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February 06, 2015 (Almaty Kazakhstan) – We’ve heard from Canadian skiers Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Cendrine Browned following the women’s 10km FR individual start race at the FIS U23 World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. They finished 17th and 23rd, respectively. Read what they had to say about their experiences so far in Almaty… race report on 10/15km FR individual start here.
![Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt [P] CCC](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Olivia-Nesbitt-PCCC.jpg)
Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
How do you rate the course to other Worlds you’ve done?
OBN: My only other experience at Worlds thus far was in val di Fiemme last year, and that venue is exceptional. The venue in Kazakhstan is definitely very different than any other I’ve skied on. It looks like a giant ant hill or an open pit mine – it’s essentially a big sand hill with ski trails and a stadium cut into it. The conditions aren’t great because of the lack of snow and abundance of rocks, but the actual course profile is pretty fun. I like it.
Walk us through your race – are you happy with your result?
OBN: I was so happy with my result in the 10k! I was a very early starter with bib 5, and really had no idea how I was doing, but going into the second lap I was really pumped when I realized that I had the energy to push hard. I really hammered the last couple kilometres of the course, feeling strong the whole time, and I think I gained a few positions there. That was a great feeling.
How’s your form and conditioning – what prep did you do for Worlds?
OBN: I just carried on with racing and training as usual leading up to Worlds and I’ve stayed healthy, so I’m feeling really good.
What’s next on the schedule for you?
OBN: I’m not sure what is next on the schedule for me. Nothing is confirmed but I’m hoping to take part in the Canada team’s B tour which will be the Scandinavian Cups in Latvia and Estonia.
What’s the atmosphere like in Almaty?
OBN: We are sharing a hotel with a number of other teams, so that has been a lot of fun. We have the chance to get to know them at meal times, and everyone has been really friendly and positive. The volunteers are all super friendly and nice as well so that creates a really nice atmosphere at the venue. The biggest downer is probably the smog.
![Cendrine Browne [P] CCC](http://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/cendrine-browne.2.jpg)
Cendrine Browne
CB: Well the course is pretty hard considering the fact that there is not a lot of recuperation. There are a lot of ups and downs and you always have to switch techniques. Unfortunately, there are a lot of rocks in the course, but they did a good job considering the fact that they didn’t have much snow last week. They made a lot of snow to try and make the course as good as it could be.
CB: Well, to tell you the truth my expectations were higher coming here but still, my results are not horrible. I achieved my goal in the sprint race, which was to qualify. I qualified 24th. I had trouble with my skis that day but still, I managed to qualify. Yesterday was the 10km skate race. My race. I was much to nervous for it because my expectations were high. I managed to finish 23. Not what I wanted at all, but being 23rd at World Champs is still pretty good. And tomorrow is the skiathlon race.
CB: My form is good but not as good as I would like it to. I was top shape before coming here, but it was a little difficult for me to adjust to the big time change just before important races.
CB: Because I performed really well in Duntroon, where were the World Champs trials, I qualified for the National Team B Tour, which is in Europe. So I’ll be heading to Europe after World Champs.
CB: Almaty is a big city. So it is very polluted and there are cars and people everywhere. We prefer to go skiing in the morning on training days, because the smog rises as far as the days goes by so when we ski in the morning, the air is purer.
CB: Hum… the breakfast is the best so far!