The mass start long distance race is Hungary’s signature event, ideally suited to the fast open grassland, with upland forests above. As usual a light aircraft circled overhead filming the action as 80 elite men lined up, bikes 50 metres to the front for the Le Mans style start.
The courses are ‘gaffled’ using a series of loops with some common and some split legs meaning that you might racing with someone who then splits on to a different part of the course before rejoining for another few common legs later on. All the riders eventually complete all the legs, so everything ends up fair.
On “Go” I hung back a bit, reading the map and folding it on the way to the bike rather than sprinting towards it and riding away map in hand like some, however I still got a good start and ended up in one of the lead packs, fighting my breathing to keep things under control, but loving every minute of it.
The first loop took about 15 minutes before we had a spectator control and a compulsory route back past the start. Although the commentator said I was in the second chasing group I was surprised to be then be caught by MTBO superstar Denmark’s Erik Skovgaard Knudsen, who I promptly tucked in behind as he seemed to be going my way. As we cruised along a narrow track I kept with him comfortably and it entered my mind that maybe he isn’t really a superstar and I could perhaps stay with him. I then realised he was sorting his map out and regaining some composure (he later told me he had had a crash a few minutes before) before he suddenly exploded out of the saddle and simply disappeared putting at least 150 metres into me by the end of that fairly flat leg, awesome riding…..
We came around to the spectator control again after another 15 minutes and then it was out onto the course proper and the hills. I was riding strongly and keeping pace quite well, but on the stiff climbs I was being dropped by successive groups. However, I soon found I was catching them on the navigational legs and descents, so not losing too many places. The course then went down into an area of vineyards, rural farmsteads, tracks and roads. We looped around there for a while before a final map exchange to keep thing clear.
I had a heart stopping moment riding cross country when I rolled straight over a broken bottle. The next 5 seconds went very slowly until I realised I had got away with it, the front tyre staying up, it would have been a very long walk home from there if the tyre had shredded!
Due to some late restrictions by the Hungarian nature authorities we then had some long legs out via a small town and some country lanes round a huge area of out of bounds before another big climb back over to the last few controls.
I made a small error at a control near a church in the town finding myself at the entrance door with a congregation singing away inside. I made a hasty retreat down the hill to punch the control but felt a little guilty, I’m sure I would have been silhouetted nicely in the door way as I relocated, but it wasn’t marked out of bounds.
I played cat and mouse with some faster riders though the last few controls and punishing final climb, using my navigation skills and control flow to keep pulling then in. After a fantastic piece of fast single track descent it was just me and a Frenchman, having dropped the two other riders. I kept ahead through the complex track junctions and quarry but made a little error losing a few seconds on the penultimate control which enabled him to get back in the lead.
I absolutely nailed the last descent trying to catch him but realised I was going far to fast towards bottom as the track steepened. The rear wheel skidded this way and that in huge tank slappers on the loose gravel and grass as I tried to scrub off the speed, which I’m sure looked fairly spectacular from the finish arena. More or less in control but still going fast I felt I could come off the front brake and skid round the rear wheel to take the bank down to the control and catch him but managed to high side it instead and went over the handlebars doing a proper superman impression. I landed square on the temple of the helmet, bike and me tumbling down the hill!
Very shaken but not beat I gave it everything to try and re-catch the Frenchman but it was too late he was already in.
On the line I was very wobbly and the marshal wanted to get me to the ambulance, having seen the crash, but I fended him off and went off to see the riders who I had been tussling with for the last 45 minutes or so.
After a drink and some food I thought I had better get my knee cleaned up before the long journey home so queued in line at the ambulance, however seeing Alan Hartley being patched up by the medics after a really nasty fall early on (fair play, he finished even though looking like he had been in a bar brawl), with all sorts of painful looking chemicals and sprays, even a syringe was produced at one point, I took myself off to the showers instead. Hot showers surrounded by tarpaulins in the middle of a field, result!
I ended up 48th which I was really happy with, finishing the weekend with a set of results that firmly now put me in the World’s top 50, the winters strength training paying off, I just now need to do some more…..