Mud, speed, adrenaline, drool, and top athletes: The sled dog sports dryland competition season culminates in the IFFS World Championships held in Nybro, Sweden, from October 23 to 27, 2019.
There are just over 400 competitors from nearly 30 different countries around the world. One of the athletes representing Finland is Tanja Ignatius, who collaborates with Traildog Finland and whose main sport is bikejoring. We asked her a bit about preparing for the World Championships and her expectations.
Team: Tanja Ignatius & Bambi
Tanja is a 23-year-old student from Helsinki. She has practiced sled dog sports for 11 years, and bikejoring became her main sport already in 2012. Progress happens gradually and the goals get tougher! For this season, Tanja chose her younger dog as her competition partner: 1.5-year-old female greyster Bambi, with whom Tanja is seeking experience from big competitions. This is only Bambi's second official race start, so anything is possible.
1. How long have you been involved in the sport? And how long have you trained purposefully?
I found my way to sled dog sports in 2009 through my first dog. At first, the hobby was mostly about walking the dog with skis on in the backyard field. Gradually, competitions came into the picture, initially in skiing and canicross. In 2012, I got a bigger and stronger dog, which sparked my love for bikejoring. Training was goal-oriented but not very intense yet, and competitions were mainly for gaining experience. In 2014, I got my own German Shorthaired Pointer puppy, which raised my goals and made training more systematic.
2. Why have you chosen bikejoring as your sport?
Bikejoring captivated me purely out of love for speed. I first got excited about mountain biking, which finally allowed me to combine two beloved sports into one. Canicross was never really for me, and constantly losing to my little sister forced me to look for my strengths elsewhere.
3. Do you have previous experience in major competitions?
I started in major competitions for the first time at the German European Championships in 2012 when I was still a junior. Now the upcoming World Championships are my second major competition in the women's bikejoring category.
4. What kind of and how long is the route for the bikejoring World Championships in Sweden?
Nybro's race route for bikejoring is five kilometers long and forest road based. The same route hosted the European Championships last year, in which many competitors this year also participated. For us, this is the first time on this route. Based on stories and route videos, tough climbs and fast descents are expected. Hopefully, we can use the descents to even out the differences created on the climbs! Little Bambi is not at her strongest on steep uphill sections.
5. Do you train year-round?
We train according to the competition seasons. The dog's fitness starts to be built in late summer with autumn in mind, and peak fitness is aimed for the main competitions. After the autumn competitions, training is extended for the longer distances of the skiing classes (10-15km). In spring, it's time for the dogs to rest and focus on basic fitness runs. The musher, of course, trains year-round. The dog can get in shape in a few months, while the musher's peak fitness is still hidden even after several years.
6. What kind of training have you done this fall during the competition season? What does a typical training week look like for you?
During the competition season, the dogs train a lot. Pull training is only part of the whole, and it is done at most three times a week. These three pulls are divided into interval, power, and distance style pulls to maintain the dog's interest and development. We don't do pulls on consecutive days; instead, there are free runs, trot runs, and rest days in between. Usually at least one free run per week. I do trot runs with the dogs alternately, and each dog gets 1-2 per week. I mostly run the trot runs myself, so the distances are around ten kilometers. On rest days, we visit the dog park and sleep on the couch. Of course, the musher usually trains on rest days by doing bikejoring and kickbike rides.
7. Do you also train without a dog?
Without a dog, I do most of my training in the summer when the weather forces me to leave the dogs at home. Without a dog, I go mountain biking, although the dogs can join these trips if we're far enough away. Sometimes I also end up going for a kickbike ride. Most often, I like to train together with the dog or with it just running along. As extra training, I occasionally go bouldering and do running sprints or stair training.
8. What do you consider your strength when it comes to racing?
Our team's strength is Bambi's incredible speed and my own ability to push my body to the absolute limit in competition. Bambi gives a lot of handicap to bigger dogs due to his size but is incredibly persistent and really fast on his feet!
9. Bambi is still a young race dog. Do you expect to face any challenges on your race trip because of this?
A lot of new and exciting things are expected from the Nybro World Championships that Bambi has not seen before. For example, we have trained overtaking a lot, but Bambi has never overtaken in a competition. Big races can also be a tough place for a young dog, with spectators even along the route. It will definitely be exciting!
10. What is your goal at the World Championships?
A realistic goal for these competitions is a clean performance and more experience for the dog. Bambi is so young that I don't want to put too much pressure on success yet. We will do our best and see how far that takes us.
11. Are there others from Finland going to the World Championships?
A large team is heading from Finland to the competition! The nearby races have attracted the sharpest edge of all Finland! Just in the women's bikejoring class, four Finns will start!
12. Do you have any helping hands or a support team with you on the race trip?
For this race trip, I am going with my friend Tuomas Notko and later Noora Waltari will join us. Tuomas is also competing in Nybro and his race dog is Bambi's half-brother Liekki. Noora will come to take care of result reporting and possible live footage so that even those watching at home can enjoy the race atmosphere! I will handle the dog and bike maintenance as much as possible, but the Finnish team has always had plenty of helping hands for start and finish.
COMING TO THE TRAILDOG BLOG: World Championships, part 2. Tanja's race report after the competition. Get updates by following our FB pages: Traildog.fi
Following the Nybro World Championships from your couch:
Official competition website: World Championships Dryland Nybro 2019
Finnish national team FB pages with competition and results material in Finnish: Valjakkourheilumaajoukkue ja kannustajat
Official competition FB pages: IFSS 2019 Dryland World Championship Svartbäcksmåla
Tanja Ignatius & B-team on Instagram: Vedonvoimaa
Blog header image: Tanja and Bambi at the 2019 bikejoring Finnish Championships. Photographer Kimmo Virkki.