Bobsleigh pilots reveal details about “Top Notch” training experience at future Olympic sliding track in Yanqing

Three-time Olympic bobsleigh pilot Elana Meyers-Taylor has nothing but rave reviews regarding her overall experience and driving the new track in Yanqing. She and fellow bobsleigh and skeleton athletes just completed a three-week training block and exhibition races at China’s new National Sliding Center.

“The track itself is one of the most immaculate tracks I’ve ever seen in my life – this is an architectural marvel,” Meyers-Taylor tells Around the Rings in an interview upon her return to the U.S. “The curves themselves are just massive and they put so much thought and energy into that track that it’s going to be hard to top as far as Olympic bobsled tracks go.”

Austrian driver Benjamin Maier said he was blown away by his overall experience, as he seeks to qualify for his third Olympic Games in Beijing.

“The best word to describe it is surreal - everything is so over the top, that it’s hard to believe and process,” Maier tells ATR. “Starting from Covid precautions upon arriving, to the highway that was blocked off for us in Beijing, police escort to the hotel and the track itself. You have a hard time understanding and processing that because things like that just wouldn’t be possible in Europe or North America.”

Meyers-Taylor, a three-time Olympic medalist, says the 1,900-meter sinuous track with its 16 long and technical curves designed to resemble a dragon, is unlike any sliding venue that she has ever seen in her nearly 15 years competing across the globe.

“They say it is supposed to replicate a dragon the way it winds down the mountain and it really does – it is really something special,” she said.

And in terms of the difficulty of the track, which features three uphill sections to control speeds?

“It is challenging track and there will be exciting races, especially in the monobob,” Meyers-Taylor says, referring to the new women’s Olympic event which will debut at Beijing 2022 in February.

Top speeds exceeded 130 kph for the men and between 125-127 kph for the women.

USA-1 men’s bobsleigh pilot Codie Bascue was pleasantly surprised about how smoothly everything proceeded out during his visit to Yanqing, located about 90 kilometers northwest of Beijing.

“We were going into a bubble and didn’t really know what to expect going over there, but they made it a nice experience for us there – didn’t really have too many complaints,” Bascue says. “The track is really cool, really unique. This giant wooden structure looks like a dragon or snake.”

Top notch track, facilities and intangibles

Bascue, 27, a 2018 Olympian, quickly elevates the new Chinese track among his top three favorites worldwide – alongside his home track in Lake Placid and St. Moritz.

He said that athlete safety was of the highest priority and he only witnessed a few inconsequential crashes – Monaco out of curve one and Latvia approaching the bottom of the track.

“This track is not really dangerous like others in Germany and Lake Placid, but I think a lot of drivers had problems figuring it out,” Bascue said.

“It’s a very easy track to get down, not very fast and almost no pressure, yet very technical and challenging, where little mistakes are punished a lot,” said Maier, who had two top-ten finishes in PyeongChang.

The bobsledders said that despite mild temperatures rising above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the track’s ice was kept in excellent condition with half of the track crew being brought in from outside of China to aid the learning process.

“The ice was nice and good, really fast,” Bascue said. “They had experienced track crew from all of the world helping the Chinese crew and they did a great job.”

“Hands down one of the best ice crews I’ve encountered,” Maier said.

Bascue said the entire facility is top notch with an indoor warm-up running track conveniently located adjacent to the sliding track.

“It was the best warm-up area that I’ve seen at a facility – the floors were heated, so that was awesome to have,” Bascue said “We’re usually warming up in a parking lot somewhere in Germany.”

The Chinese National Sliding Center is in close proximity to the future Olympic Village in Yanqing, which will house sliding athletes and alpine skiers in February. On this trip, the athletes were lodged in a hotel, roughly a 40-minute bus ride to the venue every day.

The top ranked U.S. bobsled pilot said food served at the hotel was sufficient, although variety was lacking.

“It was a little less traditional Chinese than I was expecting – more like beef stew, rice and vegetables,” Bascue said. “It was a lot of similar stuff the whole time, so it got a little stale towards the end, but overall it was good.”

About the food, the Austrian added: “Very repetitive and no real flavor made it very hard for most athletes after one week and most people lost a couple of kilos while there.”

Meyers-Taylor noted that accessing internet and social media sites was not a problem, whether it be through VPN addresses or access provided by Chinese organizers.

She and her husband, fellow U.S. bobsledder Nic Taylor, brought along their 20-month-old son Nico on the trip. She says Chinese organizers assigned a personal assistant to help take care of all their needs.

“Anything we needed, we had immediately,” she said. “My husband kept joking ‘I think he needs a Little Caesars pizza.’ They went above and beyond to take care of us.”

Covid countermeasures and protocols in Yanqing

The athletes informed that Covid health and safety protocols were stricter than at any competition that they’ve raced at during the pandemic.

“These were the tightest precautions that I’ve seen in our sport so far – most of the workers were in full hazmat suits and we were tested every day,” Bascue said. “We didn’t leave the facilities – the hotel and the track.” Double masks were worn by other Chinese staff, while athletes were required to wear N95 masks.

Bascue, who resides in upstate New York, noted that there was a one-day excursion to China’s Great Wall, however the experience was also limited.

“We drove to the Great Wall, sat in the parking lot and got to see the Great Wall, but didn’t leave the bus,” the 2018 Olympian said.

“We were pretty much in lockdown the whole time, I think every worker that we saw was getting tested every day,” he added.

Meyers-Taylor said that one of her few disappointments is that spectators will not be able to see the beautiful new track, due to the COVID-19 countermeasures between now and February.

“I’m so sad that foreign spectators won’t get to see it up close and personal because you see the photos, but to really appreciate you have to be there,” she said. “Hopefully, after the Games we will still use the track and World Cups there for people to go and see it.”

Follow Brian on Twitter - @Brian_Pinelli

KEEP READING:

.