Poland should be well-known for the raw, technical trails that the forests there offer. European mountain biking often conjures images of big alpine passes, or long gravel roads. Poland has neither. It does have large mountains, heavy forest, tight singletrack, and lots of trails and towns to discover.
Cezary Zamana, the winner of Tour of Poland, is inviting riders to The Star of South, a 3-day long race on beautiful yet challenging tracks in Beskid Wysoki, near the Babia Gora mountain.
Zamana is an ex-cyclistbut still very active: he organises races, training camps and encourages Poles to hop on the saddle and start riding. One of his flagship bike events is Mazovia MTB marathon which is highly popular.
“After the success of last edition, organised for the first time in mountainous Lopuszna, we are coming back to the south of Poland, this time to the surroundings of Babia Gora” – explains Zamana. “Together with local authorities, groups of bikers and the Polish cycling group JBG2 we created very exciting and various tracks that are appropriate both for professionals as well as for amateurs” he adds.
The race, proudly called The Star of South, will be organised between June 30th and July 3rd. On every day mountain bikers will climb over 1000m above sea level. Such heights are rarity at Polish MTB races. The other major challenge will be the difficulty of the trails. The total climbing over 4 days is over 7 000 m.
But The Star of South is suitable also for those who don’t ride professionally. Specially for them, the easier, safer and shorter tracks were prepared. “Downhills won’t be so steep so these less experienced bikers could control their speed” – explains Cezary Zamana. “I have ridden all planned tracks and I assure that they can be finished by ambitious bikers”. The best proof for Zamana’s pressure for safety is the fact that during the stage race there will be specialised local team of medics. Due to their terrain knowledge and use of jeeps, immediate reaction in every situation will be possible.
The Prologue will decide in which group – pro or amateur – a rider should compete. It will be a warm-up before the marathon.
Thanks to the Star of South, the calendar of worth-attention bike events will be richened with one more position. Cezary Zamana’s authority, beautiful and little know and varied tracks, professional backstage and openness for the whole bikers society (both from Poland and other countries) is a strong encouragement to spend these summer days in the shadow of Babia Gora.