LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — With temperatures around freezing, the bobsled-skeleton-luge track in Lake Placid opened for the season Monday morning, allowing more than 100 American sliders to officially begin on-ice training.

The Lake Placid track was the first in the world to open in preparation for the 2008-09 season.

“It always feels good to get back on the ice,” said 2002 Olympic luger Ashley Walden. “We’ve all put a lot of hard work in this summer, so we’re ready to get back into sliding after the long break.”

When skeleton racers – the ones who slide headfirst down the track on thin sleds, at speeds of around 80 mph – arrived to begin training around 9:30 a.m., a thin layer of snow greeted them at the start deck.

“It’s nice to be on the track this early, because it gives us an advantage over other nations,” said 2007 women’s skeleton champion Noelle Pikus-Pace, who became a mother for the first time earlier this year and skipped the last racing season.

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It always amazes me the hard work and determination and level of commitment that it requires to be an Olympic-caliber athlete.  Maybe in this case, the early bobsled gets the gold??