Hey Team,
Thanks so much to everyone who was able to attend the ski trivia night!
In addition to some trivia questions, we also watched some videos to talk about tactics (mostly in sprint heats), and technique.
If anyone is interested in watching the videos on their own, here are the links:
This race is at Lillehammer, which has a great hill for watching striding and transitions. Specifically, we looked at the clip from 17:10 to 17:20. This clip shows Parmakoski's striding technique, as well as Bjoergen and Diggins. Who do you think has the best striding technique?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjAcuH-WxF4&ab_channel=SkiingGuy
The clip below is from the Seefeld Team Sprints in 2019. This is a great video to watch to talk about tactics. We specifically watched the last leg of the men's sprint from 55:15 to 57:45. Pay close attention to the top of the hill! I recommend pausing the video whenever a tactical move is made - Why did that skier choose to do that? What do you think the result will be? What would you do in this situation?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH6HEgyyurU&ab_channel=SkiingGuy
This video is from the Quebec sprints in 2019. The course is pretty long, especially for the women (1.6km), and so it is interesting to watch the tactical decisions made! On the sprint day, it was pretty warm out (above zero), and the snow was quite soft. Knowing this, how would you approach the heats?
We watched the first two women's heats, and the first heat of the men as well. Again, try to make predictions about the result of skier's tactical decisions! For technique, watch the sprint to the finish between Caldwell and Parmakoski at the end of the 2nd women's quarter final. What does Caldwell do differently?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou_HbTIxV6g&ab_channel=SkiingGuy
Watching ski videos, especially sprint heats and mass starts, is a great way to learn more about racing tactically. Remember that race tactics can be very individual, so yours may not be the same as your teammates! Try and take into account your skiing style - what are your stronger techniques? do you excel at uphills or downhills? do you prefer sprints or distance? All of this will play into how you race your race.
If anyone has any questions about the videos, race tactics, or anything else, let me know! I am happy to go over any of those things, or to give a recap of the session.
Happy Skiing!
Coach Madi
