Ursbrungsland biathlon team made a small ”Tour de Ski” in January 2016. The skiing season in southern Finland has been poor because of the lack of snow. The situation wasn’t much better in Northern Italy, but the higher you go, the more white gold can be found.

There are not too many holiday days to spent, so we decided to make the trip as efficient ”long weekend”. Marja and Jukka took part in the skiing race ”Dolomitenlauf” (more: http://www.dolomitensport.at/en/dolomitenlauf/) while Aino and Juha were the supporters. Dolomitenlauf is one of the Worldlopped’s 20 races and biggesst cross-country ski race of Austria.

We left on Wednesday evening to Munich. Luckily Lufthansa is one of the few ”old time” airlines serving beer and wine in the plane. Only pay attention that sometimes the skis are considered as one luggage, sometimes not.

From Munich you can easily (and cheap) rent a car. Our Hyundai had at least some character! The first evening we just drove a bit south and stayed over in Oberaudorf. Keep in mind that (too) early in the morning they tend to play the bells of the church in little German villages. Sweet.

On Thursday we drove towards Italy.

TIP! Vignette ”highway payment” costs 9 euros for ten days, and needs to be bought in the first gas station in Austria.

On the way we had a look at Achensee (Lake Achen). We stopped by in Innsbruck for a lunch. Always prefer the daily menu, it’s fast, sure, fresh and usually local! Innsbruck is worth to visit if you are anyway driving by, it has a nice small center.

The boarders between Germany, Austria and Italy are not seen when you drive, and suddenly you end up in the Italian highway. There are fees too, just follow the other cars, take a ticket from a machine and once you leave the high way, pay the amount (9 euros from the boarder to the exit to Brunico).

South Tyrol is full of tourists around the days of Biathlon World Cup. Or was it because of that, but anyway, it wasn’t the easiest thing to find accommodation for us around in Brunico or Dobbiaco. We stayed in a very lovely place called Mitterhoff 1554 (http://www.apartments-mitterhof-1544.com/index.en.php) It was a bit of walking to the center of Brunico, but on the hand we anyway had the car (but where’s the driver?)

During the Biathlon World Cup (http://www.biathlon-antholz.it/EN) they have organised a Biathlon village in the valley of Anterselva. From their web page: ”This is the place to party, dance and have a great time until the early hours of the morning – where time-aged taverns, stables and garages metamorphose into trendy bars. Whether you are into rock, pop, folk music or techno: fans of all styles of music can find the perfect vibe at the Biathlon Village.” So, a place for us, right? We took a train from Brunico to Olang. Train was cheap (buy the ticket from the machine at the station) and fast. From Olang you can take a free shuttle to the party! And it was such a party! All the cow shelters have turned into pubs, people were in a good mood… In one pub (built from some temporary elements) was a band ”Flying Dutchman Orkestra” playing. If you notice they are around, it’s a party worth of visiting! Finally something different to the German ”party” music 😉 The beer is cheap (compared to Finland of course), everybody happy…

Well, we came back to our residence on early hours with a taxi (50 euros) and the next day was harder than planned… Luckily we made it and went to ski (yes, really, slalom!) to nearby Kronplatz (http://www.kronplatz.com/en). Juha was with snowboard, and Marja and Jukka with the skis. The ticket for a day is relatively expensive (as we arrived only after the half of the day was already behind, it was 36 eur per person). Renting the equipment instead was cheap! The basic gear was 18 euros per person. It’s possible to upgrade, but no need for us, in slalom we are beginners. The skiing is not really our major, and it was a bit hard in the beginning. Later on it got better, Marja only took one black piste by mistake and ended up standing in the middle of the hill for half an hour. But came down! The Après-Ski is so popular in the Alps and around, the people really make a party after every day being on the skis. At least in Kronplatz, it didn’t last too long, after closing the lifts maybe three hours, then everybody already went to their accommodations.

In the evening we went to a pizzeria in Brunico, the pizza really was the best option to finish the  hard day.

On Saturday it was the day for the biathlon itself! We got there by car, the parking is easy and free and the shuttle takes you to Anterselva. It was full of people, mainly Germans, and athmospehere is unique! There were both women and men pursuits on the program. The tickets to stadium were sold out, but we anyway prefer the spots somewhere along the track as you are closer to the athletes. Some people have come there (with their own Jägermaister, sausages, beers, tables, chairs…) already early in the morning, so the spot right in front is hard to get. It requires negotiation skills…

TIP! Even it looks a sunny weather, wear all you clothes you can possibly find to survive in the whole day standing outdoors! Especially take care of the feet, a cover under the shoes where you stand is not a bad idea!

It’s good to have a bell to ring for the competitors, shouting for 4 hours is quite demanding. 🙂 Alongside the track it’s also possible to see the competitors before and after the race to test the skis or to cool down. Our main target was to catch Kaisa Mäkäräinen and ask for a signature for our Finnish flag. Well, we missed her (as well as Marja’s favourites Martin Fourcade and Emil Hegle Svedsen), but instead we got signatures of Dominik Windisch (ITA), Tomas Krupcik (CZE) and Jaroslav Soukup (CZE).

After the race we drove to Austria. We stopped for a crocery store in Sillian, on the last minute! TIP! Remember to shops are basically closed on Sundays in Austria! We had an accommodation in Lienz, a house of Birgit Jeller. We can higly recommend this place (http://www.hausjeller.at/). It was a very nice flat close to Lienz. For a dinner we ate as much as possible to survive the Dolomitenlauf on following day.

After not so many training hours, we were very insecure how it will be in the race. Due to lack of snow, the original route of 60 km from Obertilliach to Lienz was changed to 42 km around Obertilliach. That was a relief for us. To Obertilliach we went by shuttle from railway station of Lienz. We were on the spot 1,5 hours before the race, it’s good timing. Sun was shining, the scenery was beautiful. We met a few Finnish skiers we have got to know from last winter, they are part of Worldloppet Masters Finland (our idols!). Our goal is to achieve the ”Master” title before we turn 40. These people are fantastic, some of them stay three weeks in heart of Europe only to take part in Worldloppet competitions. Next year us too?

The start of the race was just like in all mass events, nobody moves and people crush each other. Marja was having a better position in the starting line than Jukka (who needed to visit the forest just 3 minutes before the start), and wasn’t that stuck.

TIP! Always try to be in the front group, you don’t have to pass so many people on the way, and it’s easier to keep you own rhythm.

Marja had euphoria, such a big feeling of happiness. Partly it was probably because of the new ski gear, a team outfit from Finnish national team. Somehow it had such a massive effect, it gave self-confidence. Jukka’s race was harder, but he managed also very well.

Marja did 42 km for 2:34:32.0 being 17^th out of 31 women. The winner was Aurelie Dabyduk (FRA) with 01:41:32.3. Jukka’s time was 02:45:42.1 being 209^th out of 241 men. The winner was Bastien Poirrier (FRA) with 01:32:42.3.

After the race we got our Worldloppet passports stamped (the most important!) and some food, and beer too. The shuttle took us back to Lienz, and after some rest, in the evening we went for a dinner. We found a restaurant called Goldener Fisch (http://www.goldener-fisch.at/en/). Their food was something to recommend! Especially try the daily menu (soup, main course and desert). Lovely!

On Monday it was time to head home after the great trip. On our way back to Munich airport we stopped by in Kitzbuehel, where they had just had the Slalom World Cup. The town (or should it be rather village) was pretty, but also quite luxorious. A bit too fancy for us. But worth for a small visit!

To drop the great holiday mood back to normal we also visited Dachau concentration camp. It lies close to Munich airport and it’s very easy to access (https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/directions.html). There is no entrance fee, and there are still very dramatic things to see. Sad sad history, just hoping people would learn from the past!

We recommend Dolomitenlauf and the trip around it! It was very well organised competition and everything was working fine! The track was perfect, and they even organised beautiful weather for us. What more to hope for!

Until the next time… Grüss Gott!