Faget Maraton 2013

In every season comes a race before you can't sleep. For me its one of the first races in the seasons or the nationals. The nationals are a bit away, but the Faget Marathon was held last weekend so i had some sleeping problems. Well couldn't do much about it, i was nervous, what can i say. New year, new team, new bike, new goals and lets say it, better results expected. I only saw the design of the new kit, didn't had the chance to try it on. But arriving in Cluj on day before the race, managed to take my registration pack, and later the evening my racing kit. What can i say? Gorgeous. I like the material, like how it feels, seems a bit small to me but i like it aerodynamic :D 

In the morning before the race i made my rituals, and went on sight. Was pretty hot outside, didn't do much warm up, just waited for the start, to much time without racing. At first i thought the short trackers will start separate but at the and the pulled all of us together. This part i didn't like that much. Right after the start the police car got held up, and everyone spread in hundreds of directions. What can i say, got a bit messy but in a few seconds everything got back normal, and we had a huge sprint on the tarmac towards the forest. Separate starting helps a lot to avoid start crashes. Many rookies mixed up with some assholes how just don't know how to ride in peloton, cause unpleasant events. Luckily got away with no scratches. 

Did not know in which place i'm rolling, so took the 110% tactic, as the race started with 15 km , 7 degree average climb. Was a bit uncomfortable to roll in 110% mode, but i felt ok, had some problems with some youngsters who are becoming pretty fast, but i'm not that old also, so was nice to battle. After the race we had almost only descents, here i started to have some tiny problems with my brakes. I did not manage to brake correctly before the corners and went through a few times. Soon i will upgrade them. I lost a few seconds with this problem, but as i got back on track pulled hard on the pedals and kept on going. Was a bit frustrating to lose the hard earned positions. Before the last climb my tube and pump fell of my bike and had to stop to get them. A rider passed me, as i found out later in the finish he was the winner of my category. I almost had it....damn. So back in saddle, fight goes on. The last climb is coming, but shoot!! i didn't rest a bit for it. I started on bike but could not make it on it so pushed till the end, 3 riders passed me luckily only one of them was in my category. Tried to catch him but the climb took my last reserve of energy. On the downhill i enjoyed the advantages of the 29er wheels and finished the race in 1:39, 3rd in my category and 13th overall. Almost achieved my goals, but being so close, makes me optimistic in the future.

Nice race, nice track, nice organization nice ride. 

Many thanks to my family for support, thanks Ioana for being number one fan of mine, thanks INTERTEAM for the logistics and administration, thanks NUTREND for nutritional supplements and many thanks KROSS for my awesome ride. 

See you at the 11th Buda Marathon in Budapest.

Cheers.

Nephew

Probikers Maraton 2013

Finally back in business. First mtb marathon of the year. I was lucky to have it in my city, so i knew the track pretty good. I also helped the organizers ti draw the course so i had a bit of an advantage before the others but on short track it's not that much, because everyone is running on 100%. On week before the race i got my new 2013 race-bike. Didn't had much time to accommodate with it but i managed to do some adjustment for my personal preference. For the day of the race a pretty numbered crowd got together to race on the 1 lap or 2 lap course, the

short track was 36km the Marathon was the twice of this. 

Started the race after a half an hour of the long track starters, went off pretty fast, the "safety car"  (police) went too fast, and some of the rookies took up a pretty fast speed. Which was not safe on tarmac, if you do not know how to pedal in a peloton. Luckily no one got hurt, and after the tarmac section it followed with a climb and a power horses went in the front, lucky me i could follow them so i got a bit of a gap between me and my followers. From that time i got into pursuit mode, and tried to pass whoever i could. It was a pretty fast race, i couldn't do no tactics, full gas all the time, almost all the time on the big chain-wheel. I really wanted to get on the podium as last year. I was really motivated. Didn't felt that i changed bikes since last year, it was that natural to stay on a 29er, by the way. After 20 km a realized that i'm gonna race with Oli from the Bikenet team from Cluj. I knew he's a powermachine, and if i'm not pushing it hard on the climbs he will beat my ass...oh sorry for that. At one of the last climbs he managed to pull of and got a pretty nice gap, but i had him in sight, thanks for the red outfit he had. In the last 10k's i pulled out all of my cards and got hard on the pedal, taking the risk of a puncture to get Oli. The rocky flats really shake me off, but thanks to the carbon frame it was a bit comfier than last year, not to mention the big wheels. This way i managed to get  Oli with 1k before the finish, passed him and pulled out a strong sprint, but on a tricky descent my chain got of and i lost my position. At that point i didn't knew what position i was, but at the end i came in 4th in category and 5th in general. Sometimes such things happen, i was lucky to pull off a good race with my new bike, so im not that disappointed. Next year i will do better and there are more races to come.

Congrats to Oli for the good fight. 

Many thanks for the timing-guys, organizers and congrats to all the participants who came and made this event a special event.

My special thanks to my partners and sponsors who help me race and keep my motivation alive: Createch, X-factor.ro, Nutrend and KROSS.

cheers!
Photo credits: Bihoreanul.com, Freestylesport.ro

The 29' wish

Last year as i turned 29, i made a wish for myself. Till i turn 30 i need to ride a 29-er bike to races.

So the days passed and passed, i had a promise, and as the season started i was anxious to buy one, but had no budget yet. Lucky me that i was patient. The local shop, were i'm working (freestylesport.ro) made it possible, and offered me a 29-er model from the brand we are importing. The polish KROSS,  the LEVEL B9 model, in L size, just perfect for me. Last week at the Bucharest Expobike i had the chance to put my hands on it. Looks really nice, feels really nice and it was love at the first sight. After we got home we made a photo shooting to present the bike to the public. This weekend i also had the chance to test it. Its not advised to test a new bike never ridden before on a race, but had no other opportunities, so i took the race a bit easy, lets see what the bike has to offer.

I felt good on the bike, for tall riders i couldn't imagine any other bike for racing. I wasn't that prepared physically to race, but finished pretty good, and finished 5th overall out of 200 participants in the 36km track.

I felt so good on the bike for the first time, i never want to go back on a 26 inch wheel bike.

The bike has 12 kg in L size, and it's easy to get rid of some grams if you are a weight weenie. So if you want a change and a carbon bike at a good price don't hesitate to contact your local KROSS dealer or the official KROSS importer in Romania.

Many thanks to freestylesport.ro, krossbike.ro, KROSS and all the people who helped me to get this bike where it belongs!

Photos by X-factor.ro

Here are some nice pictures and below the bike equipment:

Frame	Carbon
Colors	black - white mat
Frame size	M, L, XL
Fork	Rock Shox XC 32 TK Solo Air (travel 100mm, remote)
Rear shock	-
Gears	30
Front derailleur	Shimano Deore M591
Rear derailleur	Shimano XT M781 Shadow
Front brake	Avid Elixir 1 Disc (hydraulic, rotor 180mm)
Rear brake	Avid Elixir 1 Disc (hydraulic, rotor 160mm)
Brake levers	Avid Elixir 1 Disc (hydraulic)
Shifters	Shimano Deore M591, 10 speed
Crankset	Shimano Deore M590 2-Piece 42/32/22T
Bottom bracket	Shimano Deore BB51
Chain	Shimano HG54
Casette / Freewhell	Shimano Deore HG62-10 11-36T
Front hub	Shimano M475 32H
Rear hub	Shimano M475 32H
Tires	Schwalbe Rocket Ron Performance Folding 29""x2,1
Rims	WTB Speed Disc i19 29"" 32H
Handlebar	KROSS Racing Components (alloy,flat 680-700, 31,8mm)
Stem	KROSS Racing Components (alloy, ahead, 31,8mm)
Seatpost	KROSS Racing Components (alloy, 27,2mm)
Headset	VP-A62ACMS2 Integrated
Saddle	Selle Royal Seta Custom
Grips	KROSS Foam
Pedals	Alloy VP-519A
Weight	12,15 kg(it was 0,10 grams lighter when measured with plastic pedals on)

Amateur athlete licence

After 10 years i'm officially an athlete again. Amateur, but with license. After practicing basketball for about 12 years, i have once again an athlete license. It took 10 years to change the profile:D. But i never forget were a started, and the people that i played with, the friends. A lot of my friendships are based on this sport so i'm very thankful for that. I still love basketball, it made me who i am today.

 I hope to be a good ambassador for this sport, called mountain-biking. I found my peace, my goals, my happiness, my challenges in cycling. I love to travel, i love to train, i love to race, i love the crowd and love the people in the cycling scene...well at least most of them. The cycling scene in Romania is now changing, so i took the chance and made some changes to, i requested the licence for amateur riders, as i wish to go further, to take bigger challenges, and to race also in an organized way. This way i think, that i could help the future generations. 

It was not hard to obtain the licence, so i suggest to all my cycling-friends who are racing to go for it, so maybe we can have our own league, our own statistic and maybe some of us could turn pro some day, at least the young ones. Maybe there are some other benefits to, right now im happy to be officially an athlete, again.

Train hard, ride hard...and a lot!

Cheers

P.S.: probably not the best picture but, who gives a damn:D