Visegrád 4, but with only three races. This year’s Central European racing series consisted of only three stages after the Czech race was not held. After the Slovakian and the Hungarian rounds, Team United Shipping competed in Poland this time.
The race was held around Głogów, a five-lap circuit with a small climb that challenged the riders. Similar to last weekend, there was no classic breakaway. However, at a blistering pace, Erik Fetter, along with a few other riders, managed to get clear. Not long after, a larger group caught them. János Pelikán was among them! From the merged group of about 30 riders, Erik Fetter still had the strength to launch another attack. He eventually finished 7th in the small group sprint, while Nikiforos Arvanitou, who made his debut in the team, finished 12th.
The overall classification of the V4 was won by János Pelikán, who finished 28th as part of the main peloton.
János Pelikán’s assessment:
“I was among the thirty people who caught Erik’s group, but in the end he was the one who attacked. Since Erik was ahead, I didn’t jump on every attack, I didn’t want to pull the entire group along. The goal was to win the overall, but it was difficult to focus on both the stage and the general classification at the same time. I kept an eye on those who could be considered as opponents, but the others weren’t really interested in the GC. There was no one in the first group who posed a threat to the overall.”
Erik Fetter about the race:
“We expected it to be a very tough race, similar to the previous V4’s. There were no full breakaways, rather one or two-rider attempts, but when we or other larger teams attacked, no successful breakaway formed. At the 90th kilometer, there were already six in front when ATT moved forward. I then attacked them, and no one came with me, but I was able to bridge to the riders up front. We worked hard, but sadly, they weren’t very strong riders, so a larger group caught us, including János (Pelikán). It was a pretty good situation for us, although it would have been better if we had one more teammate with us. I managed to ride away with one attack; I was with a Polish guy. After that, seven riders bridged to us on the climb during one of the laps, and that’s how the winning breakaway was formed. On the last lap, four of us attacked, but we didn’t work together well. In the sprint, they boxed me out in the corners and I lost a lot of speed — that’s how I ended up in seventh place.”
Nikiforosz Arvanitu on his first day at TUS:
“The first race with Team United Shipping was full of excitement. I had a difficult week. I got sick and couldn’t train properly. Today was the first day when I felt much better. I am very happy with the performance and result.
We controlled all the attacks in our group after Erik went for a breakaway and then we went for the sprint. It was very hectic but we had good positioning in the last kilometers. We were in the first 3 places with Stolić but it was very technical with three 90 degree corners in the last 500 meters. I am happy with my 12th place, also happy with Erik’s 7th place, and more than happy with team performance and team spirit.
A funny moment from the first lap occurred when I had to jump back into the car to adjust my saddle. As we loosened it while riding, a bump caused the piece that holds the saddle to fly off the road. Suddenly, I found myself riding with almost no saddle! We stopped, and luckily, our mechanic quickly impressed me by taking a part from a spare bike and fitting it onto mine, restoring the saddle height perfectly. I managed to rejoin the group safely and continued racing. Big respect to him and all the staff for taking care of us. I can’t wait for the future, and I am very excited.”
📷Photos: Gergely Schöff