Under 23:

Callum Watson
Phillip Bellingham
Paul Kovacs

Junior:

Mark Pollock
Alasdair Tutt
Hamish Roberts

The Under 23 athletes are fully qualified, while the junior athletes will contest one event each.

For furtherdetails on the events, go to: http://www.erzurum2012jwsc.com/en-EN/HomePage/

Esther Bottomley finished 54th in the women’s time trial, with the final event being won by Poland’s Justyna Kowalcyz. Callum Watson and Mark Van der Ploeg finished 63rd and 64th respectively, equal to the bib numbers they wore on the start line. Teodor Peterson of Sweden was the men’s final winner.

Coach Finn Marsland said, “I had high expectations for this event that were not met. The location was great but the crowd was disappointing, and unfortunately all three of our athletes there picked up a minor cold as we left Austria. It was very cold and slow snow, which helped to spread out the time gaps.”

After the sprint in Moscow, Callum Watson and Mark Van der Ploeg headed for Rybinsk to contest the 15km Freestyle Mass Start event there. Conditions were also cold in Rybinsk, with the race held at -18 degrees on very dry, slow snow. The course was held next to a scenic frozen lake, approximately 30 minutes out of Rybinsk. Finn Marsland commented, “In contrast to Moscow the atmosphere in Rybinsk was incredible. Great crowds and carnival feel, despite -20 degrees in the middle of nowhere.”

“The boys recovered quickly from their colds and skied reasonably well in the 15km. Callum would have liked to have hung with the main pack for longer but he didn’t quite have the extra gear. It was a good effort from Mark to avoid being overlapped on the 2.5km loop.”

Callum Watson finished in 59th place, 5:43 minutes off the race winner Canadian Devon Kershaw. Mark Van der Ploeg was next in 60th.

The team is currently completing an altitude training block in Livigno, Italy. Some of the athletes will then move to Erzurum, Turkey for the World Junior & Under 23 Championships.

In the men’s sprint, Callum Watson, Phil Bellingham and Mark Van der Ploeg skied well in the qualifying to secure spots in the quarter-finals. Bellingham secured personal best FIS points of 112. Callum also tried to break away in front, but to no avail. Phil Bellingham, according to coach Finn Marsland “spent his bikkies in the middle of the race and had nothing left in the finish straight.” Mark Van der Ploeg skied well and ended up in 16th position, with Watson 17th and Bellingham 25th. Paul Kovacs was next of the Australian men in 32nd, with junior Alasdair Tutt skiing strongly in to 36th, and Alex Gibson in 39th.

For the women’s 5km classic event, Bottomley was joined by Aimee Watson. Both skied well, with Bottomley finishing in 9th and Watson in 12th position. In the men’s 10km race, Callum Watson finished in 15th place with a solid result of 85 FIS points, 49 seconds off winner Kris Freeman. Phil Belligham, Mark VDP and Paul Kovacs finished in 30th, 32nd and 33rd positions respectively. As the youngest athlete in the 10km, Hamish Roberts skied well to finish in 37th, with Alasdair Tutt in 38th and Alex Gibson in 39th. Nick Montgomery unfortunately broke a pole early on in the race and finished in 40th position, while Mark Pollock hadn’t quite recovered enough from illness and had a race to forget.

Sunday saw both men’s and women’s pursuit races, with Esther Bottomley finishing 5th overall and Aimee Watson not too far behind in 9th. Callum Watson opted to sit the race out, feeling run down and wanting to prepare for the next World Cup races. Mark VDP was the first of the Australian men, finishing strongly to place 23rd. Phil Bellingham finished in 24th, after trying to hold on to a strong Austrian skier and blowing up part way through the race. Nick Montgomery was the strongest of the junior boys in 26th, followed closely by a “flat” Paul Kovacs in 27th. Alex Gibson and Hamish Roberts also raced the pursuit, finishing 30th and 31st respectively.

Callum Watson, Mark Van der Ploeg and Esther Bottomley will race the World Cup City Sprint in Moscow, Russia today, and other members of the team head to Campra, Switzerland for a series of races there.

In Otepaa, Esther Bottomley made a gutsy effort in the classic sprint– the only woman who opted to forego the grip wax to double pole the entire course. Bottomley’s result was similar to that in 2011, she finished up in 45th place from a field of 56, 20 seconds off time trial winner Marit Bjoergen with 121 FIS points.

In the men’s classic sprint both Callum Watson and Phil Bellingham chose to go for waxed skis. Coach Finn Marsland said “Callum and Phil didn’t think they were strong enough to double pole the course effectively (the men’s course has an extra hill to the women’s course), the fastest men did and so the time gaps were larger than normal.” This put both boys at the back of the field, feeling pretty disappointed with their sprint results, with Watson likening the experience to his performances in the 100m races at childhood athletics carnivals (see blog for further description).

The next day, however, gave Watson the perfect opportunity for a second hit out on Otepaa’s notoriously difficult courses in the 15km classic. Starting conservatively was the plan on a course that contains both very tough climbs and steep, fast downhills giving little opportunity to recover. The plan worked for Watson, who said “I was still hurting badly at the top of the major climbs but was able to recover enough on the quick descents to maintain a solid and efficient pace for the 15km.” As in the sprint, the field was quite spread out, with Watson finishing 13.5% off the pace but in a season’s best position of 56th. Although initially concerned that Watson had started the race a bit fast, Finn Marsland said “he kept his technique together and it was a good result.” The race was won by Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, with Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk taking gold in the women’s 10km.

The team consisted of Dyllan Harmer, Hamish Roberts, Nick Montgomery and Alasdair Tutt. The foremost was racing the open men’s 10km and the latter were all racing the junior race over 7.5km.

The weather was drizzly and dark, or as put by some “perfectly British.” with a lot of very wet, soft, new snow on the 3.3-3.7km loop. The first off were Hamish, Nick and Alasdair in the 7.5km Freestyle. Due to our not racing Saturday’s classic we were seeded in the last 3 places of the field of 65. The start line was full of giggles as we dreamt of how to pass the much slower skiers in front. Off the start Hamish had the fastest lane and managed to escape without as much hassle as Nick and Alasdair, who were solidly boxed in. After an attempt to pass the pack on the 30cm wide track on the edge Alasdair found himself face first in the snow bank. Nick was boxed in until the top of the second hill about 400m in, after losing a minute to the leader and Hamish about 20seconds further up.

Over the two laps there was much overtaking as the Aussies flew past snow plowing Brits on all the relatively steep, but straight and short downhills. The solid centre of the track made overtaking very hard on the uphills leaving only the major transitions and flats for easy overtaking.

The final results were Nick in 2nd overall, Hamish in 4th and Alasdair in 7th all within 2 minutes of the winner. Who knows what might have happened had our starting positions been different.

Dyllan was next up with an equally poor ranking and working his way up through the field over the 3 laps skiing smoothly and all out to end up in 11th, animpressive result given the biathletes and the cream of British Nordic skiers competing. The eventual winner was Simon Platt, apparently the first civilian to win a British title.

Our little team was joined at the race by fellow Aussies: Irene Dunn, Jill Colebourn, Jeremy Flanagan and Tim Flanagan. They all raced strongly and joined in the chorus of unfortunate, yet hilarious tales from the days racing over hot chocolate.

A big thank you to JC for driving us to and from Ruhpolding and for spending the previous evening and that morning waxing all our skis.

For more reports from the Australian Junior XC Team travelling overseas see this WordPress site.

First up was Esther Bottomley in the women’s Freestyle Sprint qualification, which had a relatively small field. For Bottomley, Milan was the second sprint race of the season, and she reported feeling not quite in top form yet:

“In the flat city sprint in Milan skiing strong, without too fast tempo for the first lap was the aim, after a solid lap then pick up the pace and get to the finish fast! That was the aim, the first lap went according to plan and then then moving up into the next gear didn’t quite happen. Looking forward to the next few weekends of races to try and find that top speed again.”

In the men’s event, Callum Watson placed 63rd and Phillip Belligham 67th in his World Cup debut, impressively avoiding signing the list. Belligham said he felt happy with the weekend’s races, “I was super nervous about the whole thing especially right before the start of the sprint on the first day, but found my feet pretty quickly and skied solidly. I felt i skied as well as i could have, and felt fresh going into it. Slightly slushy snow didn’t help me as I’m not the lightest guy out there and was happy to not come last.”

Watson was very happy with his result, finishing one place above his ranking going in to the event (wearing bib number 64). “Milano City sprint certainly lived up to its expectations with the race course situated right out the front of Sforza Castle. The race track was in very decent condition for a city sprint and not completely flat with a very slight uphill section to create a bit of variation. With the race time for the men starting at 1pm, the snow was already getting quite soft. Due to a block start format being used due to the consisting of two laps, I started almost a full 30min behind the first male which turned out to be quite the disadvantage. The course softened further and due to 63 men going before me it was quite cut up by the time I got to it. A flat course is definitely not to my advantage so with this in mind, I was very happy with my result.”

Sunday’s Freestyle Team Sprint event saw Watson and Belligham team up against a field of 23 other teams, in what may have possibly been Australia’s best World Cup Team Sprint result to date. Teams in this event consist of two skiers, each completing three legs, alternating. The plan for the race was to maintain contact with the skiers at the front for as long as possible throughout the six leg race. Two semifinals and a final event are held, with times recorded for final ranking. Watson skied the first leg, avoiding a large collision between a number of skiers (having already accrued sufficient collision experience and hospital time this season) to tag Belligham in 4th position. The pair then managed to maintain contact with the front bunch of skiers for the first 4 legs of the race, losing contact at the end to finish 14 seconds off the winner of their semi-final. This put them in 20th place ahead of Estonia II, Italy III, Italy IV and Germany II in the final rankings. Belligham and Watson were both shocked and incredibly happy with the result, having gone in to the event with a combined ranking about 100 FIS points worse off than the closest team.

Training continues in Seefeld with good conditions, before the World Cup events in Estonia this weekend. The majority of the Australian team members currently in Seefeld (which is host to Innsbruck’s Youth Olympic Games Cross-country events) will head to the Great Britain Championships in Germany this weekend.

Hometown: Melbourne
Home resort: Falls Creek

Coaches: Jean-Claude Legras, Finn Marsland, August Teague and Keith Jephcott
What keeps you fit outside of skiing?

Playing water polo, basketball, swimming.
How did you get into XC skiing?

My parents started me skiing at age 3 and I started racing through my school (Ivanhoe Grammar School).
What do you love about XC skiing?

Being able to glide along trails with just nature around you, nice and peaceful.
Favourite XC skiing moment?

Winning the Under 18′s 10km Classic at Perisher.

Favourite place to train outside of Australia?

Tahoe donner, California
Favourite training sessions?

Doing level 4 intervals.
What do you like to do in your spare time?

Going bike riding on my BMX or playing waterpolo and basketball.
Goals for 2011/2012 northern season?

Place in top half of field for Youth Olympics and get under 170 FIS points for Austrian champs.
Goals for 2012 Australian winter?

To be the fastest Under 20 classic distance, skate and classic sprinter.
Long term goals?

To compete in multiple world cups, 2014 and 2018 Olympics.
Goals outside of skiing?

Go to college in America, become a sports scientist or physical education teacher.

How are you feeling heading in to the Youth Olympics?

I’m pretty excited and a bit nervous. I feel really fit and I think that I will go really well in the sprint.

For updates on the Youth Olympic Games head to: http://www.innsbruck2012.com/en/sports/disciplines/cross-country_skiing

Callum Watson, 6th 10km Freestyle

In the qualification time trial, Esther Bottomley posted a time to earn her a spot in the finals in 12th position, and moved well through the final rounds to finish up in 5th place. Callum Watson, Phillip Bellingham and Paul Kovacs qualified in 11th, 29th and 48th positions respectively, all moving through to the senior men’s heats. Mark Pollock also contested the combined senior/junior time trial finishing in 57th. Watson finished in 10th place, Bellingham in 15th, Kovacs in 21st and Pollock 22nd in the final men’s standings.

In Sunday’s distance event, Esther Bottomley finished 13th in the women’s 7.5km Freestyle, 1:46 minutes back from the winner Canadian Chandra Crawford. Callum Watson was the first of the Australian men finishing in 6th place, 1:17 minutes back from winner Len Valjas, who made it a Canadian double. Watson managed to finish just under the 100 FIS point mark. Phil Bellingham came in 21st, 2:50 minutes off the pace, and Paul Kovacs was next a further 2:16 back. Mark Pollock rounded out the Australian men in 48th, 21 seconds back from Kovacs.

After the races the guys had the following to say:

Callum Watson: “The Sprint was relatively short, with a winner’s time just over 2min40s, however with 2 major climbs and a tough flat, fast and technical finish it was a real leg burner. I am really happy with how I skied. The 10km Skate on Sunday gave us very tough conditions with fresh snow that seemed to compact and glaze creating a very unstable feel. I felt really good on the climbs and had great recovery on the downs, however struggled to relax on the flats were the unevenness of the snow was the worst. The result was quite decent and I finished in 6th place overall.”

Phil Bellingham: “Was pretty happy with how my weekend of racing went, in the sprint I would have liked to be a few less seconds back off the winner of the time trial but was happy that I still made heats. In my heat I was a little disappointed as I beleive I could have come in the top two but I got boxed in multiple times and couldn’t get round and came in 3rd. In the 10km skate I felt I skied as well as I could have and made myself hurt fairly well and was happy with the result.”

Paul Kovacs: “I was pretty happy with the Sprint, it’s not too often I make it to the heats. My heat was pretty brutal, it was a cracking pace from the gun. In terms of tactics, I was really happy how I skied, very aggressively which was the plan, I just didn’t have the legs to hold on in the end. The Distance was a little disappointing, I was planning for another repeat of Campra but felt I was missing another gear in my legs. Perhaps I was just too cooked from the day before.”

Aus XC Team at Weiler in den Bergen

The guys were once again happy to have the race support of Ben Sim and Fabian Mauz, along with Finn Marsland.
Coach Finn Marsland said of the weekend’s races, “Racing is great training and it was good for Esther in particular to get some races under her belt before her first World Cup next weekend. Callum and Phil picked up some good finals experience in the sprints, getting right amongst it in the rounds. I think the form of everyone in this group is on the way up at the moment and I’m looking forward to the races coming up throughout January.”

The group is now training in Seefeld, Austria, where they have plenty of snow and excellent trails to ski on. Esther, Callum and Phil will compete in the Milan City Sprint World Cup next weekend.

Wednesday’s 1.4km freestyle sprint was held with a combined qualification event of junior and senior men (as it often is in Australia), followed by separate final rounds for each. Watson and Bellingham qualified in 15th and 22nd positions respectively, going head to head in the heats. Bellingham, who lost contact with the three other skiers in the heat on the final climb, said that he felt his usual spark was lacking. Callum Watson finished the senior mens finals in 11th position, with a solid 106.96 FIS points. Paul Kovacs finished the qualifying ranked 22nd in the senior men, short of the 16 who progressed to final rounds. Mark Pollock, 2 days fresh off the plane from Australia, jumped in his first race in the sprint to finish 43rd in the junior mens sprint event.

On Thursday, the team produced some solid results in the men’s 15km classic event, which was held on a hilly 5km loop. Callum Watson finished in 6th place, 1:55 minutes off first. Watson also achieved FIS points of 69, a result that comes close to his best results in the Australian winter this year, and best ever points of 57 in 2010. Callum said he was “very happy to be getting form back together.” Paul Kovacs, recently recovered from illness and a few bumps and bruises, was next in 16th place, 6:06 minutes back with a solid result of 144 FIS points, a personal best. Kovacs said, “I was quite surprised by the results, i wasn’t really sure how my body would handle it but when when Simbo kept giving me good splits I just went for it and tried not to blow up. I’m really keen to see what a few solid, uninterrupted weeks of training will do for me before i start racing again.”  Phillip Bellingham was a further 47 seconds back in 17th place, finding himself working harder than he would have liked early on in the race and lacking the energy for a strong finish. Australian Junior Team member Mark Pollock, who has recently returned to more competition after a few years’ break, placed 52nd in the 10km classic junior mens event.

From Campra the group heads to Seefeld, Austria, where they will meet up with other members of the Australian team coming from a training block in the US. Some may race in upcoming German Cup events, and Watson and Bellingham are looking forward to joining team mate Esther Bottomley for the city sprint World Cup event in Milan, Italy, on the 14th of January.