The Mapei Tour de Zalakaros is one of my favorite races every year. Back in my first year in U17, I even placed second in the under-18 category. This time, I had a specific task: working for Takács Zsombi.
The star guest of the race was Johnny Hoogerland, a 7-time Grand Tour stage winner, who wasn’t just here for a ceremonial ride—he really pushed the pace.
This year’s Zalakaros race was initially planned to follow a different route, but due to road construction and safety concerns, the organizers decided to run the 132-kilometer race over two laps of the shorter course. This left only the Cézár climb in the race, but we had to tackle it twice.
I got off to a good start and spent the entire race working for Zsombi at the front of the peloton. The heat was extreme, and the pace was intense. Johnny and Zsombi managed to break away from the pack during the second half of the first lap, and from there, they worked together all the way to the finish.
By the second lap, I was completely drained from the effort I put in during the first, but that was the job: push the pace as hard as I could, helping split the stronger half of the field from the weaker, and allowing the breakaway to succeed.
I only saw the finish on video, but it was spectacular. Zsombi and Johnny were sizing each other up as they approached the final 800 meters. Timing the sprint is crucial here; if you go too early, you risk getting caught behind and being overtaken from the slipstream at the end. If you wait too long, your opponent can launch their sprint, and it becomes impossible to catch up.
Johnny used all his experience and strength, but Zsombi stayed calm and brave, waiting for Johnny to make his move. Then he slipped into Johnny’s slipstream and crossed the finish line first.
Johnny’s first instinct was to offer a fist bump—what a beautiful, sportsmanlike finish.
Afterwards, Johnny had lunch with the entire MBH team.
I was thrilled with Zsombi’s victory, but I was exhausted by the end. In any case, I accomplished my task, and Zsombi won. It was a great day!
