Pole Length Influences Performance During On-Snow Skating in Female Cross-Country Skiers.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the efect of pole length on performance and technique selection during a simulated skating cross-country (XC) skiing competition on snow in female XC skiers. Methods Nine female XC skiers and biathletes (VO2max 63.6±6.2 mL/min/kg, age 22.9±3.5 years, body height 1.69±0.1 m and body mass 60.8±4.6 kg) completed two 5-km skating time-trail with maximal efort. The athletes had a minimum 4.5 h of rest between the two races, which were performed in a random order: one with self-selected poles (89.0%±0.6% of body height) and one with 7.5 cm increased pole length (94.0%±0.5% of body height). Speed in set terrain sections was determined and the selection of sub-technique was self-reported immediately after each race based on a detailed review of the entire track. Results Skiers performed on average 7.1±7.1 s (P=0.029) faster with the long poles, with this diference occurring during the frst 200 m and in the uphill parts of the track, in which~5% more G3 and ~5% fewer G2 sub-techniques were chosen (both P