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IXS European Downhill Cup 2017 - Kranjska Gora

May 25, 2017 at 6:40
by Juho Mattus  
My 2017 season started in the beginning of May with the first IXS EDC held in Slovenia - Kranjska Gora. As i had been there in 2016 i was familiar with the location and bike park, i had really high hopes for the season starter.

Sometimes you just need to see how the top Guy s are riding with ease to get the mental brake down and leave the brakes like those guy s

When we arrived it was raining hard and my first impression was - HELL NO, ain't gonna get down alive when it rains. But after some run's with mud tire in front, i started to feel the loose and wet track and it suited me well.

During the Qualifications the track was pretty dry and we did not have to struggle with the run down the hill. As i had a supper side wind on the track, i went off line and lost my pace. After that mistake where i slipped on the handlebar i just could not get the racing pace back. Ended up being 74th in the Qualis and out of the Supper finals.

The gnarly root section of Kranjska Gora is freakin epic. I was struggling to leave my brakes near the trees but once you got the pumping dialed it was EPIC feeling to hit the berm with the speed in the end of the section.

During the finals, track dried up even more and it got much faster - i had really high hopes of nailing my race run perfectly as i felt my training runs were getting faster and faster. After the first root section i lost my chain and it got stuck between my pedal and crank. That for i had to clear all the track without the chain - especially the jumps and uphill section. It was almost impossible to clear the jumps as my cranks were off-line. I was struggling to snap the chain for couple hundred of meters but after that i just thought to let it be. The uphill section was the hardest part, where i pushed my bike with one leg and tucked like no other. In the end i lost 5 second to my qualis run and the game was over.

Loved that grass section where you could just let it go and drift it out near the poles.

Looking back to Kranjska Gora race, i am still happy that my bones were in one place and i did not have to cancel my race run as i did back in 2016 due to my friend, who broke his collarbone. Better luck next time - hopefully you will enjoy the edit that Mart Sard has cooked from the event. Stay tuned for more, as there are still 4 stages to come. We are tying to get all the IXS EDC on tape and show you how the racing goes for me on the season of 2017.

Enjoy the the video!

https://www.pinkbike.com/video/471978/

#RideFox #HawaiiExpress #MyFitness #CaravanExpert #Minukleeps.ee #AnnabTiivad
Cheers
Juho

Author Info:
Kubsik avatar

Member since Feb 24, 2009
1 articles

2 Comments
  • 1 0
 good luck next time, Juho
  • 1 0
 luck needed - ALWAYS! Big Grin







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