FIS points tumble in Scandinavia for our Nordic skiers

British skiers have had a Saturday to remember in both Sweden and Norway with podium places and personal bests as well as new British records set in FIS points.

Eight BNDS skiers were in action in Idre, Sweden, scene of excellent results last year, so hopes were high in spite of temperatures so low that for a while there were doubts as to whether the race could go ahead.  However, the races started on time with the women's 5km freestyle timetrial.  The field was not large and was dominated by the Chinese contingent, unknown to most of the British skiers but with good results under their belts.  Fiona Hughes had flown out to Scandinavia only a few days earlier after finishing her first term at university, so had had little time to get her snow legs.  Nonetheless she skied in her usual tenacious style to come in 7^th senior even though by the end she was so cold she was in pain and could hardly speak.  Sarah Young had also just arrived from university and until last month had been fighting a virus which had affected her training all through the autumn.  At the end of the first half of the race she was lying in 7^th place but her endurance was less than it would normally be and she dropped back in the second half.  Posy Musgrave was going out in one of her favourite race distances and professed herself disappointed at the end when she found she had "only" finished 3^rd senior lady.  However she cheered up when she realised that as well as getting on the podium she had also earned 79.09 FIS points - the best British woman's score ever.

In the junior men's 10km freestyle race Andrew Young and Callum Smith were racing for the first time this season.  Both skied extremely well in spite of the severe conditions and were rewarded with a first place for Andrew and 6^th for Callum - best FIS points ever for Andrew and Callum's best in freestyle technique.  In the senior men's race Alex Standen showed a return to form after last season when he was dogged with illness.  Coach Roy Young said Alex skied very combatively, charging up the hills to chase down people who had started ahead of him and finishing 21^st.  With 128 FIS points this put him tantalisingly close to the World Cup qualification of 120 points.  Simon Platt and PJ Barron also looked good out on the trails and finished 29^th and 37^th respectively in the senior group.  When the junior and senior results were combined, Andrew Young had placed 4^th overall, a fantastic result for an 18 year old.

In similarly frigid conditions in Meraaker, Norway, the first race in the Norwegian Cup series was taking place.  The press were there in force owing to the presence of Petter Northug who was taking part in his first race since illness had forced him to withdraw from the Norwegian team right at the start of the season.  Other Norwegian  national team distance specialists were also there for the 30 km freestyle timetrial.  Petter Northug produced a winning race, to the relief of the whole of Norway, finishing just 1 second ahead of fellow Norwegian Morten Elifsen with Sweden's Anders Soedergren in 3^rd place.  Soedergren had started 30 seconds behind Britain's Andrew Musgrave and had overhauled him midway through the race.  But Andrew then managed to keep on his tail right through to the finish line, thereby finishing in 6^th place overall.  This was a great result for Andrew which incidentally puts him at the top of the Norwegian Cup under 23 category for the timebeing! Since the races, Andrew Musgrave's FIS points have been confirmed as 26.42, another all time British best!

So a great day for whole British squad.  Tomorrow looks as if it will be as cold as today but hopefully the team will remain on fire for classic races in both countries.