Cross country athletes unite in pre-season testing push at AIS

Australian cross-country skiers were put through their paces recently by physiologists at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra. This annual pre-season camp is the prelude to a busy domestic season that is aimed at getting athletes primed for the crucial northern winter.  

Twelve athletes took part in the camp, including three Para-Nordic athletes vying for selection to the 2026 Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina. This was the first time that a joint able-bodied / testing camp for cross country skiing has been held at the AIS, with the camp also supported by Biathlon Australia. In Milano Cortina 2026 the Para Nordic athletes are potentially able to compete in both Cross Country and Biathlon events.

"The June AIS testing takes place just before the transition to on-snow training, providing a valuable opportunity to assess current physiological capacity and determine training zones at the start of the winter. Athletes will then return to the AIS in October to complete a second round of testing, tracking their progress over time and evaluating their preparation before the northern hemisphere season.

Over the course of the week, athletes underwent a comprehensive testing schedule, including VO2 max and sub-max assessments on treadmills, strength testing in the gym, field tests on roller skis, a double-pole time trial, and a 3-kilometre run.

Snow Australia’s Cross Country Skiing Program Director, Finn Marsland, said testing camps provide athletes with an opportunity to benchmark their progress.

“Generally, the national team athletes are in a base-building period as they head into the start of the domestic season,” Marsland said. “And while they are also racing through the Australian winter, most will keep up good training volume and be aiming to peak during the northern hemisphere winter. 

“The feedback out of testing will identify areas for them to work on over the next three to four months.

"It’s been valuable having the Para athletes in an integrated camp for the first time, we had some really productive group sessions where athletes could share diverse experiences around international travel and competition,” Marsland said. "During the northern winter the able-bodied and Para athletes follow completely different event schedules."

The able-bodied National Team athletes will next gather at Howmans Gap near Falls Creek for the first on-snow training camp scheduled for the first week in July, while the Para-Nordic athletes are headed to New Zealand around the same time for a training block together with Para athletes from other nations.