Topher Sabot – Page 23 – FasterSkier.com

Salmela To Work Olympic Games

Topher SabotOctober 2, 2009

DULUTH, Minn. – St. Scholastica Head Nordic Ski Coach Chad Salmela will once again work for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Colombia starting in February. Salmela will be the color commentator for the biathlon, cross country skiing, and the cross country skiing portion of Nordic Combined. “I am obviously very excited for the opportunity,” Salmela said. “I have spent most of my life trying to promote...

General News Nordic Combined

Cycling helps Lodwick, Demong excel

Topher SabotOctober 2, 2009

John Meyer of the Denver Post writes on Nordic Combined World Champions Todd Lodwick and Bill Demong, and their cycling training. Nordic combined athletes always have been experts at cross-training, since opportunities to go ski jumping and cross country skiing are limited most of the year. But an increasing emphasis on road cycling has helped make the U.S. team the best in the world. I’m not suggesting that’s the primary reason Todd Lodwick and Bill...

General News

Boston Ski and Snowboard Ball

Topher SabotOctober 2, 2009

Last night I attended the Boston Ski and Snowboard Ball. It’s a USSA fund-raiser for the U.S. Ski Team. Andy Newell and Kris Freeman were there. I chatted with them briefly along with Luke Bodensteiner (former Nordic Director at USSA and now moved up to a higher position). There were a bunch of Olympic athletes there from Freestyle and Snowboarding as well as Lindsey Vonn who is 2 time overall World Cup champ in Alpine....

News Opinion

FasterSkier Forums – A Challenge to All

Topher SabotOctober 1, 20094

FasterSkier Forums. The purpose of these forums is to provide a platform for discussion and the sharing of information related to cross-country skiing, nordic combined and biathlon. The success of this project depends completely on the participation of the community. Nordic sports forums have generally failed in the past. The internet is scattered with similar attempts that haven’t had a post in years. Other forums have turned into a gear swap. Many other sports have...

Gear Reviews Reviews

Woodskis Rollerski Review

Topher SabotSeptember 18, 20091

Due to unforseen circumstances, the FasterSKier Rollerski Reviews were on hiatus for the second half of the summer. But they are back now, and though you may not want to admit, there are still months of rollerskiing left before the snow flies. Additionally, most rollerski models remain the same from year-to-year, so the information will be relevant next spring. And now back to business! Woodski Inc is a small company based in Manchester, New Hampshire...

News Product News

Low Cost, No Excuse Roller Ski Reflective Vests

Topher SabotJuly 16, 20094

In the wake of the tragic death of Willie Neal earlier this summer, there has been quite a bit of discussion of roller ski safety. Long-time New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) board member and LL Bean CMO Steve Fuller spearheaded a project to bring a low-cost, highly functional reflective vest to market. The purpose of this vest is to provide a “no-excuses” option for high visibility training clothing. Even cheap reflective vests usually cost...

Gear Reviews Reviews

Maplus Roller Ski Reviews

Topher SabotJuly 9, 20095

Maplus is an Italian company, specializing in ski wax and roller skis. North American distributor Innovation Inc. has been importing these products since 2005, and Maplus is an official wax supplier to the US Ski Team. Maplus roller skis were used for the 2009 US Nordic Combined National Championships last October in Lake Placid. All racers competed on new Maplus Speed skate skis. All Maplus skis feature aluminum shafts, officially described as a “patented frame...

General News Olympics US Ski Team

No US Ski Team for Women Jumpers in 09-10

Topher SabotJuly 1, 200920

Three years ago USSA made the decision to support a fledging international US Women’s Jumping program, a risky decision given the stage of development of the sport on the world stage. But the move paid off when Lindsey Van won the first-ever Women’s Ski Jumping World Championship Gold Medal in Liberec this past winter. But now Van, and her US teammates are struggling to find funding after USSA decided not to name a US Women’s...

Gear Reviews Reviews

Pursuit Roller Ski Review

Topher SabotJune 26, 20094

Pursuit roller skis are sold exclusively by the RollerskiShop.com, a business started in 2004 with a mission of providing low-cost roller skis. The RollerskiShop introduced their own brand, Pursuit, in 2005. There are currently six models of Pursuit skis available, all skate, ranging in price from $150 to $220. The RollerskiShop keeps costs down by using shafts extruded in the US and machined near the distribution center in Minnesota. Additionally, there is no physical store. ...

Gear Reviews Reviews

Concept2 SkiErg Review

Topher SabotJune 15, 20091

Concept2 SkiErg ($730 – $1105) http://www.concept2.com/us/skierg/ The Concept2 SkiErg was designed by the same people that brought the rowing and fitness community the Indoor Rower. Concept2 has turned their attention to skiing, and have produced a machine that could have a significant impact on ski training. We tested the version that is equipped as a stand-alone unit and fitted with the Concept2 PM4 monitor. This is the more advanced of the two Performance Monitors from...

Gear Reviews Reviews

Ski Skett Roller Ski Reviews

Topher SabotJune 10, 200913

Italian company Ski Skett has been making roller skis since 1973, offering a wide range of ski options, from low-cost aluminum shaft skis to high-end carbon/fiber glass skis. Skate Skis: Carbon Flex Skate 80 Carbon Skate 100 Fire PE Fire PL Fire PV Shark Classic Skis: Carbon Flex Bull Nord CL Combi Skis: Nord PL2 Nord PV2 Nord TB Skate Racing Skis: Cobra Pro Cobra TS Cobra TS4 Classic Racing Skis: Biturbo Nord RC4 Entry...

Gear Reviews Reviews

One Way Roller Ski Reviews

Topher SabotJune 6, 20097

One Way, best known for ski poles, offers a full line of skate and classic roller skis that are now available in the US. Summary: The Skate 5 is a light-weight, responsive ski. Very high speed, this ski is ideal for pushing the limits of high-speed technique and racing, but is not a good daily training option. Pros: Light, responsive, fun. Cons: Too fast for daily training. Not good on rough pavement. These skis are...

Gear Reviews Reviews

Pro-Ski Roller Ski Reviews

Topher SabotJune 2, 200915

The much anticipated FasterSkier Roll-Off is finally underway. Over the next few weeks we will run reviews on nearly 20 pairs of roller skis from 10 different manufacturers. The initial reviews will be organized by manufacturer, and the series will conclude with comparisons. If you have questions that are not answered in the review, please post them in the comment section and we will do our best to provide answers. Each ski will receive a...

General News Tour de Ski World Cup

FIS Cross-Country Committee Proposes Eliminating Sprint B-Finals

Topher SabotMay 28, 2009

The FIS Cross-Country Committee met at the recent FIS Calendar Conference 2009 in Cavtat-Dubrovnik, Croatia. A number of topics were discussed, including the elimination of the B-Finals from sprint competition. Apparently the B-Final has attracted little interest from media and spectators alike. The Committee is forwarding a proposal to skip the B-Finals to the FIS Council for approval. One of the ideas behind the B-Final was to provide additional rest for athletes advancing to the...

General News Racing World Cup

FIS Announces 2009-2010 World Cup Schedule

Topher SabotMay 27, 2009

The FIS has issued a draft of the 2009-2010 Cross-Country World Cup Schedule. The schedule will be sent to the FIS Council for approval in its next meeting in mid-June. Including the Olympics, there are 40 races on the calendar. The breakdown is as follows: Relays: 3 Individual Sprints: 13 Team Sprints: 3 Distance Races: 21 Individual Start Distance Races: 8 Mass Start Races: 8 Handicap Starts: 4 Freestyle Races: 17 (does not include relays or...

General News US Ski Team

USST Nominates 11 for 2010 Season, Focus is on International Success

Topher SabotMay 21, 200917

Last week the US Ski Team announced announced nominations to the 2009-2010 US Cross-Country Ski Team. Assuming all candidates accept nominations, the Team will decrease in size from 18 athletes to 11. No new skiers have been added, though several have been promoted from the B Team to the A Team. The decrease in team size was not financially motivated. Athletes can qualify through objective criteria or be added as discretionary choices. The objective criteria...

Gear Reviews Reviews

The Great Roll-Off: FasterSkier Rollerski Reviews

Topher SabotMay 15, 20092

Marwe Marwe Skating 610C Marwe Classic Marwe Combi V2 Aero XL150S XL98R Skate Composite ProSki C2 Classic Roadline Tech Classic S2 Skate and Combi S5E Skate One Way Classic 7 Skate 5 Swenor Air Carbon Classic SkiSkett Shark Skate Nord Classic Briko-Maplus Flash Skate Race Easy Classic (Hard Training) Rollerski Shop Pursuit T6004 Skate

General News World Cup

CCC and Alex Harvey Come to Agreement

Topher SabotMay 11, 2009

The drama involving Alex Harvey and Cross-Country Canada has come to an end with a compromise agreement that will allow Harvey to be a part of the Canadian World Cup Team for the summer. CCC had informed Harvey that he would be relegated to the Development Team for the summer because he would miss two of the four World Cup training camps. The media got wind of the situation, and it quickly became a major...

General News US Ski Team World Cup

Testing Numbers

Topher SabotApril 14, 2009

In response to the recent article on the doping scandal, one reader wanted to know how often US and Canadian athletes are tested. To the best of my knowledge, no US or Canadian cross-country skier has ever failed an international drug test. US Ski Team Coach Pete Vordenberg told me that the US World Cup athletes get tested 4-6 times each summer, and another 4-6 times during the winter. Summer testing can be logistically challenging,...

Training Workouts

Counting Your Hours

Topher SabotApril 13, 2009

Part of the review process of the 2008-2009 season is totaling hours. Did you hit your target? What type of change should you plan for next year? Kate Whitcomb recently posted an interesting piece on her blog titled “Read Kate’s blog post. A few things to watch out for: – Don’t fall into the trap of hours for hours sake. You aren’t training to have an impressive training volume at the end of the season. ...

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