XC March World Cups

Australia has finished the World Cup season in a flurry, with four athletes taking on events in Norway, Sweden and Estonia between March 14-21. A highlight of this week of racing was Australia's first ever entry in a World Cup Mixed Relay event.

Lars Young Vik flew the flag solo at the Drammen World Cup in Norway on March 14, finishing the Classic Sprint in 50th place, just over 4 seconds outside of qualifying for the top 30.

The Falun World Cup in Sweden opened with the 10km Classic events on March 17. In challenging waxing conditions, Ellen Soehol Lie and Phoebe Cridland finished 47th and 50th in the women's 10km. Phillip Bellingham had intended to race the men's 10km, however was a late withdrawal due to gastro issues.

The next day in the Falun Freestyle Sprint Vik continued his strong sprinting form taking 48th place in the men's event, 2.7 seconds outside the top 30. Bellingham was another 8 seconds back in 66th place, still recovering from illness, but happy to make it to the start line for his 100th individual World Cup start. Lie finished 52nd in the women's sprint, with Cridland opting to rest up for the relay.

The 4 x 5km Mixed Relay event was introduced to the World Cup in the 2021/2022 season. The format was two legs classic and legs freestyle, alternating men and women. Vik opened hard and remained in the lead pack for the first couple of kilometres, before the "murder hill" in Falun took its toll and stretched the field out. Lie skied a solid second leg to keep the team within a minute of Poland after the classic legs. Bellingham dug deep to stop the time gap from opening too much on the third leg, before Cridland anchored the team home to 17th place.

The efforts of the team in Falun brought Australia up to 21st place for both men and women in the overall World Cup Nation Cup rankings, up from 24th and 22nd respectively from the 2021/2022 season. In 2024, top 20 beckons!

The final World Cup for Australia this season was the Freestyle Sprint in Tallinn, Estonia, where FIS trialled for the first time a common waxing protocol for all athletes. Bellingham was the sole representative making the trip across the Baltic Sea, finishing 70th in his last World Cup but not his last race of the season. Next up is the Arctic Circle Race in Greenland - 160km in three days.