Pacing Strategy in Long Distance Cross-Country Skiing
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Faculty of health Pacing Strategy in Long Distance Cross-Country Skiing A study looking at female and male cross-country skiers at different performance level and how the track topography may influence their pacing strategy. Eva Bjørkesett Master’s thesis in Sport Science, May 2019 Abstract Background: The pacing strategy applied by athletes has significant effect on their performance in endurance sports. Although several studies have investigated pacing in different endurance sports, little information is known about pacing strategies in long distance cross-country (XC) skiing, for both sexes. This master thesis presents a novel approach to investigate what kind of pacing strategy elite and non-elite skiers perform during a long distance XC skiing race, and if different terrain will influence their pacing strategy. We’ve estimated the skiers lap times on every passed 10 km, uphill and downhill terrain. Method: On the same day 100 XC skiers (50 female and 50 male skiers) completed an individual time trial in a Norwegian national championship, of long distance. Female XC skiers completed a 30 km race, while male XC skiers completed a 50 km in free technique. The trial was 10 km long. Emit Time Station ETS1 recorder split times of number of laps, time used in one chosen uphill terrain and one downhill terrain. Results: Independent of performance level, both groups of female and male XC skiers decrease in average lap times in all measured distances (10 km lap, uphill and downhill terrain) with strong statistical significant p<0.01. Female and male elite group (EG) adopt a more even positive pacing strategy, than female and male non-elite group (NEG). Conclusion: The main findings of the current study were (I) XC skiers employ a general positive pacing on a lap-to-lap basis, independent on terrain, sex and performance level. (II) Non-elite skiers tend to have a fast start with difficulty to optimize even pacing strategy and significant fall in performance. (III) Pacing strategy in uphill terrain reflects overall pacing strategy of the performance. II Sammendrag Bakgrunn: Løpsutviklingen som utholdenhetsidretter har stor innflytelse på prestasjonen. Selv om flere studier har undersøkt løpsutvikling i flere idretter, er det lite informasjon om løpsutviklingen til langdistanse langrennsløpere, og for begge kjønn. Denne masteroppgaven undersøker hva slags løpsutviklingen utøverne adapterer i et langdistanseløp, og om ulike terreng vil påvirke deres løpsutvikling. Vi har gjennomsnitt tid på hver passerte 10 km, tid i motbakke og i utforkjøring. Hensikt: Målet med denne studien var (1) å undersøke forskjellene i løpsutvikling hos utøvere på ulike prestasjonsnivåer (elite og ikke-elite utøvere) i langrenn, hos 50 kvinner og 50 menn på langdistanse renn, fristil. Videre, (2) undersøke hvordan rundetid og ulikt terreng påvirker prestasjonen og hvordan forskjellene mellom to ulike nivåer kan påvirke sluttiden og resultatene. Metode: 100 deltakere, 50 kvinner (25 eliteutøvere og 25 ikke-elite utøvere) og 50 menn (25 eliteutøvere og 25 ikke-elite utøvere) som har gått NM-mesterskap på 30 km og 50 km, fristil. Målinger av rundetid (hver 10 km), tid i motbakke hver runde, og tid i motbakke hver runde Resultat: Uavhengig av prestasjonsnivå, reduserer kvinnelige og mannlige langrennsløpere gjennomsnittstiden i alle målte distanser (10 km runde, motbakke og nedoverbakke) med sterk statistisk signifikant p<0.01. Kvinnelige og mannlige eliteutøvere (EG) gjennomfører en jevnere løpsutvikling enn kvinnelige og mannlige ikke-elite-utøvere (NEG). Konklusjon: De viktigste funnene i den nåværende studien var (I) langrennsløpere anvender en positiv løpsutvikling i et runde-til-runde grunnlag, uavhengig av terreng, kjønn og prestasjonsnivå. (II) Ikke-elite skiløpere har en tendens til å ha en rask start med vanskeligheter med å opprettholde en jevn løpsutvikling og har betydelig fall i prestasjon. (III) Løpsutviklingen i motbakke terreng reflekterer løpsutviklingen generelt i løpet. III Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to announce a big thank you to my dear supervisor Tor Oskar Thomassen! Congratulation for being an outstanding supervisor another year, and making students believe in ourselves. Thank you for your effort in reading, writing, correcting! Thank you for motivational support and constructive comments. And last but not least, thank you for being inspirational in life and as a role model with your heart for sport. Thank you to Kjell Hines from The Arctic University of Norway for help with data analysis. You were a huge help with statistical representations. Your knowledge about STATA and SPSS have been an important brick for me to learn and understand more statistics. To my Danish genius Rikki: Thank you so much for using several hours of your life helping me in Excel! Don’t think I even would be finish with the statistics by now if it weren’t for your help. Thank you Pamela and Astrid for reviewing my thesis! Last but not least, I can’t thank my boyfriend John Vegard and my loving family enough! Thank you girlfriends and friends for encouraging and cheering on me. You have all supported me through frustration, ups and downs the last year as a student (for now). Thank you for believing in my decisions and me! Eva Bjørkesett Alta, May 2019 IV Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 How the thesis is organized .................................................................................... 3 2 Theory .................................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 The History of Cross-Country Skiing (XCS) ................................................................ 5 2.1.1 History of Cross-Country Skiing (XCS) and Women ............................................ 6 2.2 Characteristics of Long Distance Cross-Country Skiing (XCS) ................................... 8 2.3 Development in The Competition Form Cross-Country Skiing (XCS) ........................ 9 2.4 Performance Factors and Demands in Cross-Country Skiing (XCS) ......................... 11 2.5 Physiological Demands in Long Distance Cross-Country Skiing (XCS) ................... 12 2.6 Heart and Blood .......................................................................................................... 13 2.7 Maximal oxygen uptake .............................................................................................. 15 2.8 Aerobic and Anaerobe Capacity ................................................................................. 16 2.9 Rest and Recovery by Gjerset, Raastad, and Nilsson (2015) ...................................... 18 2.10 Athletic Performance and Nutrition .......................................................................... 20 2.11 Psychological Factors in Cross-Country Skiing (XCS) ............................................ 20 2.12 Equipment ................................................................................................................. 22 2.13 Development of technique ........................................................................................ 23 2.13.1 Sub Techniques in Free Technique .................................................................... 24 2.14 Tactical Demands ...................................................................................................... 29 2.15 Modern Cross-Country Skiing (XCS): Individual Changes in The Skier ................. 30 2.16 Specificity .................................................................................................................. 30 2.17 Pacing ........................................................................................................................ 31 2.17.1 Regulation of Pacing .......................................................................................... 33 2.17.2 The Anticipatory Component ............................................................................. 33 2.17.3 The Feedback and Regulation of Intensity ......................................................... 35 V 2.18 Pacing Strategy .......................................................................................................... 35 2.18.1 Pacing Strategy in Cross-Country Skiing ........................................................... 37 2.19 Sex Differences in Pacing Strategy ........................................................................... 37 2.20 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 40 2.21 Hypothesis ................................................................................................................. 40 3 Method ............................................................................................................................... 42 3.1 Scientific Point of View – Epistemology .................................................................... 42 3.1.1 Subjects ................................................................................................................ 44 3.2 General Design ............................................................................................................ 45 3.3 Time Trial .................................................................................................................... 45 3.3.1 Track Topography ...............................................................................................