Drach Cup, Dolcini Cup, and Vitosha Climb 2017: Victories and Emotions

Drag Cup,” “Dolchini Cup” and Drag Climb of Vitosha marked their position in the road cycling calendar.

On Friday, 9.06.2017, the Dolchini Cup took place, where Radoslav Konstantinov from CC “Chernomorets” (Burgas) won the international cycling criterium and the “Dimitar Kotev” prize in Sofia. He scored 36 points from the 13 premium sprints along the course with a total length of 36,270 meters around the capital’s “Arena Armeec” hall, where the male competitors completed 39 laps of 930 meters each. His average speed was 45.8 km/h. Every 3 laps during the sprints, cyclists received 5, 3, 2, and 1 points respectively for the first 4 places. Second place, just 1 point behind, was the Spaniard Angel Hugo Velasquez from the Romanian team “Tushnad Drag,” and third was Alexander Alexiev from CC “Nesebar” with 32 points. In the junior older age category, Martin Papanov from CC “Swallow” (Kazanlak) won with 32 points from 30 laps.

In the men’s race, 50 cyclists participated. They represented 14 clubs, of which 10 were Bulgarian and 4 foreign - “Martig Drag” (France), “Tushnad Drag” (Romania), “World of Bike” (Greece), and “Madalbol” (Macedonia).

The cyclists also took part in the criterium Drag Cup in the “Industrial Zone” of Bozhurishte town on Saturday from 11:00 AM. Another triumph was achieved by the cycling club “Chernomorets.” The prize from the second race was won by Ivo Toftev. He finished first in the 40-kilometer criterium with a total of 14 points and a sprint every third lap. Second was Yordan Petrov from “Blue Stones” /Sliven/, and third was Kolasinas Admir from Serbia. Radoslav Konstantinov placed fourth after a fall on the course. Despite the unfortunate incident, he still gathered enough points to finish just after the top three. The start included 27 cyclists.

On Sunday, the Vitosha Climb took place, covering 20 km from Boyana to the “Zvezditsa” hut with an elevation gain of 1200 m. Over 300 competitors participated. A rider from the French team “Martig Drag” - Sami Ornyak won the cycling climb. He was the only one to complete the 20 kilometers from Boyana to the “Zvezditsa” hut in under 51 minutes.

Alexander Alexiev from “Nesebar” also performed excellently, finishing 46 seconds behind and taking second place. The podium was completed by another cyclist from “Martig Drag” - Aydin Van Niker, who was 58 seconds behind the fastest. In the juniors category, Martin Papanov from “Kazanlak” stood out. Medals were also awarded to Iveta Alexieva among the women and Petar Dashev in the “men amateurs” category.

The long weekend was filled with many emotions, smiles, and unforgettable moments. We look forward to next year being even more memorable and exciting.