The classic home court advantage! The pressure to perform in front of a home crowd, the knowledge and experience of all the little aspects of the course, familiarity with food and lifestyle... Team Canada was fortunate enough to have these advantages for the final IBU Cups of the season!
Momentum can also be a confidence builder! I had my best Biathlon race this year at trials one week before the IBU Cups. I had "perfect" shooting (10/10) and secured a spot on the Canadian Team.
Only one spot was guaranteed with the rest of the team being selected off of discretion.
Ta da! ~reppin the maple
leaf going thru equipment control pre-competition
Unfortunately I got sick the day after trials and came into the first race a little under the weather. What a momentum killer:P
(cool shot of the last paddle falling up before getting out of position)
Some good shooting along the way always helps. My prone was super solid in the last half of the season and I finished with 92% prone shooting average in IBU races after Christmas. Now that standing eh?
We had a hard working team of wax techs out grindin' to give us every edge possible! A perfect race needs so many variables to come together: some in your control, some not so much...
Getting sick wasn't exactly in my control but I felt a little obliged to get out and give everything I had on each day. Fortunately fast skis helped make it a little easier!
I was a pretty bummed on getting sick. I had based my entire years training around performing at these races... but like I said, some things you control, some you don't...I felt I did everything in my control to prepare and that's what counts.
My big personal accomplishment from these races was having a clean trials race the weekend before. My skiing was looking back in form at National Championships the week after and I just missed being healthy when it counted. I'm looking forward to continuing my pursuit for putting together a perfect race.
Next season Canmore will be hosting Biathlon World Cups for the first time in my life (last one was 1987 I believe?) and never know, maybe I'll have another home course advantage story!
*thanks for the pics Justin Brisbane, Jane Pindroch
