December 8, 2005 – The weather call says temperatures in the 20s and sunshine this weekend should embrace the first cross country World Cup races in North America in nearly five years. The U.S. Ski Team will have a handful of racers making their World Cup debut on the Sovereign Lake trails.

The schedule calls for pursuit races Saturday and freestyle sprints Sunday.

“We’ll have a lot of new faces on the World Cup this weekend,” Head Coach Trond Nystad said Thursday, “and that’s a good opportunity for them to show what they can do.”

Final decision on who will race each day will depend on who’s healthy, he said. The following will be entered (* – designated World Cup debut):
Saturday (men’s 15+15K pursuit, women’s 7.5+7.5K pursuit) – Men: Kris Freeman (Andover, NH), Justin Freeman (also Andover), Andrew Johnson (Greensboro, VT), Dave Chamberlain (Bethel, ME), James Southam (Anchorage, AK*), Carl Swenson (Park City, UT) and Eli Enman (Huntington, VT*); Women: Alison Crocker (Poughkeepsie, NY*), Brooke Hovey (Ketchum, ID), Kate Whitcomb (Presque Isle, ME*), Lindsay Williams (Hastings, MN), Rebecca Dussault (Gunnison, CO), Abi larson (Bozeman, MT*) and Lindsey Weier (Mahtomedi, MN*). Swenson, Hovey and Dussault are race-day decisions, Nystad said, because of sickness.

Sunday (freestyle sprints) – Men: Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT), Torin Koos (Leavenworth, WA), Chris Cook (Rhinelander, WI), Leif Zimmerman (Bozeman, MT*), Colin Rogers (Limestone, ME*), Kevin Hochtl (Vail, CO*) and Lars Flora (Anchorage, AK); Women: Crocker, Dussault, Hovey, Whitcomb, Larson, Weier and Wendy Wagner (Park City, UT). Zimmerman and Dussault are question marks because of sickness.

The U.S. skiers came to this resort on the western slope of the Canadian Rockies after the traditional SuperTour races during Thanksgiving Weekend at West Yellowstone, Mont., helped coaches make the final team selection for the races, the first World Cup events in North America since January 2001 on what would become the Olympic trails at Soldier Hollow, Utah, a year later. (The Olympics no longer are World Cup races.)

“So far, so good. Conditions are fantastic,” Nystad said. “We’ve got better snow than it appears we’ll see in a long time. The organizers have done a tremendous job putting it all together.

“It seems just about everyone is here. A lot of the nations are qualifying for the Olympics, of course, just as we are, so these results can go a long way toward helping someone make the Olympic Team.”

In addition to plenty of snow, the terrain features long, gradual uphills. “It’s ice, rolling terrain – nothing super steep,” the coach said, “and it’s extremely skiable…but it’s tough in its own way. It’s not steep but it’s a lot of uphill. These should be good races.”

The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the low 20s with sunshine for the weekend. “It’s been extremely cold but now it’s changed…and it’s supposed to be -5, -6 Celsius [low 20s F.] through the weekend, which would be great,” he said.

After the Sovereign Lake races, the World Cup moves to the 1988 Olypic course in Canmore, Alberta, about 100 kilometers west of Calgary for races Dec. 15-18 for freestyle, mass start and team relay events.