It was a busy week in Ruhpolding, having a (mostly) full team and my parents there for the races. It was also a mixed bag as far as how things went. Pouring rain defined the week, and though the courses held up amazingly, Ruhpolding will not easily shed it’s new nickname. The individual was run in perhaps the worst rain I’ve ever skied in (summer training included), which made for a tough race. I had 3 penalties and ended 55th. The weather and the results improved from there though. With a clean sprint (2nd one of the year!) I ended up in 32nd place-and all three American women qualified for the pursuit which made the day that much better! Unfortunately I wasn’t quite able to hold onto my momentum and finished 43rd with 3 penalties in the pursuit race the next day. Though sun was on the menu for the final race in Ruhpolding, we were all glad to head to Antholz, or “Suntholz” as our Italian coach promised!
Our drive over was beautiful, as was the first day of training. And though the sun has taken a break for some light snow and clouds the last two days, we’re optimistic that the women’s sprint tomorrow will be bright and beautiful. This is the last weekend of racing before we head back to the USA, and with a relay (finally!) on tap, we are all excited to go out with a bang. Wish me luck!