A sprint race normally only lasts about three minutes — a much shorter version of other ski mountaineering events such as vertical (uphill only) and individual races, which can last well over an hour but are not part of the Olympic program.

That means athletes have had to change their training routine to focus more on the action-packed Olympic formats.

"My training changed a lot because the races are short and we are doing a lot of gym, a lot of short intervals," said Oriol Cardona Coll of Spain, who won the men's sprint as well as the mixed relay with Ana Alonso Rodriguez. "We changed a lot in the preparation and it worked."

The course in Bormio will be at the foot of the iconic Stelvio slope, which will also host the men's Alpine skiing events.

And, as one athlete summed it up, the setup involves a bit of everything: an ascent on skins from the start, followed by steps climbed on foot while carrying skis on the back, then another short ascent before taking off the skins and skiing 70 meters downhill, through raised banks and steep curves.

The mixed relay differs slightly in that there is another descent halfway through the longer course, which is raced twice — in alternating order — by each member of the team.

While the races are fast, the transitions where athletes have to take their skis or skins on and off mean they have to be mentally focused as well as physically prepared.

"I tell people we just practice taking our skis on and off a lot," said American Jessie Young, who finished 10th in the relay together with Smith.

Not proper ski mountaineering?

While the sprint is explosive and fun to watch, there are some that say it is not true ski mountaineering.

"I think the sprint is a really fun, really fast, spectator friendly event. It's very different, it's almost a different sport from some of the long ones," US racer David Sinclair said.