Rajd Beskidy

Challenge Accepted by the Rajd Beskidy Teams

Rob Howard / 24.06.2023

Team On-Sight Navigatoria took third place at Rajd Beskidy today, finishing in Szczyrc on a rainy morning with low clouds hugging the hilltops, but nothing could dampen their spirits as they rode over the finish line.  They had finished an expedition race after many attempts!

They have been the classic mid-pack team in this race, with two slower teams well behind them and two quicker teams well ahead of them, so they’ve had no competition pressure and have been focused on checkpoint after checkpoint and completing this incredibly demanding and rewarding course. 

CP102, and the last, was at the top of the HipHopaA Flow Bike Trail, which is in the forest above the race HQ and gave teams the perfect smooth ride down the race finish. They could relax and go with the flow knowing there were no technical difficulties on the descent and that they would soon be at the finish.

A breakfast of waffles, fruit and syrup was waiting for them inside the cafe on the finish line, and all of the teams have rooms in the same building, so it’s a perfect end-of-race setup.

Breakfast was shared with the two teams already finished, and as the tracking map was displayed on a TV in the cafe there were some intense discussions on route choice!  Rafał Adametz was sat in front of the screen for 45 minutes after finishing, talking to other racers about routes, still with his bike helmet on!

His team mate Krzysztof Łakomiec echoed the thoughts of the earlier finishers and just said, “It was so tough. We didn’t expect to push our bikes uphill so much and there were no easy checkpoints.  There were none you could roll up to on your bike or find by the trailside, every one was a challenge. The whole race there were route choices to be made and it wasn’t ever a simple choice.  We have two navigators, and sometimes three when we disagreed!  We’ve not raced together before as a team and didn’t always agree, but we got along and came together as a team.

“For me the best section was to be in the high mountains of Mala Fatra in Slovakia.  I had not been there before and we were in the wild mountains, following a high ridge with fantastic views – it was the best section.  But there was always something new to challenge us, even on long stages.  It wasn’t like you had to trek 100km and then ride 200km and there was nothing else to do along the way! 

“I am super happy with the result as we’ve tried for many, many years to finish a big expedition race, and this time we did it! I’ve raced in Portugal, Croatia and other places and always something has gone wrong, but this time we succeeded!”

Adametz added to the chorus of comments on the navigational challenge.  “It is part of the Polish way of adventure racing,” he said.  “We have a strong orienteering background and we also like courses to be challenging.  We don’t want a race setup so everyone can finish.”

He added, “The area around here has so much opportunity for adventure racing and is so beautiful, that I hope more teams can come and enjoy it.  Maybe they have not heard of the area before, or thought of visiting Poland, but adventure racing should take you to new places to explore and be surprised.”

One team who did come this year, and were surprised and challenged, were the OMM Nordisk Adventure Team, and they finished 2.5 hours after On-Sight Navigatoria.  The German/Swedish team had taken a short course to make sure they got to the finish line, missing some of the last, long bike ride.  They did complete some of it, and part of the MTBO stage, and Neil McQueen said, “We’re pleased to have at least completed some of every section of the course.”

Many of the racers already finished were there to cheer them in and all of them went up to the team to shake hands and congratulate them personally – it’s been that kind of finish line.  There were some laughs when McQueen said, “Now we know a bit more about to navigate in Poland!”

The team have had some challenges with the checkpoint placements and route choice, and at the end they choose much the worst condition trail to approach the caving checkpoint. (There was another better trail, which was a slightly longer route.)  The other teams were in the cafe watching the tracker and shouting, “No, no, don’t go that way!”

“I am going to learn so much from looking at that tracker!” Said McQueen. “The navigation was harder than any other race we’ve done and the teams here are really good.  I think perhaps the navigational skills in Eastern European adventure racing are a level up from anywhere else.”

The team had also suffered from quite severe sickness in the middle of the race, perhaps due to the intense heat day after day, and did well to regroup and plan a strong race finish. They were on the course for over 121 hours.  Christoph Lindner said, “Only here would you be crazy enough to finish with a full on downhill mountain bike trail!”

After the team had spent some time chatting on the finish line, Liv Wallin approached McQueen to say, “Come inside or you will get cold.” She is a doctor and Lindner commented, “We’d all have been dead without our doctor to look after us!”

The final team across the finish line was 'We love the smell of flags in the morning' and they had made a fantastic effort to complete the full course, but in the end they ran out of time.

Approaching the last two checkpoints (the cave and the start of the flow bike trail) it was clear they couldn't complete them before the course closed at 16.00.  Two of the team were not so keen on the caving anyway, while Ania Witkowska wanted another day of racing!  In the end the decision was made to accept they had to cut the course short and head directly down the road to the finish line.

There was long and loud applause from the assembled racers as they crossed the finish line after 125 hours and 22 minutes of racing, to bring the 2023 Rajd Beskidy to a close.