Rosie Fordham delivers historic World Cup performance in Davos

Australian cross-country skier Rosie Fordham has delivered a landmark performance on the world stage, finishing 13th in the Women’s 10km Freestyle at the FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Davos, Switzerland.

The result is the best individual World Cup finish by an Australian in cross-country skiing history and marks the first time an Australian athlete has broken into the top 20 at World Cup level, with Fordham finishing just outside the top 10.

The breakthrough performance continues a standout year for the Sydney-born skier, building on her silver medal at the U23 World Championships earlier this year and confirming her ability to compete among the sport’s elite in the open ranks.

“It’s pretty special to be breaking new ground for Australian Cross Country Skiing,” Fordham said.

“I think it’s so important for the kids back home training to see that it is possible to compete with the best in the world despite being so far away from the majority of the global XC community. 

“I feel honoured to be able to achieve results like this not just for myself but for everyone who’s part of XC back home.”

Fordham credited a combination of physical preparation, mental growth and race-day execution for the performance in Davos.

“There’s a lot of things that have to come together to have a breakthrough race,” she said.

“You have to be in shape both physically and mentally, the conditions or course need to be favourable and the skis need to be running fast. 

“The course was good for me because there wasn’t much rest, and our techs did an amazing job making fast skis on the day.

“This result is important as a building block from that U23 medal. It shows it wasn’t a fluke and there is the possibility to compete in the open ranks.”

Photo Credit: @bildbyran

Despite the intensity of the race, Fordham said the momentum of strong splits helped her push through the toughest moments.

“By the second lap I was feeling pretty exhausted, but I was getting good splits and it’s easy to push when the coaches are telling you you’re having a good day,” she said.

“I did find the downhills a bit tricky, one in particular was super icy, and at the end of the race it can be hard to focus on getting around icy corners when you’ve got a lot of fatigue.”

Looking back over the past year, Fordham highlighted technical improvements as a key factor in her progression.

“My training philosophy has stayed consistent for some time now, but the biggest change has been improvement in my technique,” she said.

“I’ve made a point to do focused technique training as much as possible throughout all phases of training, even if that means sacrificing some hours of aerobic training.”

Australian National Cross-Country Coach Alexei Sotskov said the result reflected a clear upward trajectory.

“Based on a trajectory of results over the last three stages of the World Cup we knew Rosie is ready for a step up,” Sotskov said.

“Yesterday in Davos all came together, good weather, consistent track conditions and fast skis prepared by our wax tech group. 

“We were targeting this particular race and are super happy that the plan worked out. The next target is to make sure such results are consistent.”