Originating in Northern Europe, cross-country skiing has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the inaugural Winter Games held in 1924, and has become the most comprehensive sport at the games with 12 individual events. China’s participation in cross-country skiing came late, and its performance fell behind the world’s top countries, such as Nordic nations. During the preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the country is planning to compete in all events.
After Beijing won the bid in 2015 for the Winter Olympic Games, in order to achieve the goal of “competing in all events,” the General Administration of Sport of China launched a nationwide scouting initiative for ski talent. At present, while veteran athletes are still competitive, younger players are catching up. In the national championships held in the past two seasons, apart from those in the three northeastern provinces which are traditionally strongholds of the sport, more teams from other provincial-level regions including Tianjin, Tibet, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Shandong, were competing.
During the 2019-2020 season, China’s national cross-country skiing team participated in 13 competitive events of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Cross-Country World Cup. It set a goal of seeing two athletes, one male and one female, to make the top 30 in the sprint and distance competitions, respectively, and the goal was met. At the Ruka World Cup race in Finland, the Chinese team made it to the top eight in women’s relay, which was a historic breakthrough. Thanks to the performance, China’s nation ranking rose to the 14th place in the 2019-20 season from the 18th for 2018-19.
The 2020-2021 China Cross-country Skiing Championships concluded at the Baiyin National Cross-country Skiing Training Base in northwest China’s Gansu Province. It was not only the country’s first snow championships held in 2021, but also a proving ground for national team members to compete in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The championships boosted the morale of the athletes and enhanced their experience.
“There were nearly 200 athletes from 23 teams competing in the events. Previous national competitions might attract shy of 23 participants,” said Zhang Bei, leader of the national cross-country skiing team. Zhang said that the number of participants at the 2019 national championships was nearly 400. There would have been more for the 2021 events if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang added.
The 2019 Vasaloppet China skiing festival kicked off in Jingyuetan National Scenic Area in Chang-chun City, northeast China’s Jilin Province.
Technology-Driven Training
The national cross-country skiing team started intensive training in a ski base in Chengde, Hebei Province, in March 2020. With a 200-day countdown to the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the 2021 summer training is undoubtedly an important preparation period.
The summer training was carried out on China’s longest enclosed racing track for cross-country skiing in Chengde. Completed in March 2021, the track features a two-layer roof membrane and ground cooling and ventilating system, ensuring snow amount for competitive purposes even during non-snow seasons.
The 2.2-kilometer track provides ideal temperature and humidity for cross-country skiing training.
The track was built on natural terrain, which makes it more challenging for skiers. Technical officials of the FIS spoke highly of the track. Its operation will extend the annual training time for the Chinese national team from the current five months to at least eight and even more in the future.
The training base in Chengde is similar to that in Zhangjiakou, which will be the venue for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in terms of climate and altitude. This is conducive not only to athletes’ preparation but also to their physical recovery. As the track was newly put into use, it is still not available for training across all four seasons.
However, the Chengde training base has introduced new snowmaking machines which can operate at higher temperatures.
“The new track can not only extend the training time for athletes with good physical fitness and strength, but also enable experienced skiers to maintain sports performance,” Zhang said. In her eyes, since the cross-country skiing team now has a permanent training place, regular tests can be conducted to check athletes’ progress, and a systematic training mode will also be achieved.
To increase the intensity of the training, the cross-country skiing teams also incorporate training of roller skiing. “The track for roller skiing in the Chengde base is 8 kilometers long, and reaches 10 kilometers when counting the uphill and downhill lengths. With the roller skiing training and practice on snow track, athletes will learn to adapt to the difficulties of different venues,” said Zhang.
In addition, the FIS championships were held in China, enabling Chinese skiers to finish systematic training and contesting when they cannot compete outside the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Competitions help athletes identify their weaknesses, so that we could develop targeted and personalized training plans,” Zhang said.
The track in the Chengde base was renovated from a previous ski resort, where the natural terrain meets the FIS technical standards. In the future, video monitoring systems will also be installed on the roof membrane over the track and high-speed photography will be used to track athletes’ performance and help them improve.
Selecting the Cream of the Crop
Cross-country skiers are competing their endurance. Physical training is especially important since it requires strength and endurance in both the arms and legs. This has been a focus of the training of Chinese athletes in preparation for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Climbing is one of the keys to succeeding in cross-country skiing. One third of the total length for the Winter Olympics track will be uphill. Skiers will spend around half of the entire competition’s time in climbing. There are climbing races in this year’s national championships as a special test of athletes’ skills.
According to Zhang, climbing is the key measurement of a skier’s physical capabilities as it requires strong cardiopulmonary function and great strength. The results of the climbing competition prove that physical training during last summer is effective.
In May, the 2021-2022 FIS Cross-Country Skiing China City Tour kicked off in Altay City, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. After the Altay stop, the city tour is scheduled to be held every four weeks until the end of this year. The results of the five best-performing races out of the total eight races will provide reference for the calculation of China’s quota for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The purpose of the eight races is not only to gain points, but also to help athletes accumulate valuable experience, improve upon deficiencies, and provide a basis for the next stage of targeted training, according to Zhang.
Zhang said that the national team has been devoted to fostering benign competition among the skiers. “Performance in any one competition does not mean anything. Only athletes with stable performance will compete in the Beijing Winter Olympic Games on behalf of the country,” she noted.
WANG JING is a senior reporter with China Sports Daily.
