Andy Newell, David Norris and Erik Bjornsen scramble during intervals. (Photo: Dan Simoneau.)
(Photo: Dan Simoneau)
Kikkan Randall leads a train of women during intervals. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
(Photo: Dan Simoneau)
Simi Hamilton. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Caitlin Patterson up a climb. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Sophie Caldwell. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Liz Stephen. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Kikkan Randall. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Jessie Diggins. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Diggins, Randall, Holly Brooks and Stephen. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Sprinting for a preem. Photo: Dan Simoneau
Jessie Diggins, Holly Brooks, Kikkan Randall skiing at Mt. Bachelor on Wednesday during an interval workout. (Photo: Dan Simoneau)
Tyler Kornfield leads up the hill. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Simi Hamilton. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
New snow greeted athletes at Mt. Bachelor on Wednesday. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
A Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation athlete trains. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Bend Training Camp 2013
Liz Stephen, climbing. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Holly Brooks leading. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Hamilton on a climb. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
Erik Bjornsen and Andy Newell push the pace. Photo: Dan Simoneau.
The U.S. Ski Team’s annual May training camp began in earnest this week in Bend, Ore. A few inches of fresh snow greeted skiers at Mt. Bachelor on Wednesday morning, just in time for the group’s first interval session: a set of 6 x 4-6 minute L3 freestyle intervals with intermediate sprints.
“We’ll put a little sprint halfway through the interaval, and that’s to mimic mass start racing and preems and time bonues on the World Cup,” said U.S. sprint veteran Andy Newell. “We try to do it pretty controlled today, but skied in a pretty good group.”
The USST is joined at Mt. Bachelor this week by the National Training Group, the Canadian National Ski Team, the U.S. Biathlon team and U.S. Paralympic athletes. With so many high-caliber skiers training on the same six- to seven-kilometer loop, Newell says the workouts interesting.
“I think tomorrow we have a three-hour one on the schedule,” he said. “We have the Canadians here, the U.S. biathles are here, so there’s so many people out we can catch up with Tim [Burke] and Lowell [Bailey] an ski a lap with them. It’s pretty fun skiing with that many people around.”
Though the workout was the first group interval session all spring for many skiers, Newell noted the pace was pretty controlled.
“We’re pretty used to training with one another so it’s not that competitive,” he said. “Maybe the preems we definitely try to race each other, to try to ge across the preem line, but as experienced skiers we know that there’s not a whole lot of stock in being in great shape in May.”
Special thanks to Dan Simoneau for his photos.
Photo Gallery: Bend Camp L3 Intervals – FasterSkier
