Hi there,
If I am too poor to have both cold and warm Equipe 10 (skate) skis, and thus have to err a bit in one direction or the other, is there a better way to go? Our season ends pretty early (Mid-March), and we ski at 8000 feet, so plenty of cold days, so I was thinking of going for the cold skis, but....does this mean life will be hell on warmer days?
Or if I have to ask this question, does it mean I am simply not a good enough skier for the Equipe 10, and should just clam up and buy the Equipe 9?
Many thanks for your time!
Hello,
If you are to get just on Salomon skate (or classic ski) we recommend the cold version.
At your altitude you must get plenty of cold dry snow days. Equipe 10 Cold skate skis have glide zones specifically designed to reduce cold/dry snow friction.
This is achieved by having constant contact glide zones where pressure increases as load is increased to assist in rolling and melting the cold snow crystals. With constant glide zone (and edge) contact the cold ski is a more forgiving (stable) ski than the warm ski.
Salomon Warm and Cold Skis, both skate and classic, have bases and ski molds
designed for the characteristics of warm and cold snow. Warm is designated as –8C (17F) and warmer. Cold is designated as –5C (23) and colder.
To make the ski perform its best on warmer days your will want to add structure with a SWIX rilling tool.
There are plenty of warm days that our athletes race on the cold ski.
I hope this helps,
Andy at SkiPost
Dear Skipost:
Worldloppet race winners are usually Europeans in both the men's and women's races. My question is how many men or women who are Americans have won a Worldloppet race since its beginning back in the late '70s?
Thank you.
Worldloppet Master racer medal #69
Gail Landgren
The only American I know to have won a worldloppet race not held on American soil is Evelyn Dong of the Saab Salomon Factory team who won this season's first world loppet the Australian Kangaroo Hoppet this past August. Evelyn is the present WorldLoppet Leader. Evelyn is also the 2008 American Birkebeiner Champion. So Evelyn has won two worldloppets. But I also vaguely remember that Kristen Petty won some running of the Swedish Vasaloppet decades ago but as the Vasaloppet has numerous events I can not recollect if she won the worldloppet event.
The American Birkebeiner remains a worldloppet race. Numerous America women
have won the Birkie including last years winner Evelyn Dong this include Kate Whitcolm, Laura McCabe, Ingrid Butts, Kelly Kimball, Muffy Ritz. A few American men have won the American Birkie as a worldloppet including, Zack
Simmons in 2007, Carl Swenson in 1998 and Todd Boonstra 1991.
This is a short answer to your question and is by no means considered complete. In 1998
Andy at SkiPost
Dear Andy,
Thanks for your reply to my question. I know Muffy Ritz won the Canadian
Worldloppet race, Gatineau 55, in 1990. She was racing in the '70s when Jennifer Caldwell was racing for the US Ski Team. Jennifer also won this race in 1984. But neither of them were at the 1981 Canadian Worldloppet race, the Riviere Rouge at Lachute, Quebec. That year I got lucky and had a good race and was the fastest women over the 55K course. Bill Koch was the fastest American male that year doing his famous marathon skate technique. However he wasn't quite fast enough to come in ahead of the Finn, Pauli Siitonen.
There were two trophies: a traveling trophy which stayed in Quebec for engraving of the name plates. The Riviere Rouge race was held again in 1982 but was then moved to Hull, Quebec and renamed the Gatineau 55. The other trophy for the winner in 1981 was a soapstone sculpture of an Eskimo. It has a prominent place in my home to remind me that even American skiers occasionally ski faster than the Europeans. :-)
At any rate I was curious as to just who was the first American (US citizen) to win a Worldloppet race, other than the American Birki, since its beginning in 1979. And I think that distinction goes to little ol' me, Gail Landgren, the winner of the women's race at the Riviere Rouge 55K held at Lachute, Quebec in 1981. It sure helped me get good race start positions in 1982 when I did the eight Worldloppet races in Europe. My passport was complete after the Norwegian Birki and I received Worldloppet Master racer medal #69.
My most recent medal (metal) and probably my last was added to my Worldloppet medals and placed there five years ago after having a bone plate removed from my fibula which I managed to break in the 2004 Birki. Snowshoeing is a safer sport after the age of 50. :-)
Just thought you would like to know alittle of this history as I know it. And want to tell you that I enjoy reading your email with all of the trail conditions, etc.
Happy trails,
Gail
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| A Word From The World Cup |
Note: This week is another opportunity for athletes from around the world to race on the trails of Callahan Valley, site of the 2010 Olympic Games. For a complete schedule of events CLICK HERE. And when results become available, you can follow those HERE.
By: Garrott Kuzzy
Salomon Athlete Force, USST, CXC Elite
We woke up this morning to the first sunny day in Whistler since we arrived last Friday. In the short time I’ve spent here, I’ve realized that there aren’t that many nice days in Whistler, but the days when the sun actually does come out are beautiful!
As of today, all of the American athletes are in town. Several skiers opted to stay in Anchorage for a few days after Nationals to help with the Fast & Female clinic or compete in the UAA Seawolves Invitational. Congrats to Brian Gregg for his win in the 15km mass start skate! Now that we’re all here, the wax cabins are filling with skis and flouros and the World Cup atmosphere is finally palpable in the stadium.
The Americans will be competing in different events this weekend, so everyone is out doing their own workout out here to get ready for their race.
Matt Liebsch was out hammering a combo threshold workout, doing the first half on classic skis and the second half on skate skis to prepare for the 30km pursuit.
Mikey Sinnott was out doing some double-pole over speed sprints to get his tempo up for the Classic Sprint on Friday and testing his speedy Salomon boards.
Evelyn Dong is taking a brief hiatus from her Worldloppet endeavors (of which she is the series leader) and honing her skills on the World Cup instead. Look for the reigning Birkie Champion to score some valuable World Cup points this weekend!
Dark-horse Lars Flora is ready to have a breakout race this season and show how it’s done when it matters most. Lars looks to improve upon his impressive race on the same trails last spring when he took 3rd place at Canadian National Championships by double-poling his way around the 10km classic loop.
It was impossible to catch Caitlin Compton on the course today to get a photo. Must be a sign of good things to come from the newly (re)crowned US National Champion.
Stay tuned as we close in on Vancouver 2010!
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By: Justin Freeman
Saab Salomon Factory Team
Last time I wrote about levels one and two, so you might expect I would move on to level three for my next article. But in fact I am presenting the levels in the order I recommend introducing them as you move through your training season (or year, if you are training for skiing year round).
First, I need to clearly define what I mean by level five. This is probably the level that is defined in the largest number of ways. I do not mean to suggest that anyone else is wrong, but I think that defining level five as a pace you can maintain for five to six minutes is a good definition. This means that level five is not the pure sprint training Andy Newell wrote about in a recent Master Skier article (this scheme would define those as level 6 and 7 – but I will let someone who knows more about sprinting sort that out). It is not level four intervals that are made harder or longer; indeed it is not “go-till-you-puke” intervals of any length (these would be categorized as “tolerance intervals” and I will write a bit about them with level four).
The goal of level five training defined this way is mostly neuromuscular. By training at a pace somewhat faster than race pace, but where you can still work for some time with consistent technique, you improve your efficiency at and above race pace. For runners, this mostly builds psychological and physiological comfort with a fast pace and thus increases comfort at race pace as well. For skiers, there is the added benefit that technical flaws tend to get magnified when you ski above race pace. This means that level five repetitions provide an excellent opportunity to take video – to watch either between efforts or after the session is over. In fact, much of the most helpful video analysis I have done has been when I have been doing very fast efforts.
Since the goal of level five is to learn to ski more effectively at high speed, there should not be a lot of focus on acceleration (depending on your goals there may be a place to train acceleration – but not during the training I am describing). You should gradually accelerate into level five pace, perhaps using a slight downhill to help get you up to speed. Regardless, the acceleration phase should not be taxing; it should also not be thought of as part of the level five repetition (so don’t start your watch till you are near full speed).
Repetitions of 30 seconds to two minutes work best. My experience is that a pace that feels good for 30 seconds, starts to hurt at 60 seconds, and that falls off just a tiny bit by two minutes is perfect. Recovery should be two to three times as long as the effort, and even longer at altitude. Total time of the efforts should be around 10-15 minutes, and only one or two efforts should be longer than 90 seconds.
Or maybe the above paragraph doesn’t quite apply to you. Still, since it can be hard to judge how fast you are going relative to race pace when on skis (or rollerskis) some sort of guidance is critical. The danger with any really fast training is that it becomes not just about going fast but about going hard. These workouts should leave you tired – certainly aware that you have pushed yourself – but you should finish the last effort at the same pace as the first and feel like you could do a couple more. Maybe you should even that you want to do a couple more, since this is at a pace that makes you feel fast and strong. If you can monitor blood lactate, it should not rise too high during repetitions and should drop fairly low during recovery.
You might notices that I haven’t used the word “interval.” This is because unlike level four training, where it is important to carefully control the amount of recovery, your focus here is on keeping consistent pace. If you need to increase the recovery to achieve that, go ahead. (If you have to massively extend the recovery though, you might want to accept that you are going too fast, call it a day, and try a slightly slower pace in a few days).
Most importantly: get out then and go level five. You can work in this zone from the start of spring on. Indeed, if you can get on snow and on rollerskis in the same week doing back-to-back level five sessions can help your transition to dryland. Certainly you want to use some caution, and the further you are from competition season the more important it is to err of the side of going a little too easy. But structured time going fast, especially if it sometimes incorporates video for technique feedback, is one of the easiest, least risky, and most fun ways to improve your racing performance. |
| SWIX Wax Reports - Weekend 1/16/09 - 1/18/09 |
Wax Recommendations for the weekend of 1/16/09 - 1/18/09
New England
Great Lakes
Mid West
Rocky Mountain
Far West
2009 US Nationals, Anchorage, AK & Swix LF3 Cold Powder
2009 US Nationals proved to be some of the coldest racing we have experienced in a long time. The race organizers did a great job, but the weather just did not cooperate. The result was two of four events were cancelled due to cold temperatures.
Despite the cold conditions, Swix Sport USA had outstanding success on the waxing front. With the week of racing said and done, more than 55 viles of Swix LF3 Cold powder were sold in the Anchorage area! The optimum wax combination for these cold temps with snow close to -22C the entire week was using several layers of Swix CH4 to harden the bases, Swix LF4 as a race base wax, and Swix LF3 Cold Powder as the topcoat overlay. “It amazed me how many coaches and wax techs came by the Swix Racing Service wax cabin asking for LF3,” reports Swix Sport USA. “Fortunately AMH stocked up well for the week and even shipped in an extra 30 viles to keep coaches supplied. I was not surprised that LF3 ran so well. It is a very hard wax with good flouro content which aids in its ability to bond to an LF base wax which provides durability. We continued to test throughout the week and our results were consistent. We posted these and we knew we had a good combination early on as glide was exceptionally free and durability remained as we tested after skiing five and ten kilometers on the test skis,” reports Swix Racing Service which was at the races for the week providing Racing Service to all competitors and coaches.
Toward the end of the week, since we really did not receive any new snow, the snow crystals became more and more transformed and dirt was brought to the surface. The snow, while still very cold, behaved a bit warmer. With these conditions, as expected, the new HF4 Black Wolf began to run extremely well. This was covered by the FC7 Cera F powder and was the recommended race wax combination for the Sprints.
For kick wax Swix recommended using V05 Polar most of the week. V20 with a thin layer of V05 on top also worked well. For some of us it has been a long time since we used such cold kick waxes! Once again, supplies ran low as demand increased during the week as the word spread about Swix cold wax success.
Alaskan local Swix Racing Service Technician & Coach, Mark Strabel confirmed that Swix LF3 Cold Powder has been an exceptional wax around the Anchorage and Fairbanks venues.
Swix Racing anticipates that as this cold front moves toward the Midwest, these cold waxes will continue to run well. If you want to be in the game, you should harden the base with Swix CH4 and then be prepared to run the Swix LF line and/ or cold BW waxes if it is dirty. Be sure to check www.swixracing.us for up to date wax recommendations. Josh was in Alaska testing waxes with the Swix Team so he has a good feel for what is running when it’s cold.
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Rudy Project
Exowind
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As if the Exowind wasn’t already packed with features, this great sporting eyewear is prescription-ready, either with the 'easy-in-easy-out' patented RX insert, or direct, with the revolutionary ImpactRX™ program powered by Shamir® digital freeform technology.
For more information on the Exowind, Rudy Project’s extensive prescription options or the company’s other products, please visit www.rudyprojectusa.com.
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| Events/Clinics/Announcements |
Waterville Valley, NH
Saab Salomon Factory Team member Justin Freeman will be hosting two clinics
Jan 11 1pm at the Salomon demo day
Classic technique and training clinic on snow
Feb 15 at 10 AM (subject to change)
Skate technique and training clinic.
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18th Annual Seeley Hills Classic
10:00 AM, Saturday, January 17, 2009
The event includes a 42k and 22k race on the American Birkebeiner trail for classic technique only.
The 42k race will incorporate the recently completed Birkie Classic trail. There is also a 5k classic high school race. Registration is available Friday night at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley from 5 to 9 PM or Saturday morning from 7 to 9 AM. The fee is $50 on Friday and $55 on Saturday. Participants will receive a custon Swix hat and lunch at the Sawmill. Leading the men should be Chad Giese of the Saab Salomon team along with Olympian John Bauer and CXC's Brian Gregg. Top women include Kristina Owen and Johanna Winter of CXC. Josh Korn of Swix will be available with wax information.
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Jan. 12, 2009
The Second TD Banknorth Eastern Cup
Rumford, Maine
Summary: This weekend will be the second stop in the Eastern Cup and NE JOQ series and will also be scored for USSA NRL points. An Added event will be a Classic technique clinic by New England Athlete Justin Freeman on Sunday.
Full information on the race weekend can be found here including Up-To-Date Team Captains' information. Online registration closes Thursday January 15th at 5 PM and snail mail by January 12th. NOTE That there is No Day Of Race Registration for Sundays Mass start race.
The technique clinic will take place Sunday immediately following the Mens Race (Approx 1:30) and will last about 1 hour. Justin races for the Saab Salomon Factory Team and is just back from US Nationals. You can read more about him and his accomplishments on his blog.
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Marquette General Health System Noquemanon Ski Marathon and mBANK Half Noque
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Marquette, MI
Updates:
Two small changes in the race course should be noted by racers this year. From the 24 to 21K portion of the trail, racers will be rerouted to a new section of trail (for this year only) due to some logging in that area. The reroute will feature a gentler, more undulating terrain. Also, we are happy to announce our completion of the permanent reroute around one of the two ponds between the 9km and 8K portion of the trail.
Race entries are still available by calling 906-370-RACE, picking one up at an area ski shop or visiting www.noquemanon.com. Registrations will also be accepted at the Ski Expo on Friday, January 23, from 5pm to 10pm at the Superior Dome.
For more information on the Marquette General Health System Noquemanon Ski Marathon and mBank Half Noque, contact Nikki Dewald at 906-235-6861.
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CXC is happy to work with SkiPost in offering the following products to
help make this year faster than last! Your purchases and support will help
shape the future of Nordic skiing in the US.
TRAINING LOG FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES. LOG IT! - NEW
Provides a template for recording daily training throughout the year, broken into 13 four-week periods, interspersed with photos and stories to inspire your training. Take advantage of the introduction to help build a plan for your season, then record and adapt your training over the year as your fitness progresses. The log is written by US Ski Team member and with forward by US Ski Team head coach Pete Vordenberg.
CXC ACADEMY (WEB BASED) – NEW
Training plans for high school, Junior Olympics, college, elite, masters and Birkie skiers with daily workout examples. Video of technique progressions, ski specific workouts, interviews and other useful materials.
“CXCAcademy.com is one of the best things to happen to XC skiing in the United States. Anyone who participates is truly rewarded with excellent training programs and technique examples”.
CROSS COUNTRY TECHNQIUE FUNDAMENTALS (CD-ROM)
This CD lays the foundation for both Classic and Freestyle techniques on which we can build a consistent technique program that will continue to develop great cross-country skiers for years to come.
WAKE UP! IT'S TIME TO TRAIN (DVD)
70 minutes of exclusive interviews with US National Team coaches, drills and
technique, fitness testing, sports physiology, core strength, training volume, intensity levels, race footage, and much more.
X-COUNTRY (DVD)
The inside story on one of the toughest sports around by top World Cup racers.
COMPETITIVE CORE TRAINING - REAL TRAINING FOR REAL ATHLETES (DVD)
Competitive Core Training provides the exercises and workouts that will help athletes of all ages, abilities, and sports develop a strong, flexible core that is essential to athletic performance and success.
Visit the CXC Store at:
www.cxcstore.com
and CXC Academy at
www.cxcacademy.com
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Ski and Tea
is a women's year-round ski-specific training group in the Birkie Trail area (Cable, Hayward, Seeley) founded by Linda Cook and Juli Lynch. Our group goal is to have every woman who comes "Be and Feel Successful and Proud To Be a Skier!" We are a mix of abilities and ages with a motto of "No Woman Left Behind!" Our first day of training together was January 4, 2008 with 8 women showing up. We now have over 104 women on the mailing list for our weekly newsletter.
The next clinics scheduled are:
January 18--Ski and Tea Hosting Clinician Heather
Zimmerman - More advanced Ski Technique for both Skate and Classic.
Location has been changed to the North End Warming Hut, Cable, WI. on
Randysek Road.
February 18--Wednesday before the Birkie - Ski and
Tea Hosting Clinician
Caitlin Compton - Race Strategies and Packed Snow Skiing Tactics.
Location will be 00 Warming Hut, Seeley, WI. There will also be
instruction for beginners, intermediate and advanced ski technique.
This clinic will be assisted by several CXC Elite Women.
Contact Linda Cook for registration information - lpcook@chibardun.net
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