The start of my season came a bit later than originally planned. Nothing too dramatic happened, but a dental surgery got in the way of my preparation. After a routine dental cleaning, a standard panoramic X-ray showed that my wisdom teeth, still under the gum, were growing in completely the wrong direction. The doctors said they had to come out pretty quickly, otherwise I’d run into bigger problems later.
So I had to choose: before the season or during it. Neither option was great, but I decided to get it done before the season. The surgery ended up being a bit more serious than I expected, and the recovery took me out of training for about two weeks. And just when I finally got back into it, two weeks later I picked up some kind of virus, which knocked me out again. But in the end, I got back on track and could finally focus on racing again.
I was really looking forward to my first race of the season, which turned out to be the School Olympics Individual Time Trial. The course was in Bocskaikert, near Debrecen, a place I know pretty well. It’s a straight 10-kilometre course with a turnaround halfway.
This was also my first race in the colours of my new team, Green Riders Cycling Team. At the same time, I was racing for my school, the Gödöllő Reformed Church High School, which made it extra special. It felt good knowing that with a strong result, I could give something back for all the support I get from my teachers.
On this track you really have to watch the wind. There’s a section where the crosswind hits hard, and with deep-section wheels which we use here that can actually be a disadvantage, because it slows you down. We also brought the disc wheel, but for the first time on this track, I decided not to use it. During warm-up, I felt several times that I could lose more time in the crosswind section than I would gain elsewhere, so I played it safe.
Up to my start time (11:46) the wind stayed strong. On the way out, I had around a 25 km/h tailwind, which of course meant the same strength headwind on the way back, with gusts over 40 km/h. With the tailwind, I was rolling at around 54 km/h, but at the turnaround, the headwind literally hit me in the face. And as always, it never gives you as much on the way out as it takes away on the way back. My form isn’t perfect yet either, so it hurt more than I would have liked.
After about two kilometres into the headwind, I managed to pick it up and get back into a decent rhythm. Coming closer to the finish I could still lift the pace a bit more, and in the final part I managed to put together a solid sprint. In the end, I stopped the clock at 13:50, which was good enough for 2nd place today. I’ve been much faster here before, but on this track there are never two identical results. The wind is always a lottery, and in summer the heat can also surprise you. But that’s exactly what makes this course special, and honestly, I like it that way.
It was a great feeling to stand on the podium. I was especially happy that two of my teammates also got top results. In the U23 category, Ambrus Hunor finished 3rd, so we could celebrate together. In U19, Balogh Sándor took the win. Last year we were teammates at BTS, and this year we’re riding together again in Green Riders. And my other teammate, Parrag Máté, also finished 3rd in the U23 road race.
