This weekend, September 20 and 21, the SloEnduro series will hold the seventh and final race of its 13th season, finally coming to Mariborsko Pohorje for the first time!
Since the late 1990s, Maribor has hosted top-level downhill races on the Pohorje slopes, but the younger and related discipline of enduro has not yet made its mark there. It’s not that there haven’t been quite a few ideas and attempts, but something always got in the way. Now, in cooperation with the Grabit Sports Club and Marprom, the operator of the Bike Park Pohorje Maribor, we are on the verge of a major enduro premiere.
More Downhill Than Uphill
If possible, there is nothing wrong with using uplift to help us a little in enduro racing. This gives us a longer course with more downhill and higher race time, while still leaving plenty of uphill sections to climb on bike. This time, the riders will take the gondola immediately after the rollout and get back on their bikes 714 m higher at the upper station. First towards Areh for the first two special stages, then back to the central part of the park for the remaining stages, with the continuation depending on the category and length of the course.
There will be a total of six special stages on the long course, with another short additional uphill power stage for the e-bike category. These will not only be the park’s familiar trails, as three of the stages will be on freshly built trails. The Shimano SuperStage will be the penultimate test of the day on the long course (the last on the U17 course), combining the Stream Line trail, a part of the World Cup track, including the rocky Rock’n’Roll section, and the Fury Trail to the Snow Stadium, with an altitude difference of approximately 540 m. About 6 minutes of business!
On the long course, this means a total of approximately 1050 meters of elevation gain on bikes and over 1750 meters of elevation loss, but not all of it are special stages, some are also on transfers.
South African ace Keira Duncan, who stops here every year on his European tour, also helped design the route.
In the video, course chief Nejc Šikman presents the stages
Further details on the course
Field and Standings
Maribor’s premiere in the series has also attracted the attention of riders, with 260 entries from eight countries. No one from the top of the rankings is missing, and in addition to the Slovenians, the lists of participants from Austria and Hungary are also long and impressive.
Hungarian junior Áron Babo (Rad Company Racing Team), winner of three races this year, will be hard to catch at the top of the men’s rankings in the final. He is 210 points ahead of second-placed Miha Smrdel (MBK Črni Vrh), while another junior Ian Laharnar (Kamplc Racing Team) in third place is already far behind 610 points behind. But Babó also has to get to the finish line safely. Laharnar could be threatened on the overall podium by David Ivartnik (Golovec trails) or someone else from behind.
Nežka Libnik (KK Ravne na Koroškem) is undefeated among women this year and untouchable at the top. Damjana Munih Kacafura (TCS Gravity) is second and Slovakian Valentina Grendova is third, but theoretically, the increasingly fast Ana Inkret (Calcit Bike Team) in fifth place could still change things on the podium.
Babó is safe at the top of the junior rankings. Laharnar is closest to him, while Blaž Stres (Kamplc) is not quite as secure in third place.
Lenart Sever (KK Črn trn) is already the champion among the U17 boys, but the battle for second and third place is open, not least because the second-placed Hungarian, Matyas Csziszma, is not among the entrants. There are already 86 competitors ranked in this category!
After four wins, Rene Kovač (Kamplc) still needs to confirm his overall title among the U15 boys, while his club mate Tjaž Stres will be at least second, with the battle for third place still wide open.
List of registered riders
All standings
Where, When
The event venue, including the start and finish lines as well as the award ceremonies, will be located on the square in front of the lower station of the Pohorje gondola.
Training begins on Saturday at 11 a.m. On Sunday, the first riders will roll out at 9:30 a.m., with the award ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. The exact schedule for both training and Sunday’s special stages to follow!
Details about the SloEnduro Pohorje Maribor race can be found in propositions
