The Dolomite Tour - part II

The next day, I felt like I was on edge of getting sick, so I took the day off and rested. The past few weeks had been a considerable load on the system. Training, the long travel, jetlag, back-to-back races in Val di Fiemme, and long days at the venues. I know that there were a few times when I wasn't ideal in my recovery, and all that added up to being run down. It was a deliberate and restful day; I felt I was back enough to take on the next race.

I returned to the podium on Saturday for the Sprint Pursuit, this time in third place. This

Photo credit: Nathaniel Mah

was not the way I wanted to go about the day. Maybe I had a touch of fatigue from the previous day, but I felt good, and my energy was up. I struggled the most with the little details and my ability to focus on the priority in the moment. I was doing almost everything right, but the sharpness wasn't there. Ultimately, I should have taken a moment and reset, but I didn't realize until after the race that was what I needed. I had a strong result in the morning's qualifier, setting the fastest time, again with a miss. I was right where I needed to be. But the misses were starting to add up and would cost me soon. And especially in such a short race like the Sprint Pursuit. The start for the final was tighter than the Sprint Pursuit in Val di Fiemme. I started third and quickly closed the gap to the leaders before the first shooting. I went clean, and immediately after the range, I took the lead. I skied into the range for the second bout, leading a strung-out field behind me. But the lack of sharpness and distraction on the range struck again, missing my fourth shot. And after a quick penalty loop, I thought I was in third. I quickly went by one competitor and started to hunt down the German out front. I did quite a bit of damage to the gap, but I couldn't quite catch him. I thought I had finished second, but I hadn't seen the Ukrainian ahead of the German until the finishing stretch. I had halved the gap from the range to the finish line but couldn't do any better than third that day. I did the best I could on the course, but mistakes on the range had finally cost me too much to make up on the course. There was an element of frustration, knowing how fit I was and that I was making controllable mistakes. Some being ones that I usually don't make. That race was my first time being outside the top two in three seasons. It was an amazing performance by the two athletes ahead of me, and I was excited for them to be on the podium. But I wanted more from myself!

Only one race left, the Individual, the format best suited to my strengths. I needed to reset after the last two races. I needed to wipe the memory, bring the focus back to my process, and pay attention to the critical details. I needed to set clear intentions, and through brutal determination, I would shoot clean that last race. That's how I went into the race. I knew my skiing was strong, so I needed to start aggressively and dynamically, setting a pace others would need to chase. And on the range, I needed to be clear, focused, deliberate and clean. That mindset showed right from the day's first shots, with a fantastic first group of zeroing. That carried through to the race itself. The plan was to start aggressively, but to some surprise, I opened a gap of over 10 seconds on the first lap alone. I felt I was moving well and extending my lead with each lap. It was controlled and deliberate on the range, but I was shooting well and hitting the targets. There were moments when I heard the in-stadium announcer saying my name or asking whether I would hit the next target. I kept the focus and ensured I hit every bull – which I did, going clean, 20 for 20. Over the final lap, I had a decent lead; I could ensure that I got through it safely, not needing to risk anything and ski to a second World title that week. It felt extra special to have that type of performance in the Individual. Knowing I was missing that sharpness, I hadn't been satisfied with the earlier races. So, resetting, refocusing, and returning to a strong performance that day meant a lot to me. The bonus of a World title and hearing the national anthem was the cherry on top. That day was about turning it around and performing as I did, under pressure and on demand.

The three races of the Para Biathlon World Championships were completed. Three visits to the podium from the three races and twice to the top step are a huge measure of success. Still, I considered the learning, the opportunity to test myself, the frustrations, and the ability to reset and refocus as the bigger takeaways from Pokljuka. I added a new country to the visited list and explored a small sliver of the beautiful surroundings of Lake Bled. Quickly, it was time to depart, return to Italy and continue to the next World Championship event, this time in Cross Country.

Like last year's World Cup in Toblach-Dobbiaco, the first competition was a 10km classic. After focusing on skating for the Biathlon week, I had the official training on Tuesday to refamiliarize myself with classic skiing. I could take much confidence from my previous year's performance. I had several races in the legs and more than some Cross Country-only skiers who would be at the top of the contender's list. I was very pleased with how I skied that race. Maybe being a little fresher, I could have pushed the eventual leader a little, but I had a great day. I think finishing third on the day, a bronze medal, is a fantastic way to start the Para Cross Country World Championships. Not bad for a classic biathlete!

The next day was the Relays. Team Canada came together to compete in the Mixed Relay. I approach the relays by being ready to do whatever the team needs me to do. That has always been my philosophy when it comes to the relays. This time, it was to take on the third leg. The third leg is the second classic leg, which is on the flatter Sitting course. My strength is usually more towards climbing classic courses, but my role in this relay is to ski as hard as I can for 2.5km. Double poling, cornering, and fighting for any extra seconds I can give my teammate on the final, fourth leg. The relays are one of the greatest examples of the Para Cross Country. Combinations of male and female, Sitting, Visual Impaired and Standing categories, all mixed, representing their countries. Watch the strengths and weaknesses of each athlete and their impairment, as well as the back and forth of the teams. The race takes nearly thirty minutes, from up to four different athletes per nation, and the top five teams were separated by less than 18 seconds. Unfortunately, we were that fifth team, 18 seconds from the win, three seconds from Bronze, and 11 seconds from silver. I had a great leg, putting in a great effort with one pole of a very flat course. I put a lot of time into several teams, but one team's athlete

was purpose-selected for that leg, and there was no way I would beat him, so he helped his team to the Bronze. Cross country skiing is an individual sport, but you train and spend a lot of time with teammates; we get only a few opportunities throughout a quad to come together as a team and compete. You need to cherish those opportunities when they arise.

Photo Credit: Emma Archibald

The attention turned to the final competition in this World Champs block, the 20km Free. The fatigue from the past three weeks was starting to add up, but I believed I had what I needed for a great race. A course that could suit my strengths, and I had the fitness from the past few weeks. I woke up that morning believing I could be a contender for the podium. Overnight, a lot of fresh snow fell and continued to fall. The prediction was that it would stop falling just before my race started. As I tested skis, that didn't look that promising. By the time I started my warm-up, it had stopped and was even getting brighter. But it was still very soft and slow on anything but the race line that everyone was skiing on, which was glazing over and becoming almost ice. Again, I wanted to start aggressively and hold that pace throughout the laps. I thought I did a fantastic job, not that I surged, but it was a strong opening lap. The surprise was that I was only fourth with such a strong lap. My thought was that maybe some had started too strongly and would pay for that early pace later in the race. That also wasn't the case. In Para, there are times when conditions and course favour a particular impairment. And you are beaten as much by those factors as your competitors. This 20km was a prime example of that. The lap ended with a long, about a kilometre, sustained descent. Using my powerful legs in an efficient free skate, maybe even a two-skate, would have been great. But the fresh snow and soft conditions meant that the only fast way down the descent was to sit in the tracks, in a tuck. But that means that as we all go down the hill at the same speed, some competitors are getting a 5% advantage based on our factoring system. As the results indicated afterwards, that advantage could not be overcome. I would finish sixth, and I'm very satisfied with my performance that day. I would have liked the performance to have led to a podium finish, but that wasn't the case. I was the day's highest finisher, competing in all six World Championship competitions.

This tour around the Dolomites has been an experience. It was a success, near success, and learning from the experience. And that might be the most valuable over the next thirteen months. It was how I wanted to treat these three weeks: learning, testing, and trying out old and new ideas. Some were positive, others not so much, but the positive is that I can learn from it and bring it forward to the next event or next year's Games. One of the biggest focuses coming into this period was how to peak for the events. I think that with a few minor tweaks, some of which are already planned for next year, I had a successful trial of the plan. But I will spend some time debriefing all the resources I have to evaluate what will be the absolute best for next year. That includes adjusting the plan if I find myself off-plan or struggling.

Four World Championship medals from five individual events and a relay. Two World Champion titles, two bronze medals, and all results in the top six. The two Biathlon wins at the Val di Fiemme World Cup beforehand with a lot of pizza and pasta. That's not a bad way to spend three weeks in Europe!