This is the first article in a mini-series that puts focus on the transition from junior to senior racer. This is often a difficult time in a young racer's life.
You are used to racing your own age group and now you are suddenly up against the seasoned veterans, all the best skiers in your country, the whole “wolf pack.â€
These articles will describe how young Norwegians experience this transition, but the situation is the same in any country around the World. We hope this information will help juniors and coaches learn and be prepared!
Thomas Losnegard was a very good junior racer. He qualified for the Norwegian Junior World Championship team as an 18-year old. He skied the sprint at the 2001 World Juniors.
He then raced his first year as a senior last season. He found that the transition was tougher than he had counted on.
Thomas explains:
“There is an enormous performance difference between the juniors and the senior elite class. I knew that there was a big difference, but it’s tough when you find out that you are five minutes behind the winner in a 10 kilometer race. It’s like being punched in the face.â€
“You have to have a large amount of will-power and desire to continue as a senior racer, unless you were skiing very well in your last year as a junior and made a sponsored team. You know how high the bar is when you look at the average age on the National Team. It’s highâ€
“One of the big differences is that there are so many skiers at a high level in the senior class making top results a lot harder. It really shows on the result list if you have a bad day. I was a bit shocked. If you are a good junior and have a bad day you might still get a decent result place-wise. If you have a bad day as a young senior it really shows up — you are suddenly pretty far down the result list â€!Â
Thomas was working hard in his first season as a senior. He added 50 hours to his total training volume, and he completed his mandatory Norwegian Army assignment in the Sport Division, along with other talented skiers.
“I was better trained last year compared to previous years. Tests showed improvements as well, but I didn’t feel that I was racing faster than when I was a junior.â€
Thomas is of the opinion that there is a big difference between sprint races and regular races, and it can be easier to be competitive at an earlier age in the sprint.
“I had hoped to be among the top 25 skiers in Norway and maybe advance to the heats in sprint races . Instead I placed around 35-40th place.â€
This year Thomas has stepped down a great deal in his training. He has started to study at theSport College and is doing workouts he likes. He will participate in races, but with fewer ambitions — for now.
“I got a bit discourage when I realized how far it is to the top. You have to evaluate how much time you can devote to cross country ski racing. You have to do it full time if you want to be good and possibly reach the top.
“I discovered that I want to prioritize differently. I have always trained a lot and now I also want to do other things than ski racing.”
Thomas points out that it’s usually during the first senior year you start to make decisions regarding future studies, work and life in general. He admits that he might have made other choices if he had seen more progress and raced faster.
“I might have prioritized differently with better results. You depend upon an improving performance curve. You need more motivation, in conjunction with the set-backs, in your first year as a senior than you do in your 4th year.â€
What advice can you give skiers starting up their first senior year?
“Be patient and have realistic goals — don’t shoot to high. Don’t look at the results — look at the performance. Look at tests and find a training environment/group that’s not only focusing on results but also on having fun.†Â
