Lakers Nordic team kicks into high gear

The Nipissing Lakers Nordic Ski team hosted varsity skiers from the University of Guelph and Laurentian, along with junior racers from across the province for the fourth year of the Northern Ontario Division training camp this past weekend.Weather conditions proved challenging for travelling teams and organizers at the in-between season, with snow accumulating over the course of one dryland interval workout, but with the opportunity for some real skiing on snow opened up for the athletes. The snow accumulation and quick melt required quick thinking and hard work to run the Monastery Hill rollerski time trial, with volunteers from the North Bay Nordic Ski Club Junior Racing Team helping to shovel and salt the road through Saturday into Sunday, but the efforts paid off with a safe race course for the head to head sprint repeats. The tough, wet, cold conditions meant no course records were broken this time out, with Nipissing Nordic’s Jordan Cascagnette and Team Ninja’s Alana Thomas remaining King and Queen of the Hill for the test-piece climb. The athletes were inspired in their training by a presentation from the Women’s National Ski Team, reflecting on their preparations for the podium at this year’s Olympics, by pre-race guidance from Ontario Ski Team Coach Pav Sudrich, and by a presentation on fatigue by Nipissing faculty, Dr. Graydon Raymer. The race simulation weekend will serve as a capstone to Nipissing Nordic’s fall intensity block of training, now preparing for volume on snow and the race season ahead.