The penultimate race of the series is behind us. In Ljubljana, 250 riders from eight countries competed for the first time for points in the SloEnduro series, on eight special stages (and another one for e-bikers).
Golovec is a hill in the middle of the Slovenian capital. It is not exactly a mountain, so the descents, or in the case of enduro racing, the “special stages,” cannot be very long. However, the Golovec club has been organizing more relaxed enduro races here for seven years in a row, and this year they earned the right to organize the first “real” race of the SloEnduro series. This was the sixth and penultimate stop of the series this season.
With eight special stages, both Saturday’s training and Sunday’s race on the long track accumulated approximately 1,000 meters of elevation gain and descent. The fastest riders took more than two minutes to complete only on the first stage of the day on the rather winding Golovec classic Trije bratje (Three Brothers), while the other stages took them less than two minutes. However, it was enough for a fair race – only the five fastest men on the long course spent less than fifteen minutes on the stages.
Hungarian Junior Looking Forward to Title
Áron Babó (Rad Company Racing Team) won for the third time this year, with one second place and one race missed, he now leads with a 210-point advantage over second-placed Miha Smrdel (MBK Črni Vrh) ahead of the final in Maribor in two weeks’ time. Smrdel was hot on his heels again today and finished in second place, less than five seconds behind. Babó won the first stage, while Smrdel closed the gap to less than a second behind with a victory on the second stage. The third stage was convincingly won by local youngster Van Prosenik (Golovec trails), who even took the lead and remained at the top after the fourth stage, which was won by his “team captain” David Ivartnik.
Babó started the second half of the race by winning the fifth stage and taking the lead, but with only a one-second advantage. Smrdel then closed the gap to just two hundredths of a second with a victory in the sixth stage! In the penultimate and final stages, Smrdel fell slightly behind with 6th and 4th place finishes, while Babó won and came second, increasing the gap between them to 4.84 seconds by the end.
The fifth stage winner in the last test of the day, also Shimano SuperStage on a freshly prepared track, was Tim Jež (Kamplc Racing Team). In the end, third place went to Ivartnik, just 35 hundredths of a second behind Smrdel, Jež was fourth and Prosenik fifth.
Ivartnik, fourth in the overall standings, is closing in on junior Ian Laharnar (Kamplc), who finished ninth this time.
Nežka Remains Undefeated
A week after her victory at the World Championships in Switzerland and a series of media appearances, junior world champion Nežka Libnik (KK Ravne na Koroškem) remains unbeatable at home and abroad. The girls behind her did not give up: Ana Inkret (Calcit Bike Team) broke through to second place in the fourth stage and held on to it until the end. In her third race after returning from injury Ana finally finished a good minute behind Nežka and gained a 15-second lead over Teja Cerar (Golovec trails). Teja was followed by newcomer from cross-country Kaja Krapež (Calcit Bike Team) in fourth and Damjana Munih Kacafura (TCS Gravity) in fifth.
Nežka is already the overall winner, with five victories and the maximum possible number of points, she is far ahead. Munih Kacafura moved up to second place in the rankings, followed by Slovakian Valentina Grendova in third place with three second places at the start of the season. Maja Vojska (MBK Črni Vrh) is slipping down the rankings after being injured a few days before the race in Golovec and ending her season early.
“It was intense because the stages were shorter, so you couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. You have to be focused and enjoy yourself in all eight stages,” said Nežka after her penultimate race of the season, in which she broke through onto the world stage.
In Long Course Categories
Behind Babó and Prosenik, Blaž Stres (Kamplc Racing Team) took third place in the junior category. Babó leads the rankings (1900 points) ahead of Laharnar (1470) and Stres (1200).
Nejc Huth (Energijateam.com) was once again the fastest master rider, winning the master 1 category and finishing eighth overall. Miha Deu (Rajd Ljubljana) won the master 2 category and Martin Brus (Kamplc Racing Team) won the master 3 category. The fastest amateur was Jan Ostolidi (Ita, Golovec trails), while Iztok Janičijevič (Črnuče trails) won the e-bike category, also winning the additional “power” stage loop, which was held for the first time with a mass start.
On Shorter Courses
In the U17 category, 43 boys and three girls competed again. Lenart Sever (KK Črn trn) won for the third time and confirmed his overall victory in the series. He was followed in second place by local rider Ažbe Bizjan (Golovec trails), 2.87 seconds behind, and Nik Potočan (KK Ravne na Koroškem) in third. Interestingly, Lenart won only one of the six stages and only broke through to the top in the last stage of the day. In the girls’ competition, Lenart’s team mate Lana Kuzma, also the overall winner, won ahead of Živa Šuštersic (SD Strahovica) and Zoja Bizjak (Kamplc Racing Team).
Rene Kovač (Kamplc Racing Team) won the U15 boys’ race in four special stages, followed by local rider Nikolaj Vukojevič (Golovec trails) and fellow Ajdovščina resident Jaka Sever (KK Črn trn). Rene can now only be overtaken in the final by his team mate Tjaž Stres, who is currently in second place. In the U15 girls’ category, Maša Gregorc (SD Strahovica) beat her competitors for the third time this year, followed by Eva Podvornik (ŠD Grabit), who remains at the top of the rankings with a 200-point lead over Maša, and Klara Pregl (Calcit) in third place.
With 46 competitors, there was also a large turnout in the 4Fun promotional category on the same length course, which was won by Matevž Rupnik.
The youngest competitors in the U13 category competed in three trials. Vasilij Lavrenčič (KK Črn trn) won the boys’ competition ahead of Jaka Fujan (Golovec trails) and Jakob Matija Koren, while Lija Leber (427 Savage Squad) was the only participant in the girls’ competition. Vasilij will also be difficult to catch in the final.
All results of SloEnduro Golovec trails
All series rankings before the final
Ljubljana MTB Vikend Wrapped Up
The race on Golovec was also the final event of the three-day Ljubljana MTB Vikend mountain biking festival, which took place on Friday and Saturday on the other side of the city at the Ljubljana Bike Park in Podutik. On Sunday several exhibitors moved from there to the Urban Ring hotel on Dolenjska Road, where the enduro race took place, adding to the excitement of the event.
More about the festival events on the Ljubljana MTB Weekend channels: Facebook and Instagram
Finale in Maribor
The only event left on the calendar is the eagerly awaited inaugural SloEnduro Pohorje Maribor, the finale of the SloEnduro series on September 20 and 21 at the Bike Park Pohorje Maribor. With new stages and more downhill than uphill riding, as the course will include one climb with the gondola, and a few other treats.
Details can be found in propositions, and registration closes on Monday, September 15.
See you at Pohorje!
Photos by Matej Lovrič / Obalna BIKE scena
