Lessons from the Olympics, Part III

This is the last of a series of three articles on lessons that can be learned by watching the best Nordic racers in the World at the last Winter Olympics. Again we'll look at the effect of longer poles on elite racers and how borrowing from their technique will help you ski faster, easier.

But first, what is meant by a longer striding pole? Before skating emerged, you'd never find a skier with poles that measured above the armpit. Now days, most skiers use longer poles, usually to about shoulder height. (Stand on a hard surface in your ski boots to take this measurement. Standing on skis on snow will make it appear that the poles are much shorter, especially if you then plant the poles in the snow.)

If you ski on extremely hilly terrain, you might wish to go shorter than shoulder height. Likewise, if you are fairly weak, a shorter pole might make your skiing more enjoyable. But for sure, if you are strong enough, longer poles will produce a faster double pole and are easily adapted to the steepest hills. In fact, longer poles actually help force you into a stronger position to set the wax on steeper climbs.

So what are the adaptations needed to stride with longer poles? It's simple: Longer poles usually force a skier into a more erect posture automatically. And that's the major striding lesson from the last Olympics.

The main thing to avoid is allowing taller poles to force you back on your heels. You still need an aggressive forward lean to stride fast. My favorite image is a lion chasing raw meat. Just imagine that juicy morsel is right in front of you.

Then realize you will not be bending as much at the waist. How does that affect your hill climbing, the kind of terrain where the diagonal strides excels? This is where a surprise benefit of longer poles is noticed. When you are more erect, it is easier to get your weight over the kicking ski, thereby making it easier to set the wax, as more of your weight is directly over the wax pocket.

The second change on striding up hills is more subtle. Rather than kicking hard, then pushing for longer and longer glide (with significant bending at the waist) like Juha Mieto in the early 1980s, a quicker popping motion is more economical when in a more upright posture.

The modern concise kick has three parts, and all are shorter quicker motions. First, the ankle is slightly flexed, then extended in a quick downward pop. The second and third parts of this quick kick both rely on the law of physics which states: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Much like shooting a gun, the bullet flies forward and the gun back into your shoulder.

So the second part of the modern concise kick is a quick extension at the waist. You should have a short popping feeling. And as the torso rises quickly, the opposite reaction is to drive the lower body (ski) to the snow, making it easier to set the wax.

As the hill get steeper, shorten and intensify the kick as you become even more erect. The number one reason I've seen over the years for failing to set the wax is bending too much at the waist. That moves the weight in front of the wax pocket, making setting the wax much more difficult.

The third component of a concise kick is a quick forward and up arm swing to a bent arm position. As the arm is accelerated up, the equal and opposite reaction down adds it's contribution to driving the kick zone down onto the snow. With decent wax, using this three-part quick kick, you'll be surprised at how steep the hill can become before you are forced to step out of the tracks to herringbone.

Now that brings us to the one component of herringboning on kick waxed skis that makes it more effective than herringboning on skating skis.

Yup! It's the wax. Because of the wax, you can keep your ski tips closer together; nearly parallel at times, and literally run right up the hill. So you have two factors working for you: The angled out skis and the kick wax itself. The number one skiing flaw for beginners who can't manage to herringbone up a hill without slipping back or falling forward is their failure to remain upright. As in diagonal striding, too much bending at the waist is a sure way to guarantee failure.

Note to beginners, or anyone having trouble with their herringbone on steep hills: When you're more upright, so the weight is over the skis, the second flaw usually emerges. That is herringboning with a very wide stance with little or no weight transfer. The only stride possible from this position is a slow waddle.

The cure is to completely transfer your weight from side to side. This is probably the most fundamental of cross-country ski strokes. Make sure your tips are pointed out, skis are on the inside edge as you walk up the hill.

At the World Cup level, the kick doublepole has replaced the diagonal stride on gradual uphills. Looking at the physique of these elite athletes and it is easy to see why: They have powerful upper bodies.

However, many citizen racers find themselves using the kick doublepole on many of these same gradual uphills. This is where choice of ski technique becomes a very personal matter. Some skiers will prefer to use the kick doublepole on the gradual uphills. Whereas other skiers may just prefer the diagonal stride.

In any case, sooner or later the transition from flats to hills has to be made and the diagonal stride in fast conditions has to be mastered. So let's look at how this is done.

As glide increases, rather than bending over as was done in the olden days, elite skiers maintain a relatively upright posture. But now it becomes even more important to push the entire gliding leg forward and allowing the hips to swivel. Without supple hips, glide is severely limited.

So the entire leg is thrown forward. The more glide you get, the more important it becomes to reach forward a little more with the gliding foot. Try to get most of your weight onto the gliding heel. This not only stretches glide, it also helps keep the kick wax off the snow which also enhances glide.

Now to the most important striding fundamental (second only to complete weight shift from ski to ski): The pole must be planted as soon as the hand swings forward. This not only ensures correct timing, it gets the pole in immediately to help with glide. Without poling, or with delayed poling, the ski is only slowing down due to friction with the snow.

Even in the fastest striding conditions, the modern elite skier has his/her arm bent 90 degrees at the elbow at pole plant. This is a stark contrast to many skiers in the pre-skating era who extended their arms until they were straight. To be honest, many skiers from that era were ahead of their time and did stride with a 90-degree angle at pole plant.

Well, that wraps up this three-part series. I hope it has been some help to you. But again, as I've written many times before, he written word can never replace visual images of elite skiers in action. So watch as much footage as you can until efficient technique becomes ingrained in your subconscious.

Above all, don't believe anyone on technique. Not even me. Check it out for yourself by observing the top skiers in the world. Unlike training and waxing secrets, you can't hide technique. It's there for all to see.