Bellingham narrowing in on second Winter Olympics

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

With a couple of months back on home snow and the experience of an Olympic Games already under his belt Phil Bellingham is ready to make his run towards PyeongChang 2018.

The Sochi 2014 cross country skier put together a string of strong results in Australia and New Zealand and is now enjoying his last couple of weeks on home soil before heading north as he builds towards a likely second Olympic appearance in Korea.

The 26-year-old won the overall Australian and New Zealand Cup title and dominated the majority of his favoured Sprint events.

“My southern winter has been really good, training with the new coach Valerio (Leccardi) has been really positive and consistent, the snow has been great and with a lighter work load this year I have been in some good racing shape this winter," Bellingham said.

“We are actually lucky enough to still have snow to train on which is rare for this time of the year but a pleasant change.

“I’m also starting to mix in a bit of bike riding, running, gym work and roller skiing as the winter conditions continue to deteriorate.”

Bellingham had his best season to date across 2016/17, winning an event in the Czech Republic and going close to making the final of the Sprint in a number of world class competitions.

He is now looking at using these events to build through the season as the Winter Games approach.

“The main goal for me this year is to qualify for the Olympic Games obviously but outside of that I'm still hoping to break into the top 30 on World Cup and get a start in the Sprint finals.

“I have had some close races over the past but never quite made it, maybe this will be the year.”

If all goes to plan and Bellingham maintains his strong form, the Mount Beauty native will aim to improve on his performances from Sochi in PyeongChang.

“To have the best performance possible in Korea I think I still have a few improvements to be made on my technique and in my higher level (intense fitness) but with the time we have left to go I think these changes can be made and for where I was at this Australian winter I think I am in a good position.

“I think having been to one Olympics already now will help in that I'll be less stressed this time around. Last time I was extremely nervous and waisted a lot of time and energy worrying about irrelevant things but this time I think I will hopefully have better focus and therefore ski faster because of that.”

Another positive in Bellingham and the Australian Team’s corner is the addition of esteemed coach Valerio Leccardi.

“Working with Valerio has been a really positive experience as he has brought a wealth of knowledge to the team.

“I think the fresh ideas and recent experiences he brings the team has really made a big difference and brought the training group together really well.”

Bellingham and the Australian team head to Davos, Switzerland next month before the World Cup season kicks off in early December.