race. Meaning I shouldn’t go on an outing the check out, arguably, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We are here to race and to be professional and that means not a lot of side trips. So to see this fine city I will have to make my own plans one summer down the road. Unfortunate but a reality of endurance racing that we need to be smart with our energy.

I am going to post this, lie back on my pillow, and look through the window at Prague. Hopefully the racing will be worth the sacrifice today!