Photo Report: Lithuanian National Championships 2020 - Baltic Downhill Cup #2

Second stage of the Baltic Downhill Cup took place in the town of Ignalina mostly known for the nuclear power plant nearby, but nowadays visited more for vacationing, enjoying the nature and winter sports.

Temperatures rose to 27 degrees with some clouds covering us from the blasting sun which is too much for most living in northen Europe. 64 riders managed to finish their runs with hobby full suspension being the largest class with 24 participants. The tracks weren't as blown out as last year, but rather sandy soil and grassy turns didn't allow for much grip either.

Warm sunlight begins to illuminate endless forests that surround the town of Ignalina.

Make it shine.

Last bit of work on the tracks before saturday's trainings.

The rock garden on first track had riders trying different approaches. Some skipped slightly over the rocks and others decided to not touch them at all.

Estonian delegation has seen big budget cuts after the purchase of top spec Scott Gamblers.

Two log jumps at the end of second track were the point of interest for anyone wanting to witness sketchiness. Big up to madman Denis Tsuris who had us biting our nails many times on that section.

Last look at a diminishing corner after the rock garden on first track.

Gerda Einmane had to take some time off the bike after that crash, but luckily it didn't keep her from racing.

She had a hard time on this part of the track, but still went home with a win.

Dāvis Kozakovs was looking for silver after first run, but the steeps and loosness of second track made him forget about that.

Henrijs Zeltins finished 2nd instead.

Daniels Zabilevskis outperformed Henrijs with 22 seconds.

Gediminas Stankevicius crashed on his second run, though it didn't affect his position. He finished 3rd in hardtail men category.

Jānis Koluškins was the fastest on second run, but it wasn't enough to step on the top spot.

The first two fast splits were what got Lukas Kolgovas the gold.

Taavi Pärnamets finished 5th in junior men category.

Rokas Sviderskis was hoping for a sweet victory and the Lithuanian national champion jersey, but an OTB in the beginning of second track only got him to 4th place. Lucky for him, Haroldas Barkus who was fastest among Lithuanians didn't have a licence. This meant that Rokas gets to wear the jersey though understandably he was kind of disappointed.

No problem getting good photos of Kenth Lusenberg. He was 3rd.

Haroldas Barkus managed a good 2nd place finish.

Robert Johanson destroyed others by almost 4 seconds. Robert also put out the fastest time of the day just like on stage 1 in Kiviõli .

Edvin Reinhold won the masters men category.

Despite his times being closer to 10th place Rando Kiik somehow pulled out a 5th place finish in hobby full suspension category. It was probably thanks to a fast last split on second run.

A mistake in the first split on second run dropped Dainius Janušauskas to 4th.

Something happened on Denis Ivanov's first run, but it didn't stop him from grabbing the bronze.

Tomas Peciukaitis got 2nd and became the Lithuanian national champion.

Gints Bahmanis storming for the gold.

Armands Mežinskis yet again entered men elite category on his hardtail and got 5th. Suprisingly he lost only 6.35 seconds to the top step.

Hendrik Kirsipuu will definitely look forward to the last race of the season after missing bronze by a second.

Juho Mattus flying towards 3rd. This time he actually got to do some practise as against the stage 1 in Kiviõli where he was the race organizer.

Armin Pilv messed up his first run again and had to give everything he had to get 2nd.

Tanel Tõrvik aka the Freeracer won again and with even more style. In addition to his 2015 voltage FR with dropper post and a single crown fork his rear rim was split and so bent that it scrubbed chainstays. No excuses, just ride your f***ing bike. He probably couldn't afford to fall, since his cap would have gotten dirty.

Happy days for Tanel.

A big Thank you! for event organizers and everyone who keeps downhill alive in the Baltics.

See you in Kordes, Latvia next time for the final race.

Results: here.

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Author Info:

2rikko
Member since Mar 19, 2013
7 articles