Lady Luck translated into Czech is dáma štěstí, and she can be a fickle mistress, to say the least. And while she tends to favor those who are prepared, even the best preparation can go sideways when she looks the other way. Unfortunately that’s what happened in Brazil to our SR Suntour athletes. Short Track (XCC) chaos saw our athletes relegated to sub par performances in XCO: it’s difficult to excel when you’ve crashed out, HARD! But six weeks off allowed for a good reset.
The XCC for Nove Mesto initially seemed like a repeat of Brazil with Origine Racing Division’s Mathis Azzaro taking another crash induced early exit that relegated him to a third row start for XCO, but he quickly showed that he was all systems go aboard his analog SR Suntour equipped Theoreme FS GTR 120 race machine. A third row starting position is rough, but not impossible, as Azzaro quickly showed, making steady progress into a contending position during the first two laps of the eight lap race. He even took the lead at the start of the third lap despite the best efforts of Specialized Factory Racing to control the front. From there he eased back to fifth, wisely positioning himself to be able to respond to sudden acceleration but also able to avoid any pile-ups on this relentlessly technical World Cup XCO course. This would remain his tactic for the next four laps: close to the front to maintain contact but just free enough to avoid getting caught in any pile ups. However, a vicious attack by the eventual winner did leave him dangling some 17 seconds back with a lap and a half to go. Despite the pressure, Azzaro stayed cool, stayed focused and played his cards right. Cresting the hill into the finishing straight on the final lap he made his own luck, accelerating hard, catching the two riders ahead, and continuing past them at the line, claiming second with a thrilling effort! To sweeten the event in the Czech Republic, Lexware Mountainbike Team’s Paul Schehl likewise played his cards wisely during the final race of the day, claiming the U23 men’s XCO race with a combination of grit and skill. Like Azzaro, Schehl had a rough XCC in Brazil, crashing hard enough to miss three weeks of training. But a clean XCC race on Saturday rewarded him with a front row start for the relentless Czech Republic U23 event.
