Medias XCO

8 Jun

Or my very first XCO race after last year’s XCC and XCO National Championships.

It has been a while but it was such a good reminder about how much I love spitting out my lungs during a race can be.

Medias is pretty close to Cluj so I went with Cristi S., Cristi N. and his gf right that morning. Safely arrived there we went on a course walk because the previous day rained heavily and we didn’t want to get the bikes dirty before the race:

  • steep and narrow climbs
  • slippery and narrow descents
  • some tech features that were not made quite right
  • a lot of ascent / lap, around 180m

But the organizers made a great effort to deliver a nice course overall. Maybe for the next editions they will improve these to make the course better.

Right before the start I had a lap on the course as it got dry enough.

I have found my pedal eventually after the start and it was pretty decent. I tried to be consistent, especially on climbs but try to gain a few seconds on descents. Went well for the first 3 laps. On the last lap I was “fighting” for the 3rd place with Costi Iordan that was in front of me. I gave everything and pushed on descends to gain those 7-8 seconds but on the very last one before the “rock garden” I’ve the front wheel washed away a bit and I’ve lost another 4-5 seconds.

So I had to settle for the 4th spot. This was also the first round of the National XCO Cup.

Great to race again, now I am back to the drawing board trying to figure out how I can improve myself.

We were lucky as the following categories had to ride most of their race on heavy rain while we were staying in the car so big shout out to all the warriors out there.

Here is the bike check of the race, especially because a lot of you guys asked me about the set-up

  • Cannondale Scalpel SE + 120mm Lefty Ocho
  • Tune Blackburner 28 2.0 29er wheelset
  • Schwalbe Racing Ray + Racing Ralph 2.35 SuperGround tires
  • AbsoluteBack Hollowgram Direct Mount Oval chainring 34T
  • 10-52 Sram X01 cassette
  • ESI Grips Fit XC silicone grips
  • Xpedo M-Force8 Titanium pedals
  • Garmin Edge 530 computer + Stages Power L power meter
  • Ashima ARO15 rotors

Grateful for the unwavering support: a heartfelt Thank You to my incredible Sponsors, beloved Family, and devoted Friends on this journey.

We’ll keep on rocking. Cheers, Vlad

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