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Cited by 160Sports Performance and TrainingWinter Sports Injuries and PerformanceSport Psychology and Performance

A Reappraisal of Success Factors for Olympic Cross-Country Skiing

Sandbakk, Øyvind, Holmberg, Hans-Christer·2014·International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
DOI 10.1123/ijspp.2013-0373
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Abstract

Cross-country (XC) skiing has been an Olympic event since the first Winter Games in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Due to more effective training and tremendous improvements in equipment and track preparation, the speed of Olympic XC-ski races has increased more than that of any other Olympic endurance sport. Moreover, pursuit, mass-start, and sprint races have been introduced. Indeed, 10 of the 12 current Olympic competitions in XC skiing involve mass starts, in which tactics play a major role and the outcome is often decided in the final sprint. Accordingly, reappraisal of the success factors for performance in this context is required. The very high aerobic capacity (VO 2max) of many of today’s world-class skiers is similar that of their predecessors. At the same time, the new events provide more opportunities to profit from anaerobic capacity, upper-body power, high-speed techniques, and “tactical flexibility.” The wide range of speeds and slopes involved in XC skiing requires skiers to continuously alternate between and adapt different subtechniques during a race. This technical complexity places a premium on efficiency. The relative amounts of endurance training performed at different levels of intensity have remained essentially constant during the past 4 decades. However, in preparation for the Sochi Olympics in 2014, XC skiers are performing more endurance training on roller skis on competition-specific terrain, placing greater focus on upper-body power and more systematically performing strength training and skiing at high speeds than previously.

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  • Longer Olympic-distance cross-country ski events range from ~20-50 min for the 10 individual and 20 km Skiathlon races to ~2-21⁄2 h for the 50-km mass start.

    “Longer Olympic‐distance events range from ~20–50 min for the 10 individual and 20 km Skiathlon (10 + 10 km) races to ~2–2½ h for the 50‐km mass start [20, 21].”

    From Carbohydrate Storage and Supplementation Strategies for Peak Performance in Cross-Country Skiing (2026) · cites this paper as [20]

  • Elite cross-country skiers exhibit some of the highest documented aerobic capacities: V̇O2max ≈80-90 and 70-80 mL kg−1 min−1 for men and women, respectively; maximal ventilation up to ~200-250 L min−1; stroke volumes exceeding 200 mL; and cardiac output greater than 35-40 L min−1 during race-specific exercise.

    “Physiologically, elite skiers exhibit some of the highest documented aerobic capacities: V̇O2max ≈80–90 and 70–80 mL kg−1 min−1 for men and women, respectively; maximal ventilation up to ~200–250 L min−1; stroke volumes exceeding 200 mL; and cardiac output greater than 35–40 L min−1 during race‐specific exercise [19, 20].”

    From Carbohydrate Storage and Supplementation Strategies for Peak Performance in Cross-Country Skiing (2026) · cites this paper as [20]

  • The physiological demands of elite cross-country skiing include exceptionally high V̇O2peak and efficiency across multiple sub-techniques, capacity for repeated supramaximal bursts, and physiological resilience to maintain technical precision and tactical execution under metabolic fatigue.

    “In summary, the physiological demands of elite cross‐country skiing (and similarly of the endurance component of biathlon and Nordic combined) include: (i) exceptionally high V̇O2peak and efficiency across multiple sub‐techniques; (ii) the capacity for repeated supramaximal bursts; and (iii) the physiological resilience to maintain technical precision and tactical execution under metabolic fatigue”

    From Carbohydrate Storage and Supplementation Strategies for Peak Performance in Cross-Country Skiing (2026) · cites this paper as [20]

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Authors
Sandbakk, Ø., & Holmberg, H.-C.
Affiliations
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
Publisher
Human Kinetics
Published
2014-01
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
117-121
ISSN
  • 1555-0265 (ISSN-L)
  • 1555-0273
DOI
10.1123/ijspp.2013-0373
OpenAlex
W2121086932
Cited by
160
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1
FWCI
13.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Winter Sports Injuries and Performance
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
Keywords
cross-country skiing, Olympic performance, success factors, anaerobic capacity, upper body power, skiing technique, endurance training, roller skis, resistance training, VO2max, Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Physiological, Biomechanical Phenomena, Humans, Oxygen Consumption, Physical Endurance, Physical Fitness, Skiing, Athletic Performance, Resistance Training, Physical Conditioning, Human

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