2026 Cross Country ANC Begins

The Australian Open National Cross Country Ski Championship series began on 1-2 August. Snow Australia hosted this first weekend of the series in Falls Creek, with a Classic Sprint on the Saturday and a Skate 15km Distance on the Sunday.

With beautiful weather on the weekend, athletes had great conditions to race in. The courses were firm and fast first thing in the morning but softened as the racing progressed, giving athletes the opportunity to really push the downhill sections of the course.

Women's Classic Sprint Podium

Saturday's Sprint event boasted some intense racing and close finishes. The Women's Classic Sprint final saw Rosie Fordham take the gold with a significant gap on the rest of the field. It was a fight for second and third place with Satara Moon claiming the silver, Isabella Moon coming across the line in third, and Rosie Franzke not far behind in fourth; all three of these girls within 4 seconds of each other.

Men's Classic Sprint Finalists

The Men's Sprint final came down to the wire, with Jayden Spring taking first place only 0.014 seconds in front of Lars Young Vik in second place. Cole Flowers from the USA took out third place, and Bentley Walker-Broose was the third Australian and fourth overall finisher.

Men's Final Lunge Finish

Sit skier Dave Miln won the para category in both the Sprint and 10km Distance events. Dave showed a lot of grit, impressing spectators with how strong his skiing is and how well he maintained his technique, even at the end of such a long race.

Gold Medal Winner Dave Miln With Service Dog Suki

The Men's 15km Skate saw Seve de Campo take his first win of the series, followed by Lars Young Vik in second, American Cole Flowers in third, and Bentley Walker-Broose in fourth as the third Australian finisher.

Men's Skate Distance Podium

In the Women's 15km Skate, Rosie Fordham took home the gold for her second win of the weekend. Fordham had an amazing performance; she was the last starter in the women's field but skied past every other competitor to be the first to finish. Fordham was followed by Isabella Moon in second place and Ava McCann in third for her first Australian Open podium.

Women's Skate Distance Podium

The weekend was a great opportunity for high-calibre racing, with international athletes travelling to compete. There were several athletes who competed at the Milano Cortina Olympic Games at the beginning of this year, putting their skills on display and giving spectators some great races to watch. Rosie Fordham shared the following thoughts:

"I love getting amongst the AusXC community and getting to race at home. The highlight of the weekend is being around friends. It’s such a fun atmosphere to race here! A big lesson is that there’s always something to gain from a race. I was able to get some good technique work done and try to improve that aspect of my skiing while in a race environment."

Not only did the races provide a chance for the top athletes to compete and improve their racing, it was also an opportunity for junior racers to compete alongside and learn from Australian National Team members and World Cup level athletes.

Junior skier Ethan Zhang commented:

"This was my first Australian Open, and I really enjoyed racing alongside some of Australia's best skiers. The highlight of my weekend was definitely the 15 km skate. It was the longest race I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding, teaching me a lot about both my strengths and the areas I still need to improve, especially my endurance. Overall, I learnt the importance of staying calm under pressure and focusing on skiing the best race I can, no matter the circumstances."

Olympian Lars Young Vik in the 15km Skate

We will see a lot of these athletes return for the final weekend of the ANC series at the Australian Open and Junior National Championship in Perisher on August 22nd and 23rd. This weekend will decide the Continental Cup winners who will be guaranteed World Cup starts in the 2026/27 season.

At the halfway point of the series, the Continental Cup standings are as follows:

Men

1 - Lars Young Vik  - 160
2 - Seve de Campo - 145
3 - Cole Flowers - 120
4 - Jayden Spring - 100
5 - Bentley Walker-Broose - 100

Women

1 - Rosie Fordham - 200
2 - Isabella Moon - 140
3 - Ava McCann - 100
4 - Rosie Franzke - 100
5 - Elle Sankey - 81

A massive thank you to all the Snow Australia staff, volunteers, Alpine Timing, and the Falls Creek Grooming Team for their hours of work that made this weekend such a success.

Snow Australia Staff

The complete Sprint results can be found via this link and the complete Distance results can be found via this link.