You might be excused in your thinking that FIS World Cup stage is about race results and points earned.
The way we see it, it is as much about newest equipment and/or new ski related fashion promoted by the world’s best athletes. And the most attractive ones too.
Especially when the new items are put on display against that gorgeous ( and uber-fancy) backdrop of Swiss Davos.
Without further ado – here’s what we spotted on the trails of Davos Nordic:
Skis
Quite possibly the biggest novelty on the WC stage: Sandra Schützová premiers Kästle skis. Read moreMiki Kodama and Chika Kobayshi with newest Ogasaka W Carbon. The Japanese brand hitherto available only in Asia is slowly coming to Europe via Norway and Finland.
Boots
New Redline boots are not exactly hottest news – Madshus athletes have been using them since early November – but they still attract quite a bit of attentionWe can’t confirm those are new Speedmax boots Denis Spitsov is wearing – but the soles definitely look different – check against older model used by Anna Zherebyateva on the rightWhat’s that metallic stripe on Dario Cologna’s boots? Another sneak peak at future Speedmaxes?Fischer is catching up in overboot game, pioneered by Alpina
Poles Dario again, thise time with pretty shiny Tornado Plus. We venture those are same 2018/19 KV+ poles , different color scheme
Everything else
Kinetixx is a new German brand that is making a very aggressive entry into XCskiing , signing top athletes & teams. Having a race winner as a model – Evgeniy Belov here – certainly helps with exposureKinetixx uses patented Sharktec material on palms and fingers. Very grippySergey Ustiugov chose Bliz Eyewear visor.last but not the least ( quite contrary when it comes to marketing potential): Johaness Klaebo is now using KYGO earphones. Might not be as fancy as his old Sony 1000XM noise cancellers – but Kygo is a personal friend, so…
