Ben Sim has become the second Australian cross country skier to score World Cup points, and the first to do it in a distance event. Sim finished 30th in the opening World Cup 15km Freestyle in Beitostolen in Norway, just 1:07 behind the winner Ronny Hafsaas of Norway. It was a tight race - ten seconds quicker and the 24-year-old Cooma skier would have been 25th place, 5 seconds slower and he would have been 35th.

Conditions were fast, with rain overnight freezing and creating a track composed of ice and sugar. Sim started with bib number 31 and on the time splits was sitting around 30th place the entire race. With a kilometre and a half to go there were six skiers all with a chance of taking places 29 and 30, and Sim seized the opportunity to take one World Cup point.

Paul Murray is the only other Australian to score World Cup points, finishing 29th to take two points in the Reit im Winkl sprint in 2005.

Callum Watson finished 94th out of the field of 100 starters in Beitostolen. He was 3:46 behind Hafsaas, scoring personal best FIS points of 86.9.

Unfortunately not everything went to plan. Aimee Watson struggled with the icy conditions in the 10km Freestyle and was frustrated and disappointed with her 85th place out of 91 starters. Watson was 5:22 behind the winner Marit Bjorgen of Norway, who won by 30 seconds.

Courtesy of The XC Files