Jean-Marc Draeyer, Man Who Picked SLABs For You ( If You Are Maja Dahlqvist That Is)

Jean-Marc Draeyer, Man Who Picked SLABs For You ( If You Are Maja Dahlqvist That Is)

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Meet Jean-Marc Draeyer, Salomon Nordic head of race ski production. " Production" means that Jean-Marc calls Altenmark im Pongau his home ( and not Annecy where Salomon Nordic's main unit is located) and makes sure that Maja Dahlqvist and Sjur Rothe along with other Salomon athletes get best gear to fight for the podiums. S/LAB Carbons and Redster Carbons are made on the same production line, by the same skilled workers but are very, very different skis, developed by two different teams. Moreover, the Carbons Sjur and Maja use and those you could buy in your nearest friendly Intersport or XXL are made exactly the same, from the same components by the same people. What's different is that Jean-Marc and personal waxers of the stars have a first peak of…
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Russians Reveal New Racing Suits – We Love Them And So Will You

Russians Reveal New Racing Suits – We Love Them And So Will You

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That time of the year again: the teams start to reveal their new racing suits for the upcoming season. Looks like the Russians beat everyone else this year - and their new suit is a bomb! ...Last year the Russian apparel giant Bosco di Ciliegi (yeah, with very Italian name - welcome to the new globalized world) stepped in at the very last moment as Adidas decided to stop sponsoring all Nordic sports. The first attempt wasn't a failure - in fact many, ourself included, liked that Soviet Constructivism design of the Russian suits 2018/19. But just-revealed successor, the 2019/20 racing piece (or two - depending on your preference) is a quite a step forward nonetheless. Pictures speak for themselves, but we shall add a few words: - The new…
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What Is That Brand Russians Are Dressed In

What Is That Brand Russians Are Dressed In

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Team Russia racing suits are made by Bosco di Ciliegi or Cherry Woods. Despite very Italian sounding name , the company is actually Russian - and huge, employing some 5000 people with dozens of uni-brand stores. [caption id="attachment_12900" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bosco logo got quite a bit of television exposure already in its first season of sponsorship of Team Russia - here's 1-2-3-4 Russian finish at Holmenkollen 50k last season [/caption] Anybody who's ever been to Moscow, had likely stopped at the GUM by Red Square, country's premier department store. Well, it's leased in full by Bosco and also contains its flagship brand store. With such a location one would suspect it's fancy - an it is, with winter parkas, for instance, in excess of 1000 euros in ruble equivalent. It…
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Peek Inside Cologna Ski Center

Peek Inside Cologna Ski Center

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The town of Davos has two claims to fame: the annual World Economic Forum and the fact that Dario Cologna for the last circa ten years lives there. The latter is actually more obvious throughout the year - even if not as well-covered by media. [caption id="attachment_12678" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Swiss national performance center for cross-country skiing is located right in the middle of the Alpine resort town[/caption] [caption id="attachment_12682" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The fact that last year it was named after Dario is significant in itself - not exactly a Swiss tradition to name facilities after active athletes[/caption] [caption id="attachment_12681" align="alignnone" width="1920"] but the fact that they - wait for it - allocated a separate, personalized parking space for the quadruple Olympic champion speaks volumes of his status in town [/caption][caption…
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Meet New OW Boss, Not Same As Old Boss

Meet New OW Boss, Not Same As Old Boss

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Some 14 months after purchasing One Way back in May 2018, Fischer Sports have appointed a new manager for the brand. Severin Lehner is a long-time Fischer Sports employee but his background appears to be fully in Alpine rather than cross country skiing. Whether it indicates any change of strategy or will OW continue to be producing stuff primarily for "skinny skiing" shall be seen. What's clear, however, is that Fischer Sports, the world's biggest xcski equipment producer and one of the biggest overall in winter sports, has decided to keep One Way separate rather than amalgamating it into its own brand. Many a star who used to run with SLG 10 poles have continued to do so after the ownership change last year - although there were some who…
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