PBMO 2012

Inca un weekend cu concurs de MTB, de data asta la noi in Oradea. Concursul a fost organizat pentru prima oara de Probikers Bihor, si a fost intitulat Probikers Marathon Oradea. Concursul continea 2 trasee, unul de 35 si unul de 80 de km cu 400 respectiv 900 de metrii diferenta de nivel. Vremea a fost cam mofturoasa toata saptamana, ba ploua ba iesea soarele, nu stiam cum o sa fie pana la data concursului. Initial am vrut sa particip la un alt concurs, dar fiind anulat am optat pentru asta ca nu trebuia sa platesc pentru deplasare si era si la indemana. Cu antrenorul meu am decis sa ma inscriu pe traseul de 35km ca sa fac o incalzire pentru concursul urmator unde voi participa la traseul lung. In dimineata concursului a plouat putin dar nu a afectat prea mult starea traseului. Cand am ajuns la start am fost uimit cati au venit sa pedaleze, un fapt bucurator. Inseamna ca multi s-au apucat de pedalat in ultima vreme si la tot mai multi le place idea de a pedala pe un traseu special ales si "semnalat" de dragul concursului. M-am intalnit cu foarte multi clienti de la Freestyle, cu foarte multi care concureaza alaturi de mine la alte evenimente si nu in ultimul rand 'local boys', care se dau de o vreme buna.

Concursul fiind la prima editie, a strans foarte multi concurenti, nume des intalnite la concursuri din Ardeal,  cativa rideri mai puternici din Ungaria si niciun licentiat. Traseul scurt era usor daca te descurcai cu orientarea si ai gasit marcajele neinspirate, traseul lung era doar lung, tot cu marcajele amintite mai inainte. Foarte multi s-au ratacit (cei care rulau cu viteza de plimbare probabil s-au descurcat mai bine), numarul exact nu stiu dar dupa feedback-ul primit sunt destui. Fara a face reclama proasta pentru eveniment, as vrea sa zic ca era un concurs la prima organizare. Echipa organizatoare nu era la primul eveniment sportiv, fapt ce ma mira cum s-au produs gafele aparute. Totusi s-a vazut un efort de a face tot posibilul ca sa iasa totul "brici". Restul feedback-urilor aici.

Startul a fost amanat cu 30 de minute, datorita numarului mare de participanti care au luat cu "asalt" staff-ul organizator. Dupa ce au pornit cei de la traseul lung, (noi) cei de la traseul scurt au mai asteptat 10 minute (WTF?). Dupa start am pornit tare ca stiam ca aradeanul, Zsolti si ungurul din Nyiregyhaza o sa traga, Zsolti fiind specialist de trasee scurte iar ungurul destul de antrenat si el.

Dupa 500 m Zsolti m-a depasit si n-a durat mult pana m-a depasit si ungurul. Nu am sarit sa ma tin cu el ca asteptam  prima urcare lunga. Intr-un viraj de 90 de grade, din pacate Zsolti a luat-o gresit inainte si n-a mai auzit strigatele noastre. Vecinul de peste granita a continuat la fel ca si mine, pe traseul corect. A avut un avantaj minim dar am revenit repede pe asfalt si m-am stabilit dupa el. Din pacate n-am cunoscut traseul, chiar daca era la mine acasa, si din cauza asta la o urcare brusca dupa asfalt, ungurul m-a surprins, a fortat si a reusit sa se rupa de mine. Eram increzator si m-am gandit ca sa-l prind pe ultima urcare mai lunga din traseu. Tactica nu mi-a iesit, am deviat de 3 ori de pe traseu, dar spre norocul meu am avut un codas care mai striga dupa mine si ma indrepta in directia corecta. Grazie Titi!!!

Asa am terminat cu aproape 4 minute dupa ungur pe locul doi, singur pe podium (din greseala organizatorilor). Pentru antrenament a fost numai bun acest eveniment si sper ca la anul se va ridica bara.

Oradea merita! Biciclistii merita, la fel si sportivii amatori.

Multumesc FreestyleSport pentru sprijin, Ioana pentru suportul maxim, Marci pentru sfaturi, si Mama Natura ca a tinut cu noi.

Un reportaj realizat de televiziunea locala: http://tvs.ro/sport/10192-maraton-de-ciclism.html

Another weekend of MTB-competition, this time in our beloved city, Oradea. The race was organized for the first time by Probikers Bihor, under the name Probikers Marathon Oradea. The competition contained two tracks, one 35 and a another one, 80 km with 400 meters and 900 meter of elevation. The weather was  a bit picky along the week, rainy and sunny too. I did not know how to prepare myself for the race. Initially I wanted to participate in another competition, but it was canceled, so I chose to compete home. With my coach I decided to register on the 35km route to make a warm up for the next race in Cluj where i'll do the long route. In the morning it rained a little bitbut did not affect too much the track. When I arrived at the register point, I was amazed how many people came to pedal, a fact that makes me happy. Means that many have recently started riding and more and more like the idea of ​​a special route chosen to ride on and "signed" for the sake of competition. I met with many customers from Freestyle, with many who are competing in other events along with me and last but not least 'local boys'.

It was the first edition of this race, it has raised many competitors, some common name in  Transylvanian race scene and a few stronger riders from Hungary. The short route was pretty easy if could you deal with the orinteering and you could find those clumsy markings. The long route was just long, all the markings were like mentioned before. Many were lost (those who ran at low speed  probably fared better), I do not know their exact number but after the feedbacks, they were a lot. Don't wan't to do bad advertising for the event,  I would rather say, it was a race at the first edition. For the organizing team wasn't the first sporting event, which surprised me as there were many blunders, although we could see some effort from the staff, to do everything possible to make the event nice and enjoyable. The rest  of the feedbacks u can find it here.

The start was delayed by 30 minutes, the large number of participants "assaulted" the staff and surprised them. After the start for the long-track, (we) from the short track have waited for 10 minutes (WTF?). After the start, i went off strong because I knew that Zsolti from Arad, and the Hungarian guy from Nyiregyhaza would attack asap. Zsolt is a short track specialist, and Hungarian guy was strong enough too. After 500 m Zsolt passed me and it took not long until the Hungarian guy did too.  In a 90 degree turn, Zsolt unfortunately took it wrong ahead and didn't heard our calls. The hungarian neighbour and me took the correct route. He had a minimal advantage but I recovered it quickly on the asphalt section and I settled after him. Unfortunately I didn't knew the track, even if it was near Oradea, and because of that, at a sudden climb after the asphalt section, the Hungarian surprised me, forced and managed to break away from me. I was confident and I thought to catch him at the last longer climb of the track . Tactics went wrong, I deviated from the track about three times, but luckily for me I had a "slacker" who shouted at me and turned me in the right direction. Titi, Grazie!

So I finished nearly four minutes after the Hungarian guy.(second, alone on the podium, another mistake by the organizers). The race in itself was a good training and I hope next year they will raise the bar.

Oradea it's worth! Cyclists deserve it, as well as the amateur athletes.

Thanks FreestyleSport  for the support, Ioana for maximum support, Marci for the good advices, and Mother Nature that she had kept with us.

A report conducted by local TV: http://tvs.ro/sport/10192-maraton-de-ciclism.html

Maros Bike XCO Cup 2012

Al doilea concurs de anul asta, pentru mine, a fost Cupa Maros XCO din padurea Faget, Cluj-Napoca.
Evitand superlativele, pot sa spun ca editia asta a concursului Maros Bike XCO, a fost foarte reusita din punctul de vedere a unui concurent amator si a unui de spectator.
Editia actuala a fost mutata mai devreme si imi era frica de vremea ploioasa. Cu noroc am ajuns cu doua nopti inainte de concurs in Cluj si m-am odihnit pentru antrenamentul de vineri. Inainte de pranz m-am intalnit cu antrenorul meu, si ne-am dus pe traseu sa vedem ce ne-au pregatit cei de la Maros Bike, in afara de ce stiam din anii trecuti. In mare parte a fost acelasi traseu dar au mai aparut sectiuni modificate, si alte linii de abordat. Chiar antrenorul mi-a atras atentia asupra catorva linii interesante care te ajuta sa-ti mentii elanul sau viteza. Ajuta enorm de mult sa te consulti cu cineva care face asta de ani buni. Am exersat liniile, sectiunile dificile si incercam sa fac sa-mi iasa totul bine. A fost o zi reusita pentru mine pe traseu, dar nu si pentru antrenorul meu, caruia i s-a defectat frana, ("damn"o frana noua si  tare scumpa). A trebuit sa-si schimbe frana complet.
Vineri seara a inceput sa ploua lasand teama mea sa se adevereasca, eram fara cauciucuri de noroi, pe langa astea eram pregatit mai mult pentru praf si pietre.  Norocul nostru ca totusi nu a plouat toata noaptea, dimineata am gasit traseul intr-o stare destul de acceptabila, dar si asa mi-a alunecat roata din fata de vreo 2 ori, si la urcari am pedalat in gol. Dupa start am pornit foarte bine, am mers cu primii concurenti aproape pana in capatul primei ture. Sectiunea Phoo-tai mi-a venit de hac si anul asta, m-a scos total din echilibru. In rest am parcurs ok tot traseul, pe liniile alese la antrenament. Pe la jumatatea turei a doua mi s-a intamplat ceva ciudat, si am inceput sa pierd pozitie cu pozitie, eram depasit de concurenti. Am facut cateva gafe din care o sa invat si sper ca in viitor sa nu le mai repet.
Dupa desfasurarea competitiei pentru amatori, a urmat concursul rachetelor (elite), ei urmareau puncte pentru calificari la Jocurile Olimpice. Au participat rideri destul de importanti din Ungaria, Slovacia, Serbia, Polonia, Germania, si normal si din tara noastra. Concursul a fost castigat de ungurul Andras Parti, urmat de campionul Poloniei. Parti s-a impus cu un avans de 2 minute. In urma lor au fost lupte acerbe intre participanti (Buruczki, Juhasz, Blazso, Sonntag). Fiecare isi juca tactica si vroia sa-si arate albul dintilor, dar a fost ziua lui Parti care a facut o demonstratie de forta. Simt ca acest concurs ia amploare in fiecare an si cred ca in scurt timp o sa devine un eveniment important in zona Est-Europeana.
Anul asta n-am reusit sa ma autodepasesc dar simt ca evoluez, si cu antrenamentele constante sper sa am si rezultate in scurt timp. E prima oara cand concurez pe sistemul 2x9 si pot sa spun ca e fenomenal, trebuie un antrenament mai serios dar, cu siguranta este mai eficient decat cu 3 foi.
A fost un concurs si un eveniment pe cinste, cu prieteni, biciclisti amatori, profesionisti (legitimati de talie de cupa mondiala), abia astept editia viitoare 'to let it roll'. Ma bucur ca ne indreptam catre ceva mai bun, macar la MTB.
Multumesc prietenilor, colegilor  si celor care m-au sustinut de pe margine si m-au ajutat, mersi Marci pentru bikesetup si sfaturi, mersi Eli de cadou - un gest surprinzator, multumesc Freestylesport - magazinul care ma sustine, si o nota de 10 pentru cei care au venit sa faca poze si sa transforme acest eveniment intr-unul de neuitat. Locul 12  e un inceput bn.

The second competition this year for me was the Maros Cup XCO in Faget Forest, near Cluj-Napoca.
Avoiding superlatives, I can say that this edition of the contest , has been very successful in terms of an amateur competitor and a spectator too.
The current edition has been moved earlier and I was a bit afraid of rainy weather. With luck I arrived two nights before the race in Cluj and rested for friday's track inspection. Before lunch I met with my coach, and we went on the track to see what the guys from Maros Bike prepared, except I knew from previous years. The track was almost the same with some modified sections, and other lines to approach. Even the coach drew my attention to some interesting lines that could help me keep the momentum and speed. It helps enormously to consult with someone, who is doing this for years. We rehearsed the lines, the difficult sections and it worked out all right. It was a success for me on the track, but not for my coach, whos right brake system leaked("damn" a new and very expensive brake), it had to be changed completely.
Friday night it started to rain, leaving my fear come true, had no mud-tires, besides I was more prepared for dust and rocks. Lucky for us that it hasn't rained all night, and in the morning  found the trail quite acceptable, but even so my front wheel slipped 2 times, and in the climbings i was pedalling empty. After the start I went very well  with the runners almost to the end of the first lap. The Phoo-tai section took me completely out of balance. Otherwise went all the way ok, the lines chosen on practice went also ok. In the second half of lap 2 something strange happened to me, and I began to lose position by position. I made some blunders from which i have to learn and hopefully will not repeat them in the future .
After the competition for the amateurs, the rocket contest followed (Elite), they raced for Olympics qualifying points. Very important riders participated  from Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Poland, Germany, and from our country. The race was won by Hungarian rider Andras Parti, followed by the polish champion. Party has won with an advance of 2 minutes. Behind them were fierce battles between the participants (Buruczki, Juhasz, Blazso, Sonntag). Each played their tactics and wanted to show their skills. It seems that the competition got tougher every year and I think that soon it will become an important event in the East European region.
This year I didn't managed to overcome my latest results but i'm evolving, and with constant training hope to have good results soon. It's my first time competing with the 2x9 system and I can say it's phenomenal, needs a serious workout but certainly more effective than 3 chainrings.
It was a good race event with friends, amateur and professional cyclists(World Cup class). I just can't wait for the future 'to let it roll'. I'm glad that we're heading towards something better, even if only in MTB.
Many thanks to my friends, colleagues and those who cheered, supported and helped me on the sideline and , thanks  coach for my bikesetup and tech-tips, thanks Eli fro the gift - a surprising gesture, thanks Freestylesport - the store which supports me all the time, and 10+ for those who came to take pictures and turn the race into a memorable event. 12th place its not a bad start.