In Part I of our interview with Sophia Laukli, FasterSkier caught up with her before she had returned to the Golden Trail Series Tour, and discussed the ups and downs of the difficult summer she had. We’ll continue our discussion with Laukli about the upcoming race season but first, we need to bring readers up to date with how she fared in the Golden Trail Series finals, and how she is feeling after her summer of relentless challenges.
In last Thursday’s prologue portion of the final’s race, Laukli had one of the more solid performances she has had all summer, and felt better than she had in months. After the prologue, she told FasterSkier: “Definitely on the right track in terms of feelings, compared to earlier this summer.” She finished fourth in the seven kilometer prologue and was within sight of the winner. Last Saturday, the finals continued with the 23.5 kilometer race.
The 23.5 final on Saturday went well for her, though she didn’t dominate like she had last year. Laukli finished sixth, but was only a little over a minute off the podium, which might be a good barometer of how she is doing physically. Full results can be found here. It was a nice rebound performance and should serve to remove most of the sour taste of this last season.
After the race, Laukli share her observations with FasterSkier. “Yesterday’s race was decent but I realized pretty quickly that maybe I should not have done the prologue. My legs were totally dead so it made for a very tough and long race. I’m confident the fitness and ski shape is still good, but that doesn’t translate to back to back running races for me…I have done a lot of roller skiing, and not much running, so I guess it’s not the biggest shock. I’m definitely happy I raced the finals, but I think if I wanted to have my best performance before the season end, I should have committed to just doing the final long race.” It’s positive news for American ski fans that Laukli is back to feeling good and having strong race results. Her result might be a little bit off from last year, but not all of it rests with her physical condition. ” I think the biggest thing though is that the field is so deep and so much higher this year. It was honestly one of my better races even though the legs were super heavy, but I’ve had much worse races where I’ve still ended 2nd or 3rd, or even won. I would say I’m close to last year’s level and maybe still improved, it’s just hard to see that in the results.”
At the end of the day, the decision to race looks like it proved to be the right move for Laukli, and it was definitely the right step psychologically. “So all in all, it’s super motivating for next year but I have a lot of improvement in running to do. But the competition being so high makes me want to put in just as much work as I do for skiing, and that’s a cool thing!”
To bore in on ski training, Laukli recently visited the ski tunnel in Torsby, Sweden. It’s a form of training which she admittedly isn’t thrilled with. “It was mostly technique focus, but I really honestly hate tunnel training. I don’t think I would ever do it if I didn’t see the benefit. I can do it once a year and have a little bit of a boot camp. Many people have no problem with it, but I find it very mentally tough.”
In the midst of her summer of challenges Laukli did receive some good news. She was promoted on the U.S ski team from B team status to A team. Although there is limited day to day impact of the promotion, she appreciates the change in status. “It’s a motivating thing to move up, because it means that you’re better than the year before. I was really excited about it.”
As she continues to develop as a skier, Laukli has noted, and is quite open, about a couple of significant holes in her game—Sprinting and Classic skiing. She is physically tuned to be a distance athlete, and there’s only so much she can do to change that. This past spring, Laukli told FasterSkier that she was going to work a little bit more on her Sprinting skills this summer, if for no other reason than that she wouldn’t have to overcome as significant time deficits in the Tour de Ski. But she is realistic about her Sprinting abilities and acknowledges that even making the Sprint heats probably isn’t a realistic goal for this season. While not necessarily working specifically on Sprinting, “I’ve had a huge focus on strength this summer,” which should improve her Sprint results. She’s also been working on her Classic game. “Another thing that brings me down a bit (in Overall standings) is the difference in my Classic and Skating abilities, so I’ve had a bit more Classic focus, so at least I can get a little bit closer to my Skating (ability). I’m never going to be a Sprinter, but if I can get a little bit stronger, and at least get better at Classic, then it helps with focus on the Overall … so I don’t just think about the last stage (Alpe Cermis).”
In addition to the Tour de Ski, this is a World Championships year, and Laukli has some definite goals in mind. “I’m very results driven, so not having any results goals makes it hard to figure out what you want to do in the season. What I first do is pinpoint the races that I have the most potential in and base my training around those; so I’m in the best shape for those. The results goals are a little vague, but beyond Alpe Cermis, and the races at altitude, trying for a top five … the biggest focus of the year is the 50k Skate at the World Champs. I want that race to be my best race ever.” For the non-World Championship races, Laukli is primed for racing at Engadin (20k Freestyle) and Les Rousses (10 k Freestyle and 20 k Classic).
