ENDURANCE SPORTS AND NUTRITION

In the "Food Advice" section, we aimed to give suggestions for correct nutrition not only for one's well-being, but also for the benefit of a specific sporting activity, and for this we make use of sports professionals, specific articles in the nutrition sector, some developed by well-known nutritionist.
This article is written by Federico Sansoni, a cross-country ski instructor, 1st level coaching in Nordic disciplines and 3rd level of personal trainer. He has been a cross-country skiing athlete at a competitive level for 16 years and in his experience (including as a coach) he has had the opportunity to encounter various nutritional errors pursued by many practitioners, often the result of erroneous traditions if not outright ignorance regarding the biochemical processes that occur in one's body and which allow the correct performance of cross-country skiing on a continuous and constant level. Sansoni states that cross-country skiing is a somewhat particular endurance sport because it requires a very high level of concentration and a high level of coordination since to be practiced at a competitive level, a skier must be able to use and adapt all 36 movements present in the discipline and be able to adapt them based on the type of snow, the speed and the weather and route conditions present in the various races that are faced during the season, keeping in mind that some slopes often have very significant differences in height (600-800 meters of ascent). 
Even though cross-country skiing is an endurance sport, the athlete's physicality is not similar to that of a marathon runner. The physiognomy of cross-country skiers has changed a lot in recent years: in fact, through studies and tests on a large number of athletes, it has been seen that extreme slenderness no longer yields performance levels and therefore the cross-country skier's physique has become more structured on a muscular level; on the other hand, however, the more muscular a human being is, the more energy he will use to carry out vital functions (basal metabolism), daily routine activities and training.
Let's start from the basics. The human body burns energy in the form of calories, energy that is provided by the chemical-biological activities that occur as a result of the foods we ingest. An adequate intake of calories ensures that the human body makes the most of its potential. We can in fact imagine the human body as a machine and food as fuel for this car; if we introduce dirty fuel, such as junk food or packaged and ultra-processed foods (those typical of fast food, sugary drinks, etc..) our car will have a certain performance, certainly not optimal; if, however, we introduce quality foods into our car (i.e. containing the right nutrients), in the right quantity and at the right times, we are sure that the performance will increase considerably.

All this can be summed up in a simple phrase: ''we are what we eat''.
In my experience as an athlete I was followed by a nutritionist specialized in Nordic disciplines and endurance sports, Dr. Bosetti Gianluca.
I started working with the doctor when I was around 15 years old and I owe the credit to him for much of my knowledge in the field of correct nutrition.
First of all, not every day and not all training sessions are the same: even if the basic principle does not change much, the training sessions are always aimed at a single purpose, that is to obtain the maximum possible performance (fitness period) in a very specific period (near and during the race), a period which in cross-country skiing lasts approximately 4 months.On preparation days it is important to adapt your diet to the work you will be doing, therefore providing your "machine" with the caloric intake and the appropriate balance of nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats). Macronutrients will have slight variations depending on the type of training undertaken. For example, a session in the gym will be correlated to a higher protein intake compared to a long, slow running session which will therefore be correlated to a greater intake of medium-long chain carbohydrates. However, we will have different needs during HIT (High Intensity Training) workouts, where it will sometimes be necessary to immediately replenish simple sugars through maltodextrin gels or bottles during the training session. Being, as previously mentioned, a sport where concentration and coordination are fundamental to achieve the most economical and effective skiing, it is evident that the load on the nervous system is very high and this is added to the load on the muscles to obtain the forces necessary to carry out the activity, which can even last several hours.Let's add the fact that cross-country skiing races are not all the same, as are the tracks and racing conditions; therefore in the different formats such as sprint, pursuit, gate, mass start and granfondo, the pre, intra and post race nutrition differs.
A sprint, i.e. a short race that is carried out up to 5 or 6 times by the athlete, will have a very high integration of simple sugars between one start and the next, this to maintain glycogen reserves (sugar within the muscle tissue) and glycemia (hormone responsible for the absorption of sugars) at high levels.

On the contrary, in a granfondo, i.e. a race format that can last for hours covering distances of up to 90 km (such as "the vasaloppet"), a pre-race diet with a strong emphasis on carbohydrates and fats will be preferred, intra-race nutrition on both slow and rapid absorption carbohydrates and post-race with an intake of carbohydrates adequate to restore natural glycogen reserves and an intake of proteins that will help the body to repair muscle tissue and adapt to the next training stimulus. We have been able to understand that a correct diet provides enormous benefits both in terms of sporting performance but also in terms of reducing the risk of inflammation and injuries and even helps us control chronic pathologies and inflammation. Introducing healthy food, in a balanced and correct way, is not as difficult as you think and this does not mean that we must give up forever and demonize junk food but we should try to reduce it significantly; this will ensure that living conditions improve enormously, reducing the risk of heart disease, obesity, states of inflammation which can only lead to a worsening, sometimes irreversible, of a person's living conditions. Remember that the phrase "we are what we eat" is not a random phrase but applies perfectly to the reality of things; the human body is like a garden: if we feed it correctly it grows lush and strong, but if we feed it poorly and with poor quality products it suffers and suffers.
I hope I have made you understand the complex world of nutrition behind an endurance sport like cross-country skiing, a sport that teaches a lot both from a motor and character point of view and I invite you all, if you have the opportunity, to experience this world. Federico teaches the Snowsport 3 Zinnen in Dobbiaco where the Nordic skiing world cup also takes place; if you want to discover this world, there you will find professionals at your disposal to explain and make you experience the thrill of this wonderful sport, cross-country skiing. I tried it: it seemed easy given the numerous people who frequent it, most of whom are advanced in age, and I thought it was easy and less tiring than alpine skiing...however, how wrong I was! But once you learn it, take a breather and adopt the right diet, I believe it will be a sport that puts you in close contact with nature, the beauty of snow-covered places traveled only by lovers of this discipline.

As you will have understood, the guidelines for a healthy and sustainable diet are simple: choose quality foods, respect the balance between nutrients and favor preparation methods that preserve their nutritional value. No need for complicated rules or extreme approaches. However, the real work isn't limited to what we eat, but how and why we do it. This is where psychological variables come into play, often underestimated, but decisive. The management of emotional and impulsive eating, as well as awareness of the dynamics of addiction to certain foods, represent the heart of the relationship with food. But here we would enter another chapter of nutrition, that of the foundations of modern scientific nutrition, which I leave to the experts.

I thank Federico for his article