Soft Course Monday;
Too Much Grooming
By Steffen Hoos, Toko Race Service Manager

Februray 15, 2010 - Finally, the weather today was Olympic worthy and provided fair competitions.

Today were the women's 10k and Men's 15k Skating races. Both the ladies and the men came from different nations on the podium resulting in six different countries represented! This shows the balance in cross country field.

In the morning the course was very soft despite the freezing temperatures overnight (-4 ° C). The snow felt like dry Styrofoam and didn't stick to itself (you could run your hand through it easily). The problem was that the groomer worked the snow for 11 hours (up to 4 am). The wet snow from Sunday wasn't allowed to set up and bind to itself. Instead the snow dried out, lost its structure, and didn't really stick to itself. At least after the women's race, the course workers scattered the additive on the track resulting in a firmer track for the men. It was not firm, but better than it was for the women.

For the Toko house it was a very successful day. We are subject like all other equipment companies to the regulations of the IOC and not until after the Olympics can such success stories be related with pictures and text.