Under Mont Blanc, on my own for the first time.
La Thuile sits right at the foot of Mont Blanc, in genuinely gigantic scenery. From my hotel I had a clean view of the mountain the whole time, and it never once got old.
One morning I took the gondola up just to shoot the landscape — because up there it's ridiculous. You can see out across the whole of the French Alps and part of the Italian side too. Worth the trip on its own. One note to self: take a jacket up the mountain. It's a lot colder than the 30°C waiting for you back down in the valley.
La Thuile also handed me the takeaway of the trip — the hard way. My bike was over with my Shimano colleagues, getting a new drivetrain after the old one died at Lenzerheide. At the end of the day it was standing outside, alone and unlocked — anyone could have walked off with it. We got lucky: sent someone over, and it was still there. But the lesson stuck.
My bike stood outside, unlocked, all day. Anyone could have taken it.
Always carry a lock, and lock your bike everywhere — far more gets stolen at World Cups than you'd ever imagine.
It was also the first World Cup I ran completely on my own: no content-marketing colleagues alongside me, no bosses, just me and the ideas. And it worked. I was really happy with what I came away with, the racing gave us a solid result, and I think the team back home was pleased too.
I'm already looking forward to going back next year. That track is the best thing the World Cup has — savage descents, savage climbs, and proper action from the gun to the line.
