T-shirt weather in the AVSC stadium at 1PM is apparently deceptive. A guy with my Eastern sensibility starts looking for the klister/hardwax mixes when I feel that kind of heat. But the ambient temperature stayed a degree or two below freezing, and the tracks never really glazed. After overcoming my initial overwaxing we settled on something in the range of Guru violet as a good solution to today’s classic wax. We’ll test a bit more starting in the morning.
On to the action. I ran a speed trap test with 8 pairs of skis split between paraffins and powders. All of the powders were faster than all of the paraffins. We like when things work out that way – it makes the decision making process pretty easy.
|
Rank
|
Wax
|
Time
|
% back
|
Confidence
|
|
1
|
Ski Go C44
|
7.97
|
0.00%
|
99.51%
|
|
2
|
Holmenkol Mid 08
|
0.01
|
0.13%
|
81.01%
|
|
3
|
Holmenkol Mid
|
0.01
|
0.18%
|
53.05%
|
|
4
|
Ski Go C105
|
0.02
|
0.21%
|
30.65%
|
|
5
|
Matrix Blue
|
0.02
|
0.28%
|
20.02%
|
|
6
|
MatrixRed
|
0.03
|
0.33%
|
5.19%
|
|
7
|
Ski Go 242/Ultima
|
0.04
|
0.55%
|
57.40%
|
|
8
|
ITO Blue (test wax)
|
0.06
|
0.75%
|
62.95%
|
For a classic race we’re quite happy running with our speed trap results. I would have picked the C105 for feeling, and we’ll run more extensive testing for Sunday’s skate race during the day tomorrow. But for the classic racing I trust the results from the trap test.
Forecast & Recommendation
For the past couple of days the forecast has been looking quite warm. As of now NOAA has backed off a bit and is calling for a high of 32 degrees F. Expect the snow tomorrow to stay relatively cold and dry. With kick wax in the violet range for the later races.
Paraffin: Matrix Blue is a good bet. We ran a limited test in order to be able to provide good ballpark recommendations for the classic race. Adam St Pierre of the Boulder Junior Nordic Team said that he liked the Ski*Go HF Blue as well, and that Matrix Green was running similar to Blue. The Matrix Red fared well in the test, but it had one really good run than might have skewed the result a bit. I have much more confidence with the colder range of paraffins.
Powder: C44 or Mid 08. No question the powders are providing a good boost in speed. C44 provided consistently good trap times, but not fantastic feel. This is a fine call for a classic race. Mid 08 has been consistently excellent for us in these conditions, and I’d have good confidence in that as well. It’ll be important to do a good evaluation of powders for feel for Sunday’s race.
We’ll run fluoroblocks in the morning, as well as hand structures. Look for another report tomorrow afternoon more focused on Sunday’s event. If you have to wax before Saturday travel I would bet good money on Matrix Blue and Mid 08.