We were delighted to recieve these awesome pics from the Australian Cross Country Ski team following the recent Swiss Championship in Trun, SUI (January 21-25).

Check out the handy work of our 2XU Custom Spec team on the legs of these mighty athletes...those jackets look quite fine too!

2XU is a proud Official Supplier to the Aust. Cross Country Ski team, which boasts several squads; from juniors to elites.

Here's there most recent news...

Swiss Championship, Trun, SUI, January 21-25

Last week 15 Australian athletes (and one coach) competed in the Swiss Championship in Trun. The highlight of the week was Mark van der Ploeg's 7th place in the Classic Sprint, a performance that also qualified him for the 2009 World Championship in Czech in February. Van der Ploeg finished in 6th place in the time trial, scoring FIS points of 107, then qualified for the semi-finals in a close finish ahead of Swiss sprinter Gaudenz Flury and Australian Ben Sim, who was 14th in the time trial. Knocked out in the semi-finals van der Ploeg fought hard in the B-final to take 7th place overall.

Ben Sim put in solid performances to the the first Australian in the men's distance events, placing 8th in both the 15km Freestyle and the 20km Pursuit. Andrew Mock also skied well in the 15km, finishing in 13th place and going under 100 FIS points for the second time ever. Esther Bottomley skied one of her best distance races in Europe to be 11th in the women's 10km Freestyle, just behind Aimee Watson in 10th. Watson's best race of the week was in the 15km Pursuit where she finished 6th, skiing the 4th fastest skate time. Callum Watson fell a little short of high expectations in the U20 men's 10km Freestyle, finishing 9th after a costly fall on the lower part of the course. Georgia Merritt skied well in the 5km Freestyle to be 18th and under the World Junior Championship qualifying standard for the second time this season.

More on the Australian Cross Country Skiing Website

TWO of Australia’s leading junior triathletes produced one of the most thrilling finishes the sport has seen on Saturday, with Holly Aitken edging out Emma Jackson by a fraction of a second to win race two of the 2XU Australian Junior Triathlon Series.

Aitken and Jackson emerged from the 750-metre swim behind Japanese competitor Yuka Sato, but worked together well throughout the 20km bike leg to quickly reel her in and then establish a 45 second break on the field.

The Queensland pair then set off on the 5km run shoulder to shoulder and traded the slenderest of leads a couple of times each before turning onto the finish chute level pegging. Side by side over the final 100 metres, neither gave an inch until they crossed the line together, with oncourse commentators unable to declare a winner until conferring with official timers.

Aitken, whose spectacular win guarantees her a place in the field for the ITU World Championships on the Gold Coast in September, competed proudly in 2XU and said she had been prepared for the scenario that played out but had been unsure if she had the legs to edge out Jackson.

“My Dad told me I might well find myself running together with Emma towards the end, so we came up with what I should think about in that scenario,” Aitken said.

“I did quite a bit of training at Falls Creek over the summer and I ran with a few girls from Athletics Australia, which I found a good challenge, so today I just imagined I was running with them and sticking to them no matter what.

I know Emma’s a strong runner and I’m probably more of a sprinter rather than a long distance runner, so when it came down to the straight I was hoping Emma wouldn’t be able to kick . . . but she did.

It’s a big result for me because I’m at my peak for the season.”

For more information contact: Jeremy Wilshire at Triathlon Australia 0427 374 636 or visit Triathlon Australia.

It's all smiles on this fighting fit crop of Aussie up and coming traithlon superstars.

Pictured here in 2XU is the Junior Women’s Triathlon Team with 2XU ambassador & Olympic Triathlete Erin Densham (centre)following a gold and silver medal effort in the Triathlon Teams Relay @ the Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

From left to right: Meg Russell (VIC), Ashleigh Gentle (QLD), Holly Aitken (VIC), Erin Densham (2008 AUS Olympian), Emma Jackson (QLD), Courtney Dutton (QLD) & Erin Gangelhoff (VIC).

NZ's Contact Tri Series moved to the stunning setting of Wanaka on Friday for round three in the seven event series.

Those who were expecting blue skies, warm weather and flat water were quickly presented with the opposite.

Conditions were average throughout the day and declined to some of the worst racing conditions you're likely see for a summer triathlon; including heavy rain, thunder and near darkness enveloping the athletes and the thousands of supporters who lined the streets to watch the action.

"We ended up with 241 entrants (88 in the Contact 3:9:3) in total which was a fantastic result," said Carl Jackson, Commercial Director of Triathlon New Zealand.

"We had planned for 120 participants, being a new event, so 241 was a good result," he added.

Hit the Tri NZ website to read more

Contact Cup
Elite Men – Sprint distance 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
1 Ryan Sissons, Auckland, 54.00
2 Tony Dodds, Wanaka, 54.05
3 Clark Ellice, New Plymouth, 54.06
4 Martin van Barneveld, Wellington, 54.24
5 Dylan McNeice, Auckland, 54.52

Elite Women
1 Nicky Samuels, Wanaka, 57.53
2 Elizabeth May, Luxembourg, 59.23
3 Kate McIlroy, Wellington, 59.39
4 Jacqui Seebold, 1.00.26
5 Kelly Bruce, 1.01.19

Christchurch based 2XU brand ambassador, Jos Hoetjes (18), sprinted to gold at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival on Saturday, beating the Australians in a nail-biting finish of the men’s team triathlon at the Sydney Regatta Course.

This is a second medal for the 2XU athlete, who finished with bronze in the individual triathlon yesterday.

It was an extremely tight race, with fellow Cantabrian Tom Davidson (18) first into the swim and leading the pack throughout. Second to race was Edward Rawles (17) from New Plymouth who left the team in good shape handing over to Hoetjes just 10 seconds behind the leaders. In a strong swim, 2XU's Hoetjes bridged the gap and the New Zealanders remained neck and neck with their rivals until the final 500m.

“It was so intense,” said Hoetjes. “I just ran full out and had enough in me to pass the Australians and hold that spot.”

Triathlon Team Manager Stephen Sheldrake was rapt with his team’s effort and credited Rawles with a particularly strong race.

This is New Zealand’s 5th gold medal at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival and Chef de Mission Barry Larsen has praised the young athletes with outstanding commitment and drive.

With thanks from Triathlon NZ, courtesy of the NZOC.

The 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival Triathlon event was held today at
Penrith, NSW, in very warm sticky conditions.

Geared up in the finest 2XU Tri apparel, Holly Aitken from Victoria surprised and thrilled the crowd by taking gold in the AYOF women's individual triathlon.

"I was very happy," Aitken said. "I wasn't expecting it so I'm so excited."

On a circuit that was always expected to be fast, Aitken raced to her strengths, emerging from the water in fourth place. A strong transition into the bike leg saw her take the lead.

1st place - Holly AITKEN (AUSTRALIA) 57.31 2nd place - Sophie COLEMAN (GREAT BRITAIN) 57.52 3rd Place - Yuka SATO (JAPAN) 58.10.



Courtney Dutton (QLD) and Emma Jackson (QLD) pictured with Triathlon Australia's Athlete Ambassador & 2XU hero Erin Densham, who represented Australia in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The ITU’s Sport Development team was in Sydney this week for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) & we were delighted to kit them up in the finest 2XU Tri apparel for their visit down under.

The AYOF is a legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games & the ITU was invited to send a Sport Development team for the triathlon competition.

The ITU Sport Development Team is a team put together from developing and emerging triathlon nations who have not yet had at least 2 athletes at the Olympic Games. 6 athletes are in the Development Team representing 5 different countries; Namibia, Zimbabwe, Serbia, Korea and Guatemala.

The Development Team came about as a result of ITU's extensive sport development programme which addresses elite athlete and coach development as part of its mandate to fly as many flags at the Olympic Games.

"We believe in the long term athlete development model and see events such as the AYOF as an important opportunity to provide young athletes from developing and emerging nations with much needed age relevant international experience," said Libby Burrell, Director of ITU Sport Development.

2XU is thrilled to be supporting Triathlon Australia & the ITU in their efforts to expand and develop the thrilling sport of traithlon around the world. By providing Aussie junior traithletes & the members of the ITU Development squad with 2XU apparel, we endeavor to ensure they are more comfortable and race ready than ever before!

Champion Melbourne snowboarder & proud 2XU ambassador Joh Shaw has climbed to a career-high world ranking of five after finishing in fourth place in a World Cup event in Kreischberg, Austria, on the weekend.

It was Joh's third top five finish in four races this season for the 26-year-old Mt Buller rider, but importantly, her first in the Olympic discipline of parallel giant slalom.

Shaw qualified in ninth position, then defeated German rider Isabella Laboeck in both runs of their round of 16 head-to-head encounter.

The AIS athlete accounted for Swiss rider Patrizia Kummer in the quarter final before going down to World Cup leader Doris Guenther of Austria in the semi-final.

It was the second time this season that Shaw has ridden to fourth place, having also produced fourth and fifth placings in the shorter parallel slalom, a non-Olympic discipline.

Highly revered among fellow Aussie elite riders and many younger fans, Shaw is a regular wearer of 2XU's Women's Fitness, Cycle and Compression gear, utilising the high performance apparel both on & off mountain.

As the alpine snowboard World Cup circuit takes a break for the World Championships in Korea, Guenther leads an Austrian duo at the top of the Cup standings on 3308 points, with team-mate Neururer second on 2600 points.

Shaw is in sixth place on 1718 points.

The World Championship PGS and PSL events will be held in Gangwon, South Korea, on January 20 and 21.

Athlete Audio
Click here to head to Olympic Winter Institute of Australia Gallery and hear audio of Joh following the event!

It's all smiles in this fabulous photograph taken at the 2XU National Junior Development Camp (NJDC), which took place in Runaway Bay, Gold Coast, from December 14-17 late last year.

The NJDC is an annual event targeted at the best ITU Junior Triathletes (16-19) from around Australia, with the aim of complimenting and enhancing the existing State Junior Development Camps conducted by SIS/SAS & STTA Junior Development Programs.

Conducted following the 2XU Super Sprint Race Weekend, the camp was primarily aimed at skill acquistion and the development of Australia's next generation of budding traithletes.

During the camp, the best 45 junior triathletes aged 16-19 were selected by Triathlon Australia and coached/mentored by the leading HP and development coaches in triathlon.

Kitted up in the finest 2XU apparel to ensure a super high performance week, the junior athletes were exposed to advanced bike skills, swimming and running sessions along with seminars on media, sports performance and developlment pathways.

Participants were also treated to a Q&A session with Olympic Gold medalist Emma Snowsill and her coach Craig Walton.

2XU wishes all these superstars a fabulous year of training ahead. May it be injury free and full of PBs!

Perfect conditions greeted competitors in NZ's Contact Tri Series race at Whangamata on Sunday, with flat surf, warm temperatures and a light breeze.
The men’s race boasted a top quality field to match and while it was the familiar figure of Brent Foster who led them out of the swim, twin brothers Andrew and William Curtayne were hot on his tale in 2XU's highly acclaimed V:1 wetsuits.

William Curtayne stayed in touch with 7 times Ironman NZ Champion Cameron Brown in the bike leg, sitting third behind series champion Gisborne Sheldrake.

Brown and Curtayne headed out shoulder to shoulder on the run with Sheldrake ten metres behind. One lap into the three lap run and it was still Brown with Curtayne stalking the 36 year old every step of the way with Sheldrake having slowly dropped off the pace in third.

On the final lap it was the younger and quicker legs of Curtayne that won the day as he broke away to win by 8 seconds.

22 year old William Curtayne was delighted with his race.

“I was so pleased with my bike today, the plan was to stay with whoever went past me on the bike and stay in contact through to the run. To stay in touch with two class guys like Cam and Stephen on the bike was great. I struggled a couple of times on the flat but thankfully there were some hills that allowed me to close up each time," said Curtayne.

William’s twin Andrew, placed third overall - an undoubtedly impressive result for the family.

The Curtayne brothers will compete in 2XU V:1 wetsuits throughout the Contact Tri Series this summer and aim to qualify for the NZ U23 team to the World Championships later in the year.

Last year, 2XU's signature V:1 wetsuit was given an unbeatable 10/10 rating by one of Europe's top triathlon magazines. With the open water season well and truly upon us, now is the time to head instore and get fitted up! Check out www.2xu.com/swim for further info.