Carpathian MTB Epic
Heavy Rain Shortens The Course
Press Release / 03.08.2019
The pessimistic weather forecast came true. Today, the riders started the race with their raincoats on, prepared for a difficult track. For the safety of cyclists, the organizers decided to shorten the route by 8 km. Even so, the competitors made every effort to conquer the wild and muddy territory.
But nothing stood in their way, neither the torrential rain on the first 15km, nor the track with technical challenges! Today’s race was about exceeding one's own limits in true mountain conditions. Most likely, the heavy rain from the first part of the day made the first 9km climb cooler, which was not bad at all considering how much effort is put in that phase. The main descent of the day, that from the ridge of the Leaota massif, was as beautiful as it was challenging, especially after the rain. And yes, the sun came out, and at 1,600m altitude, a warm wind gust dried out the riders' equipment. Further ahead, WD40 oil on the chains at the last Feed & Technical point, a spectacular river crossing, a smooth 10 km climb to Fundata and a crazy chase to the Finish line on the rural roads in the area, among the shingled houses. Truly a spectacular stage!
Slovakian Tomáš VišÅˆvoský (26), the big winner of 2017, succeeded to reach the top of the general ranking, following a stage time of 2:01:10, surpassing yesterday’s problems, when a flat tire slowed him down a few precious minutes. The Czech Adel Filip (28) was second at the finish line, after another 3 minutes and 4 seconds. On the third place of this stage is the Czech Matous Ulman (35) who entered the contest with the main reason to help his teammate, VišÅˆvoský, take the leader’s Yellow Jersey, and thus succeeded.
Frenchman Pierre Billaud (23) ranked fourth in the stage and is now third in the overall ranking. The best Romanian today was Ede Molnar, from Dinamo BikeExpert, who came on seventh, with one position higher compared to yesterday's stage.
No major surprises in the Women's Elite ranking. The Swiss Ariane Luthi (36), world champion, winner of many prestigious races in the world and the great winner of last year's edition of the competition, remains invincible and keeps the leader’s Red Jersey. Hildegunn Hovdenak (34) is second in the stage and in the overall ranking, with the third place in this second stage going to the Spaniard Ada Xinxo (39), who moved up one position in the general ranking.
Tomorrow is the last stage of this international competition, which has reached its third edition. 220 mountain bikers, professionals and amateurs from 20 countries, lined up at the start line in Cheile Grădiștei Fundata, Brașov county, for the incredible challenge in the Carpathians. They were able to register for either the 4-stage contest or the 1-day race. Carpathian MTB Epic is organized by MPG Romania, a leading group in sport marketing and sport event management.
Rankings and other details can be found on www.carpathianmtb.ro .
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