The cross-country half of Nordic combined is a skating race: why free technique wins, which sub-techniques exist and how you get started yourself.
The clear answer: the cross-country half of Nordic combined is skied in the skating technique, the so-called free technique. The rulebook does not spell the technique out — but because skating is significantly faster on these courses, practically the entire field skates, and the tracks are prepared for it [1].
So when you picture the second half of Nordic combined, do not think of the classic track and the diagonal stride you know from citizen races. Think of a 10-kilometre pursuit race on skating skis [2], in which the gaps from the jumping melt away.
And yes, this is the half you as an adult can get into most easily. You can learn skating on any groomed trail — the jump only on a hill, with a coach. Cross-country is the open door of Nordic combined.
In skating you do not push backwards like a runner, but sideways over the inside edge — like ice skating or inline skating. That is why the technique is so fast: you barely lose time standing still and glide almost continuously [1].
The most common beginner mistake is hurry. Ski deliberately slowly and shift your weight fully onto one ski until it glides out. If you cannot stand cleanly on one leg, you cannot skate.
There is no single skating technique, but several gears. In V1 (double poling with a one-sided leg push) the hip rises during the pole thrust, in V2 it lowers — and V2 has longer cycles at a lower rate [3]. On climbs, V1 and the so-called double push are faster than V2; uphill, double push runs about 4.3 percent above V2 speed [3].
Just like on a bike, you change gear with the terrain: flat and fast tends to be V2, steep tends to be V1 [3]. In skating the choice of technique is not a matter of style but of economy.
In Nordic combined this mix of techniques comes after the jumping — 10 kilometres in chase mode, in which every metre lost on the hill wants to be won back [2].
The cross-country half is the low-risk half of Nordic combined: no contact, no height, moderate speed. Realistic hazards are falls on descents, getting cold, and overuse if you want too much too soon. A helmet on fast downhill sections is not a sign of being over-careful.
For the other half the iron law still stands: this page explains and motivates, it never replaces supervised training on the hill with a club and a qualified coach. You may teach yourself skating — you may not teach yourself the jump.
Practise skating on roller skis in summer, but learn the technique without poles first. Legs only, balance only, 15 minutes at a stretch. It feels silly and it is the fastest route to a clean glide — because you can no longer rescue yourself with your arms.
When you pick the poles back up afterwards, you will notice they suddenly generate propulsion instead of balance.
Free technique, which means skating. The rules do not spell it out, but skating is clearly faster on these courses, so practically the whole field uses it — and the tracks are prepared accordingly [1]. The competition is a 10-kilometre pursuit race following the jumping round [2].
Because they carry jumping power and the muscle that comes with it into the track. Medal-level combined athletes reach a VO2max of around 75 to 78, pure distance skiers more like 81 to 85 [4]. The difference is not a deficit but the price of the second discipline.
Both are skating gears. In V1 the double pole thrust on one side is coupled with the leg push and the hip rises; in V2 the hip lowers during the pole thrust, cycles are longer and the rate is lower [3]. Uphill, V1 and double push are faster than V2 [3].
Yes — this is the accessible half of Nordic combined. You need skating skis, stiffer skating boots and two poles of equal length that sit between hip and body height [5]. Start on flat, widely groomed terrain and work on one-legged gliding first, not on speed.
Double Kit: Jumping Skis, Skating Skis and What You Actually Need to Start