Page 87 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2019

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
Looking to capitalise on this success, a team of five Lancers then travelled to Serre Chevalier, France, to compete in Exercise SPARTAN HIKE (one of two Divisional Army Alpine Cham- pionships). Here, the Lancers team were to compete in a strong field of 145 racers from Regiments across the Army, requiring three skiers to maintain top 45 positions in which to qualify for the Army Championships. The Divisional Championships also saw the introduction of a fourth discipline; downhill. This rapid and fear inducing event sees racers flying down pistes on two metre-plus skis and clocking speeds of up to 70mph. Once again, Capt Cave led the Lancer charge with top-10 finishes across the four disciplines. Not too far behind was 2Lt Ozanne and Lt Reed who finished 34th and 35th respectively, thus guaranteeing team qualification for the Army Championships.
Like Exercise SPARTAN HIKE, Exercise LIONS CHAL- LENGE (the Army Championships) would also take place in Serre Chevalier, France. This championship would see the four- man Lancer team compete against the top 115 skiers from across the Army on longer, steeper, and more technical race pistes. Despite the poor race conditions, the Lancer team continued to produce admirable results; Capt Cave maintained a top-15 po- sition throughout the championship with the remainder of the
Post catch-up with OC B Sqn
team (Lt Reed, 2Lt Ozanne, and Tpr Simcox) finishing some- what lower down the seed list. Ultimately, the combination of strong leadership, courage, and self-sacrifice, made Exercise AL- PINE LANCER 19 a resounding success.
Exercise NORDIC LANCER 19/20
At the end of November 2019, the Royal Lancers Nordic Ski team deployed to Norway for a month of training that would set them up for the three competitions they would be taking part in at the start of the New Year. The team departed from Catterick on the three-day journey that involved the Channel Tunnel and a 20-hour ferry from Kiel to Oslo that included delights such as a sports bar, spa and nightclub, before arriving in Sjusjoen, 30 min- utes east of Lillehammer and two and a half hours north of Oslo.
On arrival at the cabin, the team quickly set to work to give it a Christmas vibe. Tpr Young (D Squadron) was put in charge and did an excellent job organising the decorations and a suitable tree. The boys were particularly thrilled that there was a sauna, which was put to regular use, and LCpl Whitehead (D Squadron)
The Nordic Ski team attempt a candid shot. Left to right Lieutenant Mackaness, Lance Corporal Richards, Trooper Young, Lance Corporal Potter, Lance Corporal White, Lance Corporal Fletcher
ensured no football match was missed by streaming Sky through his PlayStation. The cabin has been used for the last three years by the Nordic team due to its fantastic location close to excel- lent skiing tracks, and the waxing shed that enables the team to learn about the nerdy and intricate art of waxing skis before races. There are three particularly good places to ski close to Sjusjoen – Sjusjoen arena, the Birkenbeinen stadium used for world cup events, and Skiekampen, making it one of the best places in Norway to ski, and the team were fortunate to ski at all three. The team were also blessed with excellent conditions in Sjusjoen this year.
The team began their training under their coaches Silje Knox and Karoline Conradi (a world cup Skijoring champion). Silje
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