Do bikers, downhill skiers, inline skaters, rollerskiers or whitewater kayakers have anything they can teach XC skiers?

It seems like there's one last bastion of glide-speed-type outdoor sport that races and has its fun without helmets!

Does anyone think we'll see a rule requiring helmets for XC ski racers in sanctioned events?

Are Nordic skiers begging for a tragedy? After all, if a rule could save *just one life* wouldn't it be worth it?

I think that all other speed-potential outdoor sport now requires helmets.

(Maybe XC gets a bye from its relation to running. It's Langlauf in Deutsch, after all -- long running. Or maybe trail runners are in for it as well? Well, runners don't glide, don't get up to 40mph on hard, icy downhills with trees and rocks next to them.)