(Updated Monday 10th August 2009)
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The Australian Cross Country Skiing Championships held at Falls Creek was an exciting weekend of racing, with a strong international field and many close finishes in the head-to-head competitions.
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In the men's events Switzerland was the dominant nation, with Valerio Leccardi winning the Sprint and Thomas Diezig winning the 30km Freestyle.
In the women's events Australian Esther Bottomley from Mt Beauty won the Sprint and Katherine Calder from New Zealand won the 15km Freestyle. The events are part of the 2009 FIS Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC).
Perfect snow conditions greeted the athletes and spectators on both days of competition. The fastest qualifying time in the Sprint dropped to two minutes and six seconds, compared to over three minutes in training during the week.
In the women¹s Sprint qualification Calder was the fastest skier, posting a time four seconds faster than Bottomley the reigning Australian Sprint champion. However in the A-final Bottomley came out firing, dropping Calder in the first 200m and holding a lead all the way to the finish.
The Swiss men were in great form in the Sprint, qualifying in the first three places and remaining unchallenged through to the A-Final.
Other competitors had some bad luck, with Australian number one sprinter Paul Murray breaking a pole in the qualifying round and Wataru Omori from Japan falling in the semi-finals.
Mark van der Ploeg was the only Australian in the A-final, coming up against the Swiss trio of Leccardi, Diezig, and Gaudenz Flury. Van der Ploeg fought hard but was unable to make it onto the podium.
The men¹s 30km Freestyle on Sunday was one of the most exciting championship races witnessed in Australian racing history.
Last year's ANC champion Ben Sim and Diezig skied away from the main pack already on the first 7.5km loop, then took turns to attack each other throughout the rest of the race.
With neither skier able to make a break it all came down to a finish sprint, and Diezig claimed victory by half a ski length.
In the Falls Creek Junior Cup Philip Bellingham from Mt Beauty won the 10km Freestyle and Gabriella Cigana from Cooma won the 5km Freestyle.
With three rounds down in the 2009 FIS Australia New Zealand Cup there is a close battle for the top places.
Mt Beauty's Esther Bottomley leads by 20 points ahead of Katherine Calder.
Diezig has a 30 points lead ahead of Sim in the men¹s standings. The overall winner of the ANC receives their own personal quota place on World Cup in the 2009/2010 series.
Next weekend there are two more rounds of competition at Perisher Valley, before the competition moves over the Tasman to the Snow Farm for the New Zealand Winter Games. The series concludes with Australia¹s international ski marathon, the Kangaroo Hoppet at Falls Creek on August 29.
Full results are available at www.hoppet.com.au/xc
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Pic by David de Gama
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