The Secret to Andy Newell’s Life on the Road

(Hint: It involves maple syrup, hot sauce and one bag.)

On his Delta flight bound for Europe, cross country skier Andy Newell looks out the window, thinking about the friends and family he’s left behind. It will be nearly four months until he hangs out with them again at Stratton.

In the cargo hold is a lone U.S. Ski Team High Sierra duffel bag — his personal closet on the road across a dozen countries until March. Such is the life of an American World Cup ski racer in a Eurocentric sport.

“Mentally, the first few times you do it can be intimidating,” he says of leaping into a four-month journey. “I’ve learned to take it one week at a time.”

Newbies might fidget, stress and overpack. But Newell’s a veteran of more than a dozen years on the tour — a world-class sprinter. He not only knows the ropes, but he’s also energized by them.

Four months on the road – one bag.

“We have a big team for the amount of resources we have,” he says. “We have to carry all of our luggage in one cargo van. Each athlete can only bring one duffel bag. We do laundry and pack light.”

Newell starts the packing process two weeks in advance, organizing training gear, different types of clothing, medicines, preventatives and hand sanitizer — checking all the lists.

“Less is more,” he says. “You don’t need to bring as much as you think. You have to be prepared for that airport hustle and changing hotels. That’s the lifestyle we love — to be a ski racer with life on the road.”

Skis are another story. Newell brings one ski bag himself, with two pairs. His wax techs have another, and his ski company, Fischer, brings additional pairs. He’ll start the year with 35 to 40 pairs of skis, trying to knock that number under 30. He’ll go into each race with six to eight.

Newell’s day will eventually take him to Gaellivare, Sweden, for a week before he heads north of the Arctic Circle for the World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland. This year, U.S. athletes get a two-week reprieve at the end of the season, with the World Cup Finals in Canada next March.

Until then, while his fellow competitors from Europe head home most Sunday evenings, Newell and his teammates rely on Skype and cell phones to maintain a link to their own lives at home in the U.S.

“I thrive on it,” says Newell. “And I think we’re pretty good at it. The Scandinavians don’t have these tricks of the trade like American racers. They don’t know how to travel as well. It gives us a leg up on the competition.”

A couple of those tricks of the trade?

Maple syrup and hot sauce. Being a Vermonter, Newell packs some extra grade A for the team. “We basically adapt to the food,” he says. “With maple syrup and hot sauce, you can turn bad food into something decent to eat.”

With just one bag, Newell and teammates have learned how to improvise. Before heading out from home in Stratton, Newell hits the post office to send a few packages to himself in Europe for delivery to hotels through the winter.

If there’s one blessing out of the packing process, it’s the new gear from U.S. Ski Team suppliers. “We’re all really psyched this year because we’ve gotten such great gear from L.L. Bean and Craft,” says Newell. “Weather is a big factor for so many months on the road. Going to the far north and knowing that we have a warm puffy, and knowing that we have good long underwear under our suits makes a big difference.”

As dawn breaks over the European coastline, Newell’s thoughts turn to the season ahead. In 10 days, the World Cup will open with a classic sprint in Ruka, Finland. Two weeks later in Davos, Switzerland, a skate sprint. It’s go time. He thinks of his teammates on other flights heading to Scandinavia to bring their U.S. ski family together again.

While it’s a lonely life on the road — living out of a duffel bag, 12-hour drives, same-old, same-old at dinner every night — there’s solace in knowing people care about what you do.

“Hearing from fans is huge for morale for U.S. cross country skiers,” says Newell. “You can get caught up in the European bubble. When you get those emails from fans back home or see a cool press release online, you get a glimpse that there are people back home following you. It makes a difference for all of us.”