Baisoara Enduro

The usual silly question I had on my mind last week: do I enduro? I couldn’t find yet the correct answer. But for sure I love going down the hill.

Baisoara Enduro was organized mainly by my ex team mate Oli (with Claudiu C., Horatiu B. and another big team of volunteers and sponsors of course). The area is really cool and worth riding your bike around even if you prefer the tours or downhill. The road up to Muntele Baisorii isn’t the best but being just a bit careful is more than enough.

Once again the format was a good choice, going as a team of four. I was in the 3rd group with Micky (Adi B.), Sergiu Pascu and Sergiu Paca.

We had 4 Special Stages. On the 2nd one which had some flat sections and a bit of uphill I’ve finished 3rd. Some of the guys complaint about it but hey, this is enduro ! I’ve almost crashed a few times but I was lucky and get away with it. Overall I got 9th at 1:48 behind the (usual) winner Sorin Parau.

This is something different from the XCO races I attend mostly but it’s a good preparation. I am pretty happy with my runs. I didn’t had a special training, I just went a couple of times at Baisoara to check the course. I’ve enjoyed this day a lot because it was about having fun. Not about the fork travel or the wheel size, but to have fun. I raced with my Cannondale Trigger 29er which was awesome. I know, I wanna sell it to upgrade to the Carbon version but it’s still a great bike. Really maneuverable and great climber too. A real trail bike.

I think these kind of events will keep my motivation high but will also improve my skills for what counts most: XCO races.

Congratulations for organizing this event, I hope it will become a local tradition. Thumbs up!

Many thanks to my sponsors and partners for supporting me as usual, but also to my wife Simona for being next to me in every possible way. Means a lot to have you all around.

Also thanks to everyone who cheered me before, during and after the race but also to the photographers for capturing these moments into memories.

Looking forward to race more and faster. Still wanna kick some ass.

Cheers,

Vlad

Photo credit: Rares P., Ella Z.