Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
GR8 LAKES GRAVEL 2024: The Racing Day
There were three racing formats this year: Ultra (480 km), Classic (100 miles) and Sprint (50 miles). E-Sprint was a subcategory of Sprint; production e-bikes restricted to 25 km/h were allowed. There was not much talking about the batteries though; the intention was to disallow DIY and throttle/fast e-bikes from the competition.
My brother Jacek instantly took the lead in his Classic Group 8!
There was a very steep climb in the race beginning. To make it better understandable: I had to use SL Turbo mode and the 32-51T gearing to climb there myself! The arrow points at Jacek. (I also have a photo showing weaker riders dismounting and walking their bikes uphill!)
My first e-bike competitor met on that morning: Wojtek. As you can see, my facial expression means fear
(Why does Wojtek ride an e-bike? Lower back ache. He is otherwise a healthy and strong rider).
Specialized Vado SL 4.0 was the most chosen e-bike for E-Sprint Wojtek's EQ was hardly modified. He added the Cane Creek Thudbuster suspension seatpost and had two Range Extenders stowed in water-bottle cages. He was carrying the water-bottle in a pouch on handlebars. Regarding the tyres, he used 38 mm Schwalbe Marathon (tubed).
Anna rode a Mondraker Prime R G4, a full suspension e-MTB with a Smart System Bosch motor and a 750 Wh battery. She said: 'My husband is racing in the Classic. I thought I would ride the E-Sprint not to get bored waiting for him!'
Darek (riding a Kross Hybrid Prestige 630 (a Polish made e-bike with a Shimano motor and 630 Wh battery, 45 mm tyres) was my only competitor on Sudovia Gravel race.
Sebastian (centre), a friend of Darek, came with a Decathlon Rockrider e-MTB. I do not know much about that e-bike except it had a Brose motor and 2.8" tyres. Sebastian was as young and strong as he could easily ride that e-bike above the speed restrictor, at a really high speed!
Wojtek (627) starting his race!
(The day before) There was a lot of cobblestone on the race route. Washboard gravel was one of the worst surfaces we had to ride though. (I rode my 42 mm tubeless wheels at 40 psi as I am a heavy person).
(The day before) Masuria is known for her stoney roads... I soon got used to it!
(The day before) I must admit there were long segments of premium gravel on the race as well. The first part of the race led through the woods, where the surfaces were adequate, and the greenery was giving us a nice shade against sunshine on a warm day!
(The day before) Masuria is the Land of Three Thousand Lakes. Here, a small cove of Śniardwy, the largest lake of Poland. Unfortunately, we didn't see much lakes on the ride, as the route was planned for the maximum "ride flow", or fast uninterrupted ride, so most lakes were bypassed at a distance.
(On the race). The distance table (km) made me laugh, so I had to stop and take this picture. A distance to Warsaw would be understandable but the other city is rather small and not the most distant from Masuria at all!
35 km into the race. Because of drought this year, even good gravel roads became sandy! (In the last part of the race, we had to negotiate deep sand for even 2 kilometres!) Here, I shortly stopped to discover I lost my tail-light (because of the road vibration). The light was later found by the organiser crew and I could collect it in Warsaw on Monday!
Your typical Masurian countryside during the drought.
The only pit-stop for the Sprint. I realized I was the last rider on the race there! That could not last long... I greatly accelerated!
No time to stop and take pictures! Masuria is undulated. It is not as hilly as Sudovia but the share of climbs was significant (I consistently rode at SL 75/75%, 25 km/h restricted).
One of very few places where we actually could see some water was Szymoński Canal, one of many canals connecting Great Lakes.
Actually Racing
As soon as I learned from a rider I was the last person in the race, I accelerated and didn't allow me any more stops on the ride! This way, I could overtake nine riders. As we met "the bathtubs of sand", I took the opportunity of that chance equalizer. The lightweight Vado SL helped me riding on the edge of the field (even if the surface was still loose there). I was actually sprinting, and used SL Turbo for the last kilometres to stay at 25 km/h. 10th last place in Sprint? Come on, I am a 63-yo person with medical conditions!
When I was riding through the finish line, the announcer said through the PA: 'Here's Stefan Mikulski, the winner of Sudovia Gravel E-Sprint! He was not lucky this time!' and all my e-Sprint competitors cheered!
Anna won the E-Sprint race, and was the 2nd Female Sprinter overall! Kudos to her!
The E-Sprint Men podium: Wojtek (1st), Sebastian (2nd), Darek (3rd). Wojtek told me he had a chance to win E-Sprint but he made a stop on the ride...
Jacek finishing the Classic Race. He was 81st/251.
My brother missed a riding partner on that race to get a better place!
My E-Sprint race map. I started Wahoo 300 m from the starting line.
After the race, people started gathering for social events. I admit we drank a little that night
There were three racing formats this year: Ultra (480 km), Classic (100 miles) and Sprint (50 miles). E-Sprint was a subcategory of Sprint; production e-bikes restricted to 25 km/h were allowed. There was not much talking about the batteries though; the intention was to disallow DIY and throttle/fast e-bikes from the competition.
My brother Jacek instantly took the lead in his Classic Group 8!
There was a very steep climb in the race beginning. To make it better understandable: I had to use SL Turbo mode and the 32-51T gearing to climb there myself! The arrow points at Jacek. (I also have a photo showing weaker riders dismounting and walking their bikes uphill!)
My first e-bike competitor met on that morning: Wojtek. As you can see, my facial expression means fear
(Why does Wojtek ride an e-bike? Lower back ache. He is otherwise a healthy and strong rider).Specialized Vado SL 4.0 was the most chosen e-bike for E-Sprint
Wojtek's EQ was hardly modified. He added the Cane Creek Thudbuster suspension seatpost and had two Range Extenders stowed in water-bottle cages. He was carrying the water-bottle in a pouch on handlebars. Regarding the tyres, he used 38 mm Schwalbe Marathon (tubed).Anna rode a Mondraker Prime R G4, a full suspension e-MTB with a Smart System Bosch motor and a 750 Wh battery. She said: 'My husband is racing in the Classic. I thought I would ride the E-Sprint not to get bored waiting for him!'
Darek (riding a Kross Hybrid Prestige 630 (a Polish made e-bike with a Shimano motor and 630 Wh battery, 45 mm tyres) was my only competitor on Sudovia Gravel race.
Sebastian (centre), a friend of Darek, came with a Decathlon Rockrider e-MTB. I do not know much about that e-bike except it had a Brose motor and 2.8" tyres. Sebastian was as young and strong as he could easily ride that e-bike above the speed restrictor, at a really high speed!
Wojtek (627) starting his race!
(The day before) There was a lot of cobblestone on the race route. Washboard gravel was one of the worst surfaces we had to ride though. (I rode my 42 mm tubeless wheels at 40 psi as I am a heavy person).
(The day before) Masuria is known for her stoney roads... I soon got used to it!
(The day before) I must admit there were long segments of premium gravel on the race as well. The first part of the race led through the woods, where the surfaces were adequate, and the greenery was giving us a nice shade against sunshine on a warm day!
(The day before) Masuria is the Land of Three Thousand Lakes. Here, a small cove of Śniardwy, the largest lake of Poland. Unfortunately, we didn't see much lakes on the ride, as the route was planned for the maximum "ride flow", or fast uninterrupted ride, so most lakes were bypassed at a distance.
(On the race). The distance table (km) made me laugh, so I had to stop and take this picture. A distance to Warsaw would be understandable but the other city is rather small and not the most distant from Masuria at all!
35 km into the race. Because of drought this year, even good gravel roads became sandy! (In the last part of the race, we had to negotiate deep sand for even 2 kilometres!) Here, I shortly stopped to discover I lost my tail-light (because of the road vibration). The light was later found by the organiser crew and I could collect it in Warsaw on Monday!
Your typical Masurian countryside during the drought.
The only pit-stop for the Sprint. I realized I was the last rider on the race there! That could not last long...
I greatly accelerated!No time to stop and take pictures! Masuria is undulated. It is not as hilly as Sudovia but the share of climbs was significant (I consistently rode at SL 75/75%, 25 km/h restricted).
One of very few places where we actually could see some water was Szymoński Canal, one of many canals connecting Great Lakes.
Actually Racing
As soon as I learned from a rider I was the last person in the race, I accelerated and didn't allow me any more stops on the ride! This way, I could overtake nine riders. As we met "the bathtubs of sand", I took the opportunity of that chance equalizer. The lightweight Vado SL helped me riding on the edge of the field (even if the surface was still loose there). I was actually sprinting, and used SL Turbo for the last kilometres to stay at 25 km/h. 10th last place in Sprint? Come on, I am a 63-yo person with medical conditions!
When I was riding through the finish line, the announcer said through the PA: 'Here's Stefan Mikulski, the winner of Sudovia Gravel E-Sprint! He was not lucky this time!' and all my e-Sprint competitors cheered!
Anna won the E-Sprint race, and was the 2nd Female Sprinter overall! Kudos to her!
The E-Sprint Men podium: Wojtek (1st), Sebastian (2nd), Darek (3rd). Wojtek told me he had a chance to win E-Sprint but he made a stop on the ride...
Jacek finishing the Classic Race. He was 81st/251.
My brother missed a riding partner on that race to get a better place!
My E-Sprint race map. I started Wahoo 300 m from the starting line.
After the race, people started gathering for social events. I admit we drank a little that night
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