International field assembles for Australian Cross Country Championships
Published Fri 26 Jul 2019
An international field comprising Olympians, former champions and emerging athletes will contest opening weekend of the 2019 Australian Cross Country Championships to be held at Falls Creek.
After a slow start to the season, conditions are excellent at the Falls Creek National Training Centre and athletes are poised for a fierce weekend of cross country competition.
2018 ANC champions Katerina Paul and Olympian Philip Bellingham are among a host of Australian starters who will join international athletes representing Sweden and Switzerland, including Lauro Brandli (SUI).
Men’s favourites include Seve de Campo, Mark Pollock and Olympians Bellingham and Callum Watson who is one to watch in the 15-kilometre freestyle.
Watson took his coaching commitments to the next level this year, but the thrill of competing is never far from his mind.
“Coaching the Australian Junior Team at the 2019 World Junior Championships has given me a new appreciation of what this sport has to give,” Watson said.
“I will always ski and try to ski as fast as I possibly can with what time and energy I can afford. This is a challenge I have always enjoyed throughout my career, however, now the time and energy are a bit more restricted.
“It's almost been one year since I raced and it excites me to try and see how fast I can ski with what preparation I have managed,” he said.
Bellingham also has his sights on a podium result.
“I would like to win but having had some resent restrictions to my training load leading into these races I may not be as strong as recent years,” Bellingham said.
“It takes a lot of consistent training not only the year of the event but many years leading in. You also need a solid level of experience and race tactics on the day to execute the result as well as a bit of luck to have things fall your way, especially in the sprint,” he said.
The Sochi and PyeongChang Olympian said prime conditions would make for great cross country skiing.
“Conditions are great at the moment, there is plenty of snow to set a good track with hard and fast snow. There is the possibility of some rain and snow forecast for Saturday which could make it more interesting but shouldn't affect the results too much.”
In the women’s events, Olympians Aimee Watson and Casey Wright will be strong challengers to defending champion Paul, as will junior team athletes and 2018 ANC podium placegetters Emily Champion and Phoebe Cridland.
PyeongChang Olympian Wright is excited for the weekend ahead.
“Racing the Australian Championships is a great opportunity to get back on snow and remember what ski racing is all about,” Wright said.
“It is a bit nerve-racking thinking about pushing myself into race pace this weekend, but it will be a good experience to remind myself what I am training for in the coming Northern winter.”
Having spent the past four years studying in Alaska, Wright is happy to be among familiar surroundings.
“Alaska was a great experience but I am really excited to be back home, in the Yarra Valley, and skiing at Falls Creek. It's nice to be on familiar trails which I have grown up skiing on.
The PyeongChang Olympian would love to be able to ‘put down some fast times and feel great doing it’.
“Since we are technically in our offseason, it will be interesting to see how the body reacts to racing at this time of the year. I am pretty sure it's going to hurt, but it will also be heaps of fun to be racing with my friends and teammates again.”
Wright said the camaraderie among the skiing group would lead to fierce but friendly competition.
“We have been training together for the past couple of weeks since the snow arrived, and I think we are all excited to get out there and give it our all. You never know who's going to be the fastest on race day, so all I can do is focus on making sure I'm skiing to the best of my ability and having fun on the day,” she said.
The 2019 Australian Cross Country Championships form part of the FIS Australian-New Zealand Continental Cup which features eight men’s and women’s events across three weekends of competition.
Race results also count towards Australian team selection for the World and Continental Cup as well as 2020 FIS World Junior and U23 Championships that will take place in Oberwiesenthal Germany.
Competition format
Saturday's Classic Sprint consists of an individual time trial then head to head racing in heats of four.
Sunday's 10km Freestyle for women and 15km Freestyle for men will be held on a 5km loop, using an interval start format (competitors start every 30 seconds against the clock).