The Mountain National Hill Climb Championships is always the last chapter of the championship series. The place is familiar: Magyarhertelend, organized by Zengő, so we know we’re in good hands. The season is almost over, and everyone is already thinking about next year. Even between us riders, more and more talk is about future plans. We share what we can.
The distance is short, 22 kilometers for U19, with 590 meters of climbing. The start is in Magyarhertelend, the finish up on Misinatető at the TV tower. The special thing about the course is a 2.5-kilometer downhill in the last third, with plenty of corners. There you either go bold and take risks, or you pay the price on the final climb if someone passes you.
The neutral start was short. We rolled onto the main road in Magyarhertelend, then straight uphill. The neutral ended at the town sign. There was some roadwork on the right side, but no problem, it was marked and we knew about it. In the last two years, right after the flag dropped, the pace was crazy. I was ready for that again, but this time, on the first hill there was only a short push, and it was nothing like the full-gas attacks from previous years. Back then the peloton started breaking apart, but now the group stayed together.
After Lake Orfű, just before the climb, there’s a little bump. That’s where the speed went up, everyone wanted position. It’s a long climb, and right at the bottom United Shipping pushed hard, they went to the front. I found myself in the second group with Ákos Reinodli driving it, plus three Green Riders guys and a few others. As we climbed, only Ákos and the Green Riders stayed, the rest started to drop. Everyone worked well, taking turns, proper rotation. We caught a Bike Zone rider and he joined too.
At the junction, Ákos dropped two or three meters back, but he kept that gap, so basically we were still together. I thought he’d close it soon, so I just rode my own pace, not pushing away but not waiting either. I expected he would settle back into the rhythm. We caught one MBH rider, and by then Ákos also closed the gap, even moved to the front. When he finished his pull, it was clear it would be just the two of us working, so I took my turn.
We reached the section where the short-distance riders had their finish zone. It’s on a climb. I pushed a bit there, just to lift the pace. They followed, then Ákos took over and pulled too. After that we came to the downhill, about two and a half kilometers, with tight and tricky parts, sharper corners, with guardrails and without. I didn’t want to risk it, so I went safe. I knew there was still climbing after, where with some extra work I could come back. So I dropped a little from Ákos and the MBH guy, but at the zoo I got out of the saddle, pushed hard, and I was back with them.
Meanwhile the Bike Zone guy and three Green Riders riders came back to us. We started the last 2 kilometers all together. With 1000 meters to go, Ákos started pushing harder, the MBH rider was on his wheel. I didn’t want to follow that move, I had a different plan. I kept just close enough so that I could launch my sprint at the 200 meter mark.
Ákos pulled away, but the MBH guy let the pace go, he didn’t follow. I passed him. One Green Riders rider came with me, but I felt confident I could handle him.
We reached the 200 meter sign, right in that righthander before the steep ramp. That’s where I went full gas. At the 200 mark I was still 50-100 meters behind Ákos. I hoped to catch him, but I wasn’t sure. Since he had gone earlier, he didn’t have the legs to answer when I launched. It was a risky plan, but this time it worked, and I passed him before the line.
My time was 41:05.2, good enough for 12th place in my U19 category out of 27 riders. Overall I finished 21st out of 43 starters.
The United Shipping guys controlled the race all the way, no doubt about that. I was also really happy to see my former BTS teammate, Péter Koloszár from Green Riders, take 2nd place in Elite category.
Like I said, after the finish some of us second-year U19 riders talked a bit about the future. Of course, everyone keeps their own secrets, but still, we shared a few words about our plans. It’s not easy after U19. Most amateur teams only focus on the junior categories, and just a few race with U23 or older riders. The best way to go pro is if you can sign abroad now, or in the near future, or get into a Hungarian continental or procontinental team. There are stories about how realistic that is right now with the Hungarian pro teams. At the moment there are four of them. It would be great if many Hungarian first-year U23 riders could continue there. We’ll see what the future brings.
