Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to compare performance and pacing strategies between elite male and female cross-country skiers during a sprint competition on snow using the skating technique.Methods: Twenty male and 14 female skiers completed an individual time-trial prolog (TT) and three head-to-head races (quarter, semi, and final) on the same 1,572-m course, which was divided into flat, uphill and downhill sections. Section-specific speeds, choice of sub-technique (i.e., gear), cycle characteristics, heart rate and post-race blood lactate concentration were monitored. Power output was estimated for the different sections during the TT, while metabolic demand was estimated for two uphill camera sections and the final 50-m flat camera section.Results: Average speed during the four races was ∼12.5% faster for males than females (P < 0.001), while speeds on the flat, uphill and downhill sections were ∼11, 18, and 9% faster for the males than females (all P < 0.001 for terrain, sex, and interaction). Differences in uphill TT speed between the sexes were associated with different sub-technique preferences, with males using a higher gear more frequently than females (P < 0.05). The estimated metabolic demand relative to maximal oxygen uptake (O2max) was similar for both sexes during the two uphill camera sections (∼129% of O2max) and for the final 50-m flat section (∼153% of O2max). Relative power output during the TT was 18% higher for males compared to females (P < 0.001) and was highly variable along the course for both sexes (coefficient of variation [CV] between sections 4–9 was 53%), while the same variation in heart rate was low (CV was ∼3%). The head-to-head races were ∼2.4% faster than the TT for both sexes and most race winners (61%) were positioned first already after 30 m of the race. No sex differences were observed during any of the races for heart rate or blood lactate concentration.Conclusion: The average sex difference in sprint skiing performance was ∼12.5%, with varying differences for terrain-specific speeds. Moreover, females skied relatively slower uphill (at a lower gear) and thereby elicited more variation in their speed profiles compared to the males.
Highlights
Cross-country sprint ski competitions are conducted over 3– 4 h and involve an initial qualification time trial followed by three head-to-head knockout races, with each race lasting ∼2–4 min (Andersson et al, 2016)
Descriptive data showing the relative frequencies of all head-to-head race winners’ positions at the end of each section are displayed in Table 3 and show that approximately two-thirds of head-to-head race winners were positioned at the front of the race already after the first section. This investigation of differences in performance and pacing strategies between sexes during a sprint skiing competition has shown: (1) An overall sex difference in time-trial prolog (TT) performance of 12%, with male skiers considerably (19%) faster on the uphill sections, where they used G3 more frequently than the females; (2) That the speed profile and power output distribution along the course were highly variable for both sexes, while the variation in heart rate was low; (3) That the head-to-head races (i.e., QF, SF, and F) were 2.6 and 2.1% faster than the TT for the male and female skiers, respectively, with main differences between the head-tohead races and the TT observed during the uphill and final flat sections
The present findings reveal an overall sex difference in sprint cross-country skiing performance of ∼12.5%
Summary
Cross-country sprint ski competitions are conducted over 3– 4 h and involve an initial qualification time trial (a prolog) followed by three head-to-head knockout races (the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and final), with each race lasting ∼2–4 min (Andersson et al, 2016). A further distinction within cross-country sprint ski racing is the undulating terrain, which results in the use of several different sub-techniques within the two separate disciplines of classic and skate skiing (Stöggl et al, 2007; Andersson et al, 2010). Sprint cross-country skiing is highly intermittent, involving periods of very high-intensity exercise interspersed with periods of lower-intensity exercise or recovery This differs markedly from swimming, track running and track cycling events lasting ∼2–4 min, which are typically characterized by more even speed and/or power-output distributions (Corbett et al, 2009; Hanon and Thomas, 2011; Skorski et al, 2014). Such information is likely important when planning training, preparing to race, and evaluating performance in crosscountry skiing
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