Phil Bellingham top Aussie in Sprint Freestyle

Phil Bellingham, at his third Olympic Games and the senior member of the Australian cross-country team, was the fastest and best placed Aussie in the sprint freestyle qualifying.

He placed 50th with a time of 3:01.57.

"I felt really quite good," Phil said.

"I had a bit of a tough day on Sunday in the 30km and didn't feel very good, but I think that effort really kicked me into gear. I felt a lot fresher and my body was really ready to go today so I'm happy with how it ended up."

All competitors were preparing for the worst race conditions, as the weather at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre had been extremely cold and windy for most of the past week.

However it did make a change for the race day, as the sun came out and the wind was light.

"Because it was warmer today the snow was a lot faster and that made the race a little bit shorter. That works better for me. I'm a bigger guy and I prefer a faster, quicker course with faster snow."

In other Aussie results, Jess Yeaton finished 52nd in a time of 3:32.85, Casey Wright and Seve de Campo placed 63rd. Lars Young Vik, on his debut Olympic event finished 55th and Hugo Hinckfuss, a fellow Olympic debutant, finished 61st. 

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