BNS News

Happy October! The first races of the season must be fast approaching--skis are flooding into our service department to be stone ground and race wax is starting to go out the door.

We've got plenty to announce this month as we barrel headlong into ski season. Our new magazine has been printed and is in the mail, we've started importing Gallium, the Secret Sauce from Japan, and are welcoming David Chamberlain as our new Race Service Director.

We're working to make this BNS Newsletter into a racing resource for you by adding two semi-regular features that are intended to help you become a better, faster, stronger and happier skier. This week is the first week of Chambo Chat, where BNS Race Service Director David Chamberlain will discuss his thoughts and ideas on ski training and technique. We're also very excited to be introducing Knut's Corner, an opportunity to have some Q&A with Knut Nystad, the head of the Norwegian Ski Federation's service team.

Have a happy Halloween and be safe on those rollerskis. We'll see you out on the trails soon!

--The BNS Team

New Edition of BNS Magazine

The 2011-2012 Edition is Here!

After months of hard labor, we are pleased to announce that this season's BNS Magazine has finally been published! The theme of this year's edition is "Race Day Preparation" and we hope that it will be a resource that can help to give you an edge on race day.

One of the most notable features for this year is our new Articles section. Some of BNS' coaching friends have generously become guest contributors; sharing some of their wisdom gained on the college, national and international race circuits.

The 2011-2012 BNS Magazine also carries on the tradition of providing unbiased wax selection menus, ski-service instruction, stone grinding information and as always, the latest and greatest skis, boots, poles, waxes, clothing and more.

If you are already on our mailing list, you should be receiving your copy in the mail over the next few weeks. If you would like a copy of your own and you haven't signed up yet, stop by our stores in Boulder, CO or Portland, ME or request one here!

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Gallium

The Special Secret Sauce from Japan

Gallium Wax first came to my attention at the Liberec World Championships in 2009. I came in with my test fleet and reported the results. The wax guys were applying topcoats for me to test and they pulled out this weird container wrapped in tape and dabbed some liquid from it onto one pair of test skis. It was almost race time, so I headed out onto the race course with four topcoats to test by feel. I stepped on one of the skis and it was so much faster than everything else I could tell it was going to win the test before the ski even started moving. It was improbably slippery.

Later I discovered that the slippery ski was the Special Secret Sauce. I begged and pleaded for them to tell me what it was, but I couldn't pull the secret from them. A year later at the Olympics, we went through many bottles of the secret stuff with the same result: ridiculous, improbable, stunning speed. And this was at major championships where everything was tested.

The sauce in the disguised container turned out to be a liquid from a Japanese company called Gallium Wax. This particular liquid turned out to be "Gigaspeed MaxFluor Liquid" in their latest lineup. It seems to really take off in warm snow, especially when more transformed and dirty.

We contacted Gallium Wax in the summer of 2011 after talking to the Norwegian distributor at the Oslo World Championships where Gallium continued to produce stunning results. We bring in the Gallium line with a little hesitation as it is ludicrously expensive and we don't have much experience with the rest of the line aside from a few of the liquids. But after having experienced magically fast skis with the MaxFluor liquid, we decided that it would be worth the investment to bring in the waxes we know produce results and spend a season testing the rest of the line to see if we can discover some new gems. Fire up the credit card and enjoy!

-Nathan

Check it out online!

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David Chamberlain Joins the BNS Team

David Chamberlain leads the pack at the 2009 Birkie

BNS Welcomes Our New Race Service Director

David Chamberlain has recently signed on as our new Race Service Director and we couldn't be more excited. David joins us from the Maine Winter Sports Center where he has most recently been coaching their junior development team.

A Maine native, Chamberlain skied for Bates College from 1994-1998, earning All-American honors twice during his collegiate career. After college, David continued to race, skiing for the Subaru Factory Team and Fischer. During his professional career, he represented the United States at three World Championships and won the overall Super Tour twice.

If you're a fan of World Cup biathlon, you have most likely seen David's wife, BethAnn. Chamberlain married the Minnesotan back in 2006, but due to major international skiing competition, they just finally had their honeymoon this year. Keep an eye out for BethAnn on the International Biathlon Union's (IBU) website www.biathalonworld.com and check out her blog spot at http://bambambiathlon.blogspot.com/view/classic

David will be heading up the Race Service Department at BNS headquarters in Boulder this fall and will be hitting the road with the BNS Mobile trailer for the race season. He will also be contributing some thoughts on training and technique through our new feature "Chambo Chat" in our BNS News emails.

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Chambo Chat

By David Chamberlain

Specific Strength Ideas and the Transition to Snow

For cross country skiers, the majority of preparation time before the season is unfortunately done off the snow and using modes of training that do not exactly mirror the technique and motions used on snow. As a result, the transition to snow in the late fall/early winter often can be slow and awkward. Specific-strength workouts target the muscles and motions we use in skiing techniques and can be a great way to make this transition as smooth as possible. As an athlete training for my winter season, I would use specific-strength workouts on a weekly basis throughout the summer and fall.

The best specific strength workouts are those carried out on rollerskis for varying lengths and duration.

Double-pole workouts work very well for upper body and core strength. It is important to choose terrain that has rolling terrain with grades steep enough to stress the body but not so steep as to compromise technique. This will allow for maintaining concentration on keeping the hips up and forward as well as keeping the head and neck relaxed. These workouts can be continuous and carried out for up to an hour.

Single-stick workouts are also very good training for poling muscles. For these workouts, use slight uphills and keep the core stable and engaged. As for skating, technique and muscle strength can also be enhanced by using no-pole workouts, both V1 and V2.

Whatever the specific-strength rollerski workout, keep your pole tips sharp and rollerskis clean and in good condition. Rollerski ferrules are well worth the extra cost as they are made from a harder material than regular ski pole tips and stand up much better against hard pavement. A helmet is also a must when rollerskiing.

As the transition to snow is made, it can be helpful to spend a few workouts in the first weeks on snow doing some no pole work. As an elite athlete I would spend a little time each day at my first on-snow training camp skiing both classic and skate without poles. This gave me time to focus on correct body position and balance without relying on the advantage of poles.

As a last thought, specific-strength workouts can be a great diversion on a long workout in the winter, a chance to break up the kilometers of a long distance ski. On-snow specific-strength workouts can be done in the same way as rollerski workouts, and are a good way to keep the body tuned and ready for whatever the next event might be.

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Knut's Corner

Your Questions Answered by the Norwegian Ski Federation Service Chief!
And now for something that we're very excited about: Knut Nystad is the chief of the Norwegian Ski Federation Service Team and a friend of ours. This year, Knut has agreed to do some Q&A with BNS customers and will be answering some of your questions about ski service and equipment in our BNS Newsletters. To submit a question, please send it to knut@bouldernordic.com and keep your eyes open for answers in subsequent editions of BNS News. Several submitted questions will be selected and answered every few weeks.

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