The Worlds in Czech Republic, plus… Kay Haarsma
Four of our team raced in the Polish 6 Day at Nowa Kalecki not only as lead up events for MTB-WOC 2007, but also to examine the terrain for the 2008 Worlds which will be held nearby.
W
E stayed in a hotel on a lake and the races were held in the large adjoining forest area. Relatively flat, a little sandy in places, a confusing myriad of tracks and the option to ride through the bush all made for difficult route choice decisions and speedy map reading. MTB-WOC 2008 will suit good navigators and be enjoyable riding. Animals likely to be sighted include deer, squirrels, storks and perhaps a wild pig, while walkers and mushroom pickers abound. The food will take more getting used to with cherry juice, thick soups, meatballs and purple pasta (blueberries added) being routine lunch. Breakfast and dinner both consisted of bread, cheese, and sausage.
David Simpfendorfer in the Middle Distance event
Alex Randall has competed in all five MTB-WOCs.
During the 6 Day, David Simpfendorfer, Alex Randall and Paul Darvodelsky all incurred the penalty of paying for dinner with a DNF each. Paul reckoned he didn’t DNF as he mistakenly took and rode the women’s course! This punishment seemed to work as none of the boys mispunched in the WOC events. David earned his “Larry” nickname for often being late. The best example was in the 6 Day relay when he was away warming up when he should have been going out as No. 2 rider - Alex had to substitute. The team all came together 10 days before WOC for a Euro cup meeting in the Polish mountains at Ladek Zdroj, near the Czech border. This was a beautiful spa town setting. We had a Sprint, Long Distance and mass start event all on the same ultra-hilly map. With the initial “sprint” involving one lap of the mountain and giving a winning time of 44 minutes we got 40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2007
Antje Bornak (GER), Michaela Gigon & Sonya Zinkl (AUT) compare routes after the Long Distance event.
