Season Update #1

Rocky Mountain Racers

Training Camps and Early Racing Season

Led by coaches John Jaques and Luke McGurk, the RMR athletes have had a busy training season filled with multiple camps and an exciting start to the racing season.

Training Camps
Sunshine Ski Camp
Throughout May and June, RMR athletes were fortunate enough to be able to ski on fully groomed cross-country trails in the meadows at Sunshine Village near Banff. The team took advantage of this opportunity to focus on volume and technique while on snow, skiing for 3-5 hours every day. The athletes and their coaches also were lucky enough to enjoy some beautiful early morning crust skiing on the Sunshine meadows.

Creston Bike Camp
RMR athletes headed down to Creston, B.C. at the beginning of July for a high volume road biking camp, aimed towards improving the athletes’ endurance and leg strength. Supported by their coaches and by parents and team volunteers, athletes cycled up to 150km each day, with workouts lasting up to 6 hours. The camp was the team’s first trip away from Canmore as a group, and was a great opportunity for athletes to work together and enjoy training as a team.

Haig Glacier On-Snow Camps
The team attended three on-snow training camps throughout July, August, and September at the Haig Glacier, where they took advantage of the skiing opportunities to focus on both technique and volume. Each day, RMR athletes completed a 1-hour hike to from the base camp to the glacier itself, followed by 3-4 hours of skiing. Athletes also took advantage of the glacier’s high altitude (over 2400m) to boost their endurance and stamina.

Park City High Altitude Camp
RMR’s final training camp of the year took place near the end of September in Park City, Utah. The Park City camp, known by RMR athletes as the “hardest camp of the year”, combined high altitude, high volume, high intensity, and strength in a final preparation for athletes leading up to the racing season. Athletes completed a variety of time trials, intensity and strength sessions, and 4-5 hour distance skis throughout the camp. The trip ended with an epic 30km trail run at 9000 ft. elevation, lasting 4-5 hours.

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Race Season

For the biathletes and cross-country skiers, the first two months of racing involved a variety of selection races for Canada Winter Games, biathlon and cross-country World Junior Championships, World University Championships, IBU events, and World Cup events. RMR athletes succeeded in having some outstanding results, proving that the team can compete with Canada’s best high-performance training centers. 

Cross-Country Competitions:

Canada Winter Games Trials

• RMR athletes Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, Andrea Dupong, Andrew Brisbin, and Ember Large worked together to bring home 6 gold medals and 1 silver medal for the team. Anna MacIsaac-Jones, Emma Camicioli and India McIsaac also posted top-10 results for the team.

• The Alberta Cup races were also Canada Winter Games Trials for the U-23 athletes, where Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Ember Large, and India McIsaac secured spots on Team Alberta with their results.

• Ilona Gyapay also qualified for the CWG as a member of Team NWT!

Rossland NorAm

• Athletes Andrea Dupont and Maya MacIsaac-Jones brought home 3 silver medals with their performances at the North American Championship event.

Vernon NoAm

• Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, Andrea Dupont, India McIsaac, Gillian Gowling, and Michael MacIsaac-Jones brought home 3 gold medals, 1 silver medals, and 3 bronze medal for the team with their strong races.

• Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Anna MacIsaac-Jones, and Ember Large also had top-10 results.

Duntroon NorAm / XC World Junior & U23 Trials

• Andrea Dupont, Maya MacIsaac-Jones, and brought home 1 gold medal and 3 bronze medals during the events.

• Pearce Hanna, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Ember Large also posted top-10 results.

• Maya MacIsaac-Jones and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt qualified for the World Junior/U23 Championships with their results in these races. They will be competing February 1-8 in Almaty, Kazakhstan as members of Team Canada.

Biathlon Competitions

NorAm / Biathlon Calforex Cup #1

• RMR athletes Stuart Harden, Pearce Hanna, and Matt Neumann brought home silver, gold and bronze medals respectively for their team.

• Athletes Guillaume Bertrand and William Poffenroth also posted top-10 results.

• Nate Gerwing secured a spot on Alberta’s biathlon Canada Winter Games Team with his weekend’s performances.

• Guillaume Bertrand and Matt Neumann also qualified for the Canada’s IBU trip in January with their Calforex Cup results. They will each compete in several IBU level races in Europe, as well as in the Open European Championships.

• Stuart Harden and Pearce Hanna qualified for the biathlon World Junior Championships in Belarus with their performances. They will represent Canada at the races in February.

• William Poffenroth and Evan Girard with both represent RMR and Team Canada at the World University Games in Spain this February. Evan Girard will compete for both biathlon and cross-country. He will be the first Canadian athlete ever to compete in multiple sports at the World University Games.

RMR would like to extend a huge and heartfelt thank-you to all of its sponsors. Each and every one of you helps contribute to the team’s success; RMR would not function without your support.

For More Photos of RMR in Action check out RMR photo gallery!