Late last season, World Cup ski racing observations

Diggins tuck
Shoulders are lower then the butt, which is high. Legs are almost straight, weight are on the heels. Hands are in front but with bent elbows. This position allows you to stretch the back and the hamstrings.

Sunby Grip
Hands are bent in ever so little, as the wrist is straight and elbows wider then hands.

Sunby Stands straight and compact

Sunby butt drop. Ever since Sunby did his experiment with no kick wax and it backfired in the relay race. He used a very deep butt drop. Since that time I have taught an exercise, where I used the butt drop but only after the your center of gravity has come forward.

Hip drive/ski cross/tight butt. I feel hip drive stretches the hip flexors a bit. It is better to think of tighting the butt and crossing the rear ski to the midpoint of the track. This all helps with weight shift and glide.

Klaebo uphill run. On real steep uphill he runs with a very obvious lift of a running motion

Circular poling versus straight forward and back. This has been around for some time I believe however that straight forward and back is still the best, even at very high turnover DP rates.

This article has been sitting since spring and I had not published it. Oops. Have FUN.

Notes on Skiing Long before the Birkie

                              Moose less then a stone throw away off the ski trail.

Two weeks before the race, is the last time that you should be considering, skiing long. I am not saying ski the distance, but if you are going to be, say, a 6 hour skier, then you ski at least 2/3rds of the time, not the distance. So, a 6 hour skier would ski at least 4 hours.

Due to faster snow and your own rest recovery leading up to the race, you can normally fudge one third. Of course, if you are able ski the expected time of what you figure you are going to do, then do so.

Those that are a bit younger (under 35), may be able to ski long up to within 10 days of the race. However in my years of observation and personal experience, I feel you cannot recover fully, in just a week before the race, if you have skied long.

You may need to go out of town to find decent ski conditions too, unfortunately.

After skiing long, do lots of stretching, preferably in water, eat and drink lots, in the last several days before the race.

Treat yourself to a massage to if you like, but not within the last 2 days of the race, unless of course you do it all the time.

Do not do anything that you are not used to. If you do abnormal exercises, then the newly used muscles will be sore and tender.

As usual, feel free to send me any questions that you may have.

See you on the trails. Look around and enjoy nature as well.
                                                                   
                                                                          Porcupine