Toko: Birkie Wrap Up

A Few Technical Thoughts

Grip: The kick wax tip for the first few classic waves was Nordic Gripwax Red with a light covering of Nordic Gripwax Blue (obviously over a sanded ski with Basewax Green on it). What I was recommending to people that I talked with who visited me at New Moon Ski Shop was to arrive at the start area with just the Red on. Test the Red in a very well skied in track and then if it were dragging or icing, cover it lightly with Blue. This was the way to go.

Glide: Glide wax is only part of the equation. Ski flex/selection and structure also need to be addressed. A lot of people were talking about using soft skis. There was also some moisture out there, especially in the latter part of the race. Soft skis are not good in wet snow because there is more contact with the snow resulting in suction. Normally, glide wax and structure are absolute – what’s good for one person is also good for another (in contrast to kick wax). But, sometimes this is not the case with structure. If a person is using softer skis in soft wet snow, the skis will run well in terms of not plowing through the snow, but not in terms of moisture management. More structure will be needed because there is more contact of the ski to the snow. However, if a person is running stiffer skis in soft wet snow, the skis will run well in terms of managing moisture, but not in terms of running effectively over the snow. Because the stiffer skis have less contact to the snow, the skier could use less structure and get away with it.

This trade-off between flex and structure played a role in this year’s Birkie especially in the second half as there was more moisture in the snow.

Birkie Field Report from CXC

We waxed with Tribloc LF Black covered by Tribloc HF Red. We then put JetStream Red on top. It was good both at the beginning and at the end. Caitlin’s skis were great (Editor: Caitlin Gregg won the women’s skate race).

For kick, we went with Green binder mixed with Nordic Grip Blue and then covered with Red. (Doug Debold won the men’s classic race).

Thanks a lot for your support!

Igor Badamshin, CXC Elite Team Coach

Field Report from Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy

Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy Race Report: Wasatch Citizen Series 5/10/20 km skate, White Pine Farm, Sat 2/23/13:

WNSA teammates skied a fun, exciting (and stormy) WCS race at “The Farm”. Typical large turnout at the local race series added to the carnival atmosphere. Snow was pretty slow, but team members kept their skis gliding down the tracks for some excellent training / racing and very solid results.

Race conditions: air +/- 28 deg F, cloudy – mostly cloudy, stormy at race start (ground blizzard), clearing w/ stable – dropping temp as the race progressed; fine grained high humidity snow drifting in tracks, pretty “slow” conditions.

Race wax: We went with 1:1 Toko HF Blue and Red covered with rotocorked Toko Blue Jetstream. Although the air temperature suggested a softer wax, we found the snow slow, and the skis running better with the harder wax mixture. We also found that the skis were freed up by a single light pass of the Toko Structurite tool with the Blue (fine linear) Bit.

Bill Hokanson, Head Coach