27May 2017 by DS News Team
Madshus Sold

Madshus Sold

Gear News, Money & Finance, Newsfeed
A business deal much awaited in the skiing world was announced late on Friday. Madshus AS, together with its corporate parent K2, was sold to Kohlberg & Company, a private equity firm. Many, especially in Norway, had expected that the storied Norwegian ski & apparel producer would be spun off and sold back to a Norwegian business. Rumors swirled that Swix Sport (or its owner, Ferd Group) were looking to purchase Madshus. It would make sense: the two companies are located close to each other in the outskirts of Lillehammer – working together would bring massive savings in everything from manufacturing and warehousing to marketing and distribution. Alas, that was not to be the case, as Madshus AS remains in American hands – at least for now. New-York based Kohlberg…
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26May 2017 by DS News Team
Magnificent Five

Magnificent Five

Gear News, Money & Finance, Newsfeed
It's almost summer. Time to finally pack away your skis and switch to their wheeled brethren. You know what's the biggest difference between the two? It's cold in the winter – hardly a good time for standing and chatting. Meanwhile, summer is perfect for just that – discussing training methods, tactics – and most of all, ideal gear. Today we look at what is likely the most popular category of them all - training skate rollerskis. Marwe 620ХС, Swenor Elite, SRB SR02 Professional Flex – those are the names that come to mind when one is talking about high-end skate rollerskis. There's nothing wrong (and a lot right) with them – except for one thing: they are too ubiquitous. Everyone and his coach has them already – what's there to…
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25May 2017 by DS News Team
Our Test: EPB, Device You ( Really) Want to Have

Our Test: EPB, Device You ( Really) Want to Have

Gear News, Newsfeed
What it is: an emergency pole back-holder, to be used primarily for ski marathons where the chance of breaking the pole at the start is, sadly, pretty high. Short resume: A brilliant, timely idea; the device works as-is, but needs some fine-tuning. Get it when it becomes available on the market. That's the short version of it; read the longer version for details and pictures. The Swedish company StaffanStaven is known primarily for their shock-absorbing ski pole inserts that are steadily gaining in popularity - especially with the rollerskiing crowd. Staffan Larsson and Gunnar Winroth, two people behind the StaffanStaven, are obviosly thinking of expanding their offerings. Last week they kindly sent us a pre-production version of the Emergency Pole Backholder (EPB) that they have developed. ...We love ski marathons,…
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24May 2017 by DS News Team
Ustiugov Might Run All Six Races in PyeongChang, Says Vyalbe

Ustiugov Might Run All Six Races in PyeongChang, Says Vyalbe

Leaders, Newsfeed
Yelena Vyalbe, president of the Russian Cross Country Ski Federation has unveiled qualification criteria for making it to the Russian team for the Winter Olympic Games of 2018 [caption id="attachment_3632" align="alignnone" width="854" class="center"] Courtesy of Russian Ski Federation[/caption] There are some 60 ( sixty!) candidates with a realistic chance of going to Pyeongchang, according to Vyalbe, quoted by the TASS news agency, – possibly, the biggest pool of aspirants outside the Norwegian team The final list, however, would include only 10 women and 10 men. The Russian selection is complicated by the suspension of five leading skiers ( there are six – but one since retired). The Olympic champion of Sochi Alexander Legkov, world champion of Falun-2015 Maxim Vylegzhanin, as well as Evgeny Belov, Alexei Petukhov and Evgnenia Shapovalova are…
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23May 2017 by DS News Team
Rollerskis Of Tomorrow? Well, We’ll See

Rollerskis Of Tomorrow? Well, We’ll See

Gear News, Newsfeed
Here, test your knowledge of rollerskis: Who makes these? Perhaps a wider shot would help? It's actually called Snowwing, and is produced by Weihai Snowwing Outdoor Equipment Co., ltd., which was "established in 2010 and located in a beautiful seashore city - Weihai, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China." ( that's a quote from their website) They are just one example of the many Chinese companies that have lately been trying to expand into the cross country skiing market – aggressively. Quality? Well, we don't know – there's not exactly a Snowwing dealer in our neighbourhood that can give it for a test. And our efforts to reach Weihai Snowwing Outdoor directly were less than successful due to a bit of a language barrier. But the price – wait for…
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