GO 3V

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 315m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 28% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 520m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 19.4km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 22.9km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.0km–11.0km · Climb of 645m, descent of 315m averaging 14%, climb of 346m, high point 668m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 11.0km–22.9km · Descent of 667m averaging 8%, climb of 505m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 22.9km–27.4km · Descent of 520m averaging 11%. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 1626m+. With 58m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 32% of the distance is uphill, 48% downhill and 20% flat. The longest climb runs 6.7km at an average 9.7% grade (645m of vertical). The longest descent runs 8.4km at an average 7.9% grade (667m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 35.0% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 27.9% over 0.7km. Surface: 61% trail, 20% road, 12% smooth, and 8% technical. Flat-equivalent effort: 44.3 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Sveta gora (682m), 11.0km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Škabrijel (646m) and Frančiškov hrib (631m).

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 6.6km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 23 of 100), with 45% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 19.4km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 22.9km.
• #1 · 6.7–8.8 km · 315 m D−, -14.5% · 18.6 km ahead → control
• #2 · 11.0–19.4 km · 667 m D−, -7.9% · 8.0 km ahead → control
• 22.9–27.4 km · 520 m D−, -11.5% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 8°C to 16°C, with around 11°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 39%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 17% of days around this date.