Every June, the Madshus service crew spends weeks on the snow at Sognefjellet (NOR) fine-tuning the gear for optimal performance.
This week, the Madshus service techs have worked with the Norwegian national cross-country team, next week the biathletes arrive. The idea is that the national wax teams have a chance to learn the properties of the skis and how to optimize each pair well in advance of the race season. Working side by side with the Madshus service crew, the wax techs have a walking help desk on site, and a both sides can exchange experiences and test results, says Madshus service tech Peter Blom.
“The national team wax techs now have all the athletes’ skis for the upcoming season, and can test individually with the athletes. Also, with more time on snow, athletes who were missing race skis for certain conditions can work with us and their wax team to find a pair or two that will fill those holes,” explains Blom.
“The plan was to test all the new wet snow and warm conditions skis, but with the weather weve had in the beginning of this week with full on winter blizzards, we could have brought the cold snow skis as well,” says Blom, adding that most of the cold snow skis will be tested in the fall, just prior to the 2015-16 World Cup season.
“We’re actually pretty lucky that we already completed a lot of the warm snow ski testing at Sjusjoen earlier this spring,” Blom says.
In addition to the Madshus ski techs, the athletes will also be able to adjust boot fitting at Sognefjellet. Jon Fewster, Madshus category manager for boots and poles, is on site to help with any fit or equipment issues pertaining his product categories.