NEWS

Juniors and Para athletes take to the woods

By Paul Groves | 27 Apr, 2016

Day 2 in Transylvania and it’s time for the Juniors and Paras race. Despite every weather forecast suggesting doom and gloom, we woke to sunshine. Sunday was not going to be a day of rest in the forests above Târgu Mureș. The Junior Men would start at 09:00, Junior Women at 09:05 and the Para wave would set off to follow the same sprint distance at 09:10.

It was good to see that many of the Age Group athletes had stayed on to come and watch these races and the level of support grew as the day unfolded.

With commentary in English, Romanian and Hungarian everyone could follow the events as the races progressed.

The Junior Men lined up for check-in, under the supervision of the Technical Officials and soon enough they were ready for the off.

Having raced here last year, Bulgarian junior, Alexander Srandev was a firm favourite. Local support was for Szabolcs Kovács ROU.

With other athletes from Slovakia, Matúš Kozlovsky, Serbia, Veljko Maksimovic, Croatia and Spain, we had a good spread of nationalities taking part and the line-up looked impressive, if, for some, a little tense.

The two-lap run saw an initial lead from Srandev with Kozlovsky.

They built this lead, each testing the other and the only person who could get near them was the determined Kovács. Srandev gave a final kick on the last part of his second lap to take him into T1 with almost half a minute advantage over the chasing Slovakian. Behind them Kovács, to the delight of the Romanian supporters, was holding his position and indeed pulling away from Maksimovic.

Out onto the bike course and the crowds, having now worked out where the best places were, had gathered and their cheers could be heard echoing around the dark forests.

Kozlovsky showed real power on the bike and overtook Srandev, who received a time penalty for a mount-line infringement. 

This penalty would have to be served on the final run and, although only 10 seconds, it would have a significant impact.

Into T2 and it was Kozlovsky who had a clear run. Srandev followed some 30 seconds later and, having seen his pace on the first run, we were all wondering if he could dig deep enough to catch the Slovakian and serve his penalty. Behind them Kovács was still comfortably in bronze. Further back some brave riding was delighting the crowds.

On the day it was gold to Kozlovsky, with Srandev taking silver and Kovács a very comfortable bronze.

Kozlovsky was delighted with his victory but it was Srandev who was spokesman for them all, “The organization of the race was back at the highest level, the track was extremely severe and challenging, but that didn’t stop me from fighting to the end! Dreams become reality, but with hard work.”

Amongst the Junior Women we had athletes from Ukraine, Slovakia, Croatia and Romania.

Sofiya Pryyma UKR missed out on the medals in the World Cross Triathlon championships last year but was coming to this race with a solid period of training with the Ukrainian team in Cyprus.  Lýdia Drahovská SVK is another athlete able to mix winter triathlon with summer events. With new race uniforms, the Croatian team looked good together and back at HQ there was great hope that these race uniforms would get to the podium. Ema Filipović CRO.

As the race started it was Pryyma and Drahovska who took immediate control but a stronger run from the Ukrainian soon took her past the Slovakian.

With powerful running she came into T1 with over a minute advantage over the chasing athletes.

Out onto the bike course, Filipović was riding well but had lost too much on the first run and could not quite catch Drahovska.

Drahovska found the mud but could not see Pryyma.

Pryyma was strong and she was followed by Drahovska into T1.

Back in the pack Andrea Ciolacu ROU was having mechanical problems but Julia Biró was riding cautiously.

Pryyma rode with determination and was supported well around the course by her Lviv-based team-members. She showed no signs of slowing up but instead built her lead.

With complete control over the race she came into T2 and could then focus on the 2.75k run to the finish line.

With Ukrainian gold in her hands Pryyma saw Drahovska take silver and Filipović the bronze. Her father, Serhiy Pryyma had won bronze in his age group and today he had the great pleasure of seeing his daughter, with Ukrainian flag, cross the line to take the European title and the gold medal.

Drahovská was thrilled, “Thanks for the encouragement and great atmosphere.” Filipović loved the location, “Thanks for the big support here in Romania and biggest thanks coach Mario Kasović without whom this wouldn’t have it. You are the best team ever. Also thanks to my sponsor Giant Croatia and Ivan Stipic for the support and trust. Also training with school cycling Zagreb contributed to this success. Thanks this justifies all my school absences.”


Para participation is a relatively new thing in Romania and the crowds were giving great support to the four Para-athletes who lined up for the chance to claim medals. Reitze Bok and Rob Noordzij from the Netherlands along with Rafa Solis Torres ESP are very experienced athletes but new to the international multisport scene came the young Robert Tamirjan ROU.

Bok has great strength and depth in off-road racing with 2 silver medals at the worlds. The arrival of Cross Duathlon onto the calendar gives him yet another chance to show others the way. Noordzij has long been an ambassador for para-sport and was hoping this year to improve on his 4th place in Castro Urdiales. Solis was hoping to get back to back duathlon titles following his gold in Kalkar only a week ago.

From the start it was going to be a battle at the front between Solis and Tamirjean. The first lap was neck and neck but on the second it was the Spaniard who took control and had a 20 second lead as they entered T1.

Behind them Bok was coping well with the twisting, turning, climbing and very slippery run course. Noordzij knew what was coming as he had explored the course over the days before the race.

Once out on the bike and this is where things got exciting. Tamirjean soon caught Solis who tried to stay with him but the young Romanian, part of the Romanian MTB team was delivering a masterclass of off-road biking.

Where Solis fell, Tamirjean accelerated.

Where Solis slowed cautiously, Tamirjean accelerated more.

By the time that Tamirjean came into T2, he had taken complete control of the race and his 37:47 bike split was almost a minute faster than the Junior Men’s winner. Solis came into T2, muddy but he knew what came next and all were wondering whether the Romanian had given too much on the bike.

Noordzij found the course very tough but Bok was powering ahead.

Tamirjean held his lead. To the delight of the crowds and especially his family, he crossed the line first to take the European title and the gold.

Solis, wearing a very special pair of Vampire teeth, came down the blue carpet to the applause of the crowds.

It was Bok next over the line to more cheers from the big crowds. Noordzij claimed bronze.

Bok said after the race, “Number 31 came slightly battered and bruised over the finish line but as ETU Cross Duathlon Champion. That sounds good and takes some of the pain away. Romania – really nice and possibly the World Championships here next year? I can recommend it.”

Tamirjean was delighted by his win, “I really felt that I should have pushed harder. The bike course was really good. What was delightful for me was the reaction from people seeing me ride hard. I am very happy.”

Solis was won over by the race and full of praise for the new find in Tamirjean, “Awesome day in Transylvania.  We have found a new para-triathlete in Romania’s Robert Tamirjean. He did very well and we congratulate you. I went out fast to try and control the race and also to take the time penalty for missing the race briefing on Friday. I managed to lead on the run but then out on the bike, the Romanian came past like a missile. I tried to follow him but took one risk too many on a bend and half fell off. It was just about now that I thought these championships were a little difficult. He was very good, this young man, a Junior from the world of mountain biking. I followed where he had gone and I thought I could see him but no, it was a mirage, in the solitude of the forest. He had the fastest bike split of us all and faster than the junior men too! In the last run I felt comfortable out on Dracula’s trails and managed to cut almost 2 minutes off his lead but I couldn’t catch him. Satisfied with the runner-up but I had planned to bite the finish tape with my Vampire teeth.”

For the Para Results, please click this link.


Article gallery
Related Event: 2016 Târgu Mures ETU Cross Duathlon European Championships
23 - Apr, 2016 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Men
1. Xavier Jové Riart AND 02:08:00
2. Joan Freixa Marcelo ESP 02:09:54
3. Ciprian Balanescu ROU 02:10:06
4. Oivind Bjerkseth NOR 02:11:53
5. Kris Coddens BEL 02:12:51
6. Evgeny Kirillov RUS 02:14:28
7. Bogdan Damian ROU 02:15:09
8. Bálint Mester HUN 02:15:43
9. Tomas Kubek SVK 02:17:53
10. Attila Daniel ROU 02:19:15
Results: Elite Women
1. Margarita Fullana Riera ESP 02:33:43
2. Kristina Lapinova SVK 02:35:06
3. Yulia Surikova RUS 02:40:55
4. Rocio Espada Vazquez ESP 02:42:43
5. Flo Dannah GBR 02:44:37
6. Louise Fox GBR 02:46:02
7. Monika Koncz ROU 02:54:44
8. Valentina Belović CRO 03:01:51
9. Adel Koter ROU 03:02:24
10. Ilinca Maria Tempeanu ROU 03:46:00
Results: U23 Men
1. Xavier Jové Riart AND 02:08:00
2. Attila Daniel ROU 02:19:15
3. Silvije Tomac CRO 02:24:23
4. Robin Schuermans BEL 02:30:26
5. Duran Akbaş TUR 02:36:35
6. Eugen Popović CRO 02:40:37
DNF. Daniel Madaras ROU DNF
DSQ. Levente Kanizsay ROU DSQ
Results: U23 Women
1. Anastasija Krūmiņa LAT 03:57:24
Results: Junior Men
1. Matus Kozlovsky SVK 01:22:34
2. Aleksandar Srandev BUL 01:24:15
3. Szabolcs Kovacs ROU 01:25:43
4. Veljko Maksimovic SRB 01:29:00
5. Tadeas Drahovsky SVK 01:29:27
6. Balazs Daroczi ROU 01:31:47
7. Dušan Kostović SRB 01:34:48
8. Emil Novosad CRO 01:35:25
9. Enrique Poveda Mateo ESP 01:35:26
10. Botond Zoldi ROU 01:38:34
Results: Junior Women
1. Sofiya Pryyma UKR 01:39:41
2. Lydia Drahovska SVK 01:48:16
3. Ema Filipović CRO 01:53:35
4. Julia Biro ROU 02:07:02
DNF. Andrea Ciolacu ROU DNF