By Langrenn.com Several Norwegian skiers selected to compete at Worlds did not race well in Reit im Winkl, but those races were only used as a preparations for getting in shape for Worlds. – We used the races as hard workouts following altitude training in Seiser Alm. Our athletes’ performances saw huge swings. Some felt good on Saturday and some on Sunday. That’s the type of variations you get after altitude, says chief of cross...
Around these parts, one of the most famous races used to be something called the Nakkerloppet. About 15 or 20 years ago, it might have been described as one of the “the big three' of Ottawa area ski races, along with the Canadian Ski Marathon, and the Gatineau 55 (now the Keskinada). The Nakkeloppet does still exist, but only as an organized tour, not as a race. What made the Nakkerloppet special was that it...
After the high school race on Friday at Northstar (Tahoe), Mark Nadell took a bunch of fun photos of the skiers in the terrain park. These pictures show how XC skiing can compete with all the alpine fun and games, and still give you a workout too.
Source: Langrenn.com Norwegian NTB reported Tuesday afternoon that French skier Vincent Vittoz's B-test is negative. Vincent Vittoz's A-test, taken after the World Cup race in Nove Mesto on January 15, had traces of Furosemide, a banned diuretic agent. There was, however, nothing wrong with the B-test. There is for that reason no doping case against the Frenchman. Vittoz is currently in second place overall in the World Cup.
Source: Langrenn.com It was made public last week that French skier Vincent Vittoz’s A-test from the World Cup races in Nove Mesto was positive. Norwegian National team doctor Hans Petter Stokke thinks that it’s strange that someone is testing positive for Furosemide, which Vittoz’s test showed traces of. See Fasterskier.com’s story on Thursday February 3, 2005 Vincent Vittoz Tests Positive For Doping
FIS has a control system that works well and doping expert Bengt Saltin in FIS’s medical committee predicts a clean Nordic World Championship in Obersdorf this month, reports Swedish Skidsport.com FIS has the situation under control ahead of the upcoming Worlds. Dyn-epo is nothing new, but it’s still not on the market. It can however become a problem for the 2006 Olympics if we don’t develop a test method. But dyn-epo is not a problem...
Norwegian national team skiers are tired and frustrated of knowing that that many of their competitors are seldom being doping tested. They are now demanding that FIS is stepping up in their hunt for doping violators, reports Norwegian newspaper VG (
Source: Norwegian newspaper VG: French cross country skiing star Vincent Vittoz has tested positive for doping only two weeks before the start of the Nordic World Championship in Oberstdorf, Germany. Vittoz is number two in the overall World Cup. Vittoz is tested positive in tests taken at the World Cup races in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic on January 15. The name of the substance that was found in the sample has not been released yet....
Source: Langrenn.com Vibeke Skofterud and Kine Beate Bjornas have been sent home from the Norwegian altitude camp in Italy. Both of the girls came down with diarrhea and had to miss the pre-Olympic World Cup in Pragelato. -Kine got it first. It lasted for 12 hours. She was living in the same room as Vibeke who then also got it, says head coach Svein Tore Samdal. For Vibeke Skofterud the illness is most unfortunate since...
“Nordicly” speaking it has been a less than stellar winter to the mid-point of January trying to contest and train for the Michigan Cup. Chapter One; we had a fantastic start with a foot of great snow on Thanksgiving. It was gone in about 36 hours for most of the area. Chapter Two was the forecasted but missed snow storms. There were five of them ! Other areas (with skiers in those areas !) were...
We are frequently getting requests from (new) readers for information on skate and classic technique. Here is some information on recent technique articles, a very good skate CD-ROM called Perfect Skating and some skate and classic videos. www.fasterskier.com/training.php?id=1386 Perfect Skating CD-Rom The authors of the skate articles above made a great CD-Rom that covers all aspects of skating (race techniques, drills and exercises). Hundreds of video clips and great ideas. A great gift as well!...
The December 9-12 FasterSkier.com on-snow camp had it all: interval training, speed, strength, physiology and training talk by famous professor of physiology, wax clinic, training planning talk, lactate testing, a 10-kilometer race, video analyzes and best of all – Great Skiing! All but one ski session were held at the Olympic trails at Soldier Hollow. Some comments we got after the clinic: – I need to go home, rest and absorb all this. – This...
We are currently looking at great skiing condition at all four local cross-country ski areas for the upcoming December 9-12 on-snow training camp. Coaching staff has been added to supplement head coaches John Aalberg and Torbjorn Karlsen, and registration is still open. For more camp details see: Modern endurance and strength training Former Norwegian national team head coach and world-renowned sport physiologist Jan Helgerud will give a training talk at the Best Western/Landmark camp hotel...
In an article called Get Ready For Racing With A Time-Trial Or Pace Workout posted on November 10th I discussed some physiological advantages from doing time-trials and pace workouts. Here are some technical benefits from doing this type of training. To view the Get Ready For Racing With A Time-Trial Or Pace Workout article go to: Doing only distance training will make you realize when you get in a race that you have a long...
The Park City, Utah area is currently receiving lots of new snow and the conditions for the upcoming FasterSkier.com annual on-snow December training camp should be ideal. A former Norwegian national team Head Coach and World-renowned sport physiologists will give a eye-opening training and physiology lecture and participate as a guest coach in some of the camp workouts. The lecture should be of great interest to both athletes and coaches and will be open to...
The November issue of Fasterskier.com’s Club subscription service was sent to subscribers on November 20. The Club provides detailed, in-depth coverage of modern and interesting issues in the sport of Cross-Country. Most of the Club’s articles will cover issues related to training and racing, and will also include material for all ages and abilities, from World Cup skiers’ training to important elements of youth and age group training and skiing. The November issue This month...
Many people have been wondering about the snow conditions in West Yellowstone. We received the following report and photos today from Andy Canniff of Fischer Skis: There is plenty of snow in West Yellowstone. 3 inches of new snow as of Wed morning. We are skiing in town and the races are on. More snow for tonight and Thursday.
John Aalberg and Torbjorn Karlsen are offering an Internet based coaching service called Personal Coaching Service – or click on Detail about the program can be found by logging on to the link above, but here are is a summary: The coaches John and Torbjorn have raced and coached for many decades. John is a US National Champion, NCAA Champion, Two-time Olympian and coach of skiers of all age groups. Skiers we have coached includes...
FasterSkier posted two articles last week regarding cold weather racing. One was about cold weather racing guidelines for children ( http://www.fasterskier.com/training.php?id=1494 ). Â The technical delegate (TD) for last years Norwegian championship in Bardufoss, Petter Gronas, felt it was responsible to run the races even if it was cold. Â National team skiers Jens Arne Svartedal and Kristian Horntvedt developed asthma problems following the races at last year’s Norwegian championship that was held under very...