Carpathian MTB Epic 2018 – Stage 2 Best Of

The hardest race among the toughest! The second Stage of Carpathian MTB Epic 2018 pushed the cyclists’ limits to the edge and changed the order on the podium. This was the most exhausting stage of this competition, set in the Southern Carpathians. The participants pedaled 60 km and climbed 3,300 m, facing the highest elevation gain in the whole event. The track included a challenging ascending, but also the longest downhill of the route, over 10 km. In fact, the longest from all the three stages. It started from Șaua Strunga and crossed Guțanu Meadow. Although technical and steep, it was appreciated by many cyclists and the view was amazing. The area is called Amfitheater due tot the large Bran valley overview. Most of the foreign participants could not imagine how wild and beautiful the Carpathian MTB Epic routes are. The event slogan "Wild. Rugged. EPIC!" matches perfectly with the reality. The cyclist arrived pretty exhausted at the Finish line, but after they succeeded in catching their breath they were able to smile and telling all about the experience they just lived. In the Elite men's ranking Peeter Pruus (Estonia) won again the first place on the podium, on a slightly higher gap than in the first Stage comparing with the time pulled by the Czech athlete Marek Rauchfuss. The third one who crossed the Finish line is the world leader in the marathon races, the Belgian Frans Claes, who climbs to the 3rd place of the podium in the overall standings. In the women's race there was a flop, Ariane Lüthi (Switzerland) losing the advance she had before this stage. The winner of the Stage 2, Jovana Crnogorac (Serbia) recovered good minutes and she assured the victory after the toughest race of Carpathian MTB Epic. Though she hurt her leg on the trail, Lejla Tanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina) occupied the 3rd place on the podium.
The Saturday’s route reached important points: Start from Cheile Grădiștei – Fundata towards Valea Cheii - Curmătura Fiarelor – Bucșa Peak - Șaua Strungulița - Padina – Drumul Hoților – Bătrâna Refuge and Peak - Drumul Grănicerului - Șaua Strunga - Poiana Guțanu and finishedin Cheile Grădiștei - Fundata. Most athletes, coming from across borders and accustomed to rocky roads, said that this competition is perhaps the toughest or the toughest they participated in. On Sunday, August 19th, it starts the third Stage with the smallest level difference of 2,500m over a distance of 60 km. It will be a great fight for both the yellow shirt and the red one.

Results Stage 2

Women
1 - Jovana Crnogorac (SRB) - 4:26:57
2 - Ariane Lüthi (SUI) - 4:35:53
3 - Lejla Tanovic (BIH) - 5:03:01

Men
1 - Peeter Pruus (EST) - 3:40:12
2 - Marek Rauchfuss (CZE) - 3:41:39
3 - Frans Claes (BEL) - 3:42:46