Toko e-Blast: U.S. XC Field Reports

US XC Nationals Field Reports

We approached this week of nationals the same way we did last year: to try to find a good under layer, a good binder, and a good top end speed when the days warm to above freezing.

For the distance classic day we went with Toko base green binder mixed with a little hard klister to keep the wax on for 10-15k. Toko jetstream red powder was the ticket for the afternoon racers and our skis were great.

The skate sprint brought similar conditions and Toko HB004 and Toko jetstream red tested great for the heats, but we had another powder come in just ahead.

For the distance skate day the Toko powders were once again the ticket. For the afternoon races we made our first jump of the week into the yellow range. Toko jetstream yellow powder with a good HF and good under layer is almost always second to none when the snow gets saturated.

The classic sprint day was tough day for kick selection and we ended up being about one heat behind the transition from red to yellow hard wax. This was unfortunate, but once we got Toko Yellow on the skis, it performed very well in the later heats. We opted to go a bit bit short and bit stickier, hoping to keep the kick zones off the snow, but still allow optimal kick up the long climb on the sprint course.

Tim Baucom, coach

Team Gregg

We had our best US Nationals ever with great skis every single day. We set up shop in Soldier Hollow in the weeks leading up to the races and were able to gain an understanding for the snow and the snow pack. In testing we found that a lot of waxes ran well on the man made snow, but the big differences were on the natural snow. One of our favorite things about Toko is that the wax works well in a variety of conditions especially HF Blue.

Classic 10/15k

The night before the classic race we put on 2 layers of HF Blue and Fredrik and Pierre from New Mexico took care of the top coat and kick. They ironed then corked JetStream Red powder in the night before so as to be able to focus on kick on race day. Ski choice was key and we went with stiffer skis that allowed for a thin universal klister layer covered with Toko Gripwax Red.

Freestyle Sprint

The sprint loop was entirely on man-made snow and was really fast. We went with a layer of LF Black and then HF Blue hardened with X-Cold powder. In the afternoon we ran the same base layer but covered with a block.

Skate 20/30k

Again we went with HF Blue for its excellent range. We tested powders in the morning and found JetStream Blue to be excellent before the Men’s race. With the temperatures warm, Pierre tested structure all the way up to race start. The Toko Red Structurite roller really sped things up especially as the race progressed. Retesting during the Men’s race, we used JetStream Red in the women’s race. I had my first US Nationals podium with a 2nd place just 2.8 secounds out. With the confidence of having the fastest skis in the field, Caitlin decided to go from the gun and finished with an impressive 3 minute 36 second lead.

Brian Gregg

Here is a breakdown of what we ran at Nationals for Toko.

1/4- 10/15k Classic Race

Toko Green Base

Toko Red Kick

Glide-

DLC Moly

HF Red/ HF Blue

Jetstream Red Guys, Toko HB004 Girls

1/8 Skate Dist 20/30k

DLC Moly as a base

HF Red

Jetstream Red Powder- Both Men and Women

1/10 Cl Sprint-

Yellow Kick

Glide-

HF Orange

Yellow Block

Just we tested a lot of other waxes and Toko was what we ran on all of those occasions. It is definitely running very well and testing Toko waxes in combination with one another (ie mixing red/blue hfs, blue or red with AX 134, red/ blue jetstream) can be very good! Think creatively when testing wax combos and often times they can be very successful!

Colin Rodgers, head coach elite team

Far West Elite Team Senior Nationals 2014 Wax Report

Classic Distance: We started with Toko LF Black then put Toko HF Blue on top. For powders, Toko HB004 was the fastest we tested on race day. We tried a number of binder layers, including thin klister, but found Toko Base Green Binder was the fastest.

Freestyle Sprint: Here we skipped the LF Black layer and just went with Toko HF Blue. HB004 remained the fastest powder we tested, so we stayed with it.

Freestyle Distance: Again we started with Toko LF Black and with Toko HF Blue. In hindsight we should have gone with a warmer HF base layer, either Red or Red/Blue 1:1, as it was slightly warmer that we expected. Across the board ironed in powders were faster then blocks and liquids. The powder combination we like best was Toko HB004 mixed with Jetstream Red Powder 1:1.

Classic Sprint: As in the Freestyle sprint, we forwent the LF Black base layer. We ended up going with a different HF paraffin, which would have been equivalent to a 2:1 Red/Blue mix. For topcoats we liked the Jetstream Red Block best.

Note: if you are interested in the conditions for the races, look at the eBlasts that were sent out and that described the respective conditions. You can find them here.

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