Record cross country field battle for national titles at at opening ANC weekend

Perisher Valley welcomed a record-breaking number of Australian FIS registered cross country skiers on the weekend, for the opening races of the Cross Country FIS Australian and New Zealand Continental Cup (ANC) series.

Thirty-six Australians were joined by competitors from Switzerland, Latvia and Malaysia to compete across the Australian Open Classic Sprint and 15km Freestyle events, with Australian titles and valuable ANC ranking points up for grabs.

The weekend marked the first FIS event where both genders competed over 15km in the distance event, following the move by the international federation to have equal distances for men and women.

Katerina Paul leads the women’s ANC standings on 180 points, after taking out the women’s 1.2km Sprint Classic Final, and claiming silver in the 15km Freestyle. 

Less than two weeks before the Championships, Paul completed a gruelling 100km classic ski with Ella Jackson at Falls Creek, and while Paul said she was feeling a bit fatigued, she was still really pleased with her results.

“I am very happy, I felt strong over both days during competition, however during my warm-up I did feel my fatigued muscles before both events, but my body could pull through,” she said. 

“It’s always a good time coming up to Perisher and Jindabyne. We always see a different aspect of the XC community when we come up to NSW, but it is always nice to see everyone.”

Biathlete Darcie Morton - who has recently made the step up to the senior ranks - won the 15km Freestyle event, with a 27.8 second buffer on Paul.

Morton said the calmer cross country atmosphere, without having to switch focus to shooting, worked to her advantage in the race.

“I went out really wanting this title, especially as a biathlete, skate distance is the event that I love the most, so it was really nice to see the training that I'm doing is pushing things in the right direction and overall I'm quite happy,” she said.

“It almost felt a lot calmer and more easy going, not having to worry about my shooting, sighting-in and which way the wind was changing. In that way, just focusing on skiing fast and sustaining a fast pace was comforting.

“At first I thought I went out too fast, but in the end I think it was the right decision as I was able to utilise the icy tracks on the first loop and the long downhill at the end of each loop was enough rest that I didn't completely die and could sustain a steady pace for the next two loops.

“It was also the first time I waxed my own skis for a big race, so I'm kinda proud that I did a good job on them,” Morton laughed.

Switzerland’s Fabiana Wieser is currently second in the overall ANC women’s standings on 140 points, after winning silver in the Classic Sprint and bronze in the 15km Freestyle. Aussie Emily Champion is third in the rankings (105 points), with Sprint bronze and a fifth place finish in the distance race.

Beijing 2022 Olympian Seve de Campo leads the men’s overall ANC standings on a maximum 200 points, after he won both the sprint and distance event at Perisher.

De Campo said it was a fantastic weekend to reunite with the Australian Cross Country community, and his debut Sprint national title was a special moment.

“I was very pleased, it was the first time I won a National Sprint title and first time I'd done the weekend double so it was a new experience for me,” he said.

“It was great kicking off the ANC season with the Perisher nationals and awesome to see the great work a lot of the juniors and younger skiers had been doing over the pre-season.

“Despite a wet and wild Friday, the course preparation was fantastic and it made for another great weekend of fast racing, seeing all the hard work a lot of the athletes had put in, and catching up with lots some old and new friends.”

Switzerland’s Lauro Braendli won silver in the 15km Freestyle and placed fifth in the Sprint to be sitting second in the overall men’s standings on 125 points, only five points ahead of Fedele de Campo and Noah Bradford who are equal third.

The younger de Campo finished second behind his big brother in the Sprint event, while Bradford secured two bronze medals.

The Cross Country ANC Series will continue at Falls Creek on 19 and 20 August, for the Freestyle Sprint and 10km Classic events.

See all results from the XC Australian Open at Perisher HERE