Yep, I've started the 2019 racing season last Sunday! My first race was the Specialized Szilvásvárad Maraton. Savage race, brilliant course and a beautiful spot on Earth! I was looking forward to the race weekend as it's always exciting and also 'cause it was an overnight type job: we travelled to the venue on the day before to have a great time at Szilvásvárad and also to avoid the travelling on the race day.
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The was the machine rolls :) |
We got everything packed up nice & good and after a lovely brekfast we were on our way to the venue. After the 120 km long drive we have arrived. Picked up the starter pack, had a short walk to check the best spots for spectating and after a nice lunch we decided to leg it to the accomodation and have a blast for the rest of the afternoon. :)
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| This year's pack: racing number with chip & cable ties, energy gel, maps and a good looking T-shirt all packed up in a stylish bag. What's not to like?! |
We spent the night at the Szalajka Liget Wellness Hotel and enjoyed their relaxing atmosphere. Lovely and much recommended hotel in stunning environment.
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| Hotel Szalajka Liget |
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| Check out this... |
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| ... Finnish sauna... |
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| ... with a bucket of ice cold water right outside! I wasn't brave enough though to pull that rope :) |
But after all the fun on Saturday the game was ON on Sunday. Got up early enough, got a filling brekkie and hit the Start / Finish area to get ready on time.
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| Ready to start my warm up |
I think I wasn't the only one in the field who had "some" concern about the conditions of the course from all the heavy rain during the last few weeks. I know the place well enough to know that if it's muddy it could be a freakin' hell out on the bike...not to mention the rain if we get any...
Luckily we had a beautiful and warm day for the race. This and the chat with the Mátra Biker team mates at the start certainly got me in a good mood. :)
3...2...1...GO!!!
The slow start seemed to be not so slow after all...we got up to speed pretty quickly and after we hit the long tarmac climb I started to do my own thing and settle into my own zone. Warmed up quickly and I started to feel really good when we hit the first steep off-road climb. Many riders got off thier bikes due to the gradient and the mud on the course. At that point I felt like "Ok. This could work, sure no worries!"... Until I hit the wall a bit. Thankfully I could pull myself together and got up to speed again.
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| In action one the fast rolling descent. Loved it! (photo credit: Nutrixxion) |
Oh man! All these super fast descents were so much fun to ride especially after the sloughter there in last year's storm. Pushing on the limit and flying toward the finish gave me such a boost. The only thing gave me even more boost was to see my beautyful Love just before the last technical trail shouting my name and cheering me on! You are awesome babe, thanks a million! :)
I have arrived to the finish line on my own, so I rolled accross the line with a laid back & chilled mood. Yep, it's over...what a race it was!
I think I got an ok(ish) race... I finished the 39 km race with 847 m elevation gain under 2 hours. This performace got me the 22nd place in the super-mega-über fast Masters 1 field. I was aiming to place in the top 20... but unfortunatelly I slipped a bit on that one...
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| The XC weapon was brilliant today |
So, another Szilvásvárad Maraton is done & dusted. What can I say? It was an event that was put together really well by a team that knows how to pull off a MTB race for us XC maraton heads. Everything was prompt, smooth, all the staff were helpful. The course was savage as always and the weather was a freakin' gift... I think we can all agree with that!
Congratulations to all my team mates from Mátra Bike for all the great results! Well done, great going folks!
What's the plan? See you guys in 2020!
... stay tuned more photos still to come (hopefully)
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