Luge, skeleton and bobsleigh athletes hone their craft over thousands of hours, with their explosive power matched by their fine-tuned knowledge of every track they race on. That equates to hundreds of runs down the World Cup circuits over years of competition and off-season training to extract every ounce of speed, by knowing every curve and line to take.

But at the Beijing Olympics, the Yanqing Sliding Centre offers both challenge and opportunity. With the track only opening less than 18 months ago, without years of built-up knowledge, athletes who can learn and adapt to the track the fastest will be at a great advantage.

In two weeks of sliding at a 2021 test event in Beijing, Australian athletes got their first taste of the track and their first impressions were fantastic.

Queenslander Alex Ferlazzo, who will become the first Australian ever to compete in three Olympics in Luge at Beijing, said.

“The track is super long. It's fast from the beginning to the top and it’s a lot of fun,” Alex said.

“I picked up the track quite quickly at the test event, and had two weeks to dial in the lines and find the right set sled setup. It's got a very interesting section down the bottom, it's going to be a lot of edge of your seat action for sure.

“Minuscule mistakes in certain sections can cause a bigger time gap down the bottom, so if we can learn and spot those smaller mistakes it will be a great advantage.”

Fellow Queenslander skeleton racer Jackie Narracott said the track offers chances if you’re willing to push the limits.

“The track itself is super smooth and flowy, and being quite long I think plays into my hands,” Jackie said.

“The first couple of lines are really technical. You can hit the roof in the first two corners, which means there's plenty of room for error but also a great opportunity to get it right and gain some really good speed.

“Plus there is an indoor warm up area, which for us who are constantly warming up on snow covered carparks in minus 20 is a very nice change of pace - we're actually going to be warm when we hit the start line!

“It's such a unique track, it's gorgeous to look at. It looks like a dragon from the air, the mountains are phenomenal and the whole track is covered. I’m so looking forward to getting back to that track, it’s so much fun to slide.”

Alex added his experience heading into his third Games will help him adapt to the new conditions.

“I feel more ready than ever. Luge is such an experience-based sport and you know, having two Olympics under my belt, I'm finding it a lot easier to handle the pressure of racing and just enjoy every moment.

“The feeling of Luge is amazing – my top speed is over 143 km/h and it just feels like you're floating. You're so dialled in and focused, you're just flowing with the track and it's a beautiful feeling.

“For kids watching the Games, if the opportunity comes your way you have got to grab it. The time I've had throughout the sport has been incredible, sliding on some awesome tracks and learning something each week.”

Olympic debutant Nick Timmings said taking tips from his teammates would be of great value, after being unable to attend the test event last year.

“I’m so excited to get on track and slide,” Nick said.

“Sharing track notes, comparing notes is always so helpful.

“The thing I'm most looking forward to is being part of this big Australian Team. We’ve got such an amazing sporting history, it will be a very close knit team environment. As skeleton athletes, we’re so often bouncing around by ourselves, so that small Aussie community when we're in Beijing is going to be amazing.”

Athletes will hit the track in coming days to dial in their preparation ahead of competition.

The Luge competition will run from 5-10 February and Skeleton 10-12 February at the Yanqing Sliding Centre.