Nine Cross Country skiers qualify for Davos World Cup after strong season opener in Goms

The Australian Cross Country Team had a great start to the season at the OPA Continental Cup over the weekend in Goms, Switzerland.
 
The team of 25 athletes lined against a world-class field for the first race of the season, with valuable FIS ranking points up for grabs to determine who would get a start at next week’s Davos World Cup.
 
Jessica Yeaton and Seve de Campo have been pre-selected for Davos based on their FIS ranking points, while Casey Wright and Philip Bellingham have a free World Cup place as winners of the 2021 ANC.
 
They will be joined on the start line in Davos by Lars Young Vik, plus World Cup debutants Bentley Walker-Broose, Zana Evans, Tuva Bygrave and John Walker, who secured their start after impressive results in Goms.
 
PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympian Yeaton opened her racing season in Europe with a solid 8th place in the women's 10km Classic, just 13 seconds outside the top five. The 30-year-old  also recorded the best Australian result in the Freestyle Sprint, progressing through to the semifinals where she finished 10th overall. In the 10km Freestyle, Yeaton hung onto the lead pack for most of the first half, before dropping slightly to finish 14th overall (out of 68).
 
“I am happy with my performance in Goms, although each race definitely left me wanting more,” said Yeaton
 
“I was definitely more nervous than normal going into it just because it felt like it had been so long since I raced against international competition, but it turned out to be completely fine.
 
“I think it was a great ice breaker leading into the bigger races of the season for me. 
 
“These races have given me confidence, although there are definitely things I know I can improve upon, like some of the more technical aspects and race tactics. My performance on the bigger hills in Goms gave me confidence in my fitness, however, which is really important for the course in Davos.” 
 

2020 Youth Olympian Zana Evans also joined Yeaton in the Sprint Freestyle event after qualifying 20th in her first Open field. She placed 26th after an unfortunate crash in her quarterfinal, however her performance has secured her a World Cup start in Davos this weekend.
 
“I was pretty stoked to pull two solid races together last weekend, both in the sprint and distance mass start,” the 17-year-old said who also placed 39th in the 10km Freestyle Mass Start.
 
“Honestly, it was pretty surprising to qualify top 30 in the sprint race, and to continue to heats where I unfortunately crashed around the corner.
 
“It’s been hard to keep motivated and training, particularly with missing the previous European season... So it’s awesome to be racing and training again in Europe with the team, and to know that the training has paid off.
 
“This however is only a small step, a surprising one too, in the larger journey of skiing which I hope to build on this season and seasons to come.”
 
In the Women’s 10km Freestyle Mass Start, after Yeaton placed an impressive 14th, Tuva Bygrave and Aimee Watson traded places a couple of times before finishing in 27th and 28th, less than 2 seconds apart.
 
In the men’s races, Seve de Campo was the best placed Australian in the 15km Classic in 41st place, with Phillip Bellingham in 49th.

 
Hugo Hinckfuss opted to race the U20 10km Classic and posted his best ever race in Europe, finishing 17th out of 87.
 
In soft and snowy conditions in the Freestyle Sprint Event, Lars Young Vik pulled out a great performance to be fastest Australian in the Open men time trial, finishing 33rd and less than a second outside qualifying for the finals.
 
Phil Bellingham, the only Australian man to ever race in the finals of a World Cup sprint, was next best in 41st place.
 
Seve de Campo and Phillip Bellingham placed 54th and 57th respectively in the 15km Freestyle, 12 seconds apart. Ex-cyclist John Walker overcame a slower start to move up to 63rd as the third Australian, easily his best ever international result.
 
Unfortunately Mark Pollock, one of the pre-event leading contenders for the World Cup places, had to miss these first Continental Cup races due to illness.

Australian athletes qualified for the Davos World Cup: 11-12 December, Davos, Switzerland

See all results from the 2021 OPA Continetal Cup in Goms, Switzerland HERE.