INTRODUCTION: Pole-length (PL) influences O 2-cost and performance in classical cross-country skiing (Carlsen et al., 2018; Trøen et al., 2020). Moreover, this has also been suggested for distance skiing using the skating technique (Torvik et al., 2019), but it has never been investigated. We compared different pole lengths on sprint skiing time trial performance using the skating technique. METHODS: Twenty-three (13 male) highly trained cross-country skiers completed three maximal sprint trials (1.1 km) with different PL of 85, 90 and 95 % of body height, in an outdoor roller ski course. We assessed performance (time) with radio-based photocells, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and the athletes perceived speed for each trial. RESULTS: Overall, PL90% was 1.5 % faster than PL95% and 5 % faster than PL85% (P < 0.01). PL90% was 2.1% faster than PL95% for males (n = 13, P < 0.01), while no difference was evident for females (n = 10). For both sexes, there was a tendency to faster uphill speed (2.5%) with P95% compared to P90% (P = 0.11). The athletes perceived PL95% as faster in both uphill and flat section (p = 0.02), but the PL90% as fastest in total (p = 0.01). There were no differences between PL in RPE. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Pole length influence sprint skiing performance on rollerski with use of the skating technique. Overall, most of the skiers benefit from using a pole length of 90% of body height. However, in the uphills, especially the women might benefit from using longer poles. This highlights the importance of individualization and of taking the nature of the course into consideration when selecting pole lengths for high-level skiers. Athletes` perception of speed was not consistent with performance, thus emphasizing the need for objective performance data.
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