After the mass start in his beloved Antholz (9th place), the best biathlete in Russia complained about his skis: “The equipment let me down badly. From the first lap I realized that I would have to push and shove my skis. The sliding was difficult. My skis rode worse than my competitors.”
This is not Shipulin’s first complaint about the service this season. In the “Biathlon with” program, he admitted: the best results were shown on skis that have been preserved since 2011. Fresh ones are not arriving yet - and this, of course, is a problem.
How serious? How many seconds does Shipulin lose? Three-time world champion, Olympic medalist, ex-coach of the Russian national team Pavel ROSTOVTSEV helps us understand the details and subtleties:
– During the season, a top athlete conducts plus or minus 30 races (individual and relay races). For our team, most of them are normal from a service point of view, when the skis perform approximately the same as those of competitors. If there are 5 races when our biathletes have rockets (that is, better skis than their competitors), then this is an excellent result. There are also 3-5 outright flights per season.
The mass start in Antholz was very similar to a crash.
Let's imagine that the surface of the track and the surface of the ski are absolutely smooth, like glass. A microfilm of water forms between the ski and the snow at any temperature. What happens if there is a drop of water between two glasses? The glasses will stick to each other. It’s the same with skis: it will be difficult to tear them off and, accordingly, the glide will be poor.
This film is torn by applying a certain pattern to the ski - this is what both the matte sanding and manual attachments are called.
For skis to work well in falling snow, you need a fresh sandblaster. Skis with micro-notches come out from under the grinding stone: if the pattern has just been applied, the edges will be sharp - this is what is important for fresh snow. Then the sliding surface is waxed, even with a plastic scraper, and the edges are gradually dulled. In my understanding, skis that have undergone this procedure five times perform worse on fresh snow than the newest ones.
Whether our team had new grinds or not, I don’t know. But Anton lagged behind and then complained about his skiing. During the pursuit, Fourcade faced the same problem - his move was indistinct: everything was in order with his movements, but his skis did not move.
Are these drawings common to everyone?
Manufacturers provide “packages” to clients: Fischer has its own set, Madshus has its own, Rossignol has its own. And of course they are different. The producers do a great job, but any team is better off being exclusive. This is an internal search, and no one will share secrets.
Last season, after the relay in Pokljuka, there was a characteristic moment. The Swedes were removed from the course because one of the participants did not mark their skis. Negligence is okay, the main thing is different: the Swede regretted that his very good skis were taken away - and now his rivals can see the structure. These are really secrets that everyone keeps.
When an athlete finishes, his racing skis are immediately taken away by the service, also so that they do not flash in front of their rivals. I remember Sveta Sleptsova ran a good pursuit in Östersund in 2011, then the fans helped her carry her skis. Pichler was very indignant: how come, it’s unclear to whom you gave the fighting pair that showed the best move? Naturally, he reprimanded her.
Does Russia have a powerful exclusive?
In the previous Olympic cycle, when I worked as a coach, there was none. I don’t know how it is now. Although there are always many directions.
1) Plastic. I know that the leading teams worked on their own plastic and took it to the ski manufacturer so that he could glue the sliding surface.
2) Sanding program. Each top team has exclusive transfers. Moreover, many are catching up: the Swedes were working on lifts for certain weather and selected an option, just like the Americans were doing - they had a car in Ruhpolding. I don't know the specifics, but it takes years.
The equipment costs up to 200 thousand euros, plus there must be special stones.
3)Paraffins and their mixes. At one stage (I think in Hochfilzen) we had great skis. It is clear that the service kept the secret so that there would be no leakage, but it told us: they used an 8-year-old powder, they came across a successful series. We then had 5-6 cans left in stock - although production had already ceased at that time.
I don’t think that conventional Norwegians use only those paraffins that are commercially available. They probably left the options only for themselves.
What is more important - choosing skis or lubricant?
From experience, choosing the right skis is 70% of success. Paraffins, ointments, powders – 30%.
If we hear that an athlete cannot find the optimal pair of skis, what does this mean? With exactly the same lubricant, with the same version of paraffins and powders, some people’s skis on the team go great, but yours are not rockets at all.
At the Sochi Olympics, the team ran on lifts produced by Fischer. Everyone definitely has these, so it’s not worth talking about the advantage gained. As far as I can remember, Russia did not have exclusive material on polishing.
The Germans and Norwegians, for example, have their own grinds.
What is the difference in sprinting between rockets and medium skis?
7-10 seconds per lap. That is, you can beat yourself near the penalty loop only by skiing. And I’m not even talking about overshoot – I’m comparing ideal skis with just good ones. On the question of the role of service in modern biathlon.
I am convinced that this is a high-tech process and we have a huge reserve here. About 15 years ago, the service in the Russian national team was just emerging. And 20 years ago, skis were generally prepared by trainers - Khovantsev and Polkhovsky stood at the machine in the morning. Other teams already had service groups working at that time.
How should the service interact with trainers?
I think the service should be accountable to the coach. Don’t dive into the nuances - a real professional won’t give away secrets anyway - but at least give a picture.
The coach must know a lot. What good pairs does each athlete have left over from previous years? What do you plan to get from the company? When? When will the tests be carried out? When can we expect a decision on them? What kind of adjustments are planned for them? Lots and lots of data. The coach must understand the situation, he is responsible for the result.
During the years of Wolfgang's work, the work was organized differently - the service was virtually independent. One example.
In Wolfgang’s and my understanding, the service was supposed to start working for the new season in March-April: order, test on glaciers and in tunnels, leave old reference skis for comparison with new ones. By September we were waiting for completely finished material so we could safely go out into the snow.
And it was like this: we came to the training camp in Muonio in late autumn, and the service began to figure out what the athletes were missing and what needed to be additionally ordered. This caused a strong reaction from Pichler: people were doing something during the summer and autumn, but now it turned out that they did not have any structures. We had no dialogue, we did not understand each other. Unfortunately.
I know that Ricco Gross, at least in the first and second seasons, asked a lot of questions to the service. Did Ricco manage to subjugate them or improve the process? I doubt.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Vilf, Konstantin Chalabov
After the mass start in his beloved Antholz (9th place), the best biathlete in Russia complained about his skis: “The equipment let me down badly. From the first lap I realized that I would have to push and shove my skis. The sliding was difficult. My skis rode worse than my competitors.”
This is not Shipulin’s first complaint about the service this season. In the “Biathlon with Dmitry Guberniev” program, he admitted: the best results were shown on skis that have been preserved since 2011. Fresh ones are not arriving yet - and this, of course, is a problem.
How serious? How many seconds does Shipulin lose?
Three-time world champion, ex-coach of the Russian national team Pavel ROSTOVTSEV helps us understand the details and subtleties:
– During the season, a top athlete conducts plus or minus 30 races (individual and relay races). For our team, most of them are normal from a service point of view, when the skis perform approximately the same as those of competitors. If there are 5 races when our biathletes have rockets (that is, better skis than their competitors), then this is an excellent result. There are also 3-5 outright flights per season.
The mass start in Antholz was very similar to a crash.
Let's imagine that the surface of the track and the surface of the ski are absolutely smooth, like glass. A microfilm of water forms between the ski and the snow at any temperature. What happens if there is a drop of water between two glasses? The glasses will stick to each other. It’s the same with skis: it will be difficult to tear them off and, accordingly, the glide will be poor.
This film is torn by applying a certain pattern to the ski - this is what both the matte sanding and manual attachments are called.
For good ski performance in falling snow, you need a fresh sandblaster.. Skis with micro-notches come out from under the grinding stone: if the pattern has just been applied, the edges will be sharp - this is what is important for fresh snow. Then the sliding surface is waxed, even with a plastic scraper, and the edges are gradually dulled. In my understanding, skis that have undergone this procedure five times perform worse on fresh snow than the newest ones.
Whether our team had new grinds or not, I don’t know. But Anton lagged behind and then complained about his skiing. During the pursuit, Fourcade faced the same problem - his move was indistinct: everything was in order with his movements, but his skis did not move.
Are these drawings common to everyone?
Manufacturers provide “packages” to clients: Fischer has its own set, Madshus has its own, Rossignol has its own. And of course they are different. The producers do a great job, but any team is better off having an exclusive. This is an internal search, and no one will share secrets.
Last season, after the relay in Pokljuka, there was a characteristic moment. The Swedes were removed from the course because one of the participants did not mark their skis. Negligence is okay, the main thing is different: the Swede took away his very good skis - and now his rivals can see the structure. These are really secrets that everyone keeps.
When an athlete finishes, his racing skis are immediately taken away by the service, also so that they do not flash in front of their rivals. I remember Sveta Sleptsova ran a good pursuit in Östersund in 2011, then the fans helped her carry her skis. Pichler was very indignant: how come, it’s unclear to whom you gave the fighting pair that showed the best move? Naturally, he reprimanded her.
Does Russia have a powerful exclusive?
In the previous Olympic cycle, when I worked as a coach, there was none. I don’t know how it is now. Although there are always many directions.
1) Plastic. I know that the leading teams worked on their own plastic and took it to the ski manufacturer so that he could glue the sliding surface.
2) Sanding program. Each top team has exclusive transfers. Moreover, many are catching up: the Swedes were working on lifts for certain weather and selected an option, just like the Americans were doing - they had a car in Ruhpolding. I don't know the specifics, but it takes years.
The equipment costs up to 200 thousand euros, plus there must be special stones.
3)Paraffins and their mixes. At one stage (I think in Hochfilzen) we had great skis. It is clear that the service kept the secret so that there would be no leakage, but it told us: they used an 8-year-old powder, they came across a successful series. We then had 5-6 cans left in stock - although production had already ceased at that time.
I don’t think that conventional Norwegians use only those paraffins that are commercially available. They probably left the options only for themselves.
What is more important - choosing skis or lubricant?
From experience, choosing the right skis is 70% success. Paraffins, ointments, powders – 30%.
If we hear that an athlete cannot find the optimal pair of skis, what does this mean? With exactly the same lubricant, with the same version of paraffins and powders, some people’s skis on the team go great, but yours are not rockets at all.
At the Sochi Olympics, the team ran on lifts produced by Fischer. Everyone definitely has these, so it’s not worth talking about the advantage gained. As far as I can remember, Russia did not have exclusive material on polishing.
The Germans and Norwegians, for example, have their own grinds.
What is the difference in sprinting between rockets and medium skis?
7-10 seconds per lap. That is you can beat yourself near the penalty loop only by skiing. And I’m not even talking about overshoot – I’m comparing ideal skis with just good ones. On the question of the role of service in modern biathlon.
I am convinced that this is a high-tech process and we have a huge reserve here. About 15 years ago, the service in the Russian national team was just emerging. And 20 years ago, skis were generally prepared by trainers - Khovantsev and Polkhovsky stood at the machine in the morning. Other teams already had service groups working at that time.
How should the service interact with trainers?
I think the service should be accountable to the coach. Don’t dive into the nuances - a real professional won’t give away secrets anyway - but at least give a picture.
The coach must know a lot. What good pairs does each athlete have left over from previous years? What do you plan to get from the company? When? When will the tests be carried out? When can we expect a decision on them? What kind of adjustments are planned for them? Lots and lots of data. The coach must understand the situation, he is responsible for the result.
During the years of Wolfgang's work, the work was organized differently - the service was virtually independent. One example.
In our understanding with Wolfgang the service should start working for the new season in March-April: order, test on glaciers and in tunnels, leave old reference skis for comparison with new ones. By September we were waiting for completely finished material so we could safely go out into the snow.
And it was like this: we came to the training camp in Muonio in late autumn, and the service began to figure out what the athletes were missing and what needed to be additionally ordered. This caused a strong reaction from Pichler: people were doing something during the summer and autumn, but now it turned out that they did not have any structures. We had no dialogue, we did not understand each other. Unfortunately.
I know that Ricco Gross, at least in the first and second seasons, asked a lot of questions to the service. Did Ricco manage to subjugate them or improve the process? I doubt.
Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Vilf, Konstantin Chalabov
Biathlon. The men's biathlon team is preparing for the season in Khanty-Mansiysk 26.10.2017 21:22
On October 21, the Russian men's biathlon team went to a training camp in Khanty-Mansiysk. Anton Babikov, Evgeny Garanichev, Matvey Eliseev, Alexander Loginov, Maxim Tsvetkov, Yuri Shopin are preparing for the season as part of the team.
The composition of the Russian men's biathlon team for the new season has been determined
The Russian men's team gathered in full force at the training camp in Khanty-Mansiysk. And now Anton Babikov, Maxim Tsvetkov, Evgeny Garanichev, Alexander Loginov, Matvey Eliseev, Yuri Shopin and Anton Shipulin with Alexey Volkov are working at the same shooting range.
“Khanty-Mansiysk is a good city, I like it here,” says world champion Maxim Tsvetkov. “I think this is one of the best places to train now.” Therefore, I can say that everything is going well. We are training, preparing for the season. You need to work on every component of biathlon. This year the main event is the Olympic Games. Of course, I want to get into the Olympic team. I think if everything goes well, it will go as we planned with the coach. Nowadays you don’t even have to think about videos. Maybe on the weekend I’ll try to record some video for fans from Khanty-Mansiysk.”
Shipulin and Volkov continue to work under the leadership of two Andreevs - Kryuchkov and Gerbulov. Babikov, Tsvetkov, Garanichev, Loginov, Eliseev, Shopin work under the supervision of Ricco Gross, Andrei Padin, Sergei Bashkirov and Alexander Popov. Also with the team is a doctor, a massage therapist, and servicers are working on preparing the skis.
“Eight biathletes from the main team are now working in Khanty-Mansiysk,” noted senior coach of the men’s team Ricco Gross. “We chose this place for training with the entire coaching staff. We were promised good snow conditions here, and the organizers coped with this task - a three-kilometer circle was laid out to the shooting range. The conditions for training here are excellent. We will work in Khanty-Mansiysk until November 8, and then the team will go to a training camp in Beitoshtolen, Norway.”
The base will fly to Norway on November 13. In the meantime, all thoughts are about training at the winter sports center named after A. V. Filipenko.
“Now we have to get used to skis after roller skis,” explains world champion Anton Babikov. “Even shooting from skis is different from the work we do on roller skis in the summer. There is now more and more special work. There is not much time left, the season will begin soon. For the end of October there is quite enough snow on the highway in Khanty-Mansiysk. This is evidenced by the fact that other teams also train here - teams from Kazakhstan and Belarus, for example. We are satisfied. The track is getting better every day. In Russia, probably only Khanty-Mansiysk and Tyumen can open winter trails so early and create excellent conditions for training. We split up - the girls went to Tyumen, and the boys to Khanty-Mansiysk. I think that the coaching staff here has perfected everything down to the smallest detail for our training.”
Chairman of the RBU coaching council Vladimir Barnashov announced that the composition of the Russian national team will be announced a few days before the start of the World Cup.
“The composition will be formed at the training camp in Beitostolen, which will be held from November 13 to 24,” Barnashov said. The composition of the team for the first three stages will be formed from among the athletes who have undergone centralized training as part of the Russian national team, and will be determined by the decision of the coaches. No more than 15 athletes (8 men and 7 women) will attend these stages.
All candidates for the national team will be present at the training camp in Beitostolen, Norway.
The Kalashnikov Concern has created modernized BI-7-4 rifles for the Russian biathlon team
Having inherited the main advantages of previous models, the modernized BI-7-4 rifles for leading athletes - biathletes of the Russian Federation are distinguished by improved accuracy characteristics at temperatures down to -20C, as well as increased smoothness of the trigger mechanism. These improvements made it possible to reduce the time and make the process of reloading weapons as easy as possible, increasing its rate of fire.
“We are confident that the donated rifles will be used by Russian biathletes at World Cups and Championships starting from the new competitive season of 2016-2017,” said Ivan Tcherezov, head of sports projects at the Kalashnikov Concern. “Together with the Russian Biathlon Union, we are carrying out comprehensive work to modernize and develop new models of biathlon rifles in order to provide our athletes with the best rifles for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.”
What kind of skis do Russian biathletes use?
The head of the service team of the Russian biathlon team, Alexander Voronin, shares the secrets of preparing skis for racing
Each athlete has about forty pairs of racing skis for different weather conditions: air temperature, snow temperature, snow structure, snow and air humidity. Plus several training pairs. All this is located in a special service vehicle, which is equipped with everything necessary for processing and preparing skis for competitions and training, each has its own work table with individual lighting and ventilation, with a large number of tools, brushes and other working material. Immediately after the end of the next stage, the service vehicle moves to the new competition location with skis and all equipment.
Most of our biathletes run on Austrian skis. It’s not that they are by definition better, but they have a higher percentage of “hits” in the good ones. For example, based on the results of tests out of one hundred pairs, the Norwegians can choose 17 or 20, and for the Austrians this figure can reach 70. Work is constantly underway. They change not only the design, but also the construction of the ski, as well as the sliding properties of the plastic. There are a lot of secret technologies in factories; something new is constantly being invented.
Before the race itself, 10-12 pairs are taken and skis are rolled out an hour and a half before the start. The athlete arrives later, and in about an hour the 3-4 best pairs skate together with the serviceman. Here the athlete himself is included in the selection process. Sometimes there is a pair that is clearly better, and sometimes two or three are about the same. As a result, the best couple is selected and prepares for the race itself. At the same time, powders, paraffins, and structures are tested on special test skis.
Domestic skis... Our industry lags catastrophically behind in this regard. Even at children's competitions, everyone runs on skis from foreign manufacturers.
The leaders are Norwegians and Austrians. They have an advantage because they are also manufacturers of good skis and lubricants; the Austrians are leaders in the production of skis themselves. Some lubricants reach us a little later. Now, they have come up with something good, they can use it only for themselves for a year or two, until they come up with something new. Likewise, the best skis, of course, will be kept by their own. As for the rest, it’s difficult to single out anyone.
During the New Year holidays, Alexander Voronin gave some advice to amateurs on how to properly prepare their skis for walks. Also, in an interview with R-Sport correspondent Ivan Tugarin, the specialist spoke about how many pairs biathletes use per season, why athletes often run on one ski and reach the podium with others, and how fair it would be to compare the preparation of skis for a biathlete and the preparation of a car "Formula 1".
Alexander Ivanovich, it’s no secret that preparing skis for athletes is an important, complex moment, this process is painstaking. How, relatively speaking, can this be compared to preparing a racing car for a racing driver?
Of course, the directions are completely different (smiles). Although skis are for a biathlete, and a car for a pilot is a means of transportation. Both there and there - this is a working tool. Both the Formula 1 car and skis are prepared by a whole group of people, even if in auto racing it is much larger. But our task is difficult too. Selection and processing of the skis themselves, selection of paraffins and powders, selection of grinds, selection of hand structures. But the main thing is preparing the racing couple for the start. Selecting a lubricant does not mean that the skis will necessarily perform well. The main thing is to put the skis on correctly, take them off correctly and bring the skis to perfection. This is a very delicate process.
- Is preparing one pair for a professional a pleasure?
Not cheap for sure. But the most precious thing is the hands that do it. A great serviceman must work with skis for more than one year to become a qualified technician. As a rule, these are former athletes who have a good feel and knowledge of skiing. Two different servicemen, working with the same materials, can make the skis ride completely differently. I pressed it a little, pinched it, sanded it wrong somewhere, and that’s it.
Can we say that as soon as the race begins, the entire service team is also on the track with the athletes in their thoughts?
We are following the race, of course. Are we worried? Naturally. We compare how skis work for our and other athletes. The skis are done, the athlete runs, nothing can be changed. After the finish in the cockpit, we analyze the race itself and the quality of the lubrication.
- How great was the pressure on service during the Olympics in Sochi?
You know, when there are big competitions, there is always corresponding responsibility. I have been to many Olympics...
- But there was a home here...
All the same, responsibility is everywhere. At all Olympic Games you represent your country. Sochi... Of course, the importance of these games is difficult to overestimate, but at all competitions we work with full dedication. I'll probably agree with the pressure, though.
Almost a year has passed since the Games in Sochi. How do you evaluate your work at games now? Did they work perfectly or could they have done better?
I don’t want to praise us, but we definitely worked no worse than other service teams from other countries. For example, remember the individual race (Evgeniy) Garanichev, where he took bronze? He ran in the wet, falling snow, under the first starting number, and his skis worked almost perfectly. Was this race the most difficult for us? I wouldn't say that. All the races there were difficult. Rain, fog...
How difficult is it to withstand competition among service teams? And in general, is there a country that stands out in this regard? Say, Norwegians?
Of course it's not easy. These are the same Norwegians. They have an advantage because they are also manufacturers of good skis and lubricants; the Austrians are leaders in the production of skis themselves. Some lubricants reach us a little later. Now, they have come up with something good, they can use it only for themselves for a year or two, until they come up with something new. Likewise, the best skis, of course, will be kept by their own. As for the rest, it’s difficult to single out anyone.
- Isn’t it a shame that we don’t produce anything?
If you are talking about materials, then we produce. But the quality leaves much to be desired. Skis... We are catastrophically behind in this regard. Even at children's competitions, everyone runs on skis from foreign manufacturers.
If it is not possible to prepare your skis at home or you are not sure that you can handle it, then take your skis to a service center. There are now enough service centers at ski areas. With well-prepared skis, you will get much more pleasure and benefit from your ski trips.
If you decide to prepare your skis yourself, there is now a lot of literature available. Don't be lazy to study. You should not buy very expensive materials. Leave it to the professionals. Nowadays there are enough universal ointments and paraffins in stores that have a wide temperature range. There is no point for amateurs to use insanely expensive paraffins.
Immediately after skiing, you need to clear your skis of snow. Yes, now all manufacturers, even in touring skis, use plastic, which is less capricious, but this still needs to be done.
In general, a lot depends on the person’s physical readiness. You can prepare your skis perfectly, but it will still be difficult to run. This is all achieved with practice. Don’t try to set records on your first walk. Ride as often as possible and enjoy it! And don't forget to dress for the weather!
The head of the service team of the Russian national team, Mikhail Koloskov, told Match TV about the development of ski equipment, the complexity of the service, the gratitude of the athletes and when people in this profession rest.“Each collection has 20-40 pairs of skis”
How booming has the ski industry been in recent years?
Of course, there are a lot of changes. Each ski manufacturer offers its own structures - a pattern that is applied by a special machine to the plastic at a certain temperature, humidity or type of snow. It is updated as it is developed during the use of skis, or a new structure is applied to suit other conditions.
Besides this, everyone is working on plastic. The design of the ski itself is also thought out for the weather - snow, ice, humidity.
There are a lot of manufacturers of powders for applying to skis. Once upon a time these were called lubricants, but now these compounds look different: like powders or emulsions.
How many pairs of skis does the Russian national team biathlete have?
From twenty to forty is the best range. Pure skiers have more, and there are also “classics”. Although they probably have fewer pairs for each technique. In biathlon, where there is only free style, we try to carry skis with a reserve so that there is plenty to choose from even with the slightest changes in the weather.
If we fly overseas, each biathlete hands over three full ski covers, and if we start in Europe, we drive a bus with equipment from Russia.
Is the choice of a manufacturer for each specific athlete a matter of sponsorship contracts or personal preference?
Second. As his career progresses, the athlete tries skis from different companies and finds the one whose philosophy and ski design suit him best. For Europeans, the proximity factor of a company sometimes works.
For example, Bjoerndalen has been running his entire career on Norwegian skis, the factory of which is easier for him to get to, choose something there, talk to the designers, and so on.
Have there been any attempts to launch the production of high-quality skis in Russia?
Yes. At one time we tried to glue our own plastic onto skis and tried new options. But not all projects succeed.
Once upon a time in the USSR, Tisa-Fisher skis were made in Mukachevo, and in conditions of a strong thaw, on water, they rode like crazy.
But perhaps there is no point in taking on this. There are companies that have been producing cross-country skis for several decades, and they do it well. But we are good at something else. It's probably better for everyone to mind their own business.
Are the powders also all Western?
About three years before the Olympics in Sochi, a testing program began for proposals that came from our companies involved in such products, and we studied everything very carefully. As a result, we now use powders from domestic manufacturers under certain temperature conditions.
Our service is both dangerous and difficult
How do you select skis for the team?
In the summer we go to the manufacturer’s factory; for example, in 2017 we went four times. Before this, athletes send us their current height and weight characteristics so that we do not rely on last year’s. From each new batch we select skis that are most suitable for certain conditions - cold, warm, and so on. In the fall, athletes get on them, conduct control training, first starts, and we understand which batch of skis perform better. In the future, we try to take skis from this batch, it is considered “successful”, the chances of getting a fast pair from it are much higher.
How do you choose skis for a specific start?
Each pair is printed with a specific font indicating the conditions for which it is suitable. This applies to both structure and rigidity. For a hard route you need harder pairs, for a soft route - accordingly, softer ones. Initially, all our skis are ready-made, “in paraffin”. When it becomes clear what the forecast is for the launch day, approximately ten pairs are selected that correspond to the given weather. There is a “rolling” of skis, all ten pairs, the day before the start. This is done by members of the service team, and their work is physically very difficult. Let's say, on Saturday the guys in our team rode from 25 to 36 kilometers, testing each pair from among the likely candidates for the super mixed and mixed relay. Gradually the circle narrows and by evening there are already about six couples left. In the morning we apply the same coating to them as yesterday and give them a final ride an hour or two before the start, leaving one pair, which we recommend to the athlete for the race.
The most difficult thing is when the weather changes on the fly, that is, it is impossible to predict half an hour before the start in what conditions the biathlete will go for the distance, and even more so, in what conditions he will complete it. Here you have to trust your experience, knowledge, and somewhat intuition.
It happens that you get up at night and see that it’s snowing, and you have to leave earlier, not five, but seven hours before the start, in order to have time to make adjustments to the preparation of your skis. Without breakfast, you rush to the track...
Thirty-six kilometers - just to choose skis!?
There are more. This happens when the weather is difficult, constantly changing, or, for example, someone from the service team gets sick or injured and needs to be replaced, while not forgetting about their work. Once in Italy I managed 42 km. Under standard conditions - from fifteen to thirty-five. But imagine that you have to do this almost every day, because the biathletes’ calendar is very busy, and in Anterselva it’s in mid-mountain conditions, where you can’t even breathe. That’s why we have six people in our service team, and all of them are former skiers or biathletes, international masters of sports. That is, people who love this sport and understand it, who are ready not to see their families for six months in order to do the work of a servicer in the Russian national team.
You also have to work with toxic paraffins and powders. How dangerous is this?
All these things are very toxic. At the melting temperatures to which they need to be heated in order to be applied to the surface of the ski, they begin to release fluoride compounds that enter the lungs, hair, and skin. We work in gloves and respirators. It’s good that we now have a mobile waxing cabin, which has very good hoods; this reduces the gas pollution in the room when the ski preparation process is underway. But still, smoke is smoke, it penetrates everywhere, and it is impossible to completely protect yourself from it.
What are you working with that can be bought by ordinary people, ordinary ski enthusiasts?
They can do something, but mostly we get the products of tomorrow. The elite of cross-country skiing and biathlon act as testers for the top lines. That is, the skis we have now will be repainted in a different color next season and presented as a model for everyone. Maybe they will simplify the design of the ski box a little so that they are easier and cheaper to manufacture. It’s the same with powders: we test new developments - some successful, others absolutely disastrous - and give feedback to the manufacturer.
“We are rarely accused of all sins”
Applying the structure develops the surface - how long does one pair last?
Yes, sooner or later there comes a time when a pair needs to be retired, at least at the elite sporting level. The service life depends on the intensity of use; some pairs, intended, for example, for very cold weather, are rarely used and last longer.
What do they do with skis that have become unusable?
They're not completely broken. They are transferred to the training category or transferred to children's schools. You can still ski on them, it’s just that these skis are no longer suitable for top-level competitions.
Do athletes have favorite pairs?
Each biathlete has a certain pool of pairs, usually about five, that he prefers. As a rule, these are products that are outstanding in their characteristics, but there are also “happy” pairs. They say that Fourcade runs on only three main pairs, despite the fact that he has more than twenty of them at his disposal.
Is it a shame when an athlete, after a defeat, blames the servicers?
We do a huge amount of work - we roll skis, select powders, try, change something, try again. The working day is not standardized at all, and it is really physically difficult. In addition, it is associated with injuries - for example, I broke a rib last year. Someone has a cold. And it’s one thing when you see that snow has stuck to the skis and they really didn’t move - here the servicer’s mistake is obvious; It’s completely different when visually everything is in order, and it’s not clear what’s wrong with the skis. Usually, if a biathlete loses his stroke, we, on the contrary, try to pay more attention to him, look for some options, and support him. Skis are easier to remake than an athlete. A tired person needs time to recover, which sometimes is not there, but skis can be corrected quite quickly.
Therefore, of course, it’s a shame when all mistakes are attributed to servicers. But they say this very rarely. We have specific biathletes assigned to each servicer, these teams always work in very good contact, everyone hears, understands and feels each other. The team should be a team, and I don’t remember any big failures being blamed entirely on the servicers.
The most valuable reward for us is when an athlete comes into the box to thank him for his work and say that the skis rode great. But getting on a broadcast, giving an interview, becoming recognizable - it’s better not to come to the service team for such goals.
Where are you during the race?
We stand on the slope, trying to choose a place on the descent to evaluate how the skis go.
Have there been cases of skis being stolen from wax booths at races?
I don't remember this.
What differences exist between the main biathlon circuits in terms of your work?
They all have a different snow structure. I already mentioned the middle mountains in Anterselva, because of this it is difficult to roll on the skis, plus there is a large circle there, 1200 meters, and if you do one circle for each pair, and even with the selection of powder, then a very serious amount of rolling is obtained. In Oberhof there is dirty snow, there is a coniferous forest, and needles with resin fall on the track. When you look at the surface of the ski after the race, it is all black because of the resin that sticks as you go. Therefore, often the skis go well the first round, and then get worse and worse due to all these contaminants.
Can range mats affect your skis during a race?
There are no mats themselves, but sometimes pebbles get stuck in them and can scratch the sliding surface.
Do you have days off?
What do people like you do in the summer?
Well, in order to run forty kilometers on skis every day in the winter, you also need to train in the summer. So we keep in shape. We also visit companies and choose pairs for the winter. Previously, there was an opportunity to go to a glacier in Norway in the summer to test skis, but the surface there is slightly different, in general, we don’t go there now. And so, we take a break from this toxic activity and exhale fluoride compounds from ourselves.