Our thanks to Robert Matusek the following report of the 2011 Trans Hungária.
This first edition of the Trans Hungária Marathon mountain bike race has been declared a success after covering a route through North Hungary from Nagymaros to Tokaj on August 17 to 20. The competitors had to deal with tough course, very high temperatures and accumulate fatigue of road sections, the heat and fatigue aggravated, but they have been rewarded with the incredible Hungarian landscape and hospitality of the locals.
The 153 starters kicked off the race in Nagymaros, and passed through Hollókő, Bükkszék, Diósgyőr, Szerencs, Erdőbénye before arriving in Tokaj. Riders faced a daily average of five hours riding. The 4-day race has been designed according to classic marathon distances. Blazsó Márton pulled off a marvelous performance by winning all stages and so securing the top step on the podium in the final ranking.
From the first stage, the heat put its mark on the riders and the race became that of attrition. Given the utterly dry trail conditions, the riders finished the stages far below the estimated stage time; hence the average speed was incredibly high. But this fact was also due to the high competitive nature of the race. Even though the course didn’t feature Alpine-like ascents, the shorter, “knee-breaker” ramps added their own particular sharpness to the race. The hard pack course put dusty clouds behind the bunch and the water consumption at the aid station was accordingly very high.
The second stage had been labeled as the toughest one: the Matra Mountains presented itself, challenging the riders with sectional rock gardens and a demanding hard pack course. Appropriate technique was required with a lot of time to be gained or to be lost. That being said, tactical riding was the name of the game on transitional pave sections. So riders were trying to stay in the groups to enjoy the benefits of a group riding. However before that, the highest peak of Hungary had to be conquered: Kékestető offered a steep never ending climb, but that’s been rewarded with a gorgeous downhill, albiet a very harsh one.
Bükk embraced the riders with stage three and the first part featured not-so-demanding pave sections, the concluding part was all the more challenging with tricky single tracks and roller-coaster-like downhills. A lot of time had been to be gained once again, provided one was able to master the terrain.
The final stage went through the Zemplén Mountains, an epic region with lovely hills, flanked by vineyards. The start was kicked off in a historic castle of Szerencs and finished in the long sought-after city of Tokaj. In between 66km had to be negotiated and even though the distance didn’t promise the difficulty of the previous days, it was challenging enough. A tricky and unpredictable route surface littered with sharp gravel, rolling stones and omnipresent thorns. The very last opportunity to make good ground, hence the competitiveness was high and every second counted, at least for those having had high ambitions for a good result.
The main square of Tokaj welcomed the worn down field. The whole city opened its collective arms to the race and all rider were able to enjoy the renowned hospitality of the locals.
The winner put up a time of 15 hours on a total distance of 377 km and 7,400 metres of climbing.
The desired outcome of Trans Hungária Marathon has certainly been met, both for the riders as well as organisers, who expressed their satisfaction at the finish. Indeed they had done a great job tackling the difficulty of creating to create an event of this format. The Trans Hungária Marathon proved itself to be toughest and most demanding sport event of the country and that’s reason enough to kick it off again next year.
The results in each category:
Masters Male solo
1. Blazsó Márton Bike Team Szeged 15:17:12
2. Matusek Róbert Sportograf.com 16:19:16
3. Medgyes Gábor 16:48:01
Male solo
1. Hauser Tamás Capricorn Scot 16:03:48
2. Szécsi Tamás Bringabanda SC 16:05:56
3. Németh Gábor Hotel Yacht Club 16:52:55
Senior Male solo
1. Rusovszki Gábor Gödöllői SK 18:23:00
2. Dr. Simoni Ákos Cube – Csömör 20:08:36
3. Kocsis Sándor Gödöllői SE 21:13:27
Male Duo team
1. Grósz Béla – Melts András Team Nagymaros 31:52:11
2. Peták Levente – Frölich Tamás Ózdi KE 35:51:59
3. Schleining Rudolf – Nagy András Szegedi KSC Trek 39:49:34
Master Duo team
1. Baros Bálint – Búr Zsolt Bringabanda SC Haibike Pro Team 32:41:38
2. Vas Péter – Kis József Merida CST 34:16:26
3. Balázs Amand Tibor – Kis András Batka 37:43:03
Mixed team
1. Dósa Eszter – Horváth Gergő SE-HUN 35:52:23
2. Orosz Anita – Szalma Csaba Trek SE 42:58:21
Master Male team
1. Pálfi Antal – Paulovits László – Gyallai János – Makszim Mátyás Fonnyadt Makk 39:31:20