Our first OPA races in Rogla were tough; everyone has been feeling the lingering effects of a long two days of travel which included almost twice as much time in the car as on the plane, as well as slowly adjusting to the 1500 meter altitude. For all of us, this is our first time racing up high this season and it always takes a little time for us ‘flatlanders’ to remember how to do it.
Pat in the 10km
Rogla is a wild place. It’s a small resort perched on the summit of big hill in northeastern Slovenia. The wind howls and snow blows constantly, but unfortunately there was only a few centimeters of it for us to ski on. The organizers managed to shovel the 5k World Cup loop into decent shape, and the weather cooperated perfectly for the weekend races, a 5k/10k classic on Saturday and a 15k/30k skate mass start on Sunday. We had 40 degree weather and blue bird skies that lasted until the finish of the 30km, when the clouds immediately rolled in and the sun disappeared. Our top result of the weekend was Ida in 10th in the classic race. It’s a small but talented field here, with 15 racers with FIS points under 40 on the men’s side. If you’re off, you can easily be at the back. If you’re on though, you can mix it up at the front. Sylvan (Vail/Team Homegrown) had a solid race in 6th.
Sylvan moving down the hill.
Everyone is looking forward to the races in Ramsau am Dachstein this weekend, and with few more days to adjust and rest we should be ready to go.
Tim skating the corners Italian style.
