My original plan was to return to Livigno and altitude after Les Gets and stay until Lenzerheide. I had to put that plan on the scrapheap and stay at low altitude in order to recover from illness so I was feeling quite unprepared to race at high altitude again. My confidence had been boosted however by a strong performance in Val di Sole the week prior so not all hope seemed lost.
I felt a bit flat the first days up at altitude again but later in the week I started to feel a bit more like myself. I had a great start in the short track and felt awesome for the first 5 mins until the lack of oxygen hit me and I dropped back through the pack to finish 26th, just missing out on a 3rd row start. Lenzerheide is the most important track on the World Cup calendar to start close to the front, so I was a little disappointed to be starting all the way back on the 4th row. Nevertheless I would have to make do on Sunday.
On Sunday I wasn’t able to move forward much on the start loop but picked up a few riders on the first couple of laps to find myself up to 17th position. A few minutes later I was back in 26th, such is the nature of World Cup racing! If you ease off for 30 seconds you can get passed by 10 riders. I was able to ride consistently and within my limits during the race but lacked any real punch over the last couple of laps to catch and pass the next group of riders in front, coming home in 21st position. Happy enough in the end.