Tour de Fruška Trail 15km

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Hold your race pace up to 3.7km, but stay in control.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, and go all out on the final descent from 3.7km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.7km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 2.7km–3.7km · Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 3.7km–12.2km · Descent of 367m averaging 4%, high point 479m. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

By gradient, 35% of the distance is uphill, 45% downhill and 20% flat. The longest climb runs 3.7km at an average 6.8% grade (253m of vertical). The longest descent runs 8.4km at an average 4.3% grade (367m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 16.9% over 0.7km. The steepest descent drops at 14.0% over 0.7km. Surface: 52% trail, 28% road, and 20% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 13.5 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Veliko Sitijevo (394m), 3.0km from the start. The course also passes close to Vadjevine (477m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 0.7km 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 go all out on the final descent from 3.7km.
• 3.7–12.2 km · 367 m D−, -4.3% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 14°C to 24°C, with around 19°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 46%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 7% of days around this date.