Federico Pellegrino: Long Training Camps Are Key To Why Russians Are Strong

Part 2 of the Daily Skier conversation with Federico Pellegrino:

-It’s important to do long training camps and one reason the Russian athletes are strong is because they do a big sacrifice to stay out of home for long periods of time. Many of them have family, kids at home and in the winter they will be motivated to do their absolute best to make sure these sacrifices were worth it.

Another reason for long camps is that it reduces days of travel. Travel days are the worst because you cannot train yet you become tired. I’ve tried to extend my training camps preparing for the 2018 Olympics. I did 12-14 days in a row but it’s a change of mentality for many people in our ( Italian) team. The Norwegians have an advantage there – many of them have everything they need for training right out of the door of their homes – good rollerski tracks, good roads with little traffic and respectful drivers etc. etc. So, the Norwegians can stay & train at home, combining with short camps. But for the rest of us, we need to find the best places possible and train there as long as possible…

PART 3 TO FOLLOW