Only 2 weeks after the Junior Championships we had the 17th Turul Cup in Tatabánya. The competition was also part of the Alpe-Adria Cup and the organizers invited quite some skaters from Germany, the Czech, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria etc. It was a nice touch, at last we did not see the same faces as always.
The event was also the inauguration of the new speedskating track in Tatabánya. The city has been a driving force for the sport for decades now but they have managed to build a track only now - what a shame!
The start was set at noon on Saturday, so we had a lazy wakeup-pack-drive morning. We got to the track at around 11:00 so Peter and I could test it thoroughly. It is so much different from the other tracks in the country! Very smooth asphalt, you feel like you may slip anytime. The curves are banked nicely but the banking goes on for some meters in the straights - quite strange at first but it can be used efficiently if you do an extra crossover exiting the turn, to gain more speed.
Weather was sunny but very windy, full headwind on the back straight. It made holding a constant speed very difficult.
The organizers put up a schedule that showed 500m and 1000m for Peter on Saturday. Despite 10 entries on the list, only 5 contenders showed up in his age category so there was no need to run qualifiers or semifinals. That meant he had hours of waiting ahead. So the 500m qualifiers and semis were run, with amateur races between them (more on that later). At about 15:30 he could go to the meeting point and then race at last.
His 500m started as usual. His start was fine but he let everyone pass him in the first few metres. Then he needed to fight his way back and spent too much time passing the slowest guy. Why why why...
Then after some time the 1000m came. He did fine I think, seems like he knew every moment what was going on and reacted to actions perfectly. He came in 3rd, beating the next one with 0.007 seconds.
Then the organizers said time permitted the relay qualifiers to be held on that day. Peter relayed with a guy from ZKK and HB. When he was to come, he was started way too late by the coach and couldn't get up to speed, and HB - seeing this all - did not slow down enough but skated out of the relay zone. Pffff :(
We got to our 'hostel' and after a quick shower and some meal, we were in bed ASAP and had a good sleep.
The next morning the program started at 9 o'clock, and soon Peter was called to race the 300m - his dreaded distance by now I think. Well, I say dreaded and indeed it turned out to be a real nightmere - he fell in the 2nd turn, in 5th position. He did not get up fast so I rushed to him - he was crying a bit but I could make him stand up and saw no sign of any serious injuries. He could skate to the finish and earned a 'standing ovation' around the track.
Then we took off his clothes but even closer examination did not show any bruises, just two very tiny scars on the right side. I think the T-shirt and the leg warmer under the elastane protected his skin against the typical 'road rash' injury.
So he finished 5th on the 300m and was 2 points behind the 3rd in overall - that meant he should have beat him with 2 positions on the 800m to gain bronze medal.
He started fine this time and followed GyD (the 3rd position holder) closely, keeping him under pressure. They moved to the top of the bunch after 1.5 laps but Peter did not stop there. He went on with the attack and quickly gained a 10m gap after the next turn. GyD seemed exhausted but the two Czech guys realized the danger and started to close the gap. In the final lap, with about 150m to go Peter dropped to 2nd and I saw he was very tired, fighting the headwind along the straight. The other Czech guy overcame him in the sprint - bummer, as GyD came in 4th, so there was no 2 points distance :(
Two laps in the lead were too much - 1.5 would have been ok. On the other hand I think Peter made the good decision attacking there and then. He fought wise and brave, tried everything. All in all he gained 4th place even after a fall!
There was no serious delays in the day programs at last! So kudos for the organizers. The meal was fine, buffet fine, results printed fast - see, it is possible!!!
One thing to note though that 4 distances are too much for kids of this age. IMHO an 300-500-1000m triple would be enough. I don't see much difference between a 800m and a 1000m. But just imagine one kid, 8 or 9 years old, doing qualies, then semis, then finals in 2 distances a day. That can easily mean 6 races, plus the relay qualies - simply too much for them.
His next race is in late August, so now there is some time to refill.
The event was also the inauguration of the new speedskating track in Tatabánya. The city has been a driving force for the sport for decades now but they have managed to build a track only now - what a shame!
The start was set at noon on Saturday, so we had a lazy wakeup-pack-drive morning. We got to the track at around 11:00 so Peter and I could test it thoroughly. It is so much different from the other tracks in the country! Very smooth asphalt, you feel like you may slip anytime. The curves are banked nicely but the banking goes on for some meters in the straights - quite strange at first but it can be used efficiently if you do an extra crossover exiting the turn, to gain more speed.
Weather was sunny but very windy, full headwind on the back straight. It made holding a constant speed very difficult.
The organizers put up a schedule that showed 500m and 1000m for Peter on Saturday. Despite 10 entries on the list, only 5 contenders showed up in his age category so there was no need to run qualifiers or semifinals. That meant he had hours of waiting ahead. So the 500m qualifiers and semis were run, with amateur races between them (more on that later). At about 15:30 he could go to the meeting point and then race at last.
His 500m started as usual. His start was fine but he let everyone pass him in the first few metres. Then he needed to fight his way back and spent too much time passing the slowest guy. Why why why...
Then after some time the 1000m came. He did fine I think, seems like he knew every moment what was going on and reacted to actions perfectly. He came in 3rd, beating the next one with 0.007 seconds.
Then the organizers said time permitted the relay qualifiers to be held on that day. Peter relayed with a guy from ZKK and HB. When he was to come, he was started way too late by the coach and couldn't get up to speed, and HB - seeing this all - did not slow down enough but skated out of the relay zone. Pffff :(
We got to our 'hostel' and after a quick shower and some meal, we were in bed ASAP and had a good sleep.
The next morning the program started at 9 o'clock, and soon Peter was called to race the 300m - his dreaded distance by now I think. Well, I say dreaded and indeed it turned out to be a real nightmere - he fell in the 2nd turn, in 5th position. He did not get up fast so I rushed to him - he was crying a bit but I could make him stand up and saw no sign of any serious injuries. He could skate to the finish and earned a 'standing ovation' around the track.
Then we took off his clothes but even closer examination did not show any bruises, just two very tiny scars on the right side. I think the T-shirt and the leg warmer under the elastane protected his skin against the typical 'road rash' injury.
So he finished 5th on the 300m and was 2 points behind the 3rd in overall - that meant he should have beat him with 2 positions on the 800m to gain bronze medal.
Two laps in the lead were too much - 1.5 would have been ok. On the other hand I think Peter made the good decision attacking there and then. He fought wise and brave, tried everything. All in all he gained 4th place even after a fall!
There was no serious delays in the day programs at last! So kudos for the organizers. The meal was fine, buffet fine, results printed fast - see, it is possible!!!
One thing to note though that 4 distances are too much for kids of this age. IMHO an 300-500-1000m triple would be enough. I don't see much difference between a 800m and a 1000m. But just imagine one kid, 8 or 9 years old, doing qualies, then semis, then finals in 2 distances a day. That can easily mean 6 races, plus the relay qualies - simply too much for them.
His next race is in late August, so now there is some time to refill.
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