I was glad to race at home again and attend the half-ironman race in Oradea. I do not compete much in Romania, but this race is a very important part of my season. I am always very happy to come back because of the great organization and I really enjoy the course. Last year I was not in a great condition, but this year I was much more prepared.
In addition to my good physical condition, I was also very strong in mind, I knew that I had a good chance of winning the competition, but in such a competitive field it does not mean much. Therefore I concentrated on following my planned tactics, remaining calm and do my own race.Fortunately I fulfilled all my expectations and reached my goal.
I did swimming in an easy pace, so there was no serious energy loss. There were a lot of overtaking during the four-round swimming. I came out of the water more than two minutes after Alex Diaconu, the 1st athlete.
During cycling I accelerated gradually and reserved my energy. In the last round I passed Ciprian Balanescu and started running first with nearly two minutes advantage. I was running easily during the 19 rounds. At the end of the 14th round Peter Szilagyi, a Hungarian racer who is not included in the Romanian championship got before me. As I felt that running goes well, I thought I could pass him with a rhythm change, but when I changed my rhythm he did the same. Unfortunately I miscalculated and could not catch up with him. Finally, I came second in the open race, but my main goal was to defend my title as the Romanian champion. I succeeded and reached my goal so I finished the race with a big smile on my face.
After a short break I went back to the race venue, where the full ironman racers were fighting with the kilometers after 14-16 hours. It was very touching to see them, thank you for these moments.
My next race is on the 4th July in Bangkok. See you there!
I would like to thank my sponsors and everyone for supporting me.
Falco Bike, 720 armour, Token Bikes, Combridge, Novatel, CCN Sport, Sepsiszentgyorgy
Nagyon örvendek, hogy ismét részt vehettem a nagyváradi fél-ironman versenyen. Nem sokat versenyzem itthon, de ez a verseny most már kihagyhatatlan állomása az évadomnak. Mindig nagyon szívesen térek vissza, hiszen remek a szervezés és nagyon élvezem a pályát is. Tavaly nem voltam teljesen fitt a nagyváradi megmérettetésen, idén viszont sokkal jobb erőállapotban voltam.
Jó fizikai állapotom mellett, fejben kellett nagyon odatennem magam, hiszen éreztem, hogy én számítok esélyesnek, de ez egy verseny alkalmával, főleg egy ilyen erős mezőnyben nem jelent sokat. Ezért tudatosan arra koncentráltam, hogy a kitervelt taktikámat kövessem a verseny folyamán, hogy maradjak nyugodt és a saját versenyemet csináljam. Szerencsére mindezt sikerült betartani, így a célomat teljesítettem.
Rövid pihenés után, este visszamentem a verseny helyszínére, ahol a teljes távú ironman végsőkig küzdő atlétái 14-16 óra küzdelem után hatalmas örömmel értek célba. Nagyon megható volt látni őket, köszönöm ezeket a pillanatokat.