With the spring progressing, the Nordic Combined athletes have returned from various holidays and off-season pursuits and training has started again. The end of the month of May usually is the time when the first team training camps are scheduled and the season 2015/16 is no exception.

Austria

The Austrian kicked the season off with a varied program. The annual performance and strength tests were held at Going where two afternoons were also dedicated to hip hop and breakdance training. „Especially at the beginning of the season, it makes sense to diversify the training. The dancing sessions were very good for coordination and the sense of rhythm“, head coach Christoph Eugen explains.

Shortly after, the team left for Torbole at Lake Garda where new cross-country coach Jochen Strobl took the team for a mountain bike and roller-skiing week

Finland

Head coach Petter Kukkonen and his squad started the season with a test camp in Vuokatti. Several days of testing various variables precede a busy summer for the team which will head to Ötepää for another camp next, return to Vuokatti after the Midsummer week and go to Ruka in July. Next to the international Summer Grand Prix in late August/September, which the full team will attend, the program will also contain the traditional national summer competitions like the Hill carnival in Vuokatti and the traditional Vaskiyhdistetty in Lieksa.

After the big changes in the French team with the retirement of Jason Lamy Chappuis, Sebastien Lacroix and head coach Etienne Gouy, new head coach Jerome Laheurte took his team to the national school of Water Sports in Quiberon to start on the physical preparations and work on the group cohesion- „The program contained cycling, fitness and various water sports (kayaking, surfing, stand up paddling and sailing“, Laheurte explained.

Germany

A first jumping camp is scheduled at Schruns in Austria’s Montafon region at the beginning of June before the team heads to Mallorca for a cycling camp.

Japan

The Japanese team had their first training camp at Suruga Bay on the Izu peninsula south of Tokio.

Norway

The Norwegian A-team met up in Trondheim where the first camp of the season took place which focussed on roller-skiing among other things. 

Source: fis-ski.com