The anticipation of the
sought-after event is mostly the most beautiful interlude. After a wearing
Rally di Romagna I hoped for a milder weather, and most of all couldn’t wait to
be back in Istebna after 2 years of hiatus. Also, these times my respect
towards Beskidy diminished slightly after Romagnas enduro-like craziness.
I took the first stage fiercely,
in a way I was astounded how good I recovered from the Italian race. My
amazement was fed also by the fact that Beskidy presented itself from its more
benign side. The competitive field played into my card too, as this makes me
always want to dig deeper. Due to the kind character of the route a tons of
groups have been created and we played a good oiled echelon, thus gaining
massive time on others. It’s been too early to pick my direct rivals I was
rather busy with keeping high pace and exploit my forte in the downhills. Some
had given it a go by surging rhythmically, which is a real poison and makes you
weary in the process. I didn’t let affect me and played a consistent game
instead. The rather eventless day saw me finishing 29th in GC and 12
in my class. My target stood firm, 6st in my category might be double, provided
I recuperate well on daily basis.
The subsequent day had us move to
Czech Republic, approx. 13km from Istebna. I remember the Czech parcours as
rather steady ups and downs, barely any challenging route characteristics, and
that proved to be the case. But I got to see to it that I match all attacks. It
happens extremely rarely, however in those moments, due to my total
concentration, I neglect to eat properly, thus run out of energy prematurely. It’s
all the more critical in a week-race, where a well fed glycogen store is pivotal. Gone is my feeling of pedaling within my
sweetspot. I started to struggle and even though I reeled in some in front of
me, it took me much longer than yesterday. Best strategy might have been to
stay cool and within my zone. But I meant to step up in the ranking already
today, hence having a nice time- cushion and control it in days coming up. This
tactic went off, mind you, cost me a lot. It was tangible right after crossing
the finish line, I was way too spent already after 2nd day – this
never bodes well at half time. An immediate feeding doesn’t yield so much once
you scratch your reserves. The bottom line showed me 9th in my rank.
3 places to make up, as long as my legs are fresh tomorrow.
What distinguishes this edition
from the previous one, too, is the general ambiance in the race village. First
of all it’s been relocated into a remote place surrounded by picturesque
landscape, rich in woodlands and great infrastructure. The gathering, entertaining, tech support,
and all those necessary ingredients, were impressively well organized. It makes
racer-life so much easier. The international character of the event makes it even
more color- and eventful. And the fact, that you have got folks from all over
the world makes it all the more lively.
A forgettable night foreshadowed
a so-so day for me. Heavy legs, 1000x interrupted sleep, poorly recovered
stores, and on, and on. I tried to keep my spirits high and to stay focused on
the task at hand, but realistically I knew, today I will play defensively, at
the best. Also, I trusted, my shoulder-to shoulder competitors are not set about
to strike big time, and are dealing with setting in fatigue as well.
The first part was still under my
control and didn’t let them slip away, but then again I was way too much out of
my comfort zone to be able to keep this fierce intensity. In the decent I kept
it cautiously to stay out of trouble. It wasn’t my day however I had to get through this, and somehow feed my
innermost with positive emotions and thoughts. Then it happened, what I hoped
will not hit me: my front rim got a hard hit and punched in the process, thus
my tubless didn’t help either and lost the air within 3 seconds. Funnily I
didn’t lose my temper and acted really tranquilly. A 10km march ensued and it
hasn’t been funny seeing the riders passing me left and rights.
To top the trouble, at the water point no tech support was established,
thus I was at the mercy of one supporter who gave me another 26” spare tube. By
the time, all my GC hopes went down the tubes, and basically, I could throw in
the towel, downright. Though, for my very personal achievement, I meant to push
it as hard as I could, I just wanted to exhaust myself to the very utmost.
The final stage
saw me struggling with the very same challenge. Admittedly, my legs didn’t
respond I wished them to act. And I was way beyond my comfort zone from the
get-go. I kept my mantra; “Put your head down and suffer, the race is worth the
agony, though”. The parcours had all you can imagine: stair step-style drops, seriously rocky
and rooty trails, border traversing, wooded sections, and paths full of tree-branches. At that point in time,
the lion part of the protagonists got cracked, and just wanted to make to the
finish. Knowing that I lost 50min yesterday and 27 today, due to the
mechanicals, there would have been foolish to make realistic good rankings. I
meant to finish it off on high notes, nevertheless, and sought to get the notion,
on the way home, that yes, I gave it all, and I don’t have any fraction of
energy in my tank whatsoever. Hilariously,
though already in this point of I was dead empty and void.
The very end was a
touch-and-go thing, as I worn down my brake pads completely.
Now, the question
remains to be answered for me personally is; did the Trophy break me?
Yes and no. I had
a poor technical preparation, took chances and I failed in regard to this.
Physically, right after the 7-day wearing Italian race I wasn’t as fresh I
hoped to be. That’s a fact. But, barring mechanicals, my plan, to wind up 6-7
in my category was within the realm of my power. And I was more the certain I
can do it. Just need to remind myself constantly [of my handicap; hypoglycemia]
and feed myself accordingly. Sadly though, this is something which isn’t
controllable 100%, thus my body can shut down without forewarning and for rational
reason, virtually anytime.
But that’s just
totally OK; therefore I must be eternally grateful how things wound up at the
end of the day.
Thanks God, we had
a terrific race, 4 wonderful days, all included. The stage race rules showed
their strict and unforgiving face once more. And that’s why I am so much fond
of it, that’s why I since the day one fall in love with it.
I would be hard
pressed to find any fault with this race in general. Can’t help but admit, I
was looked after greatly, and spoiled with awesome vibe and atmosphere on and
off the race. Beskidy Trophy truly rocks, big time!
“Sign me up for
2013”
Thanks for sharing
and all your cheering along the way.
Rob
The kickoff of this year Beskidy Trophy
presented itself form the rather softer side than its trademark. Already the first couple if hiking kilometers
ran on tarmac and that pattern has been more or less characteristic for the
lion part of the 66km long etap. This is
most probably more than welcome for the huge presence of German, Belgian,
Austrian, etc., riders that are more or less used to this type of track design.
And it comes in handy also for those sparing their power for later on.
But as Gergor Golonko, the race owner told me
thereafter: “Let’s just have a warm up, and don’t rush into the ‘worst’ right
at the kickoff”
That promises some elusive stages coming
up.
The list of top contenders is unprecedentedly
long and the first surge at the beginning of the day has been set very high.
That long lasting tarmac uphill selected those who aim at good placing in the
general classification. To gain a good position was vital also as this initial
uphill flowed into a technically challenging rough section.
The weather was benevolent too, as was the track
itself. Every so often some slippery passages, but not challenging and good
ride-able.
It’s been vital, on the other hand, having a
good group given the nature of the stage. At times it was reminiscent of the
alpine regions in general and that of the famous Salzkammergut Trophy in
particular.
I didn’t know that the Beskidy Mountain. By way
of all those gorgeous vistas we were spoiled with great landscape. One is
teased all along with this and those not having any placing ambitions take
their time for photo sessions.
That was not true for the top three today,
Adrian Bzrozka [POL] 1st, followed by Bas Peters [NED] and Bram Rood
[NED] for 3rd.
The time difference makes for a great suspense
for the upcoming days. And the gaps in the following rankings are that minimal,
that this race is way too open.
Me, I have got a great rhythm from the get go,
albeit I was always struggling to find a consistent rhythm in Polish races due
to their erratic nature. That said, I felt awesome and recovered well from the
last stage race for 9 days. The stage evoked a perfect sensation. Scored for 18th
in my category.
I have
got to admit, though that this good feeling is due to the almost perfect
ambient. It’s been the general resonance among racers as well. The promoter of
the race [GG Marketing spearheaded by Gergor Golonko] created a very
professional show. No wonder though, this attracts a massive crowd of racers
from abroad. I can’t stop wondering why this race is not being awarded by UCI
with at least C2 category. As it is definitely not because of the lack of the
‘who-is-who’ of the marathon scene.
Ill will try to figure out by way of an
interview tomorrow with Mr. Golonko.
Great rest and recovery is the headline for
tonight as the 2. Stage calls for a trademark Beskidy Trophy. A good start is
as important as a prudent pacing.
Please stay tuned for the ensuing stages.
Rob
As the 1 stage has not been that taxing, as far as the track
difficulty goes, today, knowing that the route will be more demanding, a lot of
attacks went from start which has been moved to Bukovica, Czech Republic. The
complete course led thorough beautiful Czech Silezian/ Beskid Mountains. The figures
called for 80km and 2700m of elevation. There were plenty of opportunities for
those that are blessed with downhill skills, as the stage featured all
ingredients to gain tons of time in those parts.
It’s astounding how many felt to be limited by those tricky
descents, and losing out a big deal of time in the process. Hence the
classification was reshuffled strongly. Also the most had hammered just way too
much yesterday and saw themselves losing precisions positions.
Thankfully the sunshine was omnipresent all along, and only
a brief drizzle interrupted this perfection.
It was kind of mixture of loose gravel roads, tarmac every so often, and
the rest an excess of narrow paths. Thankfully we had been presented a long
lasting rocky descent rife with switchbacks and slippery roots that really
required highest concentration. That played into the cards if gifted
downhillers and had stopped a ton of contenders to fix broken tires,
derailleurs, etc.
In the GC, Brozka cemented his leading position, counterattacked
all frightening surges of Rood Bram. Brozka mainly profited from his dowhnhill
talents. At the he gained more than 4min on Bram. The third Polish Bartosz
grossed the finish line another 4min later. Bras has still a decent chance in
the GC having a a gap of 9min. I races like BT those 9 min can disappear in no
time, due to an ill-timed mechanical or unfortunate accident, etc.
I had a great first 2/3, then having neglected to keep my
blood sugar level constant, I had been limited and wasn’t able to leverage my
forte: making up ground in the last third of the day. I battled through and
caught some ahead of me but lost out approximately 4min due to my
negligence. That said I must be content
how it went. Moved up in the ranking to 9th, and stayed upright all
day. Minus one hilarious accident. I had all sort of crashes during my race
career, though, to crash into horses, that’s been lacking in my crash
repertoire thus far. On a gravel littered tarmac downhill my front wheel lost
contact in hairpin curve and went straight into a horse-drawn coach. Only after
a while did a realized what happened. The fact that I wound up almost unscathed
[just some bruises] is due to that fact that the poor horse served literally as
sort of airbag.
Tomorrow calls for another increase in the parcours
severity. That’s an awesome playground for gaining in those sections. That
said, recovery is key.
Please stay tuned for stage 3 that promises an even bigger
shakeup in the GC.
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