Iltalehti interviewed long-time ski expert Asko Lahdelmaa during the Olympics and asked what a winning ski is like.
- Asko Lahdelma, the former head of the Peltonen ski stable, analyzes the characteristics of racing skis during the Winter Olympics.
- Having coached the Italian national team, Lahdelma knows exactly what the Olympic terrains are like compared to the Finnish slopes.
- According to Lahdelma, skis have become so uniform between brands in recent years that it is difficult to achieve large differences with equipment alone.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that when you call perhaps Finland’s toughest ski expert, he replies that he was just on the slopes and that he won’t be able to be interviewed until a little later.
Asko Lahdelma had a working career of more than 40 years in the Finnish ski industry, and most of this he worked at the Peltonen ski factory.
At the Winter Olympics, Finns will once again be able to thrill to the achievements of the blue and white skiing heroes. In order to be successful, they still need impact-capable equipment, after all, skiing is also an equipment sport.
Lahdelma now explains to the bench athletes with all his might, what you can do in the car or why it runs like a dream.
– In ice skating, there are three sectors where the ski must be good. It must be stable to ski, i.e. in Potku, it must not vibrate underneath, but must slide freely and the skier must remain on top without straining.
– Secondly, the ski must be sensitive to the uphill, and it must not crash on the steep. And the third is a slide downhill, Lahdelma opens.
Holy Trinity
Correct lubrication is of primary importance to obtain a good result. Jussi Saarinen
In a simplified way, the significant difference between ice skating and the traditional way of skiing is, of course, the fact that ice skating does not have to stop in the same way.
According to Lahdelma, there are also three aspects of traditional success that must be in place.
– One is the grip, that the ski stops when the heel comes up and you make an effort with the toe.
– The second is the shift phase, when sliding. There Iivo Niskanen is the best. There must be 40–50 centimeters of space for the cream from the middle of the ski boot forward. That part must remain in the air during the shift phase, and it must not sag.
Lahdelma considers this to be extremely important.
– And thirdly, the ski must also slide downhill, he adds.
The butter nest decides
After this, Lahdelma goes deeper into the characteristics of the ski.
– In grip, the ski’s butter cup must be flexible enough to ensure that it will catch the cream on the trail. During the shift phase, the cream must be in the air, and during the kick phase, it must come down.
– Over the years, the shape of this cream nest has changed in such a way that more grip comes from under the foot. There must be space in it, because when a professional skier pedals, a large part of the weight is lost when kicking. So there must be room, but it must not be too stiff in the middle. If it is rewarded, the ski will slip.
Lahdelma continues that the height of the cream nest always rises as much as the cream softens.
And when the cream sticks to the slope, the skier gets a good grip.
– But there must be enough space under the foot so that the front part of the ski can also be pressed against the slope. If the cream thins, what happens is that you look for a stiffer ski, which then might not be able to hold, the expert reasons.
Pressure
With the right lubrication, skiing will be much more comfortable. PASI LEISMA
And when going downhill, both skating and traditional skis have to slide, as Lahdelma stated at the beginning.
If the pole doesn’t work when going downhill, you can easily ski past the hard one with a better ski.
When going downhill, the pressure area of the skis decides a lot.
– The rear pressure is briskly longer than the front. The pressure areas must be the right size for the hardness of the track and the moisture of the snow.
– Skiers have a choice because the skis have different pressure areas. And the height of the nest is another thing, Lahdelma reminds of the most important features.
Free legroom
According to Lahdelma, today’s skis seek “free footing”. What is it about?
– It means that when you put the skis opposite, there is an arc in between. It’s about 40 mil today for almost all brands. A few years ago, there could be 120 millimeters between the bottoms of two skis, Lahdelma compares.
There are no big differences between the brands here. A few years ago, there was more variation between ski brands.
According to Lahdelma, the brand difference used to be huge, but now the competition has leveled off because the ski business is relatively small. We want to sell the same material to everyone. According to the expert, today, different brands are made almost as “the same skis”.
“You can be a tough guy”
Lahdelma praises Iivo Niskanen for being the best at sliding the ski in the shift phase. Jussi Saarinen
Despite this, the equipment can be such that on the day of the race, even if the skier is in great shape, the race can be lost just by choosing poles.
– On a 15-kilometer trip, there is easily a difference of half a minute to a minute, and the ski can easily slip and there can be some bad choices when the pressure areas are not the right size, says Lahdelma.
– Yes, that’s where it gets tough, and a terribly tough guy must be able to win the race with an unsuccessful choice of skis.
When going to the Olympics, testing is thorough and takes time.
– That’s what the test groups in Finland and other countries do, they measure how high the nest should be and what the pressure areas are. This is done on an hourly basis at the competition venue, Lahdelma says.
– If someone’s pack doesn’t have some kind of ski, then it’s too bad, and you have to compensate with the amount of cream. In general, there must be enough cream for it to work in competitive skiing. If you don’t start with the right cream, you will have difficulty holding.
Familiar surroundings
Lahdelma coached the Italian national team for about four years.
Now the Olympics will be contested in familiar landscapes, when Milan-Cortina serves as the stage for the Olympics.
– Even the Finnish troika has really visited Italy, because it is different from Finland. Finding things related to choosing a ski, Lahdelma states and continues.
– The alpine climate is so unpredictable. Even though it’s in the plus, it’s powdery snow and damn tricky when it comes to sliding. I do trust the Finnish delegation to manage things.
Lahdelma does not believe that the circumstances will surprise the Finns. You still have to be alert so that your medal dreams don’t fall into the equipment.
– The snow in Central Europe is usually such that at night it can be 10 degrees below zero, and when it warms up, the snow can remain dry there. Then you have to apply for a different type. If the skis have played well in Finland, they won’t necessarily play there, concludes Lahdelma.
