WSA World Championships Italy Dryland

In November 2017 I attended my first ever World Championship race, hosted in Falzè Di Piave in Italy, this was a Dryland race which means no snow and far closer to the type of racing I am accustomed to.

I once again packed my van up and this time took a solo road trip to an area in Italy just North of Venice. One of the most striking moments was driving through a tunnel in the Alps and leaving an alpine Bavarian landscape on one side and emerging into a dry landscape of vineyards and Mediterranean style buildings. It was most surreal.

The event was a much smaller event than the previous snow event I had attended under the World Sleddog Association which is common as competitors tend to travel less for Dryland events than for snow events. The setting was stunning with the Alps as a distant backdrop and the trail running through vineyards for the first km.

After 2 days of racing and a combined racing time of over 40minutes I finished in 5th place, just 1/4 of a second off fourth, a massive improvement in position and a real confidence booster I was starting to recognise what I needed to do.