The Elite’s podium was completed by Janka Keseg Števková, Krystyna Konvisarova and Hanna Verheles. Latest news: the Romanian stage race will be UCI ranked in 2018!
The first stage of the CARPATHIAN MTB EPIC 2017, organized by the ACS MPG, was spectacular, intense and tough, with many challenges and overturns, especially on the last races. And the finale was great! Starting from Sinaia, this race of 58 km, the longest in the competition, was conquered by Tomas Visnovský, an Elite cyclist from Slovakia, followed in short time by Arpad Kelemen from Romania and by Matej Ulik from Slovakia.
In spite of the difficulties faced on the route, designed right in the heart of the Southern Carpathians, to which was added the cold weather and the mist that seriously challenged the competitors, Slovakia XCM vice-champion Visnovský finished the 1st Stage in 3 hours and 45 minutes, passing the Finish line with a wide smile. “It was a very hard race because the weather was not good. I felt great, I was in front of everyone at the Start line and I had a very good outset. Then, on the way I had problems… I realized I was lost. After my calculations I’ve waisted a lot of time, about 15 minutes trying to recover. I am really happy with this result! “, said Slovak Tomas Visnovský, immediately after finishing the first stage of 4-day EPIC.
During Stage 1 of the CARPATHIAN MTB EPIC 2017, the most difficult part of the route was near Babele where many cyclists chose to get off the saddle and push bike. The steep and technical potions have fully tested the participants’ skills, on climbings as-well as on descedings. In the last few kilometers out of the total of 58, there was a struggle between Visnovský and Kelemen. The last one demonstrated excellent qualities, achieved during the years of intensive Downhill, but also good resistance due to the numerous marathons finished. „Hard! Cloudy, cold … the water was over, until I stopped at the power points. Very hard! Just because of the conditions, because it was fog and in some places no visibility of 10 meters”, Arpad Kelemen told after completing the race, with a time of 3 hours and 47 minutes. The two winners shook hands after, smiling and complementing each other for their results. Waiting at the Finish area, set at the Cheile Gradistei – Fundata Resort, Kelemen’s wife and child hurried up to hug and congratulate him enjoying the success.
Matej Ulik, another Slovak vice-champion, who came four minutes away from his compatriot, also fought the mist that dominated the Carpathian Mountains, but he was delighted with the experience. “The race was beautiful, I liked it! The weather was bad and there were a few problems on the route due to lack of visibility.There were many stones everywhere … but I liked the entire route!”, said the 20-year-old cyclist, the youngest of the winners.
The Elite women enrolled in the race reached the Finish line after almost 5 hours. The fastest was Janka Keseg Števková, Slovakia’s champion at XCO-XCE and XCM, who has an enviable portfolio. Three times participating in the Olympics and Absa Cape Epic, the 41-year-old cyclist is in excellent shape and finished this first stage of the CARPATHIAN MTB EPIC 2017 in 4 hours and 50 minutes. An hour later, arrived the occupants of the 2nd and 3rd places of the podium, Krystyna Konvisarova (5 h 05 min) and Hanna Verheles (5 h 12 min), both from Ukraine.
“The race was very beautiful; we fully enjoyed the incredible landscapes of the Bucegi National Park! The track was very technical, sandy and with stones, and it was kind of cold for me, but everyone faced the same conditions. The race was very well prepared and the route well marked, the organization is great and everything is perfect! I am very happy to have won! We will see what will be in the following days, I hope I can keep the advantage, but each race is different. We hope to have better weather, but it’s mountain bike and the competition is a real adventure!”, stated with a big smile Janka Keseg Števková.
Also given to weather conditions Vlad Dascalu, a multiple international and Romanian champion, decided to abandon this stage. He was the first cylist that started at the 4-day EPIC, winning the qualifying race for this contest on Thursday, September 21st.
The level of competition is high on the first edition of CARPATHIAN MTB EPIC, supported by Banca Transilvania and Gatorade. In fact, it is the first race in the country that brings so many international and national champions to the Start line. 70 cyclists from 10 countries are present at the number 1 edition of the completion at the Race Village, set at Cheile Gradistei-Fundata. Among those are: Frédéric Gombert – France, Lutz Baumgärtel and Florian Schön – Germany, Łukasz Klimaszewski – Poland, Márton Blazsó and Veronika Cseh – Hungary, Aneliya Karagyozyan – Bulgaria and Maxim Ciumer – Republic of Moldova; from Romania: Lucian Logigan, Daniel Crista, Karina Bonta, Salome Bondor, Robert Dobai and Alexandru Stancu.
The riders’ efforts were sustained during the race with the help of two power & hydration stops, one set at Babele, the highest point on the route, and the other at the Saua Strunga, provided by Kaufland Extreme Games. They were supplied with fruits, Gatorade sports drinks, water and many other products to restore their strength.
Every rider participating in the 4-day EPIC was monitorized by a tracker, so both organizers and guests knew where the athletes are, at any time. Besides, almost the entire Stage 1 could have been watched Live on Youtube and Facebook Riders Club. Moreover, every night during the 3-day competition, September 22-24, there are Live broadcasts summarizing the CARPATHIAN MTB EPIC, moderated by Alex Ciocan and Catalin Sprinceana. These can be watched on Pro X – Sport.ro, Dolce TV and TVR HD, and the TV and Live broadcasts program can be found on the official page http://www.carpathianmtb.ro – click here.
A short ceremony after Stage 1 was organized and the winners received cash prizes ranging from 100 to 200 Euro. At the end of the 4-day contest and after riding 157 km, the fastest cyclist will get 2.050 Euro and products from the sponsors, whose total value reaches an estimated amount of 30,000 Euro at CARPATHIAN MTB EPIC.
The latest news of the day was consisting in CARPATHIAN MTB EPIC becoming an UCI ranked event, S2 class. Furthermore, the data announced in the UCI calendar is August 16-19, 2018 for the second edition of this amazing, epic and rugged competition.
Friday, September 23, at 10:00, will start the Stage 2 of the 4-day EPIC, where cyclists will have to ride 54 km and climb more than 1,800 m. All the details about this event and the whole experience offered to cyclists and their supporters can be found on the official website: http://www.carpathianmtb.ro.
The first edition of this Romanian stage race is supported by Banca Transilvania and Gatorade, the Official Sponsors of the event, together with the Official Suppliers and Partners Kaufland X-trem, BOSCH, GoldNutrition, World Class, SUUNTO and Cheile Gradistei Olympic-level Resort. The competition is sustained by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Waters and Forests, Romsilva, National Administrations of Piatra Craiului and of Bucegi Natural Parks, Romanian Cycling Federation, City Hall of Sinaia, Brasov County Council and the Carpatica Convention – Romanian Center, as well as by the Official Supporters: Tuborg and Krönenbourg 1664 Blanc, Mio Technology, Bicycle Ambulance – AmBike, Wild Romania and NTD Film. We can always rely on the help offered by the Media Partners that are giving us important support in transmitting the information: Pro X – Sport.ro, http://www.sport.ro, http://www.prosport.ro, Dolce TV, TVR HD, KISS FM, Libertatea – Ringier, FreeRider.ro, eJobs, our recruitment partner, Biciclistul.ro, INGA Media, Comunicatedepresa.ro, Transilvania 365, Buna ziua BRASOV and BikeFM.ro