Competitive Demands and Performance-Determining Variables in Olympic Ski Mountaineering

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Ski Mountaineering

Background:

• Ski mountaineering is an emerging winter sport with distinct Sprint and Mixed-Relay formats.
• Understanding the physiological demands and performance determinants is crucial for athlete development and training optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the competitive physiological demands in male and female ski mountaineers.
• To identify performance-determining variables in the Sprint and Mixed-Relay formats.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of performance data from 76 ski mountaineers (36 female) in a World Cup event.
• Maximal and supramaximal exercise testing (intensity > VO2max) on 20 ski mountaineers (11 female).
• Physiological monitoring during race conditions for a subgroup of 10 ski mountaineers (5 female).

Main Results:

• Both formats elicited near-maximal cardiac responses (>95% HRmax).
• Sprint showed higher ascent speed and greater reliance on lactic anaerobic metabolism (blood lactate 12.9 vs 6.3 mmol/L) compared to Mixed Relay.
• Uphill skiing time dominated performance (80-90% variance), with transitions explaining 10-15% variance. Skiing speed at the second ventilatory threshold and maximal speed at VO2max test end predicted Mixed Relay performance. Maximal sustainable skiing speed over 2 minutes predicted Sprint performance.

Conclusions:

• Athletes and coaches should customize training based on specific race demands: near-maximal to maximal intensities for Mixed Relay and supramaximal intensities for Sprint.
• These findings offer valuable insights for ski mountaineering disciplines, particularly in preparation for the Winter Olympics.