January 5, 2010 (Prague, CZE) – Top sprinter Andy Newell is the first U.S. Ski Team member to participate at the Tour de Ski which runs from Jan. 1-10 and today is the first rest day at the Tour. Following the first four of eight stages, Newell is ranked 3rd overall for the Sprint Jersey and 27th in the overall TdS rankings – see below.

He’ll depart the Tour now as the first four stages of the TdS fit well with his preparation for the next World Cup in Otepaa (Jan. 16-17) and the 2010 Olympic Games. We caught up with Newell following the sprint event in Prague, CZE, to ask him about the racing, the courses and his impressions of the TdS and he sent us the following comments.

“Prague was a classic city sprint on a scrappy course in some petty poor conditions. They must have not salted the course or groomed it in a weird way because it was like boot high sugar snow all over the track. It one section it was so deep it was actually faster to double pole through it. So that was different.”

“I felt a little tired but decent during the qualifications and quarterfinal. Advancing through the first heat was pretty easy but it got tougher and together toward the final. The deep snow made, what would have been a fast short sprint, really tough. Your legs would just fill with lactic acid in those conditions. So I’m stoked to have made it to the final, but I ran out of gas badly and wasn’t able to fight for a podium.”

“I’ve enjoyed my time on the Tour so far. It’s an awesome event and it’s a new experience to race so many days in a row. My goal for this year was to race a lot more and use racing as a way to improve my fitness. So overall the TdS has been great practice to get ready for the next world cups and the 2010 Olympics. So from here I will go back to Germany to train for the next week and focus on feeling good for the Estonia classic sprint.”

The World Cup resumes in Otepaa, Estonia, January 16-17th,, with a 10/15km classic and a 1.2/1.4km classic sprint.

Men’s TdS Sprint Standings after Stage 4 here.
Men’s TdS Overall after Stage 4 here.