Cross-country skiers Andrew Musgrave and Andrew Young are hanging tough in Beijing and both believe they can pull out strong results to end their fourth Olympic appearances.
The 15km classic was a tough day at the office for both, neither favouring the distance or the technique.
Musgrave made a strong start, ranked in the top 20 in the opening section, but struggled on the second circuit of the course and finished 46th in a time of 41 minutes 44.7 seconds.
"At this altitude, you've got to go out and feel like you've got a bit of gas left in the tank for the second lap,” said the 31-year-old.
“I felt like the first lap was alright, not too bad, but going out on the second lap when you've got to try and increase the speed, I just felt dead.
“I didn't manage to increase the pace at all. Instead of doing that, I started crawling!”
For Musgrave, attention now turns to the 50km freestyle having placed in the top ten over the distance at the last three World Championships.
“I still think I can get a good result in the 50km,” said the Scot. “I've got over a week to reset and get ready for it.
“I think at this altitude, minor adjustments can make a massive difference, I’ve just got to work out what they are. I'm still confident.”
Represented in cross country skiing 🎿@musgraveandrew finished 46th with @andrew_youngy taking 51st place in the men's 15km classic style.#TeamGB | #Beijing2022 pic.twitter.com/yow9waYuiI
— Team GB (@TeamGB) February 11, 2022
Facing a tight turnaround from Tuesday’s sprint event, Young recovered from a difficult start and finished 51st in 42:24.0.
“It was a tough day for me,” said Young. “I struggled a little bit to recover after the sprint a few days ago, so I was a bit tired.
“I pushed hard, pushed hard all the way and made the most out of it. So given the situation I’m pleased with how it went.”
Young now doubles down on the team sprint with James Clugnet, an event in which they have broken new ground for Britain on the World Cup circuit.
“I think our absolute dream would be to make the final, which is the top ten,” said Young.
“There are a lot of things that have to go right for us to do that, including the draw as the semi-finals are drawn and if we get the right draw we could end up being in the final but that is a tough and lofty ambition for us.
“We will definitely do everything we can to make that final and if we did that it would be fantastic.”