Diggin’ Davos
The U.S. Cross Country ski team is racing and training in Davos, Switzerland. We have been here for about 5 days preparing for yesterday’s 15k classic race and today’s 4×10k relay. Several inches of snow have fallen since our arrival on Monday, making the skiing conditions great but very unpredictable. Unstable weather can sometimes make ski waxing conditions very tricky on race day.
Yesterday’s 15k classic race was a perfect example of how waxing-and timing-can sometimes make or break your race. We got hammered with snow 15 minutes before the start of the race and before long, the tracks had almost an inch of fresh powder in them. This doesn’t make things very fair for the first starters and unfortunately I was one of those first starters.
The first five kilometers of my race was a rough one. I had to stop once or twice to slap the snow off the bottom of my ski. Although I didn’t have much riding on yesterday’s distance race, is was still a little disappointing because it was my first distance world cup finish and it didn’t exactly go that well. Since I am primarily a sprinter on tour, I don’t get too many chances to start 15k races so it’s a little frustrating when the conditions aren’t going your way.
It was a good practice race regardless and will only help my fitness level going into Russia next week. The World Cup continues next weekend with a 30k and a sprint in Rybinsk Russia. After last weeks 4th place finish in Kuusamo, this will be an important race for me to try and pick up some more points. Last year was my first time going to Russia to race and it was intense! I’ll have to make sure to take some pictures. It will be a little bit different than the powder and sun of Switzerland.