30 teams selected to compete in Carpathian Couriers Race 2013

stage 3

There is just few days to go to the begining of the 5th edition of Carpathian Couriers Race – the biggest U-23 stage race in Central Europe, a real breeding ground of talents.

The event is set to begin on May 1, in Dohnany, Slovakia. The route consists of an opening time trial and four hilly stages – nearly 550 kilometers of demanding racing. At the begining, each member of the starting peloton will compete against the clock on the course of a short prologue. Next four days offer a possibility to fight in a hilly terrain, as the route includes some short but difficult and steep ascents, visiting the roads of three countries – Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland. Final stage leads to Tarnów, giving the competitors last chance of putting rivals under preassure and changing the general classification on the hills of Lesser Poland.

The interest in the race has been growing significantly in recent years, with the record number of riders registered for 2013 edition. Each of the 30 teams comprises six riders apiece, bringing the total number of competitors to 180. The fight for orange jersey shows a lot of promise, mainly due to the presence of eight continental teams and nine national representations. The startlist includes also nine cycling clubs and four regional teams.

Nine out of thirty teams are registered in Poland. Three continental squads: BDC MarcPol Team, TC Chrobry Lasocki Głogów, Team Wibatech Brzeg all confirmed their participation. Regional team of Lesser Poland and Kartuzy along with KS Pogoń Mostostal Puławy, TKK Pacific Toruń and Błękitni Mexller Koziegłowy will also be present, coming to Slovakia with big hopes and ambitions.

Apart from Polish teams, there are also riders from Belgium and the Netherlands who already showed their potential and determination that drives them to achive success and helps them claim the victory, just like Mauritius Lammertink did last year. 22-year-old Dutch rider won’t participate this time – having won the 4th edition, he moved to the higest level of professional cycling, signing first professional contract with World Tour team Vacansoleil-DCM. He is not the only one – in 2010 Rafał Majka won the time trial and as a result, a year later, signed a contract with Team Saxo-Tinkoff. Their example clearly shows that riders who perform well during Carpahian Couriers Race will not go unnoticed and have an opportunity to present both their potential and capabilities to the professional teams.

There are also two teams from Czech Republic and three from Slovakia. Local riders take pride in being perfectly familliar with the difficulties of the course – racing on the home ground will defenitely boost their morale and that is the factor that cannot be underestimated. Close attention should also be payed to the team that joined the event as the very last one. Russian national team selected some very strong riders who are particularly focusing on the prologue.

They will all have the possibility to compete against riders from other countries: Germany, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia or even Algeria and Egypt.

This is theory. Tough route and the opponents will verify everything – the state of preparation, physical and mental resistance of young riders and the tactics they adopt.

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