How to practice 🎹

Speed doesn't come from doing everything faster. It comes from not doing things that don't matter.

Entering a transition zone 🛬

Regardless of the transition type, approaching a transition zone has a handful of common actions.

Skin to Ski: Single Rips❗

At the top of each climb, a skimo racer must switch from uphill skinning to downhill skiing and do it in less than 30 seconds to be competitive.

Skin to Ski: Double Rip ‼️

After the final ascent, the change from skinning to skiing is unique. Instead of two single-skin rips, it's much faster to double-rip both skins and stuff the sticky mess in your suit.

Skin to Boot 🥾

Bootpacks are too steep to skin, so racers must switch from skinning to booting. With practice, a bootpack transition can be done in a few seconds.

Boot to Skin 🦿

Bootpack sections, especially in the sprint event, often end with more skinning. Transitioning from booting to skinning is the shortest transition and often only takes a few seconds.

Ski to Skin 🦿

At the bottom of each climb, a skimo racer must switch from uphill skinning to uphill skinning and do it in less than 60 seconds to be competitive.

Boot to Ski ⛷️

Exiting a transition zone 🛫

Regardless of the transition type, leaving a transition zone has a handful of common actions.

The Pure Speed Cheat Sheet

By starting a macrocycle at the extreme of speed, an athlete can start to build a "speed base."