The 20chocolate Downhill Cup, the Slovenian mountain bike downhill series, the, concluded last Saturday with the DH Sotejska race in Soteska, in the municipality of Dolenjske Toplice.
Members of the Pank Kura Sports and Cultural Society from Dolenjske Toplice – who are also responsible for three beautifully maintained bike trails on both sides of the River Krka – rolled up their sleeves to mark the society’s 18th anniversary and organised a proper race for the first time. Not just any race, but a downhill race – and the final of the Slovenian 20chocolate Downhill Cup. For this purpose, they prepared a fourth trail in the Soteska Trails on the right bank of the Krka above Soteska. Due to the strenuous manual labour required on the rocky karst terrain, they named it after the tool most frequently used – Macola (the sledgehammer).
The 1.7-kilometre-long track, with a vertical descent of 357 metres, is no downhill motorway due to the terrain. Even less so in difficult, wet conditions, which is why, in the end, only the fastest riders could boast times under four minutes. Although conditions improved during the day, the track remained slippery even during the final.
Downhill fans and local onlookers packed the area around the most exciting sections (read: jumps) and the finish line, where the final jump reigned supreme, for the final run. All the conditions were in place for an exciting day to round off the national race series.
First Victory for Berlot in Men’s Elite
In the men’s elite competition, the focus was on the battle for the overall victory, as the leader, Marko Niemiz (Bikehanic Lumar), had been sidelined by injury since the European Championships. After four races, Maks Struna (KK Završnica) was in the best position, though national champion Matej Osolin and Jakob Lorber (both Golovec Trails) were not far behind.
Struna was the fastest in the seeding run, earning 100 points. Although he did not repeat that performance in the final, having to settle for third place – sandwiched between his rivals Lorber and Osolin – his total of exactly 900 points from the five rounds was enough to secure the overall title. Second-placed Niemiz scored 820 points, whilst third-placed Lorber scored 798.
Struna, Lorber and Osolin are 19-year-olds competing in their first year among the senior riders and, alongside Niemiz – who is five years their senior – have been leading the pack this year. Niemiz watched the battle for the overall victory from the other side of the tape, whilst another 19-year-old, Vid Berlot (KK Završnica), watched from the hot seat. In the seeding run, he recorded the third-fastest time despite a fall; so by the time he took the lead at the finish with a time of three minutes, 52 seconds and 33 hundredths, only Osolin and Struna remained on the track. However, Lorber came closest to him, finishing 3.02 seconds behind, whilst Struna was 3.63 hundredths of a second behind.
Vid Berlot has thus added his name to the list of Slovenian Downhill Cup race winners with his first victory. The young rider, who, like many others from the Žirovnica club, started out in the junior cross-country categories and now successfully combines competing in enduro and downhill, achieved his best result this year in downhill with a fifth-place finish at the national championships in Kranjska Gora. He finished ninth at Soriška Planina and missed the first two races. Last year, too, he recorded two fifth-place finishes in the junior category. With 260 points earned at Soteska, he climbed from 14th to 7th place in the final standings.
“Conditions kept improving during practice; the track started to dry out, and things got faster and faster. In the qualifying run, I fell just before the final jump, but I still finished third. In the final run, I went even harder – I crashed twice again, but I managed it, I made it through!”
Vid Berlot
The Junior Winner Fastest Overall
The honour of setting the fastest time in the final, as well as the top cash prize, went to a young rider in Soteska: 17-year-old Svit Kunaver Smolkovič (Bikehanic Lumar). Svit had the overall victory all but in the bag even before the final – he’d won the first two races of the season at Ravne na Koroškem and in Maribor, skipped the Soriška Planina race, and conceded defeat to Ažbe Kalinšek at the national championships. Kalinšek didn’t compete in the series.
Svit is clearly fast even without his training partner Marko Niemiz on the course. In the seeding run, he clocked a time of 3:52.32 and was by far the fastest among the juniors. In the final, when Struna didn’t make it down as fast, Svit also set the fastest time on the track with 3:49.94, just 93 hundredths of a second slower than Struna’s time in the qualifying run. This was the first time Svit had been faster than the elite riders.
Nik Potočan (KK Ravne) surprised everyone by finishing second; he competes in downhill only occasionally, focusing more on enduro. Last year he won the U17 category at his home race in Poseka; this year he finished second in the juniors’ category there. In Soteska, this time on a downhill bike, he finished 7.77 seconds behind the winner and, alongside the senior riders, recorded the fifth-fastest time in the final. Third place went to Žiga Žižek (DGK Pohorje – Spank Team), who was just short of second place in the overall standings – he finished two points behind the injured Sven Podvornik (ŠD Grabit).
“The race was brilliant – from the organisation to the track, everything was top-notch. Despite the crashes in the qualifiers and the final run, I’m happy with my performance. Hats off to the organisers and everyone who helped make this event happen!”
Svit Kunaver Smolkovič
Maša Had No Rivals This Time
Maša Komel (KK Črn trn) had already arrived in Dolenjska as the overall winner, but she was still hoping for some competition. Unfortunately, she was the only rider in her category. She is the winner of the 20chocolate Downhill Cup series for the third year running. Second place went to Neža Štern (MTB Club Kranj) and third to Eva Podvornik (ŠD Grabit).
Results
Men
1. Vid Berlot (KK Završnica) 3:52.33
2. Jakob Lorber (Golovec trails) +3.02
3. Maks Struna (KK Završnica) +3.63
4. Matej Osolin (Golovec Trails) +6.56
5. Sebastian Prinčič (MTB klub Boshk) +7.12
Junior Men
1. Svit Kunaver Smolkovič (Bikehanic Lumar) 3:49.94
2. Nik Potočan (KK Ravne na Koroškem) +7.77
3. Žiga Žižek (DGK Pohorje – Spank Team) +22.98
Women
1. Maša Komel (KK Črn trn) 5:40.22
Final standings of the 20chocolate Downhill Cup
Men
1. Maks Struna 900
2. Marko Niemiz 820
3. Jakob Lorber 798
Junior Men
1. Svit Kunaver Smolkovič 1055
2. Sven Podvornik 758
3. Žiga Žižek 756
Women
1. Maša Komel 1290
2. Neža Štern 655
3. Eva Podvornik 652
In Other Categories
In the younger age groups, the Rookies Championships in Schladming drew a fair number of participants.
Among the U17, Žan Luka Bogar (Rajd Ljubljana) pulled off a surprise victory ahead of Max Titovšek (KK Ravne na Koroškem) and Matija Turk (Rajd Ljubljana), who was the fastest in the seeding run. At the top of the standings, Nik Brumen (427 Savage Squad) remained in first place and Gaber Novak (Rajd Ljubljana) in second, each with two wins and separated by just five points. Third place was retained by the Croatian rider Lukas Crnković (Coast Riders).
In the U15 boys’ category, there was also a new name at the top, with Jan Pavlič (MTB Club Boshk) winning ahead of Fabian Vagner (DGK Pohorje – Spank Team), whilst Izak Šubic (Golovec Trails) came third. For Koper-based Boshk, this marks their first victory in the youth categories of the Slovenian downhill or enduro cup in the team’s third racing season. Despite not having his best day (two fourth-place finishes), Jaka Vujasin (Rajd Ljubljana) fought his way from third place in the overall standings to claim the overall victory, ahead of Gal Novak and Max Slišek, who were competing in Schladming.
In the youngest U13 category it was Lovro Žagar Tratar (Golovec trails) with the fastest time, whilst the overall winner was already known – Jakob Matija Koren (Goša Gravity), who remained unbeaten across the three races.
Among the amateurs, Slovak rider Marek Katrinec (CK AB Sered) secured the overall title with his first victory. In the Masters category, Andraž Turšič (Golovec trails) took the win, whilst the overall title went to Robi Pahovec (Hörmann Slovenija).
The presentation of awards for the overall classification will take place after the end of the season at an event organised by the Mountain Biking Commission of the Slovenian Cycling Federation.
All the results for the DH Sotejska races, plus the overall standings for the 20chocolate Downhill Cup at the bottom
Here Are All the Podiums
Soteska 2027 and Beyond?
The first DH Sotejska was a top-class ‘village’ race! ‘Village’ in the sense that the local community pulled together, built a new track – complete with all the necessary paperwork, of course – and ran the race without a cable car, shuttling riders to the start.
Events like this can do the most for Slovenian downhill racing.
We won’t even get started on the concerts at Hudičev Turn and the season’s festivities, or on why the rules should stipulate that the season’s final race must be held on a Saturday.
Finale after Finale
The fastest Slovenians are heading to the start line once more, as early as next weekend. The final race of the iXS European Downhill Cup will take place at the Pohorje Maribor Bike Park between 25 and 27 September. Entries are open until Tuesday. More at www.ixsdownhillcup.com
Photos by Jure Kranjec