11th set of Slovenian enduro champions has been crowned. Tina Smrdel takes second, Vid Peršak his seventh national title on the slippery trails above Trbovlje.
After four rounds of SloEnduro series the second weekend in June has been reserved for the National Championships. The eleventh Slovenian enduro national championships race was hosted by Trbovlje or the village of Sveta Planina above the town to be precise. This is where the crew of MTB Trbovlje club has been hosting downhill races since 1999. But by now they never held a race in the discipline which includes climbing by bike and where the endurance of a rider is well respected.
The riders on the long course with four special stages registered no less than 1450 vertical meters of climbing (and descending). Combining Saturday’s training and Sunday’s race laps that means close to 3000 vertical meters of riding over the weekend. No biggie for Pogi and Rogla but all that climbing on a bike that is still meant mostly for riding down the hill will make you feel your legs a little bit.
Along with all that pedalling the participants of Enduro Trbovlje, also a World Cup Qualifier event, had to deal with some pretty tough conditions on course. The skies mostly spared them the rain on race day but the trails were muddy and slippery from the rain overnight and in the previous days. There were not many riders who never hit the ground and some crashes were not without consequences.
Going For Elite Titles
Vid Peršak (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) was trying to stay safe in between World Cup races in Finale and Leogang but still wanted to keep that Slovenian flag on his left sleeve. He ended winning all four special stages. After just under 15 minutes of racing that meant a 30-second win and his seventh national title in nine years.
Miha Smrdel (MBK Črni Vrh), the SloEnduro series leader, started with a 5h on SS1. He managed to move into second place overall after SS3, the longest of the day and confirmed his silver medal position in his first elite Nationals with a close second on the last stage. Tim Krašovec (Wolf Racing Team) won bronze after holding second in first half of the race.
Fourth place by local veteran Andraž Jeršin (MTB Trbovlje), a former downhill national team member, is hardly a surprise, even if his last enduro race was the 2021 Nationals. SloEnduro #2 David Ivartnik (Golovec trails) had to settle for fifth this time with just one top 3 stage finish.
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It’s hard to belive it’s already my sevent title. Each one is special so I’m really happy. I didn’t start so well today, had some problems on teh first stage. It could be that I didn’t set up my suspension right. I changed the settings a bit and I got the right feel back, I had no problem from then on. It was a quite a race with 1450 vertical meters. I’m happy I’m okay and I’m looking forward to World Cup race in Leogang next week. I just need to relax there and enjoy the ride. |
In women’s race Tina Smrdel (MBK Črni Vrh) also didn’t allow any surprises. She won all four special stages and won her second national title. Tina is still a junior but women’s categories are united. Maša Komel (KK Črn trn) won silver and Tamara Homar (ŠKD Super potencial) the bronze medal.
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I had a great time in the mud. There was less grip on the first two stages but that improved for stages three and four. In conditions like these the other girls may get a bit closer but the conditions are the same for everyone. |
Vid Peršak and Tina Smrdel also registered the fastest times on SS3, the longest stage of the days, and won the Spar Online SuperStage awards.
Apart from Austrian, Italian and Hungarian riders there were also riders from Australia and Denmark on start this time thanks to the World Cup Qualifier status, but didn’t finish among the fastest.
In Other Long Course Categories
Miha Jerkič (KK Črn trn) in 8th place overall was once again the fastest junior and defended his title. Maj Babačič (Calcit bike team) followed in second and Jan Polovšak (Bosch Black Hole Enduro Team) in third place.
Downhill veteran Boštjan Volf (Wolf Racing by Wheelbase) was the fastest master rider in 10th overall and won the master 1 title. Primož Štrancar (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) put on the champion jersey in master 2 and Martin Brus (Kamplc Racing Team) in master 3. Jernej Oblak (Golovec trails) is the surprising new amateur champ in 15th overall. Active elite downhill racer Jan Cimperman (MTB Trbovlje) won all five stages of the e-bike category.
Short Course, 3 Special Stages
Ažbe Kalinšek (Wolf Racing by Wheelbase) won in U17 male and Nežka Libnik (Bosch Black Hole Enduro Team) in U17 female category. This is also the youngest category with official national titles.
1st. Vid PERŠAK (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) — 14:33.10
2nd. Miha SMRDEL (MBK Črni Vrh) — +30.28
3rd. Tim KRAŠOVEC (Wolf Racing Team) — +41.95
4th. Andraž JERŠIN (MTB Trbovlje) — +43.21
5th. David IVARTNIK (Golovec trails) — 1:00.85
1st. Tina SMRDEL (MBK Črni Vrh) — 18:18.17
2nd. Maša KOMEL (KK Črn trn) — +4:10.45
3rd. Tamara HOMAR (ŠKD Super potencial) — +5:17.98
4th. Maja VOJSKA (MBK Črni Vrh) — +5:43.83
Congratulations to the organising team, a crew of experienced racers and organisers with World Cup experience who always set high standards for themselves. SloEnduro sincerely hopes this was not just a one-time organisational challenge for them. We hope to be back to Trbovlje. Maybe with a race based downtown?
Some More Photos By Matej Lovrič
Coming Up Next …
For the first time the National Championships race was not a part of the points series. The points will be up for grabs again in two weeks time at round five. Before SloEnduro takes the summer off, we’ll see you at SloEnduro Krokar at the spa town of Dobrna, Slovenia, on June 24/25.
SloEnduro Krokar propositions and registration on sloenduro.com