Attend the Birkebeiner or other major American marathons and factory reps will show you next year’s skis. Look closely at TV coverage or photos of the Olympics and it is rare to see athletes with this new gear. Watch the finish line, athletes collapse and drool as they end the best race of their lives. Seconds later, a rep helps them off with the old skis and hands them next year’s skis with the shiny new graphics. The athletes of Team Atomic broke this tradition by competing on skating skis they received just days before their races and racing on new classic skis that arrived the morning of one of the first races. New skis need to offer a phenomenal level of performance to get Gold medal contenders to choose them over the trusted old skis that got them to the Olympics. This is especially true when the athletes only have a few minutes on their rest days to test the new skis. The skis, the new skis that is, can’t be just as good as the old skis to be chosen. It is not enough for the new skis to be just a little bit better than the old skis. Skis that have completely new profiles, sidecuts and constructions have to be incredible weapons to get the world’s top athletes to switch after just a few minutes of testing. Atomic’s newest models provided that level of performance at the Olympics and helped Team Atomic athletes win a total of 8 Gold medals, 11 Silver Medals and 5 Bronze medals in Nordic competition.
Giorgio Di Centa uses the new Worldcup Skate to take Gold in the men’s 50K. He received this particular pair just four days before this race! (Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The new Worldcup Skate replaces Atomic’s successful RS: 11. The new ski offers a unique profile and construction that make it the lightest racing ski on the circuit. The new ski offers the subtle glide and smooth feel of the original RS: 11 of two years ago while still having the same stability and control of the current RS: 11. The Worldcup Skate has the most gorgeous flex pattern Atomic has ever offered.
Andrea Henkel charging on the new Worldcup Skate for a podium finish in the women’s relay. (Credit: Jed Jacobson/Getty Images)
Atomic was especially excited that the medalists of the German Biathlon team chose to go with the new skis. This is a team that is anal to the point of being psychotic when it comes to testing skis. Atomic approached a number of national teams just days before the first race, but the reps were reluctant to go to the house where the German Biathlon team was staying. The day before the first race, several pairs of skis were given to one of the coaches as a courtesy. It was considered highly doubtful that the German Biathletes would even test the new skis with such short notice. Race day came and the Germans joined the French in using the new Worldcup Skate. The German team would go on to win 4 medals with the new skis that had minimal testing time.
Worldcup leader Tobias Angerer made the last minute switch to the Worldcup Classic for his Bronze. (Credit: Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
The new Worldcup Classic ski proved to be just as successful as the skate ski. The classic version has a unique sidecut that starts as a javelin cut from the tip to the midsection and then flares out and becomes wider at the tail. This design gives the Worldcup Classic the speed and glide of a traditional javelin cut, while the wider tail prevents rolling during the kick. The new Worldcup Classic was delivered to athletes while the Olympics were in progress. The race technicians were very doubtful that Worldcup points leader, Tobias Angerer, would switch to the new skis at this late date. He was leading in Worldcup points and it was doubtful he would choose something other than the skis that got him there. But with just minutes to go before his first race, Tobias was overwhelmed by the grip, glide and speed of the new Worldcup Classics. He took Bronze in the 15K classic with the new ski.
Editor’s note: Normally we rely on Atomic’s International Director of Nordic Racing, Peter Juric, to provide an interview for race results. Mr. Juric and staff have undergone extensive celebration over Team Atomic’s Olympic results. Input from Mr. Juric and staff will not be available until sometime after the Vasaloppet.
Attend the Birkebeiner or other major American marathons and factory reps will show you next year’s skis. Look closely at TV coverage or photos of the Olympics and it is rare to see athletes with this new gear. Watch the finish line, athletes collapse and drool as they end the best race of their lives. Seconds later, a rep helps them off with the old skis and hands them next year’s skis with the shiny new graphics. The athletes of Team Atomic broke this tradition by competing on skating skis they received just days before their races and racing on new classic skis that arrived the morning of one of the first races. New skis need to offer a phenomenal level of performance to get Gold medal contenders to choose them over the trusted old skis that got them to the Olympics. This is especially true when the athletes only have a few minutes on their rest days to test the new skis. The skis, the new skis that is, can’t be just as good as the old skis to be chosen. It is not enough for the new skis to be just a little bit better than the old skis. Skis that have completely new profiles, sidecuts and constructions have to be incredible weapons to get the world’s top athletes to switch after just a few minutes of testing. Atomic’s newest models provided that level of performance at the Olympics and helped Team Atomic athletes win a total of 8 Gold medals, 11 Silver Medals and 5 Bronze medals in Nordic competition.
