It was great to escape the cold German weather for a few days to head to Nalles in Italy for another race.  After a very picturesque four hour drive we arrived in Nalles to a stunning 26 degrees and blue skies. Perfection. I rode 3 laps of the course the evening prior to the race before settling in back at the hotel for some delicious food and drink, good fuel for the long race the next day! Race start was at the usual Sunday afternoon race time of 2 pm so I was able to have a nice lazy morning and enjoy breakfast and the scenery before rolling down to the pits for the start of the race.

 

The course was super fun once the big climb was out of the way! It was basically a long switchback climb up and then some nice single track descending on the way down where the spectators were crowded. I started on the 3rd row and was able to pick up a few spots on the tight congested start loop to sit around 12th into the singletrack. From there the leaders quickly disappeared up the track    so I had to be patient and wait until I had a passing opportunity once out of the singletrack. For the remaining 7 laps I was able to lay down consistently fast laps and reel in riders one by one, eventually finishing in 2nd position behind my team mate Manuel Fumic exactly the same result as the last time we raced in Italy, I think we might have to race there more often!

 

With this result I collected 40 more valuable UCI points something that will come in handy especially later down the track once the World Cups start. After the race we took a short drive a little further up the Vinschgau valley to the town Latsch were we would spend almost all of Monday being shuttled up hills and riding down some of the best singletrack in the world on our Cannondale Jekylls. We also found time to try plenty of beautiful local foods all in all the perfect weekend!