Croatian XC race: XC REŽANCI. First place!

Video from the race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bietry7JH3g

I had time for one last mountain bike race in Croatia before leaving for Trans Alp next weekend, This race I found after another tip from my pal Marko. The race was on the Istria region of Croatia (an 1.5 hour drive away) called XC REŽANCI. All I knew really was that it was an XC race with 7 laps around a course (1hour + the last lap).

The race started at 6 o'clock in the evening which I found sort of weird. I understand that they want to have the race out of the mid day heat, but the usual way of doing it is to have it in the morning. I decided that it would be a good idea to test ride the course as it may be technical so I got there two hours before the start. Did three laps and it turned out to be a really good idea. It's a very twisty-turny lap with lots of short downhills and uphills. Very intense! A couple of drops as well.

I decided to use the Race Kings for the race but as I saw the track I realized it had some sections with lose gravel so I was afraid that perhaps I had chosen the wrong tire. Also, with the track being as tight as it was I was worried about it not playing on my strengths.

As the race started I took it sort of easy during the start loop (with a asphalt climb). On the first real lap I started advancing up the field, This turned out to be very satisfying as I was able to pass rider after rider. I think I must have passed about 20 or 30 during the race. I was only myself passed by a single rider on the last lap when I got in trouble trying to lap a back marker and had a small crash.

I crossed the finish line winning my category. Checking the other categories I would've won M40 as well and placed third in M30. In total I would've been in the top-10 which I think is really good. There were some 100 participants all in all.

Another really nice thing is that I got to meet this friendly Slovene family who were there supporting their son, Rok Jamšek. I also got to know Rok after the race. He did great in his category coming in third.

Croatian Hillclimb race: Uspon na Zavižan

After Beskidy Trophy I travelled south and arrives in Slovenia a few hours later. I biked around on my favorite trails in the Idrija area for the next five days. Then further south into Croatia where my good pal Marko Glusac had told me of a race happening on Saturday.

It was an unusual type of race, a hill-climb on mountain bike. It starts in the town Senj, right next to the harbour, at sea-level. And then we go uphill and climb the mountain called Zavizan which is 1594 meters tall. The finish is at a lodge at the top of the mountain. Strava said that I had climbed a total of 1712 meters during the race. The length of the track is 38 kilometers.

The race has two categories: Under 45 years old and 45 and older and there were 100+ starters.

It was a really really hot day. My garmin data gives an average temperature of 29 degrees C however at the start it was 39 degrees C. Going uphill means very little draft from the speed. There were three water posts and at each I just poured a bottle of water over my head. I actually didn't need to fill my 900ml bottle at any point.

When I first got the race information I was thinking about a finish time of about 1.5 hours, which of course is silly. I took just two gels in case, I didn't think I'd need them for such a short race. I met up with Marko before the race and he said that the quickest time ever recorded was just under 2 hours. I was glad I brought the gels!

My other Croatian friend, Danijel Turcic, was also there. He's a hill climb specialist so I was very curious about how I was going to perform compared to him. We were not racing in the same category however so there was no pressure. Marko said he was unsure of his recovery as he had raced the Croatian national time trial just the day before.

The race started and the pace was quite high to begin with. In races like these, with long climbs, I always race my power meter, not the other competitors. Drafting is pretty pointless as the climb is so long and there are so few flat spots. Going too hard at the start of a 2 hour climb will kill you. After just a few kilometers  I noticed 5 riders speeding away. Looking down at my power meter I saw that I was doing about 380W and so I decided to let them go. Danijel also came around shortly after and I let him go as well. He was a bit behind the leading group of riders and going solo. I was solo as well I noticed after looking behind.

After about 10k I came to a fork in the road with a water posting on the right, just at the fork. I was a bit confused because the water post was on the gravel road forking away and the main paved road continued ahead and so I stuck to it as I couldn't see any markings. The people at the water post just looked at me and so I asked them: "Am I going the right way?". The answer was: "Well, you can go that way also, it'll just be a bit longer. Both roads will get you to the finish". I realized they were joking and that I was on the wrong path. I made a u-turn and got on the gravel road instead. I found the behaviour of the officials very strange. Had I not asked they may never have had told me I was going the wrong way. At about this point I also noticed that there were not the usual kind of markins with signs or banners but just orange arrows painted on the road where one was supposed to turn. I didn't see anything about that in the race info.

Making the u-turn a group behind me had almost caught up and I had a brief thought about if I was going to let them join to get some drafting help. I decided against it and went ahead at full speed. At this point my average power was at about 320W.

A lot of solo riding continued with the track going mostly uphill on gravel roads but there were also shorter flat sections and even some downhill. At times I could glimpse Danijel far ahead of me. The group that I had seen behind where I made the bad turn I never saw again. I had a bit of a dip at this point and after 20k my average power had dropped to 290W. The heat was terrible but as we got higher up on the mountain there were more trees at the side of the road at least providing some shade. The temperature also gradually dropped just because of the altitude.

Then at 30k I took my second gel, got a big power surge from the energy, and also started to see more of Danijels back. I got the feeling that I was slowly catching him. This gave me another burst of positive energy and I felt really strong all of a sudden. I upped my power to 340-360W and it took just about a kilometer to catch Danijel.

I continued past him but Danijel upped his pace and took my wheel. This continued to about 1km before the finish when he finally let go and I was able to cross the finish line solo after the last part which was really really steep.

I was the sixth rider across the line and third in my category.

Average power at the end turned out to be 289W.

Beskidy Trophy 2021

Final results of Beskidy Trophy 2021

Live reporting below:

I wrote about each stage during the race and you can see those race reports below with the last stage first

Stage 4 (final stage):

The situation in the general standings before today's stage was that I was in third place in my category, some 25 minutes behind the second place guy, and the guy in fourth was about the same distance behind me. Now, baring disasters there was no way anything was going to change. This means I could take it sort of easy and not feel stressed during the last stage.

The weather had changed MASSIVELY. Instead of sunshine and 20+ degrees C it had rained all night and the temperature had dropped 15 degrees. We were told that it was 4 degrees C at the top of the  mountain. I dressed accordingly with long sleeves and a wind jacket.

Funny thing about brakes in Beskidy is that they wear out really quickly. At home I can ride on a set of brake pads for most of the year. At Beskidy I had put on new pads before leaving Sweden and the morning before today's stage I noticed that the rear pads were worn out. I had to change them.

The stage started with a really long climb of 15km. I put the power meter square at 280W and held it all the way up. It felt good and this feeling stayed during most of the stage's climbs. I never had to really push it even though I did all four climbs between 260 and 280 average watts.

I was a bit worried about the downhills due to all the rain that had fallen during the night. And it was quite muddy in places but after four days of riding this technical terrain I felt confident and relaxed and descending was easy. I got off the bike in one single place where part of the downhill went through what can only be described as a rockfall. As far as I can tell no one rode that.

It's a good thing that the bad weather and poor conditions occurred at the last stage when I had become used to the extreme terrain.

During the second to last descent I actually caught up and overtook about 5-6 riders from the Classic distance and that felt really good.

The last descent just before the finish line was the same one as we had done in the prologue. The one that I was so nervous about after testing it before the race (scroll down to the bottom of this page to read about it). This time it was also slightly muddy. But it went great! I caught up with a guy at the bottom and he seemed a bit stressed by the fact that I was behind and ended up crashing (very mildly, he was okay). I ended up doing this particular section one minute quicker that in the prologue when conditions were dry!

The final downhill. Entries are from last stage, prologue and test ride

I crossed the finish line for another third place.

This also means that I came third in M50 in the end results of the race. The nice thing is that I get a free start in the next edition of Beskidy!

Stage 3:

Four hills to climb -> four uphills and four downhills.

First hill: I went relatively hard uphill and had my eye on Calle and Per all the way up. They disappeared during the downhill. The downhill was fairly steep and continuous so I managed to overheat the rear brake again (had no problem with overheating at all yesterday). I ended up using only the front brake towards the end of the downhill and so therefor I had to go a bit slower. Got passed by a couple of cyclists.

Second hill: Felt the weakest during this uphill. Don't know why. The downhill however was in a bike park with built track and obstacles and jumps. The first part was okay. But then it got crazy steep and I ended up getting off the bike and walking some of the dangerous stuff. I really hate it when I have to get off the bike because once I've crossed that threshold it's easier for me to chicken out the next time and do it again. By comparison on yesterday's stage I didn't have to get off the bike even once.

Third and fourth (last) hill: Uphills went much better than the second hill and I managed to average about 260W. Downhills went well too and had no problems with the brakes.

Result: Third place in M50

Stage 2

Stage 2 was the first real stage of the race with 56 km of riding and 2400 m of climbing.

Even before the stage even started there was drama. One hour before I needed to be in my box I started riding towards the starting area and I noticed that my gears were not working. I turned back to the hotel, dismantled the shifter and was met with this:

The shift cable had (almost) snapped in the shifter and was all frayed up. I pulled it out (wasn't easy) and replaced it with a new one. My good friend Calle Nelson assisted me and without him I think it would have been really close if I had made the start. Now I was in the starting area with about 15 minutes to spare.

My good pal Per Henriksson leads my class and as the race started I had an eye on him and also on Calle who was in fifth place in M40. Up the first climb Calle and I slowly approached Per and then passed him. I set my eye on the power readout and tried to stay around 300W with a H/R of about 165-170bpm.

As the first downhill started Calle passed me on the right and went downhill like his hair was on fire. That guy can move downhill! I had a minor crash as the trail turned onto a road in a tight left turn; My front tire lost grip in the lose gravel and I bit the dust. Got up, re-aligned the handlebars and I was off again. Per caught up a little later but I was able to get on his wheel and follow him downhill.

Up the second climb I rode together with Per but just before the end of the climb there was a severely steep section where I made the decision to get off and walk while Per continued on the bike. He got a bit of a gap and I was never able to close it again.

Had a second crash at the top of the mountain where my left pedal stuck on something in the grass and I went flying over the handlebars. No damage done and I was back on the bike in a few seconds.

Downhill went well. I felt brave today and did the downhills quickly so I'm pleased with that. Not once did I get off the bike to walk. I really love the control that the dropper post gives me. I use it A LOT here.

Last climb was soooo slow. I was looking down at my power numbers and they barely went over 200W. The only thing that lifted my spirits somewhat was that everyone around me seemed just as tired.

Last downhill went quickly but I got into another minor crash in a really steep section. No biggie though. Crossed the finish line and saw Calle and Per waiting for me. Had some cake!

Result: Third place in M50

Stage 1: Prologue

Result: Third place in M50

I did the long climb fairly easy. It took 41 minutes all in all at 298W and 169bpm H/R.

What I am however the most proud of is the fact that I did the whole difficult downhill section without getting off the bike!!

Before the race

That's right! It's really happening! Beskidy Trophy is on for 2021. And it starts... TOMORROW!

I packed the Type-R with my two BMC Fourstrokes (and also my Bianchi Oltre road bike)

BMC Fourstroke One 01

Two mountainbikes and a road bike packed inside a Honda Civic!

My kind neighbour, Jörgen, helped me get the car started (out of battery power)

There was a bit of last-minute drama as you can see in the photo; The battery of the Honda had fully discharged and it wouldn't start (I almost never drive anywhere anymore so the car sits for weeks). My neighbor, Jörgen, helped me out however and we got the car started.

The bikes: BMC Fourstroke One 01

I'm going to race on the black one (which has mechanical gears, the red one has electronic)

The tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.2" (weight: 640 gram) 

I'm going to write a complete piece on the bikes... soon...

The nice thing with the BMC Fourstroke is that it has a built-in dropper post from the factory. Only a 70mm drop but it's enough. I think it's going to be very useful in the terrain here.

I arrived in Poland yesterday (Tuesday). With the pandemic going about I had to do a Covid test, of the Antigen kind, in Sweden so that I had a certificate to show at the Polish border. I did the test, got the certificate showing a negative results, and then NO ONE CHECKED IT AT THE BORDER!?

After arriving on location I managed to get my bike ready and then met up with my two friends Calle and Per (who are also racing) for a short test ride.

This year the venue changes racing village from Istebna, which they've used all the previous years (is it 5 now?) that I've participated in the race to a nearby village called Szczyrk. Go ahead and try to pronounce that! The change is good as this village is bigger and more touristy. It has more small shops, restaurant and the hotel that we're staying at is much bigger (nicer buffé).

I'm writing this Wednesday and the race starts tomorrow. The first stage is a shorter prologue stage of 16km with 700 meters of climbing. One big climb and one big downhill. Everyone starts in a single start time trial fashion. Actually three riders start at a time with a pause between groups. There's no seeding and we're just starting ordered by last name. So that will be interesting...

I test rode the stage this morning. The climb is pretty much what I expected: First a short stretch of asphalt, then gravel road, then forest road. However the descent is a bit more extreme than I had expected. There's a section that is extremely steep, has these big stones that move around and the trail is really narrow. I used the dropper on the descent to get nice a low but managed to overheat the rear brake. It's going to be interesting to see if some riders jump of their bikes to walk that section and what kind of congestion that could lead to.