The opening race of the Czech Cup in cross-country mountain bikes, which took place in Kutná Hora at the weekend, caused stormy emotions not only among the participants. The reason was the mud, due to which the competitors had to complete the course with their bikes on their backs for the most part. “We will do everything to prevent this from happening again in the future,” the race organizer responded to iROZHLAS.cz.
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Slovakian Matej Ulík and among women Jana Czeczinkarová coped best with the muddy track in Kutná Hora. However, many competitors did not like the terrain, but the main judges from Poland did not cancel the race.
However, the best Czech biker of recent years, Ondřej Cink, withdrew from the race and subsequently explained his decision on social networks (below in the article).
“Maybe 80 percent of the track was run today. I managed descents without problems, runs with the bike on my shoulders. I took it more like a cyclocross and I probably gained the most in the runs. It was more of a race of who can last more, about willpower and a lot of strength, because the bike suddenly weighed twenty kilos instead of ten, and you could tell it on the back,” said Czeczinkarová for the association web.
The organizer’s reaction
“I dare not say that 80 percent of the track was not passable. The UCI commissioner, the head of the track, our chief referee went through it, and together with the race director we agreed that even under these conditions we would try to make it happen, even though we knew that it was not 100 percent due to the weather and conditions,” he answered for iROZHLAS. cz race organizer Josef Dlohoš.
“We had two meetings, the discussion was long and passionate. They appealed for it to be repealed. But that is part of the community, and the other part will stand up to it, have the equipment, the technique, the strategy, and they will go and win the race. It’s just how he approaches it.”
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Taking into account the extreme conditions, the track was paradoxically no more dangerous than in other years, because the competitors fell into the “soft” in case of hesitation.
“We had one broken leg in the ankle and one competitor who fell. Safety was maintained, also thanks to the fact that it was driven very slowly. Whoever fell, fell into the soft. The percentage of injured was smaller compared to previous years. From this point of view, the race was not extreme and risky,” explained the organizer.
Expensive material
In the result list, the name of Ondřej Cink also appeared among the cyclists who did not finish the race. In addition, he wrote down the reasons why he made that decision on his Facebook profile.
“As I predicted, after the first lap I absolutely couldn’t go on and I didn’t want to destroy the bike any more, so I decided to withdraw from the race, because to run the whole race? This is no longer cycling for me,” Tokyo Olympic Games participant Cink described his view of the matter and added a photo of a muddy bike.
“We regret Ondra Cink’s statement. Overall, we owe an apology to all competitors. The race was more about physical strength and mental endurance, on the other hand, everyone had it the same. They could all say they were not going to do it or withdraw from the race. Those who gave it their all and got around it deserve enormous respect,” responded Dlohoš to Cink’s statement.
“If I could look back on it, I would have changed my decision on Friday afternoon. We will do our best to prevent this from happening again,” added Josef Dlohoš on behalf of the organizer of the Czech Cup.
The next cup race will be hosted by the City of Touskov in four weeks.
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