In the fifth round of the Slovenian Downhill Cup season, the 20chocolate Downhill Cup, on Soriška planina, after some twists and turns in the final, three junior men were faster than the elite. The fastest was Maks Struna, and in the women’s category, Maša Komel.
Slippery “Roots, Rock, Reggae”
Conditions were already difficult on Saturday during the course practice on the now classic 1,650-meter-long track from Lajnar peak with a 280-meter elevation drop and with one new section. During the night, the mud was thoroughly washed away from roots and rocks by the rain, so that the 120 riders from Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia had smiles on their faces under their helmets during the Sunday’s morning training session, despite their dirty clothes. Another downpour did not change the conditions significantly, but then the track began to dry out, so that in the final, the roots, which are plentiful on the track, were once again very slippery. The rocks a little less so. Hence the reference to Bob Marley’s song above.
Brave, Crazy or Just Lucky Juniors?
Already in the seeding run and then in the final, it was clear that no one would come close to the times of around two and a half minutes recorded by the fastest riders in recent years. What’s more, even in the final, it would be difficult to match the achievements from the seeding run. In difficult conditions, only a select few were able to find the right combination of riding technique, bike setup, and risk-taking.
The first to do so was Croatian champion Šimun Juras (BK Fortica) among the U17 boys with a convincing victory with a time of 2 minutes, 51 seconds and 66 hundredths ahead of Gaber Novak (Rajd Ljubljana) and Maks Fošnarič (DGK Pohorje – Spank Team), thus confirming his overall victory in the series. Slovenian champion Svit Kunaver Smolkovič (Bikehanic Lumar), the fastest in the seeding, slipped far back after a crash, but remains firmly in second place in the standings, with Fošnarič in third.
The junior men were even faster, with Maks Struna (KK Završnica) improving his time from the qualifying round by over three seconds and, with 2:48.87, being the only one to break the 2 minute 50 second barrier. Not only that, but although they were some way behind, two of his peers were faster than all the elite men, which is something we have probably never witnessed before in Slovenian Cup races! Last year’s national champion Matej Osolin (Golovec trails) finished second behind Struna, 8 seconds behind, while Nejc Dagarin (MTB klub Kranj) finished third, 9 seconds behind. Max Žvegla (Bikehanic Lumar), the fastest in the seeding run, crashed out in the final. In the overall standings before the final, Osolin leads ahead of Struna and Sven Podvornik (ŠD Grabit), who finished in 6th place this time with a great deal of bad luck.
Among the elite men, the experienced 33-year-old Aleš Virtič (DGK Pohorje – Spank Team) performed best in the final. Interestingly, the rider from Koroška achieved his first and so far only victory in the elite category in the Slovenian Cup right here on Soriška planina at the first race here eleven years ago. This time, he was third in the qualifying race behind the fastest rider, four-time Sor’ca winner Luka Berginc (Coast Riders), and last year’s national champion Tilen Leban (Deš Fleš). In the final, Berginc and Leban crashed, and Virtič also hit the ground, but he clearly lost the least amount of time. With a time of 2:59.66, he was almost 11 seconds behind the winner among juniors, Maks Struna, but it was enough for the elite victory ahead of Maj Babačič in second place and enduro rider David Ivartnik (both Golovec trails) in third place, almost six seconds behind.
Berginc took the lead in the overall standings with first place in the seeding run and sixth in the final. Marko Niemiz (Rajd Ljubljana), who had been in the lead until now but left Soriška planina after struggling with the slippery conditions on Saturday, is now in second place. Virtič moved up to third place.
In the women’s competition, Maša Komel (427 Savage Squad), the leader in the rankings, successfully outpaced her competitors. In the final, Ana Inkret (Calcit Bike Team), who started in cross-country, continued in enduro, and is no longer a newcomer to downhill, came in second, 9,99 behind. Third place went to Austrian Marlisa Brandauer (Bikeclub Leogang). Maša had already become the overall winner before Sor’ca, she is followed by Eva Podvornik (Grabit) and Croatian Larisa Bošnjak (BBK Šišmiš) in the rankings.
Whole Lot of New Winners
Among the youngest in the U13 category, Vili Semenič (KK Črn trn) won for the second time this year and also leads the overall standings. In the U15 category, Gal Palčič (Rajd Ljubljana) took the top spot for the first time, while Nik Brumen (427 Savage Squad), the three-time winner from the first part of the season, remains firmly at the top. In the veteran master category, Simon Godec (president of the Boshk MTB club) celebrated his first victory, while Vid Šturm (MTB klub Kranj) won the amateur category.
All results and series standings before the final
Hero of the Day Maks Struna Says…
“On the first day, when I was getting used to the track, I crashed twice, then I just let go. Then it started raining, but now I just went full throttle. I almost crashed three times in the seeding, but I tried a little harder for the race, rode smoothly, and it worked.”
Maks, who is one of the most hard working competitors, if not the most active, in combining downhill and enduro at home and in international races. Since April, together with the national team races (in recent days he has competed in both enduro and downhill at the world championships) we have counted 17 appearances, and we have probably missed a few.
Thank You, Sor’ca!
Even difficult circumstances cannot thwart the plans of good organizers. With its second edition under the organization of ŠD Omikron Plus from Železniki, skilled organizers of auto rallies, Downhill Sor’ca is establishing itself as a classic stop on the Slovenian downhill cup circuit, thanks also to the hospitality of the Soriška planina resort. See you next year!
Another Final Above Zagreb
All that remains is the final, sixth and last race of the series, DH Sljeme above Zagreb, on the first Sunday in October, October 5. On the popular classic DH Legends track. Details and registration to follow here.