The pacing strategy and technique of male cross-country skiers with different levels of performance during a 15-km classical race

Abstract

In this study the pacing strategy, cycle characteristics and choice of technique of elite male cross-country (XC) skiers during a three-lap, 15-km classical race with interval start were measured. During the Norwegian Championships in 2016, fast (n = 18, age: 26±4 yr; height: 182±4 cm; body mass: 78±3 kg (means±SD)) and slow skiers (n = 18, age: 22±2 yr; height: 183±5 cm; body mass: 78±6 kg) were video recorded on flat (0°), intermediate (3.5°) and uphill sections (7.1°) of the first and final laps. All skiers adopted a positive pacing strategy, skiing more slowly (11.8%) with shorter cycles (11.7%) on the final than first lap (both p<0.001; pη2 = 0.93 and 0.87, respectively). The fast skiers were 7.0% faster overall (p<0.001, d = 4.20), and 6.1% (p<0.001, d = 3.32) and 7.0% (p<0.001, d = 3.68) faster on the first and final laps, respectively, compared to slower skiers. On all sections of both laps, the fast skiers exhibited 9.5% more rapid (pη2 = 0.74) and 8.9% (pη2 = 0.48) longer cycles (both p<0.001). On intermediate terrain, the fast skiers employed primarily double poling (DP, 38.9% on the first lap) and double poling with a kick (DPKICK, 50% on the final lap). In contrast, the slow skiers utilized for the most part DP alone (lap 1: 33.3%, lap 3: 38.9%) or in combination with other techniques (lap 1: 33.3%, lap 3: 38.9%) and decreased their usage of DPKICK from 27.8% on the first to 16.7% on the final lap. Skiing velocity on flat and intermediate terrain proved to be the best predictor of race performance (p<0.001). In conclusion, during a 15-km classical XC skiing race, velocity and cycle length decreased from the first to the final lap, most extensively on flat terrain and least uphill. Moreover, on the intermediate sections the fast and slow skiers chose to use different techniques.

Pacing, Exercise Intensity, and Technique by Performance Level in Long-Distance Cross-Country Skiing

“…The already mentioned importance of a well-developed upper body capacity during XCS is also fostered when using the strategy to exclusively DP a long-distance race. During the past three decades, in XCS, the DP technique has become more and more extensively utilized, and today, its successful usage determines the outcome of classic style XCS races (Holmberg et al, 2005;Stöggl and Holmberg, 2011;Sandbakk and Holmberg, 2014;Welde et al, 2017;Jonsson et al, 2019;Stöggl et al, 2019). Stöggl et al (2019) recently demonstrated that elite male skiers were faster with exclusive DP compared with grip-waxed skis on an FIShomologated race track over 5 km, but with no performance benefits for junior skiers and clearly lower in female juniors and seniors.…”

Curved TVs improved watching experience when display curvature radii approached viewing distances: Effects of display curvature radius, viewing distance, and lateral viewing position on TV watching experience

“…For the Likert scale and image quality data, the distances between any two adjacent points along the rating scale were assumed to be equal, and all these data were treated as interval-like. The effect size was interpreted as low, medium, or high when the partial η 2 was 0.01, 0.06, or 0.14, respectively [76,77]. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed to examine the degree to which user satisfaction variability (satisfaction associated with watching TV) was accounted for by the other six TV watching experience elements.…”

The effect of sex and performance level on pacing in cross-country skiers: Vasaloppet 2004‐2017

“… 21 Another factor that was not controlled for in the present study was the technique (double poling, diagonal stride, and kick double poling) of XC skiers, which might influence pacing since it has been shown to be related with performance level. 22 , 23 In addition, due to the large sample size, many effects reached statistical significance at p < 0.001; this is the reason that we provided effect size value next to p value so one can evaluate the magnitude of the effects correctly. However, a strength of the study is the inclusion of all occurrences of the Vasaloppet race (2004‐2017) for which all split times were available, resulting in one of the largest samples of XC skiers ever studied.…”