Elion Cup Series - Estonia, September 2007

by Dave Wells

As I now have 3 races here in Estonia under my belt, I decided to supply an overview of the races instead of one in particular. The races that I have competed in so far are part of the Elion Cup. This is a series of 8 marathon races held at various venues around Estonia. The major sponsor is Elion which the largest telecommunications and IT provider in Estonia.
Me (Dave) powering across the Estonian country side.

The races are mainly over distances between 50 and 60 kilometres. There is also a shorter race for juniors and those not ready for the longer distances. Entries usually total around 1000 to 1200 for both race distances, mainly for the longer of the two. With so many entries it is really important to enter early to have a low start number. The race series was over 8 races so most riders had pre-entered before the first race for all events, thereby having a start near to the front. As I was here to late to enter all 8, my start numbers haven't been real close to the front, but did improve. They have been 1238, 747 and 616.

The first 2 races were held in warm conditions during the end of summer. Except for some strong winds, the weather reminded me of good dry season days. The last race, well things changed rather dramatically. There was a big drop in temperature and spates of fine drizzle throughout the race. It's in conditions like this that choosing riding gear can be a hit and miss effort. Too much clothing and it can be too warm but also the reverse can lead to chilly riding. Neither condition is comfortable and I was lucky to make the right decision and the strong rain stayed away until after the finish. The courses have been held mainly on forest tracks with a little bitumen and dirt roads to link them. Most of the forest tracks are singletracks carved into the wider cleared areas between the trees. Not a lot of hills in Estonia but the hills that do exist are short and sharp. A lot of the tracks are very undulating. A bit like riding wide spaced corrugations would be the best way to describe them. Then when the rain hits, the exposed roots and pebble like rocks become very slippery although the singletracks hidden in the forests can remain quite loamy. The hard packed tracks exposed to the rain can become slippery very quickly. Bark has been used as fill to soak up moisture in some low areas. This can really cause a lot of drag. Feels a bit like having a flat tyre. A few extra man mad obstacles have been thrown in including steps and an old cow barn to ride through. The moat walls of an ancient castle were used as part of the track in the last race. The last race was also unique as we had to ride two laps of a 25km track plus a 3km start circuit of the old town. The others have just been over one lap circuits.

 

The organisation of each race has been extremely good. Starting from the online entries through handing out of start numbers and timing discs to drink stations and the finish. Food has always been supplied after the finish with soup and bread being the main menu. This is always welcome after the race. The only thing that I really have had a problem with is the gherkins and sour dough bread supplied as 'energy food' at the food stations. I tried the bread at the first race and it was ok but I decided to carry my own.Photos are available a few days after the race. The photos possibly aren't quite the same quality as other events that I have competeted in but are only $4 for a digital print. I think others have been around $15. They will even print them on a T-shirt or mug for a little more.
Castle moat walls are part of the race track.

 

Now for my finishing positions. The first race 596th overall from 928 and 39th in my age group with 57 starters. Which is M45 by the way. Second race 422nd from 424 and 18th from 50 Third race 394th from 687 starters and 19th in class of 41. From this race there were 87 DNF's so that will give you an idea how difficult it was for the locals. There were many more that didn't start either. At all of the races there seems to be quite a few that drop out along the way. Broken chains and flats seem to be the main cause.

I do have 2 more races to go here in Estonia before moving on again. One on the 9th which is another 50km race and then on the 16th is an 87km marathon. There are already over 2500 entries at time of writing this report so I am expecting it to be a major event.