The Australian Cross Country Skiing Championships and FIS Australia – New Zealand Cup (ANC) moved to Perisher Valley last weekend for races on August 15-16. While Australian Ben Sim put up a tough fight in Saturday’s race Thomas Diezig from Switzerland was the dominant male athlete, winning both the 10km Freestyle and 15km Classic events. In the women’s events Katherine Calder from New Zealand cleaned up in the 5km Freestyle and 10km Classic and has now joined Diezig in the lead in the overall ANC cup standings.
Racing conditions were remarkably good for the freestyle events on Saturday, however strong winds and rain on Sunday were challenge for officials and competitors.
Starting in interval start format Sim and Diezig were very close throughout the 10km race, with the lead changing at different parts of the course. Sim was one second up in time splits up the last hill but couldn’t hang on to the finish and Diezig won by under three seconds. Third place went to Tomio Kanamaru from Japan. Second Australian and first junior was Sim’s NSW Institute of Sport team-mate Alex Almoukov in 6th place overall.
On Sunday Diezig was in a class of his own, winning by one minute forty-seven seconds ahead of Kanamaru. Third place went to Paul Murray, Australia’s best sprinter, who recorded his best distance race for some years. Unfortunately for Sim he finished back in 7th place, making it a tough challenge from here to overtake Diezig in the overall standings.
It was a New Zealand double in the 5km Freestyle with Calder winning ahead of current team-mate Andrea Fancy, with former team-mate Esther Bottomley from Australia taking third place. Now based in Switzerland for much of the year, Calder switched nation from Australia to New Zealand in 2008. Calder backed up to win the 10km Classic the next day, this time ahead of Australia’s highest ranked distance skier Aimee Watson and 2006 Winter Olympian Clare-Louise Brumley. Bottomley skipped the race after waking up with a sore throat, leaving Calder now 120 points clear on the ANC leaderboard.