Hello BSF Blog readers!

I just wrapped up some time on the World Cup circuit, and next week I’ll be racing World Cup Finals in Lake Placid alongside my BSF teammate Nina! I’m very excited to race a World Cup on home soil for the first time.

The past few weeks have been a blur of racing, but a very steady diet of fish and pasta. You could even say that it is the (un)official World Cup meal. I’ve since made it to Burlington, Vermont, where I’m staying with Julia Kern for a few days before heading to Lake Placid. I feel confident saying Julia might be the best chef I have ever met, which is a very welcomed change of pace.

A highlight from my trip overseas was racing my first skiathlon! The skiathlon was more challenging than I expected… The race had three laps of a 3.3 km classic course followed by two laps of a 5 km skate course. You wore the same boots, but you were allowed to change skis and poles in the ski exchange zone. I made sure to familiarize myself with the course map for a while because it was fairly confusing.

My favorite venue so far has been Lahti, Finland. The trails are very hilly, but the climbs aren’t long, which makes the courses feel fast and punchy. I especially liked the sprint course. It challenged me because I’m not naturally the strongest hop skater, and the first two hills are usually hop skated by most of the field. I planned to be careful and not flood my legs too early, but I was feeling quick and decided to just go for it. I hop skated both hills and surprised myself. I ended up about four seconds out of the top 30.

Coming from the SuperTour, racing the World Cup took a bit of a mental reset. Domestically, you often line up hoping to fight for the win. While at the World Cup, everyone on the line is highly competitive. My goal has been to break into the top 30, and that alone takes a very good day for me. It’s easy to forget your own ability when you’re surrounded by the best, so I’ve been reminding myself to just focus on skiing smart and learn as much as I can.

Another big difference between racing the SuperTour and the World Cup is the wax service. It’s honestly incredible. On race mornings, the techs test all of your skis. Yes, all of them. They hand select the best pairs for you to try before the race. Additionally, after the race, they clean and prep your skis for travel. I don't have to touch my skis unless I am putting them on my feet!

Looking back at my season, I’m very grateful for how things have gone. I had a lot of fun racing on the SuperTour this winter, podiuming at every single race weekend and winning the Boulder Mountain Tour, which honestly felt pretty far out of reach for me even last season. 

As the season is coming to an end, my focus is shifting to Lake Placid. My family will be there, which always makes racing extra special. I’m also hoping for a bit of redemption in the skate sprint (Last year at Spring Series, I took a pretty solid tumble under the bridge, which wasn’t exactly the highlight of my race). Hopefully, this year I will stay on my feet. And if things go well, maybe sneak into that top 30.

Thanks for following along,

Emma Albrecht