Crosscountry-Farm life to finish line: Swiss skier Riebli feels at home in Tesero

TESERO, Italy, Feb 8 : Switzerland's Janik Riebli is hoping that years of farmwork will pay off in the form of unconventional cross-country ski training as he vies for a medal in his first Olympics at Milano Cortina. 

The 27-year-old might feel right at home in the Tesero cross-country ski venue in the Italian Alps, where cows and chickens graze right outside the stadium gates.

When not preparing for the rigours of the professional race circuit, Riebli works on a family farm in Switzerland, helping manage some 30 cows that produce milk used to make a special type of Alpine cheese.

The work, which he has been doing since he was a child, requires long days as well as physical stamina and strength, something that has well prepared him for a sport as tough as cross-country skiing. 

"As farmer, you have to do a lot of work, and also a lot of work with the body. As cross-country skier, you have to also do a lot of work, and also you need the whole body," he told Reuters while finishing a training session at the Games, where he will compete in the sprint competitions. 

Some liken cross-country skiing to a Swiss army knife because it requires the use of multiple muscle groups, as well as balance, power and endurance.

The sport also demands mental fortitude and grit, particularly in brutal cold or rain. 

Riebli says he flexes those same mental muscles when farming, something that has likely given him an edge in his rise to the highest level of competition in the sport. 

"You have to milk the cows when it's rainy or sunny, and you have to stand up every morning at five (a.m.). And this is also quite discipline in cross country...

"You have to train every day, and you have to believe that you make good work every day and try to get better."