Justin Freeman
Subaru Factory Team

I should start off by saying that downhills are not my strong point. On the World Cup, I consistently lose seconds on downhill sections of the course. Even when drafting another skier, I often have difficulty skiing technical downhills. But I am improving, and I feel that the focus I have put on downhill technique makes me quite qualified to write about it.

My resolve to write this article comes from my recent participation in an Eastern Cup race in Vermont. I was amazed at how much time I, a mediocre downhill skier at best, could make up on the descents. For instance, I passed the skier who started 30 seconds in front of me just after the crest of the first big climb, a little over a kilometer into the race. The next kilometer was all downhill, and lacked any tricky turns, yet I was quickly 15 seconds ahead of this racer. While my skis were faster, this explains only a small part of the gap I generated. The rest was due to a number of small but important downhill techniques.

Skiing fast on a downhill sections starts while you are still climbing. It is important to ski hard and fast all the way over the top of the hill. Once the downhill starts you will generally need two to three double poles or skate strides to get up to speed. It is important to make these strokes strong and decisive-on a steep descent you have only a few seconds before you are going too fast for your effort to do much good in making you go faster.

After these few strides or poles, get into a tuck. A good tuck position has a flat or slightly rounded back parallel to the ground and elbows resting on knees. It is important to be aerodynamic, but in general a lower tuck than this is counterproductive-the strain on your legs is too much to justify the tenths of a second you might gain. It is also important to keep both skis flat on the snow-don't let your knees knock together, as this will put your skis on their inner edges, slowing you down. When tucking on classic skis, it is often best to keep your weight on your heels, so as to keep your kick pocket fully off the snow.

If there is a track set on the downhill, there is about an 80% chance that it is faster. I distinctly remember my first European World Cup, where I blew by the eventual race winner Per Elofsson (who had recently caught me from some ungodly number of bibs back) by skiing a downhill in the tracks while he skied outside them. I opened a wide gap that took him almost a kilometer to make back up. Even if the snow is the same speed in the tracks and out, skiing in tracks is more restful, and so you should take advantage of them whenever you can.

The trickiest aspect of descending is dealing with hard turns. Even here, though, there are only a couple of principles to learn. Always keep your weight low, your hands in front of you, and your feet moving. Keeping your weight low will keep you stable-the lower your center of gravity the harder it is to fall over. Keeping your hands in front of you, and pointing them where you want to go, will almost always get you around a corner safely. If your weight is low and your hands are leading you your weight will automatically be optimally distributed to make your turn. Finally, by keeping your feet moving you will prevent your skis from sliding sideways and thus shedding speed.

Proper body position isn't enough-you have to approach the turns properly. Always enter a turn as wide as possible, then cut to the inside to the extent that you can. If the snow is piled up in a berm, start the turn by riding the berm and cut inside as soon as possible.

You've probably heard most of this before. You probably believe at least most of it. Odds are, however, your body doesn't believe. Your instincts were not designed with the idea of sliding over snow. When you are nervous or unstable, your body stands up a bit, brings your hands back to your side, and ceases moving your feet. For millions of years of evolution, these instincts were good. For a skier, however, they are something that must be overcome.

Overcoming these instincts is a matter of persistence. Make a habit of focusing on speed and technique every time you ski a descent, even-maybe even especially-on easy days. Ski over the tops of hills, get into a good tuck, and ski the corners as fast and as technically as you can. This will add only slightly to the intensity of your ski, but over time will yield great dividends in your racing. If you ski every downhill and every corner well when you are out skiing around, you won't be able to help skiing much faster on race day.

Click Here to see some of Oregon Scientific's interesting weather-related products. Oregon Scientific outfitted the Subaru Factory Team bus with a Complete Professional Weather Station this season. This is extremely accurate, and has provided the team's waxing staff with some very valuable information. There are other much smaller units that can also be found on this page for home, office, travel, etc.

Free Skate Clinic
With Abby Larson (2006 Olympian) Subaru Factory Team member
White Pine Touring Center
Park City Utah at 10:15
Sunday Feb 18th.
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February 17th, 2007
The Steamboat Ski Marathon at Catamount, CO
10k, 22.5k & 45k skate and classic events.  
The terrain is gentle, rolling and open.  The course is located on the grounds of the beautiful Lake Catamount Ranch and Club and offers continuous 3600 views of the Yampa Valley.  There is plenty of challenge for the lead pack with numerous short fast climbs and a nearly 2k gradual downhill finish for the ultimate sprint.

Early registration though January 31st, 2007

Entry form: entry at www.steamnboatxcski.org, click on “ALL RACES/RESULTS”

Contact: Dave at (970) 819-1014 or email to dave@steamboatxcski.org
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The 28th Annual Yellowstone Rendezvous Race
March 3, 2007
West Yellowstone, Montana

After a week of warm weather, winter has returned to West Yellowstone. And with the 28th Annual Yellowstone Rendezvous Race is just over two weeks away, race preparations are well under way. Don’t forget that the race date has been moved up a week (to avoid conflicts with other local events) and this year’s race will take place on March 3, 2007. Online registration is available now and the third registration deadline of February 21 is approaching fast. To register, visit www.rendezvousrace.com today.

If you have any questions about this year’s Yellowstone Rendezvous Race, email them to info@rendezvousrace.com . Thank you for supporting cross country skiing in West Yellowstone!
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"Wake up! It's time to train!"
New CXC training DVD released for sale!

Central Cross Country Ski Association is pleased to announce the release of a brand new training DVD "Wake up! It's time to train!"

70 minutes of exclusive interviews with US Ski Team coaches, XC drills and
technique, fitness testing, sports physiology, core strength, training volume,
intensity levels, race footage, and much more. Featuring CXC Ski Team and US Ski Team athletes.

"This video contains invaluable first hand information from the top coaches in the
US and can be helpful to all, coaches, athletes, parents and master skiers. This is
also a first step study guide for the CXC Coach's Education and Certification
Program which will be launched in the spring of 2007" commented Yuriy Gusev, Central Cross Country Ski Association's CEO

This exciting DVD can be purchased on line at www.cxcskiing.org or at the CXC booth during American Birkebeiner Expo. All proceeds from the DVD sales will directly support youth, junior, senior and master's programs in the Central Region.
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A Participation Prize will be given to continue supporting xc classic skiing!
One registered skier (age 18 and above) who completes one of the
following races (classic division) will win a Free trip to 2008 China Vasaloppet
50K classic xc ski race held in Changchun, China, on Jan. 2, 2008 (including
international and domestic air tickets, hotel lodging, 50k race registration
fee, fees to historic touring sites including the Great Wall, the Forbidden
Cities -- a trip package value of $2,800).

The races included in this Participation Prize are:
1) City of Lakes Loppet 25k classic race -- Feb. 4, 2007
2) Mora Vasaloppet 42k classic race -- Feb. 11, 2007
3) American Birkebiner 51k classic race -- Feb. 24, 2007
4) Rainbow Rendezvous 16k classic race -- March 3, 2007

The Participation Prize will be drawn on March 10, 2007 and will be
posted on skinnyski.com, www.rainbowresort.com, in SkiPost, and any other interested
website.
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Abby Larson, Subaru Factory Team-Olympian, will host a "Bring your dog
clinic, skate or classic."
March 9th (Friday)
5:00 pm - Millcreek
Outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

It will be fun ski with your dog evening mixed up with some general
technique and training tips. There will be treats for dogs and people!
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NOTE: If you have an event you would like to have in SkiPost please send emails to weanswer@skipost.com

For more information on Subaru's technically advanced all-wheel drive vehicles check out www.subaru.com

"It's What Makes A Subaru, A Subaru."