November 20, 2007 – This is the second season in which Pete Vordenberg has been at the wheel of the U.S. Ski Team’s cross-country bus. A two-time Olympian and former NCAA college champion when he raced, “Vordy” took charge after the 2006 Olympics when Trond Nystad left after four years and returned to Europe to be with his wife, German star Claudia Kuenzel.

As he prepared this week for the resumption of World Cup racing this weekend in Beitostolen, Norway, Vordenberg – the Ski Team’s latest newlywed (to 2002 Olympian Barb Jones) – reflected on where the Yanks are as they head into the season. Having made conditioning and fitness a cornerstone for success when he took the keys to the bus, he likes what he’s been seeing.

“The last objective [testing] we did looked good on the treadmill. Everyone made some improvements, so going into the season things look quite good,” Vordenberg said. “Things should go well; if they don’t, then our measures are wrong and we’ll have to check ’em out. But I’m confident we’re in good shape.”

Kris Freeman and the sprinters capture the spotlight with the U.S. team. The Continental Cup squad, headed by Matt Whitcomb and Pat Casey, are a mix of full-on athletes eyeing the World Cup, the U-23 Championships or the World Junior Championships, or those youngsters, who show great promise but are focusing on college.

“Last year, we had a couple of podiums – and those, no question, were great,” Vordenberg added, referring to the third-place performances by Kikkan Randall – the first World Cup podium by a U.S. woman – and Torin Koos. “Now, though, our sprinters need to be more consistently in finals.

“We need to be getting through the heats” (the top 30 in the prologue, or time trial preceding the final heats) to the so-called A Final, a.k.a., the medal round. “A few years back, we needed to be in the heats. Now, we need to be making it through to the finals.

“Assuming the tests showing everyone made big improvements, and it all looks good on paper, we should do it if everyone stays healthy. The next step is making it consistently to the podium. It’s good to be on the podium, but we need to consistently make it through to that final round and the podiums will come.”

Freeman rebounded last season with his solid results, a cluster of top-20s and a couple of top-15s. Vordenberg confers with Zach Caldwell, Freeman’s personal coach, and the three of them have penciled-in training plans for the last two seasons. Vordy looks for him to keep moving back into his place as a serious challenger on the World Cup, as he was showing before he was laid low by sickness during the 2005 season and again in ’06.

“Last year,” Vordenberg explained, “He made a step back with his training, really got back to stuff he’s comfortable with and made a lot of progress. It paid off. This year, we’ve emphasized ‘closing’ races – staying strong into the last five kilometres and finishing as he can, rather than hanging on.

“His training’s done. This year he should make that progression to the next step.”