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Kikkan Randall Wins Ski To Sea XC Country Ski Leg

Kikkan Randall Wins Ski To Sea XC Country Ski Leg

Leaders, Newsfeed, Travel & Mass Sport
US International and ex-world champion in sprint Kikkan Randall won the 2017 Ski to Sea cross-country ski leg on Sunday, beating 300+ competitors, male or female on a 6km distance. Ski to Sea brands itself as the biggest relay race in the world. The race has seven legs – cross-country skiing, downhill skiing or snowboarding, running, road biking, canoeing, cyclocross and kayaking. Each year, at the end of May some 300+ teams participate in the 150 kilometer race that starts at Mt. Baker Ski Area in Whatcom County, Washington in the United States and goes, you guessed it, to the sea. This year's cross-country ski leg was in jeopardy for an alleged lack of entrants and the organizers have initially canceled it, causing a storm of protests from would-be participants…
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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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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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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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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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