We caught up with US Ski Team head coach Trond Nystad, currently in Pragelato, Italy preparing for this weekend’s Pre-Olympic/World Cup races. This weekend’s World Cup races include 15/30-kilometer pursuit/duathlon on Saturday and two-person sprint relay on Sunday. Trond was able to take a few minutes to answer some questions for us.
Trond, can you tell us a little about where you are?, plans and expectations?
We are currently in Pragelato, Italy where next years Olympics (Turin) will be held. We are racing World Cup races/pre-Olympics here this weekend. The skiing is perfect and we are excited to get going again this weekend with more World Cup races.Â
What are your expectations for these races?
We have not skied up to our potential this season and are looking forward to more chances to get some great results before worlds.Â
After these World Cups, how will you be preparing for the World Championships?
After Pragelato we go to Ruhpolding, Germany for a pre-Worlds camp. Lars Flora, Dave Chamberlain, and James Southam will join us there after a week. We look forward to great training and a few time-trials there. The last races before Worlds will be in Reit im Winkel, Germany and then we will head to Oberstdorf for Worlds.Â
What is your goal for the World Championships?
Our goal is still to get one medal there, which I think is very feasible. It will be exciting to se how everyone can do this weekend. It should be a good test and learning experience for next years Olympics. Â
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