Key result
Faster cross-country skiers demonstrated more even pacing, with pacing becoming less even as race time increased (r=0.900 in women and r=0.908 in men; p<0.001).
Observational (n=183,919)
p-value: p=<0.001
Fast cross-country skiers exhibit more even pacing strategies compared to slower skiers, with women demonstrating a slightly larger pace range than men.
Even pacing associated with faster ski times; leaves open whether pacing training improves endurance performance.
The aim of the study was to examine the effect of performance group by race time (10 groups;<3 h, 3–4 h, and so on up to>12 h) on pacing in women (n=19,465) and men (n=164,454) finishers in the ‘Vasaloppet’ cross-country (XC) skiing race from 2004 to 2017. The speed in the fastest and slowest split was analysed as a percentage of the mean race speed and pacing was defined as the difference (%) between the fastest and slowest split. Women had a larger pace range than men (44.0±10.6% versus 41.1±12.5%, respectively, p<0.001, d=0.25). An almost perfect relationship between performance group and pacing was observed in women (r=0.900, p<0.001) and men (r=0.908, p<0.001). A large main effect of performance on pacing was observed in women (p<0.001, η2=0.292), where the smaller range was in the<4 h group (22.8±3.3%) and the largest in the 10–11 h group (49.2±9.9%). In men, the corresponding values were 21.6±2.2% (<3 h group) and 51.6±11.2% (10–11 h group; p<0.001, η2=0.474). Based on these findings, it was concluded that fast XC skiers had relatively the most even pacing and pacing became less even with decreasing performance. This information is of practical value for coaches working with XC skiers to develop optimal sex- and performance-tailored pacing strategies.
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Nikolaidis et al. (2018) conducted an observational in Cross-country skiers (n=183,919). Performance group by race time vs. Other performance groups was evaluated on Pacing (difference between the fastest and slowest split as a percentage of mean race speed) (p=<0.001). Faster cross-country skiers demonstrated more even pacing, with pacing becoming less even as race time increased (r=0.900 in women and r=0.908 in men; p<0.001).
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