Our next stop at the SIA Snow Show was at Swix USA, where we got a look at new features on next year’s carbon-composite poles, new formulations in Swix’s klister line, and tried on their new gloves.
Tag: 2012
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US Nationals, Men’s Classic Sprint Video
RUMFORD, Maine – The final day of the United States Cross Country Ski Championship saw some controversy during the A Final of the men’s classic sprint on the trails of Black Mountain. Torin Koos (BSF) skied away from the rest of the heat, but was later disqualified for a questionable move, so the second skier across the finish line Tyler Kornfield (UAF) was crowned the national champion. While we don’t have footage of the contentious moment check out some of the other highlights.
Contributing camera work by Alex Matthews and Audrey Mangan.
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US Nationals, Men’s 30km Classic Mass Start Video
RUMFORD, Maine – For most of the racers in the men’s 30km classic mass start at the United States Cross Country Ski Championship there was one long effort, but for Noah Hoffman it was ski 20km and then race 10km as fast as he could. Watch how things played out for Hoffman and the rest of the field.
Complete Results: Men’s 30km Classic Mass Start
Full Race Report: “Hoffman Uses Smarts, Grit to Win 30 K”, by: Alex Matthews
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Toko: 2012 US Nationals Classic Sprint Report
Torin Koos – all alone in the A final. Photo: Toko. Tested and picked glide waxes yesterday as was the plan as I anticipated that today’s kick solution could be a demanding one. It did some freezing raining last night before they groomed. Still, the tracks got an ice glaze on them which made things a bit tricky this morning. We tested kick waxes, straight base green, straight klisters, and klisters covered. Before qualifying, our best wax was Nordic Green Klister covered by Nordic Red Klister. It kicked better than straight Base Green binder, especially on the hard ice sections on the climbs. It glided better than Red Klister covered with Nordic Grip Red. It was our best wax this morning and was also used to success. After qualifying, it got progressively colder, the wind blew a bit more, and the tracks dried out. The snow became more of a dry granular sugar. We rewaxed the test skis and checked it out again. This time the “Base Green Trick” was the best. This is where a short thick layer of Base Green Binder is applied, heated in, and smoothed. After it cools, add subsequent layers of Base Green trying to keep it as smooth as possible. Make the layers shorter working toward the middle. It is important to keep this application short – klister zone.
It was a great week. I was grateful for the super job Steve Bedard did testing and giving feedback. He is a new Rossignol (and Toko) Tech Rep for New England. I look forward to working with Steve in the future.
Also, a huge congratulations to all of the athletes, but especially to our Jessie Diggins and Torin Koos for taking 6 US national titles between them this year!
(Turns out Torin was DSQed. This was a strange occurrence. Here’s how FasterSkier covered the story. Anybody who has witnessed World Cup sprints knows that as Eric Packer said, this type of thing happens all the time without incident or comment. In fact, I saw other athletes do the same thing during Nationals including one of the top women 300 meters before the finish. Nobody said a thing except “that’s racing” Good luck with your appeal Torin!)
Visit the official event page here to see more photos.
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Video of US Cross Country Ski Championship – Men’s Freestyle Sprint
RUMFORD, Maine – With a strong headwind down the homestretch, the men proved that it was all about their position into the stadium, staying low and having enough energy for the final burst to the line. When the snow settled it was Torin Koos who took his third straight sprint title.
Contributing camera work by Evan Dethier.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/298.jpg" "Torin Koos - all alone in the A final. Photo: Toko.")