RAS 2009: A THREATENING LINE-UP OF MOUNTAINS RAS 2009, Postojna – Slovenia (May 7-10, 2009)
by Sara Tagliatatela
Mountain pastures crossed by peaceful country paths and Baroque bell towers that stand out above villages made of
stone, snow-capped peaks that rise up from pristine forests and turquoise lakes. This is Slovenia, a tiny republic with
an enormous wealth of natural beauty, wedged among Croatia, Italy, Austria, and Hungary.
In this extraordinary setting, from May 7 to 10, the European Ultracycling Championship RAS (Race Across Slovenia) took place.
Covering a 1188.6-km race course, the cyclists and their teams crossed the entire territory of Slovenia, racing along the border
and at some points going beyond it, into Hungarian and Croatian land, while Italy and Austria were so close that just a few steps
would have been enough to reach them. The Slovenian terrain is mainly hilly or mountainous and about 90% of its surface area is
located above 300 m in altitude. This morphological characteristic, which is extremely inviting for climbers and hikers, is the challenge
that RAS puts to the ultracyclers: come face the army of mountains that will uninterruptedly confront you along the course, trying to block
you from passing. Be aware that not even past Vrsic, the highest peak at 1619 m, will you be able to rest, because you will continue to face
steep climbs until the end of the race. Do not delude yourselves before the undulating hills covered by vineyards in the eastern part of Slovenia,
because not even they will bring you relief, rather they will lead you toward more slopes. Fabio started the race at 7:54 p.m. on Thursday May 7.
The mountains we are racing toward in order to bring us to the coast and to Izola do not immediately seem threatening, because we are distracted
by the dense vegetation and full moon already high in the sky, visible among the trees. The light and colors are limpid because the air is clean
and clear. The landscape at dusk sweetly welcomes us, while the night is the opposite: the darkness lays before us a long series of stone walls,
which must be climbed in order to reach the coast. We almost do not even realize we have approached the sea, because the descent after the climb
is so steep and fast that it immediately brings us to another stone wall. From that moment until reaching Postumia we will have the sensation of
always climbing, without interruption, because the descents are so ephemeral, fast and finish where a new climb starts, in front of another stone
wall. Even the two nights of the race are extremely difficult walls to get beyond. The cold during the first night takes everyone by surprise while
they are climbing one of the highest peaks and puts a brake on the ultracyclers: many of them stop during the climb; others are forced to slow down
and to stop during the descent; all of them are extremely exhausted and forced to break up their pace before reaching the third Time Station in Zaga.
The day is late in dawning and the darkness hides the peak of Vrsic, which they are moving toward. The second night is veiled in a darkness that
conceals the roads we must take, which wind up the mountains like a spiral. Navigating, which is already difficult due to the many errors in the
route book, is like blindly moving forward in those hours: there is no way to find points of reference around us and we start to fear having to stop
for dawn in order to understand which road to take to get out of that maze. Only stubbornness and determination provide the sight and light to get
out of that section of the race. But the most difficult walls and mountains to climb in those days are still the human ones. When, during the last
sections of the race, you can see cyclists being helped by members of their team during the climb, being pushed by a moving vehicle, before you
materializes the highest mountain and most difficult wall of all. Fabio Biasiolo finished the RAS in 2 days and 3 minutes, taking ninth place.
The tenth recorded 2 days 3 minutes and 30 seconds and was given only one penalty of 15 minutes.
Click here for photos at the end of the race
