On September 27, the Russian Mountain Bike Cycling Championship commenced in Izhevsk.
At the tracks of the Sports School of Olympic Reserve, 19 athletes (12 men and 7 women) fr om Samara, Sverdlovsk, Kursk, and Tula Oblasts are competing. The first competition day featured the cross-country eliminator discipline.
Cross-country is one of the mountain bike disciplines, involving races over rough terrain with descents, long climbs, and high-speed and technical sections. The track includes both natural and artificial obstacles. The first round is a time trial; depending on the total number of participants, heats of 4 riders per lap are qualified, with the first two finishers advancing to the next round, while the third and fourth are eliminated, and so on. The strongest continue the competition with similar elimination in the semi-finals and finals.
On the first competition day, in the short cross-country eliminator race on a short loop track (500-1000m), which takes place in several stages, no one could match the experienced Samara daredevil cyclists Alexey Kudrin and the consistently performing Anna Poretskova. Fresh from their victory in a local competition, they now faced the challenge of a national cup
Results. Cross-Country Eliminator
Men:
1. Alexey Kudrin (Samara Oblast)
2. Nikolay Pochernyaev (Tula Oblast)
3. Alexander Panchuk (Samara Oblast)
Women:
1. Anna Poretskova (Samara Oblast)
2. Elizaveta Bavykina (Samara Oblast)
3. Marina Islamova (Sverdlovsk Oblast)
On the second day, everyone had to overcome a longer cross-country distance (almost an hour and a half of exhausting racing). There were, of course, some falls in this racing quest over rough terrain, but no one dropped out; showing endurance and fighting spirit, everyone finished safely. The men's podium trio saw changes, wh ere this time, in this particular discipline, Alexey Bozhko from Kursk outperformed everyone. Among the women, Anna Poretskova once again brilliantly completed the track, leaving the role of "second fiddle" to her compatriot Elizaveta Bavykina.
Results. Cross-Country
Men:
1. Alexey Bozhko (Kursk Oblast)
2. Alexey Kudrin (Samara Oblast)
3. Egor Gavrilov (Samara Oblast)
Women:
1. Anna Poretskova (Samara Oblast)
2. Elizaveta Bavykina (Samara Oblast)
3. Liana Akhtarieva (Samara Oblast)
The final day's short-track event, a high-speed criterium over 10-15 km, saw 19-year-old rising star Anna Poretskova continue her dominant form with another victory. Meanwhile, Alexey Kudrin made a powerful comeback to reclaim his title.
Results. Short-Track
Men:
1. Alexey Kudrin (Samara Oblast)
2. Alexey Bozhko (Kursk Oblast)
3. Alexander Panchuk (Samara Oblast)
Women:
1. Anna Poretskova (Samara Oblast)
2. Elizaveta Bavykina (Samara Oblast)
3. Liana Akhtarieva (Samara Oblast)
Valery Kobzarenko, Senior Coach of the Russian National Mountain Bike Team:
Well, regarding the Russian Mountain Bike Championship, I was mainly assessing the team's readiness. The people I planned to check based on last year's results — all confirmed their form! I saw young riders who have grown and gotten stronger, which is very pleasing! And the top two ranked men and women have qualified for the Deaflympics — the strongest ones, and I am confident they will perform with dignity.
Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Olga Troynikova
Photo: Valery Kobzarenko
Translation: Daria Kudelina
