Nikiforos Arvanitou secures a podium spot despite technical drama and late-race crashes at the Velika Nagrada Novega Mesta.
The team lined up for the 168.5 km Velika Nagrada Novega Mesta, a technical circuit characterized by two significant climbs and a cobblestone finish. Despite 12 to 13 degree temperatures and snow remaining on the roadsides from previous days, the asphalt was dry for the 43.5 km/h race. Dejan Percic noted that while the team was not in the early breakaways, the peloton controlled the pace for a bunch sprint. The finale was marred by chaos: Rastko Nikačević crashed hard in the final five kilometers and was taken to the hospital, while Csongor Kardos and András Pakot were forced to abandon earlier. The race was won by Tommaso Nencini of Solution Tech NIPPO Rali on the technical uphill finish.
Niki’s assessment about today
The last few kilometers were very hectic, with many crashes and a lot of fighting for position. Zétény and Luca were pulling at the front, but with 1.5 km to go, my chain dropped and I was forced to slow down, losing positions. I had to ride in the wind, but I managed to overtake a few riders. Then, in the last corner, someone crashed; I started my sprint to close the gap to the front, and that was enough for second place today.
I am satisfied with the result because I finished without crashing and still have all my bones intact. Of course, it could have been a win: I was closing the gap really fast in the sprint, but taking into account that I thought I’d lost all chances for the podium when my chain dropped, this is still a very good result.
My next race is the Tour of Mersin in Turkey. My form is already good, but it’s a long season and I will improve more and more over the coming months.
Traveling to Slovenia was a bit rough, as the flight was majorly delayed. I arrived at the hotel late at night, but when you are well-prepared and have the right mentality, you can manage anything.
Luca’s technical recap
It was a pretty hectic day. In the final 20km, my shifter stopped working, so I needed to change bikes. I went back, changed, and then moved to the front: but then my seat flew off with 2km to go. I tried to “squeeze my butt” and make something out of it because I was in a really good position, but the situation eventually got the best of me.
It was a demanding course, but every big team wanted a bunch sprint, so no opportunistic break was left up the road. The two climbs were full gas, but I didn’t panic because I knew from last time that it would eventually come back together; it’s just too far from the finish. The city laps were also controlled, and it was all about fighting for every centimeter of position.
The plan was to help Niki position as best as possible; I was supposed to be one of the last lead-out men today. Pakito (Andris Pakot) was out early due to injury, and Csongi wasn’t in his normal shape either, then Rastko crashed hard in the last five kilometers. It was all left to me and Zétény, and I don’t want to “glaze” ourselves, but we did a perfect job.
But, and that’s a big BUT, Niki’s chain dropped, so he could not stay on our wheel, and while I was still in a good position, my saddle decided it wasn’t its day and we parted ways. Fortunately, they only crashed in the last 500m, and Niki came like a missile from the back to take second at the end.
Photos: Márton Sitku / https://www.instagram.com/marchives.raw/