Since we ran data last year, we can run it again this year. There were some questions as to the speed of classic skiers this year versus last. And while the charts look pretty darned similar, they were quite different. Last year, when you adjusted the classic times to skate times based on the conversion factor (based on the times of the top five skiers) the converted classic times were, on the whole, slower than skaters. This year, they’re faster. Here’s the chart. Notice that the blue line (classic) stays below the skate times, and that last year it was above.

Here’s the same chart for 2011: