Youth Winter Olympian Zana Evans had to learn how to love rollerskiing the hard way.
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Because on one side of the world, cross-country skiers are gliding over the fresh-powder snow and competing in FIS events.
But in Australia, it's 30-plus degrees and not a snowflake in sight.
Evans and her compatriots have switched their skis for rollerskis to continue training on dry land, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing them to remain home for the summer.
Instead of competing at the Junior World Championships in Finland, 10 athletes from the cross-country ski team were in Canberra last month for a training camp.
It was the first time most of the athletes had seen each other since the 2020 Youth Winter Olympics in Switzerland, with 16-year-old Evans saying they had to take the positives in a post-pandemic world and a summer without snow.
"It was hard to watch the overseas races, but it's been a good few months to build up strength and endurance," Evans said.
"The camp was so much fun, it was good to be around everyone again and knowing that it isn't just you out there training and putting in the hard hours when it's hot in summer.
"Everyone, especially those in Melbourne, have had to find different ways to adapt and train. It is uplifting and motivating to be around that environment again for sure."
The training camp included physiological testing on a treadmill that mimicked the VO2 max protocol, as well as a time trial, and strength and endurance training.
They ran 20-kilometres over Black Mountain and its surroundings, before undertaking a 50-kilometre rollerski from the AIS to Stromlo and back the following day.
Hugo Hinckfuss, a 17-year-old Youth Winter Olympian, said rollerskiing is the best way to train during summer because it mimics the movement of cross-country skiing.
Snow Australia held the first FIS rollerski races in the country's history in late January, with freestyle sprint and interval start events taking place on a 1.2-kilometre loop at Stromlo Forest Park.
"It was a really good chance to see what level everyone was at and get a good racing experience, because most of us hadn't raced at that level for a while," Hinckfuss said.
"It was interesting for me because I wasn't in the greatest shape. Throughout the Christmas period I found it difficult to train at the same level as I had been previously.
"At the end of the day, if you want to achieve your goals it's not too difficult [to overcome the summer setback]. When there's not many races to look forward to, it does get difficult to do the hard sessions."
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Evans took both women's titles in the rollerskiing events, but is looking forward to putting away the dryland substitute in the coming months.
"Over the summer, I've had to increase the hours of rollerskiing and learned to like it a bit more. It's good that it pays off when you can race," Evans said.
"It's different to being in the snow, but you have to get used to it. If you put some music in and go out with some other people, it's usually alright. It's the closest thing you can do to skiing, you've just got to learn to love it.
"I can't explain how keen I am to ski again. I feel like I haven't seen the snow in years. I'm excited to ski again and see how the training pays off for the ultimate."
The Australian team will return to Canberra in April for the Rollerski Championships and another training camp at the AIS.