Attendance may have been small at last weekend’s camp, but the coaching was of gold-medal caliber. Seven master skiers, all women, braved the heat Friday through Sunday, learning from and training with Olympian Nina Gavrilyuk at Lakewoods Resort in Cable, Wisconsin. Skiing for the Soviet Union (until 1991) and Russia, Gavrilyuk won four Olympic gold medals and one bronze over the course of a long and highly decorated competitive career. She also earned 11 World...
Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen finished second in the 2008 overall World Cup standings, and has three career World Cup victories. She won a gold medal in the classic sprint at the 2007 World Championships. OSLO, NORWAY – Roller ski training can be a lot of different things to different people, but here is some of the information I have, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen writes on her blog. I do a fair amount of roller skiing, but I...
Relaxed and fast may seem like contradictory adjectives, but any successful skier can tell you otherwise. Learning to relax while skiing is essential to racing fast at a high level. Nerves and tension are natural components of any athletic competition, but if untamed they lead to choppy technique, inefficient movement, and a needlessly tiring struggle. “You can be as fit and strong as anybody but still not be able to hang on… You cannot power...
Thursday marked the final day of the first training camp of the summer for the Central Cross-Country Ski Association (CXC). Based out of Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, the camp consisted of 10 days of training at various locations ranging across the St. Croix Valley. With previous head coach Bryan Fish around for the first week before moving on to his new position with the US Ski Team (USST), the camp also functioned as a...
It’s no secret that fast skiers are made over the summer. Hundreds of hours of training include running, bike rides, lifts, and rollerskis, all necessary for any racer hoping to be competitive in the coming winter. But coming off of the racing season, the general feeling is that in springtime it’s best to relax and have fun while starting to build a solid base of strength and endurance. We checked in with various clubs across...
Cross-country researcher Hans-Christer Holmberg from Mid Sweden University in Östersund leads the research team gathered in Meråker. In the border community to Sweden, they will spend the next few days investigating herringbone technique according to the Trondheim newspaper. “There was research on the diagonal stride in the 70’s and 80’s, but herringbone has never been examined. In addition we will look at diagonal stride, downhill technique and swing technique. We will also look at how...
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to ski in the Noquemanon Ski Marathon in Marquette, MI. If you have not yet had the opportunity to ski this race, and you have a propensity for long ski races, you should put this event on your calendar for next season. The terrain, excellent snow, technical and demanding trails, and the one-of-a-kind U.P. scenery all combine to create a memorable weekend. This year’s Noque featured some transformed,...
In the past month, the CXC Team Vertical Limit has been all over the west skiing on awesome trails with abundant snow. We raced in West Yellowstone, MT, Bozeman, MT and Silver Star, B.C. Although these trips are a blast, early season races are extra challenging because most athletes competing have spent only 10 days (or less) skiing on snow. Whether you get the chance to travel to snow in November or not, there will...
While some lucky athletes have been training on snow for weeks, many are looking forward to strapping on their skis for the first time. For those of you who haven’t been able to seek out early-season snow, here’s some advice from the
USSA has posted PDFs from this fall’s Coaches Education Conference.
This 3-DVD set is a cross country ski-specific presentation from experts in the field. You’re going to hear from Sweden’s cross country physiologist H.C. Holmberg, USST’s sport psychologist Dr. Jon Hammermeister, Pete Vordenberg – USST Head Coach, and Justin Wadsworth – USST coach as well as ex-coach of Olympic Medalist Beckie Scott. Stratton Mountain School Coach Sverre Caldwell speaks on developing young skiers and the U.S Development System. Other topics include Ski Service by USST’s...
Video by the US Ski Team’s Torin Koos – Double Pole and Class Stride. Be sure to read the commentary below the video by US Ski Team Coach Justin Wadsworth. Commentary from Justin Wadsworth On the Double Pole Sections: This video footage was taken while doing Vo2 max work during an intensity block in Lake placid, New york. In the double poling, I want to see Torin stay forward with upperbody. With the group sprint...
Video by the US Ski Team’s Torin Koos – Skating with Liz Stephen. Be sure to read the commentary below the video by US Ski Team Coach Matt Whitcomb. Commentary with Matt Whitcomb The New Zealand on-snow footage with Liz comes from a threshold session. Liz does a fine job keeping a controlled intensity effort in actually very steep terrain. Notice how Liz is light on her feet and moves side to side very efficiently...
Running Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Color | Widescreen (16:9) The DVD contains: Dryland Progressions General single stick and double pole drill; Single stick and double pole drill facing away; Kick forward and back drill; Adduction and abduction drill; explosive kick; Drills for classic and skate; General Activity drills; Classic kick; Stable balance. Skate Progressions (on rollerskis) Getting started on skate rollerskis; V1; V1 ski loading; V2; V2 alternate drills (no poles) Classic Progressions...
USSA has posted the article “Biomechanical Analysis of Double Poling in Elite Cross-Country Skiers” by Hans-Christer Holmberg, Stefan Lindinger, Thomas Stoggl, Erich Eitzlmair, and Erich Muller. Holmberg is part of the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden and the Åstrand Laboratory, Stockholm University College of Physical Education and Sports, Stockholm, Sweden. The other authors work with Department of Sport Science and Kinesiology, University of Salzburg, Austria and the Christian Doppler Laboratory Salzburg, Austria. From...
The US Ski Team’s Torin Koos put together a number of videos from the the recently completed training camp at the Olympic Venue in Whistler and the on-snow camp in New Zealand. These videos show the best in the country mixing it up during training. If a picture is worth a thousand words, when it comes to technique, video is off the charts. USST Mens Double Pole USST Ladies Double Pole USST Ladies Classic Torin...
The US Ski Team’s Torin Koos put together a number of videos from the the recently completed training camp at the Olympic Venue in Whistler and the on-snow camp in New Zealand. These videos show the best in the country mixing it up during training. If a picture is worth a thousand words, when it comes to technique, video is off the charts. USST Ladies Skating USST Mens Skating Torin Koos is a member of...
Kick off your ski season with area’s top coaches helping you improve your skills. A remarkable collection of coaching talent including former Nordic Olympian Sarah Konrad, special guests and top area coaches will assemble for the 2-day instructional camp to take place Friday evening at Ski Haus, and Saturday at The Lake Catamount Touring Center and Sunday at Steamboat Ski Touring Center The Camp caters to all ability levels: true beginner to advanced and race oriented. Clinic groups are...
