Venezuelan skier Adrian Solano had never even seen snow before he arrived in Finland to compete in the Lahti 2017 Nordic World Ski Championships.

He trained on wheels in his home country, so when he hit the cold stuff for the first time to take on the 10K course in the world qualifier, it wasn’t pretty.

Here’s a look.

People called him “the world’s worst skier,” but his response to the experience was truly the best.

“Although I did not know the snow and I did not have the opportunity to train here I am giving the best,” he said on Instagram. “Maybe I have fallen many times but what really counts is that I will always continue to rise.”

Solano didn’t intend for his first time on snow to be during competition. He attempted to train in Sweden last month, but was deported from France as he was trying to travel to the country.

“When I got to Paris on January 19, I explained that I was on my way to Sweden to train. They did not believe that I ski in Venezuela.

“I told them that we train on wheels. I only had 28 euros with me and the police accused me of trying to immigrate because things were going badly in my country. (BBC)

Solano didn’t finish the race, but he was still all smiles after the attempt.