Above the Carinthian lake, the new track was well received. Winners from Slovenia and Austria in the elite categories.
The joint races of the Slovenian Downhill Cup 20chocolate and the Austrian Gravity Series have been a regular feature since 2021. This year’s race took place last Saturday, 23 August, in Weissensee (White Lake) in Carinthia, Austria. It was the fourth race of the year for the Slovenian series and the fifth for the Austrian series.
For this purpose, a new downhill track was created in a small park under the leadership of creative director Mario Ramirez and racer Timmy Fockenberger, combining parts of the fastest track in the park with some new forest sections. The competitors were thrilled with the approximately 2 km long track with a 400 m elevation drop. The youngest category, under 13 years of age, started after the very steep first section called Thermos.
Sun and Rain, But the Best Won
The weather forecast predicted a few drops of rain, but in the end, the track remained almost completely dry, and only a few competitors had to descend through slightly heavier rain in the final.
In the women’s race, Maša Komel (427 Savage Squad), winner of the first race in the series and leader in the standings, didn’t have a big field to race against. She was already the fastest in the qualifying round, and in the final she achieved her second victory of the season. Six seconds behind her in second place was the experienced former Austrian champion Elke Rabeder (Dirty Trail Friends), and another 9 seconds behind in third place was another Austrian, Amelie Berger (Pinzgabikers).
Komel further increased her lead in the 20chocolate Downhill Cup series standings, and it is unlikely that she will lose this advantage in the last two races. Eva Podvornik, who competed in the U15 category in Austria, is closest to her.
In the men’s elite category, Kevin “Kevlator” Maderegger (Schuler Sports Schwoich) won with a one-and-a-half-second lead over Luka Berginc (Coast Riders). Nico Ofner (RC Madhouse bike(r)evolution), who was one second slower than Berginc, finished third and celebrated the title of Carinthian champion.
Stefan Mauser was the fastest in the qualifying round with a time of 3 minutes, 16 seconds, and 85 hundredths, half a second faster than the winning time in the final, but he crashed in the final and finished in 6th place. Maderegger was second in seeding, improving his time by just under two seconds in the final, and last year’s overall winner of the 20chocolate Downhill Cup series, Miha Jerkič (427 Savage Squad), was third, finishing fourth in the final.
In the 20chocolate Downhill Cup series standings, with two races to go, Berginc is only 65 points behind the leader Marko Niemiz, who skipped the Austrian race. Matija Crnković has climbed to third place.
Fun fact: this was the sixth joint race of the two series, and the results are now tied, with three wins for Austria and three for Slovenia. Kope ’21 Maximilian Jakubowski, Kope ’22 Jure Žabjek, Peca ’23 Luka Berginc, Maribor ’24 Žak Gomilšček, and Lienz ’24 Markus Kamper (fastest time by junior Jamie Schmölzer).
Younger, Older, Amateurs…
Among juniors, Elias Handl (Bike the Bugles Krumbach) won the aAGS series for the third time this year, followed by Diego Zraunig (Ride Free Osttirol) in second place and Matej Osolin (Golovec trails) in third. Osolin took the lead in the junior classification of 20chocolate DH Cup, Sven Podvornik (Grabit) is second, and the previous leader Martin Mark Milar (Rajd Ljubljana) is third.
Among the U17 men, Croatian Šimun Juras (BK Fortica) secured his lead in the 20chocolate DH Cup series standings with victories in both runs. Last year’s overall winner Svit Kunaver Smolkovič (Bikehanic – Lumar) took second place, while Austrian Johannes Schwarz (SU ETG) came in third. In the standings, Juras has a 220-point lead over Kunaver Smolkovič, with Maks Fošnarič (DGK Pohorje – Spank Team) in third place.
Lynn Berger (Pinzgabikers) won among the U17 girls, with no Slovenian participants.
Moritz Leibetseder (RSC Wolfgangsee) won among U15 boys, while the fastest Slovenian was Gal Novak (Rajd Ljubljana) in 5th place. Nik Brumen (427 Savage Squad) remained at the top of the rankings with 7th place this time. Among U15 girls, Hannah-Magdalena Höfinger (Bikerei Korneuburg) won the duel with Eva Podvornik (ŠD Grabit).
Among U13, the victories remained at home on the shortened track. Among the girls, Sari Scholz (Leogang Bikeclub) and Lija Leber (427 Savage Squad) took 1st and 2nd, while among the boys, Tristan Weber (RC Markt Piesting Schaffer) won in a field of 18 competitors. The fastest Slovenian was Jaka Kline (DGK Pohorje – Spank Team) in 8th place. Vili Semenič (KK Črn trn) leads the 20chocolate DH Cup rankings.
Sasha Merljak (Wolf Racing Team) won in the younger veteran category, master 1, while the older master 2 category was won by the event’s mastermind, Mario Ramirez Infante (RC Madhouse bike(r)evolution).
In the amateur category, called Open in aAGS: the fastest woman was Melissa Jenull from Austria, who would have won among the elite with her time, and the fastest man was Luke Davis (Rapso Knittelfeld) from South Africa, after the winner of the seeding run, Tadej Skočir, made a mistake in the final and slipped to 7th place.
All Rankings and Series Standings
The Winners Said
“The track was great, I really enjoyed it, and the audience was great too. Overall, hats off to the organizers. Even the weather was on our side. Another victory under my belt, so that’s great. I like that the Slovenian cup is moving abroad, which is also good for us girls, as there are only a few of us. It’s very good to compare ourselves with foreigners.”
Maša Komel
28-year-old Kevin Maderegger is the Austrian enduro champion from two years ago and has several victories in the SloEnduro series. Enduro also brought him to the Ghost factory team at the beginning of his elite career. He has also achieved some excellent results in downhill racing, his greatest success being victory in the iXS European Downhill Cup in Kranjska Gora in 2019.
“I do a lot of different things, let’s say I’m partially retired. I devote a lot of time to training young riders. Occasional competitions keep me fresh. I decided to try this new track. It’s excellent, with lots of fresh sections, and I’m really interested to see what kind of race it could be here next year.”
Kevin Maderegger
Unofficial Records
This time, the organizers also awarded two special prizes. Julian Auer and Jakob Lorber flew the furthest in the jump measurement at the top of the track, both reaching 20 meters! Maderegger was the fastest in the speed trap on the fastest section, reaching an incredible 73 kilometers per hour.
Thank You, Weissensee!
In addition to the good track, the participants – 168 competitors from eight countries and their companions – will also remember the pleasant venue with views of the lake, a camp at the finish line, more than satisfactory organization for the first event, and a passionate organizational team led by Mario and Timmy.
Thank you, see you again, if not with the “Austrian-Slovenian” cup, which is more of a traveling variety, then in some other way.
DH Sor’ca Just Around the Corner
The 20chocolate Downhill Cup series will continue on September 14 at Soriška planina, Slovenia. More information and registration available here soon.