CROSS COUNTRY: Australia’s cross country skiing contingent have continued their push towards PyeongChang with somesolid results at the second World Cup event of the season in Toblach, Italy.

It was Barbara Jezersek who again posted the best result amongst those in green and gold, opening the two-event weekend with a 43rd in the women’s 10km Freestyle.

Jezersek finished in a time of 24:31.2, just under two minutes behind Swedish winner Charlott Kalla. Fellow Australian Jessica Yeaton was 64th in the field of 77.

"I was happy with my races this weekend, although there is definitely room for improvement through the season," said Yeaton.

"It was a tough field but I didn't find the backup too difficult. If anything I actually felt that Saturday's race effort helped me feel better on Sunday.

"I think these first few races have been a good starting place for me, but I certainly hope to find better form later in the season."

In the men’s 15km Freestyle event Callum Watson, 83rd, edged out teammate Phil Bellingham, 84th. The duo were just over three minutes back from Norway’s Simen Krueger who took the victory.

"I was very happy with how I went in the 15km freestyle as it was a big step in the right direction," Watson said.

"It was among my top three best performances in distance World Cup. My ability to push to the higher levels felt much closer to where I am wanting them to be which is something that I have lacked over the last few weeks.

"Now that I have this solid result on the board, along with my second tier 3 Olympic Qualifying result last weekend in the Davos Sprint World Cup, I am very confident with how this season will shape up."

Backing up on Sunday, Yeaton finished 59th in the women’s 10km Classic Pursuit, Bellingham claimed 80th in the men’s 15km Classic Pursuit while Watson recorded a DNF.

The team will now have a fortnight away from competition before lining up in Lenzerheide, Switzerland for both a Sprint and Classic distance event.

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au