Conditions for the Birkie look great. Some nice cold weather to solidify a good snowpack with perfect temps for race day making it easy to wax. We're getting some preliminary reports back from racers on our grinds, but given the extreme cold, it is not suprising they are all liking the ZR1. We expect that as temps warm up toward race day, ZR1, ZR1XL and ZR40XL are all going to be great. Our prediction right now is Z40XL, but we will update as we get more info from racers who are testing on the course. Both of last year's winners, Kate Whitcomb and Zack Simons ran Engineered Tuning grinds and will be giving us feedback for this year.
Since the Birkie is big time, we'll let the pros do the wax tips this week:
Nathan spent 3 days in McCall, Idaho, site of the World Masters Championships where he tested grinds and looked at the courses. Here is his report:
I had the opportunity to preview the World Masters Championships courses and test grinds in McCall, ID February 16 and 17th. I raced at Ponderosa State Park many times when they held the National Championships here and during the glory years of the Idaho International Spring Series, but they have re-routed and added trails since then and I was excited to come take a look and test our grinds on the World Masters courses. We previewed the 5km, 10km and 15km loops on which all of the races will be held March 1-8. The courses are wide, straightforward and fun, providing a great venue for the 1200 racers who have registered for the Championships.
The sheer amount of snow on the ground in McCall is striking. Seven feet of snow fell in seven days a little over a week ago and paths cut to houses and trails are shoulder-deep. In many places, snow is piled 20 and 30 feet high in a desperate attempt to find some place to move it. The trails are well-packed except for a short section where it appears they are just starting to get it solidified after the onslaught of snow. Snow and grooming conditions should be ideal for the WMC, even if no snow arrives between now and then.
We saw cold morning temperatures under clear skies give way to sunny, warm afternoons. The courses are just off of a large lake and a layer of fog and mist was floating in some areas until 9-10AM. Snow was fast, even with morning temperatures of -15C and universal/warm grinds were running better than fine cold grinds, even early in the morning. Waxing for the races should be fairly straightforward, although expect to use a lot of high-fluorination waxes during the week with mild temperatures and humid snow the norm for this time of year.
One issue racers will confront is dealing with dirt. The Ponderosa forest that towers above the trails is a beautiful spectacle, but debris from the trees will definitely be an issue. Pine needles, branches and clumps of brown moss that look like bad hairpieces litter the trail and are especially thick in a few areas. Past experience racing here has given varied track conditions from fairly clean after a fresh covering of snow to quite dirty after a wind storm. Cleaning skis effectively after training and using dirt-resistant waxes will be important, especially for the longer races.
The courses themselves are well-designed for this event. The Start loop is very wide, flat and free of bottlenecks and there is adequate passing room everywhere along the full-length of the courses. There are not overly-technical sections or difficult hills, but one long, gentle climb and a winding, undulating finish section provide plenty of areas for strong and skilled skiers to make up time on the rest of the field. There are only a few short sections for rest, so competitors should be prepared for long, high-speed flat sections with little recovery.
All of the loops start on the same 2.5km section that loops around the stadium area, heads over to the lake and then cuts on the opposite side of the stadium out to a wide gentle road-grade that climbs very gradually to a left-turn and the first descent of the course. A fast gradual descent with no turns heads toward the lake and the first variations between the loops. The 5km and 10km courses do a short lollipop down by the lake, while the 15km loop adds a very short climb followed by a rolling, turny section through the woods. The 5km course turns around and heads straight up a trail parallel to the descent and then connects to the last 2km of the 10km and 15km loops.
The 10km and 15km loops join together as they make a left turn out onto a peninsula. A long flat is ends with a short (30m) gradual uphill and then the 15km trail splits off left to do an extra loop that is roughly XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. The 15km loop follows the lakeshore, rolling and weaving through a beautiful section of forest. Another short, punchy incline is followed by a long gradual downhill where it rejoins the 10km loop.
A few rollers with fast, flat sections turn right around a marshy lake and then head up the only significant climb. I did a race pace test of the 10km A loop on reasonably fast snow and it took 13 minutes to arrive at the bottom of this hill. The course is so flat and fast that it was 100% V2 and V2-alternate up until this point, without question. The hill is fairly gradual with a few short, steep pitches toward the top, but with the fast snow, I was able to V2 up the entire pitch. It took 3:30 from the bottom to the top.
At the top of the climb, the men’s courses split off from the women’s and do a challenging descent and sharp climb while the women descend a straightforward, wide road for roughly 700m before the courses come back together. For the men, a quick right and off-camber left turn precede a short, steep hill and another descent weaving through a thick forest. A steep 150m climb and short connector pops the men back together with the women’s courses and they follow each other to the finish.
The long, gradual downhill leads into a flat and then a short rise before the courses once again diverge. The finish loops are slight variations on each other, but all of them end with a few short rollers that weave through the trees, providing opportunities for technical skiers to gain time on the many transitions before popping back out of the trees for the finishing straight into the stadium.
From previous experience racing here and after skiing the courses multiple times at training pace and race pace, it is obvious to me that racers should come prepared to ski a lot of high-speed flats with little or no rest. The majority of time will be spent double-poling and using V2/V2-alternate, and the fittest skiers will probably only stride or V1 for two minutes or less on the entire course. The one major hill will take between 3 and 7 minutes for most racers and is positioned right in the middle of the race. There are many sections of rolling hills and twisty trails where fast transitions and mental focus will gain time.
Here are some suggested workouts to prepare for the specific demands of these courses in final weeks leading up to MWC. Remember that the majority of training should have been done before this. Rest and fine-tuning will produce better results than cramming significant training into these last few weeks.
- Transition practice. Find a loop or section with a lot of turns and short, rolling hills. Ski at a fast training pace and accelerate around each corner and over the top of each hill, then pull your speed back until the next transition. Do this for 30 minutes, focusing on learning the best lines around the corners and the most efficient ways to accelerate over hills and through the turns.
- Speed work. On an easy distance day, include 10 accelerations with enough slow skiing in between to gain complete recovery – try for at least 3 minutes spacing. Each “sprint” should be a short acceleration up to 95% of your top speed then hold it there for 10 seconds. Focus on being efficient and fast.
- Ladder Intervals. For these workouts, ideal terrain will be flat or slightly undulating with a nearby hill 3-4 minutes in length. Do the first three stages on the flat terrain. These will be 3 minute in length with 2 minutes of rest in between. Follow this with two six- to eight-minute intervals that begin with 2 minutes on the flat, 3-4 minutes up hill, followed by 1-2 minutes on the flat. Rest after these for 4 minutes. Finish up with two 3 minute intervals on the flat with 3 minutes rest in between.
Vary this workout based on your fitness level and experience doing intensity work.
- Lactate Tolerance Intervals. On flat, undulating and windy terrain, do 10-15 minutes of intervals with 60 seconds on, 20 seconds of rest in between. The work periods should be at race pace or slightly above. Focus on maintaining form and efficiency throughout the session. This is a very intense workout and should not be done if you have not been doing consistent intensity training throughout the season.