Sudety MTB Challenge - Poland / Czech Republic - 27th July - 1 Aug 2014

Essentials

Length: Prologue + 5 Stages
 
Distance: 339 km (15, 66, 68, 68, 44, 79)

Elevation: 11,000m (400, 2400, 2100, 2200, 1600, 2300)

Categories: Solo, Pairs, Female, Mixed, Masters, Masters 100

Options: Classic, Half (Prologue + 2 stages), Quarter (Prologue + 2 short stages)

Organization - 8/10

Organiser: G&G Promotion Grzegorz Golonko, ul. Baczynskiego 2/12, 05-092 Lomianki, Poland

Phone:  +48 501 26 33 00

Email:  [email protected]

Website: www.MTBchallenge.com

Accommodation: Hotels or Standard (School Classroom / Sports Halls)

Food: Substantial & Nutritious Breakfast and Dinner

Transport: To & from the airport, to & from restaurants

Mechanical Support: Secure Bike Park, Bike Wash and Dedicated Mechanics

Massage: Large Team of Masseurs

Medical support: Medical Personnel & Mountain Rescue Teams

Accessibility - 8

Transport from Prague Airport (Czech Rep.) and Wroclaw Airport (Poland) can be arranged to Stronie Slaskie.

Stronie Slaskie is a two hour drive from Wroclaw and five and a half hours from Warsaw. Direct buses leave from Wrocław and Kłodzko and from Warsaw involving a change at Ladek-Zdroj.

I arrived at Prague airport and a mini bus was waiting to take our group of seven riders with bikes and luggage 4-5 hours to our hotel accommodation in and around Stronie Slaskie.

Cost - 10

Event: 280-400 Euros depending on time of entry. This is one of the cheapest stage races available.

Country: Poland is still a relatively inexpensive country to visit for most international visitors. The currency is zloty or Euros.

Climate - 7

July is the warmest month of the year in Poland, with comfortable average temperatures between 12-19 degrees (25 degrees average high) and 10 hours of sunshine but with 60mm of rain in 17 days it is still quite wet.

Difficulty - 8

The mountains in the Sudety are not as high as other races (the highest Sniezka is 1602 metres) but the climbs can be fairly long and technical and the descents can be fast or extremely steep and rocky and will challenge even the best mountain bikers.

Riders - 8

Number: Around 350 riders from 5 continents and 34 countries.

Level: Experienced amateurs and professionals.

Uniqueness - 8

The route is changed every year to take advantage of the unique beauty and varied terrain that the region offers. A mix of singletrack, doubletrack, wider dirt roads and a sprinkling of sealed roads, through wooded forests and mountain passes.

Camaraderie - 7

A strong Euro presence with the number of non-Polish riders increasing every year. The friendliness of the event is enhanced by staying in the standard accommodation as riders share accommodation and eating facilities.

Overall - 9

The Sudety MTB Challenge is an event I would wholeheartedly recommend to experienced amateurs and above. It is extremely well organized, relatively cheap and boasts beautiful landscapes and vistas. Even though the stages are not particularly long, the climbs and descents are demanding so a certain amount of technical ability is required to fully enjoy the experience. I combined my trip with a stop at Cracow, Poland and one in Prague, Czech Republic, two cities of unparalleled beauty.