Runner-up Lukáš Bátora in Winter MTB Marathon in Bratislava

Lukáš Bátora took part in the 5th edition of an unusual race – the Winter MTB Marathon in Bratislava. He thus did not miss any of the race editions so far.

Last year the racers were greeted by a completeley icy and glissery track, this year it were piles of snow they had to cope with. The course was not very well prepared for the race, the snow on the road was actually completely fresh and untouched by the snow-clearance machinery in some parts of the track – with a 50cm of fresh snow it was more of a walking and running race along the bike.Lukáš was successful in riding in front from the very beginning of the race, but the current National Champion in Cross Country and later winner Michal Lami got soon into lead. Close to the Biely kríž intersection, Patrik Kuril passed Lukáš who was overcoming a short crisis from the cold. Also N.Ivanov and one other rider passed him at Biely Kríž, but Lukáš managed to rejoin and even pass these riders later on. He finished in 3rd place overall, 2nd in his age group. Only 239 riders finished the race out of the 294 at the start.

“This MTB marathon was just a training for my upcoming season. I found the course very demanding – it was difficult to even ride my bike with the tyres sinking deep into the fresh snow. Most part of the race I actually run along my bike and couldn’t ride it. Despite the course not being prepared very well due to heavy snow fall before the start, I do consider this race to be a nice event” said Lukáš after finish.