(Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges) There was Alex. There are now Antoine, Cendrine, Laura and Olivier. Of the seven athletes on the Canadian Olympic cross-country ski team, four are products of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Center (CNEPH). Unheard of for coach Louis Bouchard’s program. A huge reward, certainly, but above all the logical continuation of things for the program.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Located at the foot of Mont Sainte-Anne, in Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, about fifty kilometers northeast of Quebec City, the CNEPH was the birthplace of the legend Alex Harvey. After his retirement in 2019, many people wondered what would happen to the private center of his star founder. The answer: a record crop of athletes at the Olympic Games.
Antoine Cyr and Olivier Léveillé qualified for the Games thanks to their good results in the World Cup. At 23 and 20 respectively, the two cross-country skiers will be having their first Olympic experience.
Cendrine Browne and Laura Leclair needed the national trials held in Canmore, at the beginning of January, to earn their place in the Olympic brigade. Browne, 28, will be at his second Games, while Leclair, 25, will experience his Olympic baptism. The four train under the direction of Louis Bouchard, who no longer needs an introduction in the world of cross-country skiing.
Reached by telephone in Alberta to discuss their Olympic nomination, the CNEPH athletes, without exception, quickly alluded to the notion of a team. To the pride they felt in being able to experience these Games with their teammates, their friends.
Louis Bouchard was of course delighted: “Creating good chemistry within the team is my priority. I don’t see how I can bring athletes to the highest level if there isn’t a team behind them and young people who stand together, who encourage each other and who get up every morning to go and give their best. themselves, side by side. »
Browne had nothing but praise for this CNEPH Olympic delegation.
It’s incredible ! It proves that our National Center is an excellent program and that we are doing things right. It’s really very encouraging, we couldn’t have asked for better!
Cendrine Browne
Leclair abounded in the same direction. “The fact that we are four CNEPH athletes shows how valuable the expertise of the program is and how strong it is. It is a source of pride to see that we provide the best athletes in Canada. »
When he left his native Outaouais five years ago to settle in Quebec, Cyr had no idea that his rise to the highest peaks of cross-country skiing was going to be so dazzling.
“It was seeing Alex and training with him that I understood how important the notion of team was. Having the training center with our doctors, our physios, our physical trainers and our coaches, that changes everything.
“It gives us confidence, and I owe a lot to my coaches at the CNEPH. Teammates are also super important. It’s an individual sport, but you have to train as a team, that’s the key to success. It’s exceptional what happens at the Center. »
Léveillé, who has just arrived on the World Cup circuit, is already extremely grateful for the work done at the CNEPH.
“It really is a unique experience where skiers are taken to another level. We have to take advantage of the chance to have facilities like that in Quebec. In other sports, you have to travel to have access to these kinds of services. To perform, we had to regroup, and we are lucky to be able to do it quite close to home. »
Methods that promote development
The CNEPH brings together the best cross-country skiers in Quebec and also trains the next generation. Every athlete can count on the expertise of employees who have many years of experience and who can meet the needs of cross-country skiers quickly and efficiently.
It is also this centralization of services that makes the CNEPH stand out and allows athletes to reach their full potential. All specialists have been at the center for at least 10 to 15 years. Bouchard and the team doctor have been there for more than 20 years.
“Our specialists are very well versed and specialize in cross-country skiing. They know the injuries that our athletes can suffer from, the kind of instability that can harm them depending on the demands of our sport. We know all these details, we don’t need to teach anyone anything, and follow-up with our athletes is increased, advanced and rapid. It’s also what makes the athletes feel good and makes them feel like they’re in the right place,” explained the head coach.
Bouchard also specified that the creation of the Centre, at Mont Sainte-Anne, was no accident. In this large space, surrounded by mountains and trees, at the end of rang Saint-Julien, in a municipality that vibrates to the rhythm of cross-country skiing and where the snow is generous, CNEPH athletes can enjoy an optimal environment. .
In addition to indulging in cross-country skiing thanks to quality trails and gradients worthy of the most beautiful Scandinavian routes, athletes can go running, mountain biking, road biking and especially roller skiing. , the summer, which was the great revolution of the Centre. It was Bouchard and Alex Harvey who designed and built this track four years before the Sochi Games in 2014, to represent the level of difficulty with which Alex would have to deal with the Games.
Today, this track is still a central element in summer preparation, and it is one of the things that makes its main initiator the most proud. “The track really represents the reality of a World Cup,” explained Bouchard. Every day, when they practice on this track, they are in exactly the environment in which they will have to perform in winter. »
PHOTO NICHOLAS RICHARD, THE PRESS
The Pierre-Harvey National Training Center is increasingly recognized in the cross-country ski world.
If the athletes feel so good at the CNEPH, it is also thanks to Bouchard’s planning and concern for their well-being. Each training block lasts three weeks. At the end of these 21 days, athletes are encouraged to return home to their families for at least 10 days.
“Over the years, I realized that it was demanding for young people to stay full time in the same competitive environment. After 10 days, if some need to stay at home for 3 more days, they are given the right. That way, when they come back, we’ll be able to ask them for intense concentration for the next three weeks,” added Bouchard.
The Center is increasingly recognized in the cross-country skiing community. It has become an important element of the Canadian program and a must in Quebec. Four athletes from the CNEPH will realize their dream and represent Mont Sainte-Anne on the biggest stage in the world. The dream of Bouchard and the Harveys lives on.
The cross-country skiers who come to the Center are by definition athletes at an important stage in their career, according to Bouchard. Once grouped together, they must pursue the same objectives and goals. This is what makes the success of the Centre.
Between the athletes and the employees, the chemistry is there. The talent is beyond doubt. The passion is contagious, and the pleasure of skiing, indisputable. At the dawn of other Olympic Games, the CNEPH pursues its mission brilliantly, every day.