Laurens van Vliet returned last week from the Masters Nordic World Cup in Klosters, Switzerland.Klosters is situated in the Swiss Alps, about 100 km southeast of Zurich, near Davos.
“This was my fourth Masters World Cup competition, and my second one in Europe, where the world’s best skiers are. The competition was tough, with 1250 athletes participating from 30 countries. For example, in my age group alone (65-69 years) there were up to 60 skiers competing,” said van Vliet.
Klosters has hosted many World competitions in the beautiful valley surrounded by high mountain peaks exceeding 3000 meters in elevation, with many kilometres of groomed and track-set trails in open and slightly hilly terrain. The views of small, quaint villages with the backdrop of the mountains make for a stunning site to host the competition.
Laurens participated in three distances: the 10, 15, and 30 km races in classic technique spread out over a week of competition.
“The temperature and snow conditions above zero degrees were challenging during the races, but my six months of hard training and preparation paid off with strong performances in all three distances. I also met my objective of finishing the 15 km race in one hour. All in all, I was very satisfied with my performance, and I much enjoyed the thrill of competing with the best in the world.”
Prior to Klosters, Laurens participated in five races in B.C., resulting in a second and two third place finishes. He has been doing his on-snow training in Manning Park Resort two days per week on their 50 km of track-set trails in beautiful terrain suitable for all levels of ability. Staff at the Manning Park Nordic Centre have been very supportive during his training, and the grooming and track-setting at the resort has been excellent this winter with very good snow conditions.
