Staff report
If you would like to know what happened between the start line and the finish line in today’s men’s 20-kilometer mass start skate race in the Engadin Valley, you should read Merridy Littell’s fine race article, which you may find here. If you would like to know what happened after the finish line, and how this fits into an emergent dialectic on the theory and practice of post-race dramatics, then you should read on for more.
Littell posited that today’s race was marked by a higher incidence of collapse than normal, and suggested some theories as to why. She took this reasoning to The Diggins Collapse Index for more. (If you have no idea what we are talking about here, this epic Q&A should bring you up to speed.)
Without further ado, here is The Index to tell you what you really need to know about today’s race. The remainder of this article is an email from The Index presented verbatim.
Hello. It is The Index here.
You are right that the men’s 20k freestyle in Engadin was very collapsey. The Index has performed the necessary calculations to prove your hypothesis is correct. The typical men’s longer distance race (determined to be 15k or above, either classic or skate, either individual or mass start, skiathlons included) has 3.3 collapses in the men’s field. Engadin had 9 collapses. This is 50% more collapses than the second-most collapsey event, Ruka 20k F.
Theories abound as to why. The snowmobile towing Klaebo around the course for the first 10k increased the speed at the front, causing the stragglers to have to work harder. This is bad form on the part of the race organizers. This is why The Index prefers the unadulterated finish line. No such outside assistance would be tolerated (other than help points).
The Index is swayed but not wholly convinced by the soft snow theory. The Index’s data suggests that longer races have more collapses, and that time is more of an indicator than raw distance. Thus the final climb being a high collapse affair. Of course soft snow would slow the race down and make it last longer.
The Index believes that a mass start with a fairly tight finish (like this one) is good for collapses because the camera is more likely to capture them, so that is a theory in favor of the high Engadin collapse count.
The primary theory is the slightly uphill finish. This is a contributor to many collapses.
Finally, the French performed well in the race and were thus captured on camera quite regularly. The French are a nation that loves a good collapse, especially on the men’s side. The Swiss are also quite good, likely due to their proximity to the French both geographically and emotionally. The Swiss, given that one third of their languages are indeed French [sic; everyone always forgets Romansh; sorry to be such a pedant but I had to do it –Ed.], should show more collapses than the average nation.
The Index signing off.
You’re reading this on Nordic Insights, one man’s labor of love dedicated to publicizing American nordic skiing. Last season’s GoFundMe is literally the only reason why I turned a profit in years one and two of Nordic Insights, and in turn the only reason why there is a year three of Nordic Insights for you to be reading now: I was okay with working for very little money to get this love letter to American cross-country skiing off the ground, but I didn’t want to lose money for the privilege of doing so. If you would like to support what remains a brutally shoestring operation, last season’s GoFundMe may be found here. Thank you for your consideration, and, especially, for reading.
