U.S. men making strides in New Zealand training

U.S. men making strides in New Zealand training{mosimage}With less than a week of work remaining at the U.S. Ski Team’s summer camp in New Zealand, men’s head coach Phil McNichol said he’s been pleased with the progress made by his speed and technical racers.

“We’re going better [at this stage] than we were last year,” McNichol said in a phone interview with a number of his racers earlier this week.

The full complement of the U.S. World Cup team’s speed and technical racers — minus veteran Erik Schlopy — made the trip to New Zealand, a total of about 20 athletes. One of them is Tom Rothrock, who is experimenting with a new equipment setup after making the switch from Fischer to Atomic this off-season.

“I didn’t have my best season last year, and I felt like I needed to make a change in my skis to get excited about skiing and get kind of a fresh start,” Rothrock said. “I was treated well by Fischer. It just didn’t work as well for me as maybe Atomic will.”

Rothrock’s first race on Atomics worked out quite well, thank you. The 28-year-old won a FIS slalom Aug. 17 at Coronet Peak.

“I’m pretty pumped,” he said. “… To get a win, that really boosts my confidence for next year. And it will actually help my starting position for next year so it’s a step forward.”

McNichol agreed.

“[Rothrock’s] really getting some things figured out. He struggled a bit last year, but this year he’s reapplied himself and it looks extremely encouraging,” he said.

Rothrock’s training ended a week early as he bolted midweek when he learned his wife had gone into labor early with their first child. “We’re waiting to hear his good news,” McNichol said.

Ted Ligety also is in New Zealand getting his new Rossignol setup dialed in. The Olympic combined gold medalist signed a lucrative two-year deal with Rossi earlier this year.

“[Training] is going really well. GS is going really well. I’m feeling really comfortable on my skis and getting a good platform,” Ligety said. “In slalom I’m just trying to figure out my timing a little better. Skiing on different skis is a big adjustment but I’m figuring it out pretty well.”

What Ligety has had a difficult time figuring out this summer is how to get a little R&R at home in Park City, Utah. That aforementioned gold medal has made him a wanted man for interviews, photo shoots, promotional appearances, you name it.

“I’ve been in Park City all of about three weeks this summer, which is kind of unusual for me because I normally get all summer off,” he said. “I’m leaving every three week to go somewhere and do some event. I’m definitely a lot busier but it’s also not a bad thing entirely.”

Ligety also said the Olympic gold hasn’t made him complacent in his off-season training program or damped his motivation for 2006-07.

“If anything, it’s even higher,” he said. “I’m super-psyched to get into the year, and I feel like I have something more to prove now. I have something to hold up to and I want to keep the momentum. I’m not the best guy out there, so I want to become that. I still have a ways to go.”

Marco Sullivan and Scott Macartney switched to Nordica and JJ Johnson shifted to Fischer skis, and all three got valuable testing and training time in Down Under.

Among notable results form the camp so far, McNichol was “really pleased” to see Bryon Friedman doing some gate training along with former Junior World Championships gold medalist Tim Jitloff. Friedman missed last season following a training crash in Chamonix, France, in January 2005 in which he broke his right leg and left hand. Jitloff tore his left anterior cruciate ligament last December. In addition, two-time Olympian Sullivan, who suffered a strained left knee in March, has been skiing strong, the coach said.

“It’s good to see Friedman back in the gates and Timmy Jitloff going hard. Marco’s been skiing fast, too, and is healthy, so all that’s encouraging,” McNichol said.

The U.S. men are expected to break camp in New Zealand on Aug. 31. The next camp is in Chillan and Portillo, Chile; the speed group will start in Chillan and be joined about 10 days later in Portillo by technical head coach Mike Morin and his SL/GS skiers.

— Don Cameron contributed to this story.