Olivia Bouffart-Nesbitt and Maya MacIsaac-Jones

Olivia Bouffart-Nesbitt and Maya MacIsaac-Jones probably wished the horse was real! They are both in Almaty, Kazakhstan, getting ready for the World Junior and U23 Championships.

«I am still adjusting to the time change in Kazakhstan, says Maya, so I am still feeling a bit tired from that, but I did intensity two days ago and felt great during the intensity.

«Mentally, I am still feeling tired from the time change, but physically my body is feeling very strong, so I think that once I adjust to the time change properly I will feel great and ready to race!

«The race organizers are still setting up the sprint course, so I haven’t had a chance to ski it yet, but once it is open I will be skiing it a lot to look at race strategy and tactical ideas.»

Skiplus will cover some : live tweeting for a number of races, reports, reactions from athletes and some exclusive pictures. Canada has sent a strong team to Kazakhstan so the week promises to be exciting.