#1 World Cup 2015 – Nove Mesto

Nove Mesto was the first World Cup of the 2015 season. For me this was the 4th consecutive participation there and after such an experience I always return home with a lot of positive energy and highly motivated.

Glad to have the opportunity to represent Romania at such a high level and even if I don’t have the chance for a big result there are a lot of things to learn: first of all training on a World Cup course, than racing with all the legends of this sport. Let’s not forget all the experience that can be passed to other riders or organizers.

I tried to ride the course as much as possible, to learn the lines in dry and wet conditions.

Also I had a great support from Cannondale Factory Racing crew. Larry checked my Lefty 2.0 and tuned it up a bit so I had a better control and comfort than before. Meeting with the whole team and having a chat always helps.

Regarding the course: it’s better than before because of the double feed zone, it had a different (and longer I guess) start loop and the Rock’n’Roll section was

The night before the race brought a lot of rain and I started to feel nervous.

Race day: Still feeling nervous but thinking about the race and everything I gotta do. I’ve lowered the tire pressure just a bit more than I would normally do and hoped the best. Had a good warm up and from the call-up boxes the next step was the start line. The pressure was even bigger as the crowd was already cheering. No crashes at the start but I knew that it’s gonna be a traffic jam sooner or later so I’ve tried my best. After AC/DC we started to roll and I’ve pushed as hard as I could. The wet roots and slippery rocks made it a lot harder than previous years. The course was changing every lap so it was a challenge only to stay on the bike. The fans on the course were so loud that I even couldn’t hear my thoughts during the race. Believe me, the atmosphere is amazing. Even though if I made small mistakes that cost me precious time I am happy that I had the chance to ride in Nove Mesto once again.

Finishing 135 out of 151 riders who started the race isn’t my best result but for sure was something special.

The organisation of the event was awesome, the only negative thing is the agreement between the hotels to double the prices of their rooms  during this event. It’s a pity to think like this (just sayin’)

Many thanks to everyone who supported me: first my family and especially my wife Simona (it was my first race as a married guy), sponsors (they made this possible), Cannondale Factory Racing crew for the support (it’s something special to know that I can always count on them), Romanian Cycling Federation (and the staff behind), Mihai and Dorin being next to me and for photographing the event, all the other Romanians that came to see what a World Cup means and last but not least everyone that cheered me up.

Thank you all once again.

Cheers,

Vlad

You can check the replay on RedBull.tv right here.

PS. the photo gallery will be updated soon 🙂