Lane

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Hold your race pace up to Dulenski Crni vrh, but stay in control.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, and start the final descent from 5.7km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.9km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 1.9km–5.7km · Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 5.7km–11.5km · Descent of 446m averaging 8%, high point 884m. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 530m+. With 44m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 40% downhill and 22% flat. The longest climb runs 5.7km at an average 7.9% grade (448m of vertical). The longest descent runs 5.8km at an average 7.6% grade (446m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 17.9% over 0.7km. The steepest descent drops at 18.1% over 0.9km. Surface: 87% trail and 11% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 15.3 FlatKM.

Summits

The course also passes close to Dulenski Crni vrh (897m) and Zelena (782m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 2.0km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

There is too little runnable descent to damage the quads: plan the race around climbing and fuelling.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, and start the final descent from 5.7km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• 5.7–11.5 km · 446 m D−, -7.6% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 8°C to 20°C, with around 11°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 20%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 1% of days around this date.