Not just passing through
At half past twelve on a weekday in late September, Daniel Bækkegård pauses his bike computer for a stop at Café Belmont, three hours into a 120-kilometre ride. Behind the counter, Filippa Thyberg Jørgensen already has his coffee ready. With the summer crowds gone, Belmont is back to being the locals’ meeting place, and the couple get ten, sometimes fifteen, minutes together. Filippa says it is nice to see each other as part of an ordinary day in town.
It is the one real pause in Daniel’s training day. By dinner, he will have ridden 120 kilometres, run 18 kilometres and swum six kilometres – roughly six hours of training. That is the workload of one of Denmark’s best long-distance triathletes. Yet in St. Moritz, the roles are reversed.
«Everybody knows Filippa, and nobody knows me,» he says. «I’m just that weirdo riding a bike or running.»
A Day in the Life
07:00
Both: Wake up.
07:15
Filippa: Two slices of knækbrød with cottage cheese.
Daniel: Checks the weather, confirms route and distances for the day.
07:30
Filippa: 5 km loop around Lake Champfèr.
Daniel: Overnight oats with fruit.
08:15
Both: Coffee together. Filippa adds three scrambled eggs
08:30
Daniel: Foam rolling and stretching.
08:42
Filippa: Bus to Schulhausplatz.
09:00
Filippa: Barista shift starts at Café Belmont.
Daniel: 120 km on the bike: Maloja and back twice with intervals, then out to Zernez and home.
12:30
Both: Coffee together at Café Belmont. Then Daniel rides home.
13:00
Filippa: Lunch on the go.
Daniel: A meal-prepped butter chicken or teriyaki wok, plus a big bowl of pasta.
14:00
Daniel: Emails and social media.
14:45
Daniel: Run: 18 km with intervals, straight from home on the endless running trails.
15:50
Daniel: Drives to Ovaverva for a 6 km swim.
16:05
Filippa: Bus home.
16:30
Filippa: Studies: a group presentation for UCN.
17:30
Daniel: Home, shower, picks up Filippa.
17:50
Both: Into town together.
18:00
Both: Dinner at La Scarpetta.
20:45
Both: A Danish series, or Suits.
21:30
Filippa: Packs for the gym and work the next day, plus skincare (very important in this dry, high climate).
Daniel: Reviews the day: 120 km, 18 km, 6 km.
22:00
Both: Lights out.
From the Pool to the Podium
Daniel began his athletic career as a swimmer, earning more than 10 Danish national championship medals before switching to triathlon. He turned professional in 2019 and won IRONMAN Austria on his full-distance debut. In 2021, he took bronze at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship and reached sixth place in the PTO world rankings. He finished seventh at the IRONMAN World Championship in St. George in 2022 and won IRONMAN Western Australia with a course record in 2023.
Then came years of injuries and racing through pain. As the results declined, partners walked away.
«You find out you’re just a number on an Excel spreadsheet,» he says.
So he returned to the reason he had started. «I’ve always done the sport because it’s what I love.»
On October 10th, he will line up again in Kona – a goal that has driven him through the darker moments.
Life at 1,856 Meters For years
For years, Daniel spent between 150 and 250 days annually at training camps. A camp in St. Moritz changed that. He moved here in January 2024, and now the training comes to him.
At 1,856 metres above sea level, the altitude does part of the work every day. Mountain passes such as the Bernina, Albula and Flüela, as well as the Forcola di Livigno, offer countless possible cycling routes. There are running trails leading directly from town, lakes for open-water swimming and year-round lanes at the recently renovated Ovaverva pool.
Daniel trains between 30 and 40 hours a week, much of it directly from his doorstep. With other professional athletes regularly coming through St. Moritz, he is rarely alone.
«Up here, I found a lot of other ‘weirdos’ to train with,» he says.
It is not only the summer that provides an ideal training ground. Winter has won him over as well. When Daniel talks about ski mountaineering, he lights up.
«It’s the craziest workout you can ever do.»
Daniel and Filippa plan to spend the entire coming winter at home – a first in his professional career. And who knows: perhaps we will see him on the starting line of the Engadin Ski Marathon in March.
Filippa's St. Moritz
Filippa followed a few months later, in June 2024. She grew up in Aarhus, Denmark, and had previously lived abroad for three years. As she says herself, she was already "in adventure mode."
Her mornings begin with a five-kilometer run around Lake Champfèr, followed by a bus ride into town. She believes that how easy it is to get around using public transportation is something visitors often underestimate.
«When you’re local, getting around is the easiest thing,» she says.
At Café Belmont, Filippa has become one of the town’s familiar faces. Meeting locals and guests is her favourite part of the job. Her afternoons are dedicated to her online studies at UCN Aalborg, while quiet evenings are spent on the balcony, looking towards the mountains.
Her insider tip is the local annual mountain railway pass, which is valid year-round on the Upper Engadin mountain railways. Living here has also changed the way she sees St. Moritz. Before moving, visiting St. Moritz had seemed inaccessible. After living here, she realised that a stay does not necessarily have to be long.
«You don’t need to come for two weeks. You can spend three really good days and still get all of it.»
Her connections in town came in handy when Daniel turned 30 this spring. Filippa wanted to give him a memory of St. Moritz, so she bought him a print by Tony Kelly, a regular at Café Belmont. Silvano, the owner, arranged for the artist to sign and date the print himself. It now hangs in the living room of their apartment.
Filippa, slightly tongue in cheek, chose an image of a group of nuns skiing through fresh powder – a departure from Kelly’s usual photographs of scantily clad supermodels.
Off the Clock
A day off is simple, although rare for Daniel: a slow coffee, a hike up to Muottas Muragl for a Schorle at the top, or a drive over the Maloja Pass to Chiavenna. In winter, it is skis and a mountain hut.
Some of Daniel’s competitors have been told that having a girlfriend is a distraction. He has his own answer. Asked about the best part of his day, he smiles.
«Being with my girlfriend»
In a few days, the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona will take him to the other side of the world – to a different climate and a long way from this corner of the Engadin. Their schedules will separate for a while, but the belief remains the same. The work at altitude is done. Now it is time to put everything on the line.
And whatever happens, one thing is certain: they will soon be back together in the Engadin.
