Poster: A snowHead
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Britain's astoundingly-successful Olympic rowers are in St Moritz for some cross-training. Not for them the high life (though St Moritz is one of the highest resorts in the Alps, providing useful physiological benefits) - they are doing some serious cross-country skiing.
The sports of nordic skiing and rowing are complementary, as this article in Sport.Telegraph explains.
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Cross-country works the same groups of muscles as rowing, but in subtly different ways, and has the added advantage of taking place at high altitude, with all the benefits for red-blood-cell counts that involves. "The techniques are really quite similar," Williams* explained. "With both skiing and rowing there is a push phase and a glide phase, with the objective in both cases being to make the glide phase last as long as possible. |
*Steve Williams, an Olympic gold medallist in the coxless four with Sir Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and Ed Coode.
Cross-country skiing remains very much a minority pursuit with British snow lovers. Is it a sleeping giant?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cross-country skiing remains very much a minority pursuit with British snow lovers. Is it a sleeping giant?
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The problem is lack of snow, as with most British snowsport, but if you want to ski in the UK and don't live near one of the Scotish ski resorts its probably the best bet - the gear is cheap compared to downhill gear and on grass surfaces very little depth of snow is required and no expensive tows are needed
It also has the advantage that you can train all summer on roller skis, which particularly for skate style, is a good analogue of skiing on snow.
If anyone is interested there are a few clubs scattered around the country, a summer racing series on roller skis (which is fun, I raced for the first time in 2005). It will get you fit - I took up roller skiing in 2005 I lost 13 kg and got a lot fitter (admittedly by cycling 15 miles each way to and from work over the summer, but all so I could race the 7.5km Scottish Champoinships race without dropping dead halfway).
Some links
http://www.cbnsc.co.uk/index.htm Cairngorm Biathlon and Nordic Ski Club - newly set up last year by Mike Dixon
http://www.huntly.net/nordicski/index.htm Huntly Nordic Club - based at the Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre ( http://www.huntly.net/hnoc/index.htm ) which has a roller ski track, mats for classic skiing and a small downhill slope to practice your telemarking and downhill skiing on track skis. It runs courses, hires mountain bikes and hires track skis for use in the forest if there is snow. Skiing on snow is mainly out at the Clashandharroc Forest, which has marked trails, which are well maintained by the skiclub (ie us - we cleared a whole new steep downhill trail of trees over the New Year) and when we get some snow may be pisted and tracks cut.
http://www.invernessnordicskiclub.org.uk/ Inverness Nordic ski Club
http://www.rollerski.co.uk/ About Rollerskiing
http://www.londonnordic.org.uk/ London Region Nordic Ski Club
http://www.ydccsc.org.uk/ Yorkshire Dales Cross Country Ski Club
http://www.lakelandxcski.org.uk/ Lakeland Cross Country Ski Club
http://www.mccsc.org.uk/ Manchester Cross Country Ski Club
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Nice one! Get me the spandex kit immediately!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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had the guys here after xmas, rowing tops and x-country skis, heathy mix. Top blokes, love the sweeds.
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