01Nov 2019 by DS News Team
Rollerski Market: Yearly Review

Rollerski Market: Yearly Review

Gear News, Newsfeed
November 1st seems to be a good day to look back at what we saw on many a rollerski track & competition in the season behind us & to share the impressions. A couple of points before we start: - We absolutely refuse to be dragged into a conversation about which rollerskis are better and in what way. As far as we are concerned, the skiing public is discerning enough to make all the right choices. Choices both rational - and those determined by emotions. - There will be nothing said about the so-called "speed rollerskis: those 530mm rockets have evolved into pretty much a separate sport with its own technique, races, stars etc. It hardly overlaps any longer with snow skiing ( only in boots and poles, to be…
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31Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Straight From Source: Salomon Nordic Director Nicolas Stamos Talks About Gear & Business

Straight From Source: Salomon Nordic Director Nicolas Stamos Talks About Gear & Business

Gear News, Leaders, Newsfeed
..."We would only have a few minutes to say hello and for a few basic questions", messages the man who runs Salomon Nordic when we agree to meet at Atomic/ Amer Sports factory in Altenmarkt in Pongau where the French company produces its cross country skis. ....After an hour of ( very intense) conversation that covers just about every aspect of Salomon business in & around skiing , the conversation that several other staffers, responsible for race skis eventially join in, Nicolas Stamos finally says that the meeting he was actually coming for can't be delayed no more... Which is a massive pity - what Stamos & his team have managed to achieve in the last decade is nothing short of fascinating. But now everything makes perfect sense: they are…
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31Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Natalia Nepryaeva Becomes Chairwoman Of Regional Ski Association

Natalia Nepryaeva Becomes Chairwoman Of Regional Ski Association

Leaders, Newsfeed
#2 in the last season's FIS World Cup standings got an interesting additional role in her life and career. Natalia Nepryaeva was elected today a chairman of the regional ski association ( the Russians call them "regional federations" ) in her native Tver in a highly unusual move that we assess as both positive and promising. Tver is a region of some 1.3 million people and long established skiing traditions. To put it in perspective, Alex Bolshunov being born in Bryansk is quite a bit of a fluke - Nepryaeva coming from Tver is something to be expected. Traditionally, a title of the regional association boss went to either well-respected coach or top local ski philanthropist. In other words, somebody with a lot of experience and gravitas. The things started…
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30Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Guess Which Poles Won

Guess Which Poles Won

Gear News, Newsfeed
We are not sure why but a fact's a fact and we want to you to mull it over together with us: Every single one of Women's Top 10 in the FIS World Cup 2018/19 went to use Swix Triac poles. No exceptions! Here they are, Women's Top Ten 2018/19 [caption id="attachment_12508" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ingvild Flugstat Oestberg [/caption] [caption id="attachment_12905" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Natalia Nepryaeva [/caption] [caption id="attachment_10607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Therese Johaug[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Krista Parmakoski [/caption] [caption id="attachment_11484" align="alignnone" width="4176"] Stina Nilsson [/caption] [caption id="attachment_9791" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jessie Diggins[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11182" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ebba Andersson [/caption] [caption id="attachment_10938" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yulia Belorukova ( and Anastasia Sedova, another Swix poles user) [/caption] [caption id="attachment_13415" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maja Dahlqvist[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13414" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maiken Caspersen Falla[/caption] We could only congratulate…
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30Oct 2019 by DS News Team
IDT Goes SKF

IDT Goes SKF

Newsfeed, Training & Outfitting
IDT Solutions, rollerski supplier to the national teams of Norway, Sweden & Russia, have announced that the company is changing its approach to essential component sourcing: instead of several manufacturers of ball bearings , from now on there will be just one: Svenska Kullagerfabriken. Better known as SKF, the biggest and , likely, the most iconic name in that "bearing business" worldwide. Iconic brand products don't tend to come cheap. But IDT boss Svein Iversbakken thinks it's worth it: "We used to purchase ball bearings from four to five different suppliers. The quality has generally been very good, but we have discovered quality differences within the parties from the same suppliers. This has been a moment of uncertainty both for us as a manufacturer and for all skiers who use…
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