Ski sprint

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The ski sprint (usually referred to as a sprint ) is the shortest form of cross-country skiing . It developed in the 1990s from show competitions in city centers and stadiums, mostly before or after the actual season. Since the 1996 World Cup in Reit im Winkl , the 2001 World Championships in Lahti and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , the ski sprint has been internationally accepted as equivalent.

Qualification mode

First of all, the best 16 qualified in the individual race against the clock, who then had to compete against each other in elimination races until there was a final. The current procedure has been established since 2005. The best 30 qualify for the final rounds in a single race against the clock. There are six quarter-finals in five races each, of which the first two and the two fastest times, otherwise not qualified ( lucky losers ), qualify for two semi-finals. Here, too, the first two and two lucky losers qualify for the final, so that 6 athletes compete against each other in the final rounds. Internationally, the length of the course is always between 1200 and 1800 m (usually 3–4 minutes for the race). Between the qualification and the quarter-finals, the athletes have a 1–2 hour break (depending on the starting position), between the quarter-finals and the semi-finals there are approx. 30 minutes, and between the semi-finals and the final approx. 20 minutes.

conditions

Sandbakk analyzed the requirements of an international race and found that the average speed was 7.6 m ∙ s-1, within the limits of 5 to 10 m ∙ s-1, with 9 changes in speed and technique adapted to the terrain. The differences in performance mainly arose in the uphill sections, with the largest differences being at the end of the mountains and at the transition from uphill to downhill technique. Since the downhill sections seldom pose significant technical demands, they are mainly used for relative relaxation. The best ski sprinters are characterized by a very good ability to recover. This intensity of exercise, which is adapted to the terrain, has already been observed in racing cyclists in the past and differs significantly from the medium and long distances in athletics . Approx. 70% of the energy supply takes place aerobically , the VO2max is of the greatest importance, as well as the ability to perform at the highest level several times a day. Mikkola et al were able to show that anaerobic performance is also of great importance, especially at the beginning and at the end of every race. The performance of women in the ski sprint is approx. 17% lower than that of men, because men have greater muscle mass, greater oxygen absorption and less body fat. The gender differences were thus approx. 5% greater than in other endurance sports, which is also related to the greater importance of arm strength in ski sprints. However, since most of the energy supply is aerobic, and aerobic performance also has a decisive influence on the ability to recover between races, the training load and periodization is adapted to longer-distance cross-country skiing, even if the proportion of strength training is higher.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sandbakk, O., Ettema G., Leirdal S. et al. (2011): Analysis of a sprint ski race and associated laboratory determinants of world-class performance. In: Eur J Appl Physiol 111 (6), 947-957
  2. ↑ Sandbakk, O., Holmberg HC, Leirdal S., Ettema G. (2011): The physiology of world-class sprint skiers. Scand J Med Sci Sports 21 (6), e9–16
  3. ↑ Swain, DP (1997): A model for optimizing cycling performance by varying power on hills and in wind. In: Med Sci Sports Exerc 29 (8), 1104-1108
  4. ↑ Losnegard, T., H. Myklebust, halls J. (2012): Anaerobic capacity as a determinant of performance in sprint skiing. In: Med Sci Sports Exerc 44 (4), 673-681
  5. ↑ Vesterinen, V., Mikkola J., Nummela A. et al. (2009): Fatigue in a simulated cross-country skiing sprint competition. In: J Sports Sci 27 (10), 1069-1077
  6. ↑ Mikkola, J., Laaksonen M., Holmberg HC et al. (2010): Determinants of a simulated cross-country skiing sprint competition using V2 skating technique on roller skis. In: J Strength Cond Res 24 (4), 920-928
  7. ↑ Sandbakk, O., Ettema G., Holmberg HC (2012): Gender differences in endurance performance by elite cross-country skiers are influenced by the contribution from poling. In: Scand J Med Sci Sports. 112 (3), 1087-1094
  8. ↑ Arnd Krüger : How does block periodization work? Learning Curves and Super Compensation: Special Features of Block Periodization. In: Fd Snow 32 (2014), 2, 22-33