Davos is many things and brings to mind fine high-mountain living, deep mountain valleys, and an old-school vibe stop on the World Cup. The weekend began with a zippy skate sprint that at least for the moment brought a familiar feel to sprinting when Italy’s Federico Pellegrino took the win. However, on the women’s side, a persistent and tenacious athlete, Rosie Brennan, took her first career World Cup win. She can sprint. But had we placed a wager on a first win coming in sprint or distance, we would have gone for distance eight out of time times.
Yet on Saturday, there was Brennan, streaming ahead on the final straight with enough composure and a time gap to celebrate across the finish line. Pure joy. And fun to watch. The following day, in cross-country skiing’s race of truth, Brennan smashed ahead on the decidedly old-school Davos 5 k loop and won the race with half a minute to spare. A clean-sweep-weekend for Brennan earns her the overall lead in the World Cup after five races and the honor of wearing the yellow bib.
Sure we talk most things that transpired in Davos: some misses for the U.S. men, a solid performance by Scott Patterson in the 15 k skate, a slew of American men stoutly qualifying in the sprint, (think JC Schoonmaker and Kevin Bolger), and Hailey Swirbul’s most excellent third place in the women’s 10 k.
The race series moves on to Dresden, Germany next week, where the city is under strict lockdown orders due to Covid-19. It’s definitely onward for the World Cup, we hope it’s upward.
