Montichiari, a small city south of Lago di Garda, is a traditional venue for the XC racing and organizers again did a great job. The race in this medieval town attracted hundreds of racers that were competing on todays UCI C1 race. Tanja Žakelj was a favorite, together with Eva Lechner. In fact Eva was the fastest in the field and Tanja was second. Tanja explains how she was racing today: “I didn’t have the best start, but the rest of the race of much better. I saw that Eva Lechner was much faster in the first part of the race, she was very solid on some of the steep and muddy climbs. So I was racing with Andrea Waldis all the way until the start of the fourth, last lap. I went ahead of Andrea and kept high pace all the way to the end, but Eva was way to far ahead. Second place is still a great result, Eva is after all a racer with the victory in the World Cup. Now it’s time for some fun riding on Garda, then I have another race next Sunday.”

Avče is a traditional DH venue for the Slovenian DH Cup, the race that is famous for its muddy conditions and excellent organization. This year the weather was again kind to the riders, but the competition was hard as always. Žiga Pandur set second fastest time in the qualifications, after Miran Vauh, but on Sunday the positions turned and Žiga took the victory with 4.5 seconds gap over Miran. Žiga already won the National Championships and international races, but until now never got on the top podium place on the National DH Cup race. Congratulations for the new milestone! Jure Žabjek was second in the junior category after the big crash on Sunday morning. The protection gear did what it supposed to do and he was OK on the end.
Tanja Žakelj was meanwhile in Mekinje near Kamnik for the short track race. This was another race that was a dual between her and Blaža Klemenčič. Blaža took the early lead with high pace, but in lap four Tanja attacked and managed to cross the finish line in first position. Here’s what our rider had to say after another fantastic weekend.
Tanja Žakelj: “I was very keen about the course in Mekinje, it really is the proper course for XC. The race itself was a good training for me, but of course I’m also super happy with the result. At first I had problems keeping up with Blaža’s high pace, but in the begging of lap 4 I attacked and was able to hold the gap all the way to the finish.”
Žiga Pandur: “Great track and great organization of the race, plus we had nice weather. I’m very happy with my final run, also with my riding in first part of the season. There is still one month to the first big events of the season, so I hope to get my rhythm to even higher level.”
Jure Žabjek: “I didn’t had enough practice on this course and so my qualifications run wasn’t perfect. On Sunday morning I crashed hard on the second run and even damaged my helmet when landing. Just to be sure I vent to visit the nearby hospital and check if everything is OK. I managed to get back just in time for my run. Second place is a good result after everything that happened to me today.”
Photo credits: Klemen Humar Photography (Avče), Calcit Bike Team (Mekinje)

It was a busy weekend for the UTT riders with DH & XC events in Croatia and UK. Jess Stone was fourth on the first round of Saracen British Downhill Series, while Slovenian riders were racing in Croatia. Tanja on XC and marathon events in Premantura, Žiga and Jure went to island of Lošinj for the first round of Slovenian Cup.
Tanja Žakelj won the cross-country race on Saturday, ahead of Ukrain champion Yana Belomoyna. Tanja was controlling the race from start to finish and with no technical problems on the rocky terrain she won with big gap. “In knew that start is very important on this race and I have done everything right. After that I lead the group into the first descend and got away from the girls. I caught up with the junior men that had a start ahead of us and try to overtake them as efficiently as possible. I rode with easier pace after lap one, since I saw there is nobody behind me. I really like the course here and with this result I’m more than happy,” said Tanja after the race. “And today was also the first day of the year that I wear shorts – this is priceless!” Tanja didn’t stop there, she also rode the marathon on the same venue on Sunday and got another victory! Not bad for a racing weekend!
Not so far away on the island of Lošinj the downhill season started with the first race for the National Cup. Course was new – short with lots of sharp rocks and mix of trails and city sections. That plus sun and the beach and you have a great event! Our riders were not immune to the flats and that also stopped Žiga Pandur. He actually had a flat in both timed runes and that put him on the rear of the pack. “Nevertheless it was a great practice weekend and I can’t wait for next race in Avče,” said Žiga. Jure Žabjek also found his tire flat after he finished with the qualifications, but in the finals he was fortunate and took the victory in the junior category and finished third overall behind Manuel Gruber (Alpine Commencal) and Jernej Cokan (MTB Trbovlje Specialized). “I’m very excited with the great start of the season, not just because of the result, but also because of my riding. I was fast on this terrain and I think this is good training for the World Cup in Fort William. The course was much shorter, but full of slippery rocks,” was Jure’s comment on the race day. Congratulations to all of the riders!
We should also mention Nejc Rutar’s enduro success from last Sunday near Trieste (Italy). On the 3 Camini race he took second place!
Photos by Robert Ciglar / Adventure.si (Permantura) and Klemen Humar (Lošinj)