Next stop: DH Sor’ca on Soriška planina

DH Sor’ca will be the third of six races for points in the 20chocolate Downhill Cup series, the Slovenian Downhill Cup. See you on 13 and 14 July.

We had a warm-up “round zero” in March on Ljubljana’s Golovec, the DH Pohorje classic in Maribor in May and the national championship in Kranjska Gora last weekend. Now it’s time for the not much less classic Downhill Sor’ca on Soriška planina.

The first race was held here ten years ago and this year’s edition will be the eighth. In the meantime, the course from Lajnar, with the start a little above the top station of the chairlift, has changed a bit. This year, with the construction of new trails and the creation of the Soriška planina Bike Park, it has not been changed significantly, only some parallel trail has been added to make it suitable for a wider range of users, but for the race, the course remains very similar to last year’s. It is 1,650 meters long with an elevation gain of 280 meters. It runs right out into the main car park of the ski area and last year’s fastest times were under two and a half minutes.

This year the organisational initiative is taken by the Omikron plus sports club from Železniki, of course in cooperation with the host, the Soriška planina Ski Resort, but not without the original MTB Železniki organising team, who are also there to give a hand. Omikron’s team is responsible for timekeeping in the 20chocolate Downhill Cup series all season long, but otherwise they have the most experience with rally car racing.

A good track, a chairlift, a large car park, a small hotel and a campsite on the other side of the road, and a pleasant climate for summer days… What more could you ask for?! That’s why we can’t wait for this year’s DH Sor’ca.

Registration

Registration for the DH Sor’ca is open until Wednesday 10 July.

Registration and all information about the race here

In series standings

In the men’s elite category, Maribor winner Žak Gomilšček remains on top of the ranking, with Kranjska Gora winner Tilen Leban now in second place. They are 40 points apart, while third-placed Miran Vauh is much further behind, having scored points only in Kranjska Gora.

In the women’s race, Eva Zala Stergar is leading, with the second place shared by the fastest from the two races, Rosa Zierl and Monika Hrastnik.

Matej Osolin tops the juniors, and Ažbe Kalinšek the U17 men.

All rankings on prijavim.se

Let’s Ride Bikes!

The programme of free guided tours Slovenia Cycling is coming to Soriška planina too.

The mountain bike tour starts on Sunday at 11.15 from the race office in the finish area. Participants will first take a chairlift to the top of Lajnar, and from there they will descend via Kovce to Podbrdo. This is followed by a transfer back to Soriška planina.

Meeting at 11.00. 
Suitable bikes: mountain bike, electric mountain bike with at least front suspension.
Mandatory equipment: helmet, pads, clothing and windbreaker suitable for the conditions, spare inner tube or tyre mending kit, pocket tools, food and drink.

There are a limited number of places available and the guided tour is free of charge. 

Register here

Bike park Soriška planina

As already mentioned, a real bike park has been operating on Soriška planina since this year – since 29 June to be precise. The existing downhill track and the shuttle service from Podbrdo, where you can go down from Lajnar, have been supplemented by the construction of bypasses for the more difficult parts of the downhill track, making it more suitable for a wider range of visitors, and by a brand new family trail suitable for everyone. They won’t stop there, they’re working on another trail.

The park will be open only at weekends until 22 July and then every day until 27 August.