January 30, 2012 (Bad Ischl, Austria) – Many European and Scandinavian nations have been holding their national championships during the current break in World Cup action. This past weekend it was Austria’s turn, with the competition being held at a small resort near Bad Ischl. On Saturday, a small contingent of American and Canadian skiers showed up for the classic distances races and quickly wore out their welcome, after stealing all but one podium position from their Austrian counterparts.

In the women’s 5km classic race, Canada’s Chandra Crawford took the victory, with the USA’s Liz Stephen and Ida Sargent joining her on the podium for 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

In the men’s 10km event, the USA’s Kris Freeman won by a margin of over 30 seconds. Teammates Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton finished in third and fifth respectively. Johannes Duerr was the only Austrian to make it onto the podium that day, taking second place behind Freeman.

After nearly sweeping both the men’s and women’s podiums, the North Americans packed up and headed out to catch flights to Russia, where the World Cup resumes this weekend. No doubt the Austrian hosts, not to mention the athletes, were glad to see the back of them.

Read Ida Sargent’s blog post about the races with more photos HERE.
Women’s 5km classic results HERE.
Men’s 10km classic results HERE.