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And the band played on….

It is race day in Wengen. This is one of the big days in the calendar for the Swiss. Balmers Herberge in Interlaken, where I am staying has been a hive of activity since 5.30am. The journey up the hill begins early if you want to get the best spot, or for some, just want to get up the hill! The road up from Interlaken and then into Wilderswill was a long snake of cars. And it is not just the Swiss making the journey: This morning Klaus Kroell’s family were heading up the hill from Balmers. The guy minding the desk in Balmers, Marcus, an Englishman who has been working at the Hostel for many years, says that the staff are hoping for a Swiss win as this will mean the majority of the residents stay up on the hill and party the night away.

As I sit and wait for breakfast to start at 6.30am there is a loud bump and Marcus is off to investigate. 2 minutes later he is back down and reports that it was a group of Swiss fans waking one of their group up by pushing him out of bed. The partying on Friday night had gone on long into the night with some just getting a bare three hours of kip! Hard core?

Wengen has been a regular stop on the Racer Ready World Cup coverage tour since we started. Experience tells you that if you do not get to the station at Lauterbrunnen before 7am then you will be queueing long into the morning. With the race starting at 12.30pm is it really necessary to get there so early? It is an experience coming up the train as the Big Band experience starts from right down in the valley. If you want a lie in on the Saturday, then you have another problem: these bands play music, galvanising music that stirs you up. Lauterbrunnen at 7 in the morning is full of activity: Cars are still streaming in and going on to the campsites that are doubling up as car parks. People are walking to the station and the queue is already around the ticket office… Maybe next year I should think about breakfast at 5.30am…

Luckily with a press card there is a short cut avoiding the queue around the ticket office and there is a train waiting. Amongst others we clamber on board and I catch up with one of the other guys that works the World Cup tour but from the athletes side. Being an ex coach from Vail we started talking about that side of the equation that is racing and the subject of starts comes up. I say how much they have changed this year and compare the importance of the start with plastic racing. My colleague then mentions that he used to coach a young Scottish racer and wonders what happened to him. Turns out that the racer in question was from Glasgow and is now one of the British Team coaches! It is a small world.

Anyway the train is full and struggles up the hill. There is the odd drum roll as we work our way up the hill and when the train pulls into Wengen we jump out. It is 8am and the village is rocking and rolling. The party has started already and as I walk past the World Cup Village (where they do the Start number giving out for the top 15 seeds and also the prize giving) there is another band playing.

Walking past a number of the hotels as I saunter off to the press centre, people are looking out as they eat their breakfast. The anticipation is rife and the excitement is huge. Even the coffee shops are full…

And the band played on….