麻豆社区

The International Ski Federation (FIS) will decide on whether it will be hosting world cup cross country ski races by mid-October.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the ski season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yukon skier Dahria Beatty has had a strong summer of training preparing for any scenario.

鈥淩ight now, we are planning for the best,鈥� said Beatty.

鈥淏est scenario is we arrive in Europe in November and have three races before Christmas.鈥�

World cup races will be confined to Europe. Beatty said if she and her fellow Canadians cannot make the trip, contingency plans are in place.

鈥淚f for some reason the world cup gets cancelled, we will switch focus,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淲e will use the opportunity to extend training and look for more race opportunities in the new year.鈥�

The 2019/2020 cross country ski season was shuttered in March because of the pandemic.

Although the season was cut short, Beatty has maintained her training regimen with a few minor adjustments.

鈥淚鈥檓 still training on a daily basis, but it hasn鈥檛 been badly affected,鈥� said Beatty.

鈥淔or skiing, it is done outside and can be done alone. It has changed how lessons look, and the amount of time spent with coaches and teammates.鈥�

Beatty said she had a small cohort of three other girls with whom she could practise as they were in the same bubble 鈥� most summers, training sessions are spent in groups of 20 athletes.

鈥淲e were able to train together and give feedback to one another,鈥� she said.

Another change to her schedule was the lack of summer camps, but this adaption is something Beatty didn鈥檛 mind.

鈥淯sually we are in a new place every three weeks,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淲e鈥檇 be in Ontario, Quebec, the States and sometimes New Zealand. Everything has just been at home.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really nice to not travel out; there have been no lost training days because of travel. It鈥檚 been good quality training.鈥�

Her time spent in the gym was also reduced, only having just been able to re-enter her regular training facility.

鈥淲orking out at home gave me a cool opportunity to switch to other stimulus, like power jumps, and doing bodyweight exercises,鈥� said Beatty.

On the technical side, Beatty said, she has been targeting weaknesses and gaps that she noticed last year.

鈥淚n August, I worked on my classic strides and hill climbs,鈥� said Beatty.

鈥淭his season, being world championships, there will have a classic sprint. I was shoring up technical gaps so I made a big effort to get more comfortable in that mode.

鈥淚鈥檓 better on the skate side of racing, so wanted to get better at classic while still focusing on my strengths.鈥�

Beatty said the training she has done through the summer and will continue to do until the season starts has her feeling confident that she can reach the benchmarks she has set for herself.

鈥淩esults-wise, I want to get past quarter-finals and into the semis,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淚 want that to be a more consistent place to me, and of course I鈥檇 like to make a sprint finals.

鈥淭hat would be a big stepping stone for the new year. I have been working on some technique and strategy goals to get me there.鈥�

The world championships, which precede an Olympic year, will be held in Oberstdorf, Germany beginning in late February. Beatty said she wants to peak for the championships but first wants to take advantage of the three races before Christmas.

鈥淚 race really well before Christmas and I want to take advantage of that,鈥� said Beatty.

鈥淭hen I want to peak for world champs and get strong results there.鈥�

Before the races in Germany, Beatty said she is going to employ a new strategy.

鈥淚 think I have underperformed at previous world championships so I鈥檓 going to change my race strategy,鈥� said Beatty.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to train leading into the world championships without doing a race weekend before hand. I will use that as a dry run for Beijing.鈥�

Beijing, China is the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics. At the 2018 Sochi Olympics, Beatty found success in the team sprint and the 4x5 relay placing 13th in both races.

At her last world championship races in Lahti, Finland in 2017, Beatty鈥檚 best results came in the 4x5 relay, 10th, and the team sprint 13th.