Key result
Fast nationalities like Russians exhibit more even pacing strategies than slower nationalities like Denmark.
Observational (n=183,919)
Effect estimate: η2 = 0.016-0.019
p-value: p=< 0.001
Fast nationalities present a more even pacing in cross-country skiing, likely reflecting a general trend of fast athletes for more even pacing.
Nationality differences in Vasaloppet pacing likely reflect performance levels; hypothesis-generating for endurance strategy research.
It has been previously observed that athletes of certain origin nationality dominate particular sports; however, this phenomenon has been less studied in cross-country (XC) skiing, especially with regards to performance-related aspects, such as pacing. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of nationality on pacing strategies of XC skiers who finished the “Vasaloppet” from 2004 to 2017. We studied 183,919 finishers (19,465 women and 164,454 men), classified into 15 nationalities, i.e. nationalities with number of finishers larger than 0.25% of the total number of finishers. In women, athletes from Russia (7:47:46 h:min:s) were the fastest and athletes from Denmark (10:01:03 h:min:s) the slowest (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.057). In men, athletes from Russia (6:33:03 h:min:s) were the fastest and athletes from Denmark (9:03:27 h:min:s) the slowest (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.069). In women and men, a small nationality× split interaction on speed was observed (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.016–0.019) with Russians presenting a more even pacing compared to their slower counterparts. It was concluded that fast nationalities present a more even pacing, which should be attributed to the general trend of fast athletes for a more even pacing.
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Nikolaidis et al. (2018) conducted an observational in Healthy athletes (cross-country skiers) (n=183,919). Nationality (e.g., Russian) vs. Other nationalities (e.g., Danish) was evaluated on Race speed and pacing strategy (nationality × split interaction) (η2 = 0.016-0.019, p=< 0.001). Fast nationalities, such as Russians, presented a more even pacing strategy compared to slower nationalities like Denmark (p < 0.001).
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