these are the various health checks and some hand sanitiser. and we're in. we can only talk to the athletes remotely. we're told there's been a lot of covid testing. just had to do pcr tests on arrival, then on arriving at the hotel — and every day from there onwards. but if that's what we have to do to not quarantine, then so be it. the games will be held in a freezing, mostly dry area. a mountain of snowmaking is required. but this can make for quick dynamic runs. speed, ithink, will be key, and that's the difficult bit. so yeah, it'll be challenging, for sure, to try and get the most out of the track, anyway _ the athletes we spoke to said these sites will make for high—quality competition. and the drive to win in february is already taking its toll. in the mountains outside beijing, the test events are infull swing.