{"id":58225,"date":"2025-05-20T11:26:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/?p=58225\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T11:42:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:42:46","slug":"dh-planina-fast-track-and-rainy-chaos-on-gorjanci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/2025\/dh-planina-fast-track-and-rainy-chaos-on-gorjanci\/","title":{"rendered":"DH Planina: Fast Track and Rainy Chaos on Gorjanci"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first of six rounds of this year’s 20chocolate Downhill Cup is in the books. Not just a new venue and a new track, the race was hosted by the newly formed 35 Crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Among the women, last year’s overall winner Ma\u0161a Komel remains on the throne, while the winner in the men’s category is the same as in last year’s final race – Marko Niemiz. Both winners are from Nova Gorica region, Ma\u0161a from the town Nova Gorica and Marko from Gori\u0161ka Brda. In the increasingly difficult conditions, the juniors took the cream in the overall classification, while the categories that had been on the track earlier were even faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast, Exciting Track… and Rain<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was a real duel between most of the fastest Slovenian and Croatian riders right on the border in the east of the Gorjanci mountain in Southeast Slovenia. From the top of the hill above the village of Planina in Podbo\u010dje, just above the start of the course, on a sunny day, there was a beautiful view to the start of the course on Sljeme above Zagreb in Croatia, which will host the final of the series in four and a half months. The two venues are separated by just over 30 kilometres as the crow flies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some riders were missing due to other commitments these days, last year’s series winner in men\u2019s elite Miha Jerki\u010d is unfortunately injured, a few of them were competing in the World Cup… and junior Max \u017dvegla, after not qualifying for the final in Poland on Saturday, showed up to the national race on Sunday to spice up the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

113 riders competed on a course of about 3 kilometres with 500 metres of elevation drop and several wild, fast and technical sections. It took a lot of effort to get times under four minutes. When it started to rain harder in the final and the track got wet and more slippery, it was even more so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spectators who stuck to the track even in the rain could see some daring runs and some crashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma\u0161a Dances Through Trees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"ma\u0161a
Ma\u0161a Komel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the women’s competition, five riders competed, with the fastest being last year’s overall winner Ma\u0161a Komel, who changed teams after last season and is now a member of the Maribor-based 427 Savage Squad. She built up a nice 22-second gap over the runner-up, but newcomer to downhill, Croatian cross-country rider Larisa Bo\u0161njak (BBK \u0160i\u0161mi\u0161), who recently tried enduro for the first time, was also happy with her second place. As well as junior Ne\u017ea \u0160tern (MTB club Kranj Scott Team) with third place just two seconds behind Larisa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"ne\u017ea<\/a>
Ne\u017ea \u0160tern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"larisa<\/a>
Larisa Bo\u0161njak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ma\u0161a says:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n

“The weather was definitely a bit of a handicap, but we girls were lucky that the rain didn’t catch us. A good day is behind us, and company with the girls is always the best. The course was crazy good, there was speed everywhere, you had to study everything, mistakes and falls would probably have hurt here, but I didn’t have that in my head. I wanted to do the best I could and I think it paid off. Also, I don’t always do 100 or 105 percent. I do the qualifying like I do the training, then in the final I add on the sprints and that’s it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ma\u0161a is now training more in Maribor, which is probably also good training for Planina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u00bbFor sure, it’s a different surface than at home, where we are used to more rocks, we have almost no roots. Maribor is the opposite, which complements the training.\u00ab<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What is coach Jure Logar’s advice for such a track?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Pumping. Pump track and more pump track paid off here. There are banked turns and compressions on the track, if you pumped here and did what you needed to do, it launched you to first place.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ma\u0161a’s performance at the next round in Ravne na Koro\u0161kem in two weeks’ time is not certain, as she will be in the middle of her final exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marko Sticks to His Enduro Bike<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"marko
Marko Niemiz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The downhill bikes were undoubtedly the top choice this time due to the speed, but in the men’s elite category, Marko Niemiz (Rajd Ljubljana) was still the top rider in both runs, on the same enduro bike he used to return to downhill racing last year, winning the series finale in Sljeme, above Zagreb. He set the best time of the day with 3:38.02 in the seeding run, and was the last man on the track in the final, clocking 4:06.59 in difficult conditions, which was enough for the win. Ga\u0161per Jure\u010di\u010d (\u0160D Grabit) and national champion Tilen Leban (De\u0161 Fle\u0161) followed in second and third place, 6 seconds behind and just 5 hundredths of a second apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jure\u010di\u010d, a local from Podbo\u010dje, who moved to Maribor for his studies and for work in the Bike Park Pohorje Maribor, was also second two years ago in the 20chocolate DH Cup race in Maribor, this time he earned his second podium finish among the elite. The experienced national champion Leban is always a force to be reckoned with anyway, although this time he didn’t even finish the seeding and was first on the track in the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Ga\u0161per<\/a>
Ga\u0161per Jure\u010di\u010d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"tilen<\/a>
Tilen Leban<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The phenomenal Niemiz, who has missed almost four full seasons of downhill racing since he entered the elite category until last year’s DH Sljeme, has this to say about his enduro bike:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I’m a downhiller, but if you don’t race regularly, a downhill bike just doesn\u2019t make sense. So an all-round enduro bike is the solution for me. Last year in Zagreb I saw that the speed was there, it pulled me back a bit. In the winter, I waited for the calendar, checked the locations, saw how many tracks suited the enduro bike, and then decided which races to go to. For fun. You won\u2019t see me on a downhill bike this year, but next year it’s almost certain.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Marko says he will almost certainly be at the second race in Ravne na Koro\u0161kem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast Juniors, U17 and Others …<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the rain, conditions slowly deteriorated from category to category, with no significant differences within categories. The rules for the overall podium of juniors and elite are such that conditions can change between the start of the first and the start of the second. So this time the juniors took the lion’s share of the prize money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martin
Martin Mark Milar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In his second season among the junior men, Martin Mark Milar (Rajd Ljubljana) took his first Cup victory at the finish line by the beehive farm, also his first overall victory, with his time of 4:04.66 almost two seconds faster than Niemiz’s. Last year’s fourth place finisher at the National Championships in Kranjska Gora was third in the seeding behind Maks Struna and An\u017ee Kofja\u010d (both KK Zavr\u0161nica), but both of them were slower than the Ljubljana man in the wet final. The top three reversed the order, with Kofja\u010d second only 12 hundredths behind and Struna third. The same in the overall classification with the elite, where Niemiz was fourth and another junior Sven Podvornik (\u0160D Grabit) fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
An\u017ee Kofja\u010d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Maks Struna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Stopni\u010dke mladincev<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Prvih pet skupno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Milar is undoubtedly fast since his U17 years, but he is accompanied by bad luck and 4th place finishes. This time it worked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I am happy and quite proud of this result. It took a while, but I finally did it. The final run was pretty wild, it was slippery, but with a bit more head on it was possible to ride. I prefer dry conditions, but it can be done like this. This year I’m focusing on racing in the European Cup, but I’m also aiming for the top three in the Slovenian Cup, also at the national championship.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Among the U17 men, the most numerous category with 27 riders on the start list, last year’s Cup winner Svit Kunaver Smolkovi\u010d (Bikehanic Lumar) put together a great ride in the final, even half a second faster than Milar. He was followed on the podium by the Croatian champion \u0160imun Juras (BK Fortica) in second and newcomer in the category Jakob Rozman (MTB klub Kranj Scott Team) in third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Svit Kunaver Smolkovi\u010d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
\u0160imun Juras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
U17<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The U15 boys, who opened the finals at 4 pm, raced on a dry track. Team 427 Savage Squad achieved a double victory with Nik Brumen in first place and Max Sli\u0161ko in second, with Nikolaj Vukojevi\u0107 (Golovec Trails) in third place. Nik set the overall best time of the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After them came the amateurs, won by local Gal Jev\u0161enak Kodri\u010d (35 Crew), followed by the women, and then the master men, where Sebastian Prin\u010di\u010d (MTB klub Boshk) won ahead of returnee Sa\u0161a Merljak (Wolf Racing Team) and Jure Logar (427 Savage Squad).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"sa\u0161a
Sa\u0161a Merljak (Prin\u010di\u010d too fast for camera)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Gal Jev\u0161enak Kodri\u010d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
U15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Amateur men<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Master men<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All DH Planina results<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From Dolenjska to Koro\u0161ka<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The downhill racers have successfully discovered the charms and digital detox of the Gorjanci mountain above Kr\u0161ko, and in two weeks’ time they will compete again at another new venue. But it will be very different. The Poseka Bike Park in Ravne na Koro\u0161kem in northern Slovenia is well known to gravity riders, they have a t-bar lift adapted for mountain bikers, and the track will be less than half in length and elevation compared to Planina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first of June, it will certainly be a very different, but no less intense racing. All about the first DH of Poseka in the propositions, registration included<\/a> (until 25 May).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos by Jure Kranjec @jure.kranjec<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first of six rounds of this year’s 20chocolate Downhill Cup is in the books. Not just a new venue and a new track, the race was hosted by the newly formed 35 Crew.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":58227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5],"tags":[87,87],"blocksy_meta":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58225"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58225"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58258,"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58225\/revisions\/58258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}