May 21, 2013 – FIS Cross-Country News is bringing you a brand new series of interviews: Cross-Country Talk. Each week we will publish an interview with somebody who has something to say about cross-country skiing, athletes, coaches, service men, TV experts, etc.

Today, we are kicking off the series with an interview with Trond Nystad, men’s head coach of team Norway. What he thinks about Petter Northug’s departure from the national team, what are his plans for the future? And what about the comeback of his wife, Claudia Nystad?

(l) Trond Nystad (NOR) and Petter Northug (NOR) in Oberhof, Germany © Nordic Focus

Last week Petter Northug Jr. announced he is leaving the national team. Did you expect it? Is it a big loss for the rest of the team?
Trond Nystad: I cannot say I was surprised. Petter felt he needed to find new motivation and wanted to try new things, he wanted to have things more under control. Of course, I think it is a loss for both parties. When you train in the team you are challenged by others, you push your limits further, you inspire and get inspired. On the other hand, we had eight guys on the team, one left and now we have seven. I believe it will not be a dramatic change. In Falun we had 10 from 12 podium results and not all of them were claimed by Petter. We have very good skiers and will have a strong team again next winter. They will do well.

Did the national team lose a leader?
TN: I would not say that. Petter has always been good in making right decisions at the right time. In private he is a quiet guy. There are others who are more likely to be leaders in training and preparation. Of course he leads by example, determination and motivation.

How will the cooperation between Petter and the national team look like?
TN: It has been agreed that he will do his own training during the summer. When the World Cup season starts he will back on the national team. Everything is quite fresh and not all the details have been cleared. We will see how it goes and react accordingly. I am sure Petter will do his best and he will be ready for both for the World Cup, Tour de Ski and Olympic Games.

Norwegian sprinters got a new coach, Arild Monsen. How do you feel about that?
TN: I have known Arild for a while and now I will have a chance to get to know him even better. He is a good guy. Arild and Ulf Morten will be a strong and experienced coaching duo.

Lately we have not seen Norwegian sprinters so often on the top as we were used to a couple of years ago. Do you think Arild will bring new input to pull your guys back to the top?
TN: Last year our guys were quite close to podiums or victories. The starting field in sprints is deep and the margins that separated them from the very best were not big. Maybe we were last winter little bit unlucky. We have very good sprinters and they will back on top again.

Do you plan to intensify cooperation between distance and sprint specialists?
TN: The plan is to carry out more training camps together. There are many things sprinters can learn from distance skiers and opposite. They will go with us more often to the high altitude, mainly because of the Olympics of course. Even though the sprint in Sochi will be longer, I think the individual sprints will be dominated by specialists. As we saw last year, the team sprint is more tailored for distance skiers.

Where and when are you going to start the training season?
TN: We actually started already. Together with Nordic Combined we had our first training camp in Lillehammer. We were there for five days and could still ski at Sjusjoen. At the beginning of June, from 2nd to 9th we are going to Sognefjell. From June 20 until July 8 we will carry out the first high altitude camp in Seiser Alm and Livigno. Then we will have a short summer break and meet again before Toppidretsvekka in Aune. At the end of August we will go again to high altitude, we have three weeks in Seiser Alm and Livigno on the program.

Are you going to introduce something new this year?
TN: No, there are not many new things, just modifications. We will not go this summer to Oberhof and have instead one longer training camp in the high altitude. Before the winter we will again train in Val Senales and Livigno.

Your wife, Claudia, is coming back to the German national team. Is she ready for skiing on the highest level?
TN: I think she is ready. She is an experienced skier, but she was out three years. She has had great training in Ruhpolding. I believe she is both physically and mentally ready. What is even more important she still has the skills and motivation. It will be exciting to follow her journey back.