I tried the Fogaskerekű (“Cog Railway”) challenge for the first time, and even though I was recovering from an illness, I really enjoyed it. The distance is only 4 kilometers, but the elevation gain is 325 meters.
We start at the same time as the cog railway, and the goal is to reach the top first. Of course, there’s a twist: the train doesn’t stop at the stations, so it has a bit of an advantage. This year, it reached the top before the cyclists, which, considering the circumstances, wasn’t too surprising.
Although according to the AKESZ and MKSZ regulations I was still racing in the U17 category, meaning I competed in the under-16 age group, this race wasn’t organized by the Federation, so the categories were different. All riders under 18 competed in the same group. This added a bit of difficulty, but I still managed to secure 2nd place in my category and 8th overall, which was a great way to kick off the year.
I didn’t get much rest, as the next day I headed to Tarján for a time trial to make the most of the weekend. You can read more about it here.