Tour de Mátra 3-4 June 2023

One of my favorite races is the Tour de Mátra. The organization is exemplary, and the road safety is top-notch. It’s one of the few races in Hungary that features a live broadcast on a big LED screen.

It was here that I stood on the podium for the first time in my life, and every time I’ve raced here, I’ve finished on the podium. In 2023, I competed on both days of the two-day event.

On the first day of the race, we climb from Gyöngyös through Mátrafüred up to Mátraháza, then descend to Parád, circle the Mátra, head back towards Mátrafüred, climb up to Mátraháza again, and finally, we make the ascent to Kékestető. The second day is simpler: we ride from Gyöngyös up to Kékestető, really pushing hard to make it hurt.

Day 1 of the race:

I was still recovering from the tail end of an illness. I wasn’t sure how much it would affect me, but I had a pretty bad cold and a cough. Still, I felt well enough not to miss the race. The first day of the two-day Mátra, an 83 km stage, started off with a mistake right away.

There were quite a few of us from BTS, and we usually warm up together before the race. This time, though, it cost us a good starting position. To avoid disrupting traffic on the main road, we had to gather in a side street next to the parking lot. Anyone who didn’t make it to the start line early, like us, ended up stuck at the sides or back of the pack. No big deal, I thought. We’d turn onto the main road and reposition ourselves during the neutral start. That’s what I expected, and partly that’s what happened, but even after we turned onto the main road, I found myself stuck in the middle of the pack. Still, I wasn’t too worried—I figured the neutral start would take us all the way to Mátrafüred from Gyöngyös. That’s how I remembered it from last year, anyway. Either my memory was off, or things had changed, because I seriously misjudged the situation.

We set off, and I was slowly working my way up through the field at a steady pace. A good few minutes passed before I realized there wasn’t a neutral start at all—this was the actual race, and I’d just ended up in a slower part of the field. The leaders were already ahead because they were simply faster, not because the pace was supposed to be slow. By the time I figured this out, the front was miles away—there was a whole moon’s distance between us.

I climbed up to Mátraháza on my own, overtaking the slower riders, but the fast ones had already formed a group up front.

On the descent, I had to take some serious risks to make up for the fact that I was on a Bianchi with rim brakes. I couldn’t manage the braking points as effectively as those with disc brakes, so I had to rely on courage instead. I really pushed the bike through the corners, but, well, rim brakes are rim brakes. I managed to close the gap a bit on the way down to Parád, but I still had some time to make up on the flat and during the climbs.

Overall, I finished the first day in 5th place with a time of 2:04:15, which was disappointing. I had come expecting a much better result, and if I’d been in a better position in the group, I could have saved energy and set a faster time. But I knew exactly where I went wrong, and I still had the second day of racing ahead of me—the Gyöngyös-Kékestető stage on Sunday, where I knew I had to be unbeatable. If I could do that, things would turn around for the better.

At the finish line, I was really struggling—coughing hard and blowing my nose constantly. But I hoped that this effort had finally cleared the illness from my system.

I couldn’t wait for the next day’s race.

Day 2 of the race:

The second day’s stage started at 11:00 a.m. on June 4th. This time, we were extra careful about our warm-up and made sure to get into the right position for the start. Everything went smoothly this time. I was determined to give it everything I had on this ride, and I put in all the effort I could muster.

The course from Gyöngyös to the Kékestető summit finish was 16 km with 782 meters of elevation gain. I finished with a time of 40 minutes and 59 seconds, taking first place in my category (U17) for the stage and the overall two-day classification. I also placed 18th overall, which was a huge thrill in such a competitive field.

Even though the illness still made itself known—I could barely catch my breath when I reached the top—who cares about that when you’ve finally achieved what you came for?

I barely had a moment to catch my breath before, and I was already having my first-ever Eurosport interview! Then, I got to step up and receive the medals for winning both the second day’s stage and the overall classification.

Once again, I managed to max out the Tour de Mátra experience this year!