While European skiers are preparing and racing in some of the biggest rollerski competitions of the summer, their Australian counterparts profit from the best snow conditions and racing of their winter season. 

Australian Championships took place this last weekend in Falls Creek, Victoria, Australia. On Saturday, the skiers competed in the classic sprint; on Sunday, 10 and 15km skate distances took place. 

On Saturday’s sprint, skiers got to enjoy beautiful bluebird conditions. In the women’s field, the strongest of the day was Katerina Paul followed by Ella Jackson and Phoebe Cridland. Lars Young Vik won on the men’s field, while Seve De Campo and Phillip Bellingham completed the podium. 

On Sunday, Falls Creek offered harsh conditions with strong winds. Zana Evans skied the fastest time on the women’s 10km with a time of 30:06.4, followed by Katerina Paul, 9.2 seconds behind, and Phoebe Cridland in the third place, 34 seconds behind the day’s winner. 

The 15km men’s podium saw the same skiers as on Saturday, this time, Phillip Bellingham posting the fastest time of the day at 38:58.4 with Seve De Campo taking second place 16 seconds behind and Saturday’s winner Lars Young Vik completing the podium, little over a minute behind Bellingham. 

The men’s field was represented by nearly all the country’s best skiers, while the women’s field was missing some strong skiers due to illness and injuries. 

Saturday’s sprint winner Katerina Paul, who represents Swiss Pro Team, Team BSV Ibex in Ski Classics, described the weekend as successful: 

“For me, the preparation for nationals at Falls Creek has not been something we (Markus Walser (Team BSV Ibex coach and Pro Team Director & I) have been focusing on. My preparation was my standard Ski Classics training with long sessions and some short, high-intensity double-pole sessions. The classic sprint and the skate 10km were very good races for me! The classic sprint is my preferred event. The skate 10km has never been a favorite of mine. Thus, the transition to Ski Classics initially. However, the Ski Classics training has raised the bar of my baseline fitness, and now the 10km races and a day of sprint racing is getting a little easier on the body.”

You can find the full sprint and distance events results here. 

Australian National Championships Weekend 2 will take place in Perisher, Australia, on August 20 and 21 with skate sprint and classic distances. Additionally, Australia’s long-distance season will kick off with Kangaroo Hoppet on August 27, a 42km skate event in Falls Creek. The start field will be starred by some strong elite skiers from Australia and abroad, such as US National Team members Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern. 

You can see the 2022 Australian cross-country ski race calendar here.