Beijing Olympics ski tracks  – what are they like? Tough with a capital  T , says the man in the know

Beijing Olympics ski tracks – what are they like? Tough with a capital T , says the man in the know

Leaders, Newsfeed
Without further ado, we give the floor to Max Volkov, distance squad coach in Team China, who is currently at Kuyangshu Nordic and Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou - the future Olympic venue : Overall,the Olympic tracks are quite balanced and harmonious for the lack of better description when it comes to a combination of uphills and descents. As one would imagine, there are no easy race profile configurations at the top level competitions in principle. But in Beijing there are added factors: The one that gets mentioned a lot is the altitude. The courses are laid on or above 1700m - that's higher than any FIS World Cup races in Europe. During the Olympic Games, the weather is expected to be cold and dry. That would make the snow slow.…
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C8 fluoro waxes would be legal in Beijing – unlike in Europe. But there is no point in using them, says leading coach on the ground in China

C8 fluoro waxes would be legal in Beijing – unlike in Europe. But there is no point in using them, says leading coach on the ground in China

Gear News, Newsfeed
The scandal around the use of ski waxes containing banned C8 fluorocarbons , at the Scandinavian Cup in Falun keeps on flaring. Perfluorooctanoic acid known colloquially as C8 is banned in the European Union , Norway and Switzerland to name but a few. Therefore using it in ski waxes is illegal as of 2021 - both in FIS and IBU competitions since those take place in Europe, almost exclusively. There are three problems with that: - C8s do give advantage in certain situations - at least that's what majority (not all) ski waxers are saying - Anyone who is anyone in xcskiing had amassed a lifetime supply of very expensive C8 lubricants and is not terribly keen to just throw it away - Most importantly,there is still no reliable detection…
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Max Volkov: no other team in the world has as much high-tech equipment to improve quality of the training process as we do in Team China

Max Volkov: no other team in the world has as much high-tech equipment to improve quality of the training process as we do in Team China

Leaders, Newsfeed
Max Volkov is not a household name among xcski fans the world over - yet. But the coaching prowess of a 31 year old from Moscow region is very well known in a tight circle of top specialists. No eyebrows were raised earlier this year when Volkov swapped the job of Alex Bolshunov's assistant coach to that of the national team of China, distance. [caption id="attachment_18958" align="alignnone" width="604"] Max Volkov and Alex Bolshunov at the FIS World Cup [/caption] When you read his (rare) interview below, keep in mind that Max is totally the opposite to someone given to exaggeration and hyperbolic assessments i.e. when he says " we've got best equipment" it probably means something like " the stuff we've got is leagues ahead of anything Norway, Sweden and…
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Men’s Team Sprint distance in Beijing will be shorter than previously thought – sources

Men’s Team Sprint distance in Beijing will be shorter than previously thought – sources

Leaders, Newsfeed
The rumour mill brought as a tidbit that we wanted to share with you: FIS has decided to shorten the distance of men's Team Sprint event at the Beijing Olympics from 1850 to 1500 meters. In other words, men and women will run exactly the same distance at exactly the same course. The decision allegedly came during the recent visit to Kuyangshu Nordic Center where Olympic races will be held by a delegation led by FIS Cross-Country Race Director Pierre Mignerey. FIS in its press-release makes no mention of the route changes , but our sources tell us that's either " done deal" or " being actively debated". We on ours part applaud the decision - first, FIS has to show that it is doing something for gender equality when…
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Team China coach: our skiers  might deliver surprise at home Olympics

Team China coach: our skiers might deliver surprise at home Olympics

Leaders, Newsfeed
With less than 5 months before the Beijing Winter Olympics kick-off, very little is known about the strength of the host team. Chinese skiers didn't take part in the international competitions last season due to Corona restrictions( except for juniors/ U23 based in Norway). Naturally, China proves time and again that it knows how to catch up & overtake the world's best in so many sports ( and well beyond the sport, of course). Will it produce surprises in cross country skiing this upcoming season? We talked to someone in the know. "..I am just amazed to work with such team where everyone is focused on reaching the highest result possible.." Since the beginning of the year 2021 Max Volkov has been living in China and working with the skiers…
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