Race Report: Enduro MTB Series - Świeradów-Zdrój

The first race in over 1.5 years, a new record number of riders, and the return of enduro to the iconic venue - organizers of MINI Sikora Enduro MTB Series faced quite a challenge! But given the riders' feedback, the long preparations resulted in one of the best events in the history of Polish enduro.

Right on time at 9:30 am, the riders took off from Dom Zdrojowy in the center of Świeradów-Zdrój - the rich setting attracted many spectators, with many of them having their first contact with enduro!



The riders had four long, natural, and extremely varied special stages to cover, built on the experience of local rider Maciej Bała, consulted with Whyte Racing's Mateusz Baliński and, as always, under the watchful eye of Grzegorz Miedziński. The whole route was just under 40 km long and covered 1600 meters of altitude.


The competition started at the peak of Sępia Góra, from where the very technical Stage 1 started. It wasn't the longest one, but it took the most time to negotiate "wet stone paths" and twisted forest sections dotted with roots. It was Paweł Reczek (Eskimoo Racing Team) who was the fastest, making use of his trials experience on the rocky obstacles and thus setting the pace for the race. The fastest female rider was Karolina Cierluk (Izersky Collective), who used well her knowledge of the local terrain.

The second special stage was in the well-known massif of Stóg Izerski, but in an unknown setting - here even the local riders were surprised by the route, which was mostly carved from scratch along naturally flowing paths, offering some relief after tough Stage 1. This allowed Joanna Światłoń (Eskimoo Racing Team) to make up some time, and she did not give up the lead until the finish line, just like her teammate Paweł Reczek.


Refueling at the Nutrend feeding zone certainly proved useful before Stage 3, the VARTA Power Challenge. It was a very special segment for the organizers, who put a lot of effort into its layout. It paid off! Polish enduro had never seen such an interesting and varied stage before - enthusiasts of flow, as well as more technical riders, could prove themselves here. It was spiced up by a short but heavy rainfall, and the icing on the cake was a long downhill chute running along... a pre-war ski jump! The winners of the VARTA Power Challenge were Joanna Swiatłoń and František Žilák.

The third stage was also the last one for the Hobby groups. This additional classification was introduced in Świeradów. It allowed less experienced riders to get acquainted with enduro racing - the route shortened by the last, longest stage, was chosen by almost 90 riders (more than one-third), and the quickest in this classification were Natalia Pietrzak and Konrad Tokarczyk.


The Pro groups then set off for the final Stege 4, along the Valley of Czarny Potok. Like all the stages, it required all-round skills - from fast riding on loose, rocky terrain to slaloming the loam between the trees. As usual, a warm meal awaited the racers at the end of the competition.

Who has won?

In the final stretch, the quickest was again Joanna Światłoń and Paweł Reczek, who eventually set the fastest times in the Open category, and in Paweł's case also in the Masters' category. In the Men's Elite the fastest was Jakub Gąsienica (Dartmoor Enduro Team), and among Juniors: Wiktor Musialik (Erowery.pl). In the hardtail class, Piotr Pytel was the best, and Marcin Motyka (Dartmoor Enduro Team) squeezed the most speed out of an e-bike, also setting the third-fastest time in the Open category.

As part of the event, the Polish Academic Cup was also held - in the Pro AZS categories the winners were Karolina Cierluk (AZS Politechnika Wrocławska) and Michał Topór (AZS PWSZ Tarnów). Congratulations! Full results of all categories can be found at: http://enduromtbseries.pl/pl/wyniki


The winners' decoration was preceded and followed by a prize draw, which included some very attractive give-aways, i.e. a HAMMER Explorer smartphone, MAKITA power tools, TSG helmets, and vouchers for weekend stays at the Blue Mountain Resort, Elements Hotel&SPA, and Five Seasons apartments.

Sunday chill and fun for the whole family

The MINI Sikora Enduro MTB Series event did not end at the finish line of Saturday's race though! The organizer has also planned many activities for those who stayed in Świeradów for the whole weekend, with their families. Among other things, a mini-race for kids took place on the grounds of the Cottonina Hotel, and a guided bike tour started from there as well. Visitors could also take a look at the cars offered by the title sponsor, MINI Sikora dealer, both stationary and on the winding mountain roads. Plenty of people were also interested in diet advice and body composition analysis under the eye of nutrition trainers Ewa Miedzińska and Justyna Fyda.


Second round: 2-3 October

We would like to invite you to the second round, which will take place on 2-3 October! More information can be found on the website (www.enduromtbseries.pl) and on Facebook, where additional race coverage and photos are published daily (www.facebook.com/EnduroMTBseries).

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