Evolved not from the highest levels of competition, but in the everyday jostling of the lift lines, the rising popularity of cross-country snowboarding has vaulted the event onto the Olympic stage. The newest sport pits snowboarding dude against snowboarding bro for five kilometers of flat terrain. Unlike cross-country skiing, where endurance athletes gruel for hours gliding atop the snow on their skis, cross-country snowboarding requires a nuanced muscle coordination necessary to maneuver the extremely awkward position of having one foot strapped into the snowboard with the other free to push.
