It’s another gorgeous day in paradise!!
Race start is 9:30 am so we headed up at 8 am. What a surprise it was- the sun had not risen above the mountains yet and it was quite cool but we were excited about the race.
Things were very relaxo so we even had time to pop into the bar/ristorante for a chocolate croissant before the start.
We lined up at the start with about 300 people and I was just in front of a lady from Australia that looked about my age so I had a goal! The girl from Russia in front of me seemed really serious and also in my age group.
The course was rolling at the start and then there was a long downhill followed by a 5 km uphill. I never had a chance of keeping up with the Russian girl as she was super fast at double poling. The Australian was a good match and one I’d try to beat . It was crowded at first but soon spread out nicely. Once I got to the top of the hill I knew that we had a 5 km downhill. Then I thought that we’d ski another loop but to my surprise I asked someone at the top of the steep hill just near the finish and he said that I had 5oo m to go. Sure was a nice surprise- even though I had been saving myself for the last 5 km. In the end it was 17.5 km long. Of course, Ross was at the finish waiting for me. He had finished in 1:11:07 and me in 1:32:20. In the end I was 13thwoman out of 55 and 3rd in my age group. (The Russian girl was 2nd and the Australian girl was 4th). After the race the Australian girl and I congratulated each other and she encouraged us to come and do the Kangaroo Hoppet, which she has done 3o years in a row. Robert and Grant were also pretty happy with their results. It was a super day all round! Life in the mountains is such a great lifestyle!
The professional photographers’ photos:
A Nordic Skiing World Loppet Tour 