VeloTorun , Poland … a rider perspective of this iconic cycling event

After a busy weekend full of fantastic events including The Fred Whitton Challenge, the Ilkley 2 day, the PMBA Enduro at Lee Quarry and, All Terrain Cycles, Team Rider Jeremy Copland , choice was, VeloTorun in Poland.

So VeloTorun: my coach Andy got me into this as he took part last year. A closed road, sportive style event which is sponsored by Michal Kwiatkowski of Team Sky as both he and Michal Golas (fellow Team Sky rider) both originate from the town of Torun.

The event attracts both professionals and amateurs alike with three different distances depending on ability. The main field was for the Giga option at 110km which achieved an extremely un-sportive-like 26mph average last year. This year saw nearly 700 riders in total, 380 of which were riding the Giga!

Speaking to Daniel Wojtyna (a local pro who Andy met last year) it was soon apparent this was far from a sportive and a little more extreme than I’d expected. From a recce with Kwiatkowski on the Saturday, Daniel estimated the first 20-30km’s to be at around 50kmph and (considering the wind) the last 40km’s to be around 60-65kmph mark. I laughed (and a small part of me broke inside)!

Obviously the 380 riders wouldn’t be together for the full distance so it would be key to get a good position at the start and get towards the front in the first few km’s.

The morning arrived and I fuelled accordingly with a great breakfast. We made our way to the start which was only a 2 minute ride away from the hotel, arriving 45 minutes before the off. Fortunately for me, the weather was a little cooler at around the 26deg mark and the wind wasn’t as strong as the day before, which made me think the speeds maybe marginally slower.

It was time to begin a warm up but as we set off I noticed people were already forming at the start so we headed to get a decent position about 10 rows back behind 100 riders or so. Pre-start interviews with MK and MG got the riders fired up and it was clear the event had attracted a large number of Pro’s who ride round to set the pace / protect the Sky boys.

We were off! The full road width and 100’s of riders set off at a reasonable speed – 32mph to be exact which, due to the size of the peloton felt pretty easy. Maybe Daniel’s speed estimate was spot on!

Like most events you expect a high rate of attrition over the first few miles, especially in a sportive so I maintained my position and didn’t attempt to get nearer to the front. I was wrong. Probably due to the lack of elevation change, virtually no one was being dropped. Oh joy.

This pace lasted for about 10 miles before we took a right turn into the forest. Everyone bunched on the inside so I took a wide line on the left which saw me in the first 50 riders on to the narrower roads – ideal. We continued at around 28mph through the forest and emerged intact as a group.

The first small climb (and I mean small) saw a few riders shelled due to the speed and a rider hitting the deck as his chain snapped. I was still in the group but on the redline to keep on. The surroundings opened up and we became more exposed to the wind so we lined out diagonally across the road true bunch racing style. Some quick descending and what seemed a relentless sprint after a 90deg corner I still felt pretty good but my worse fear was about to be realised – a climb! Not just any climb but one which had a road sign at the bottom (like our gradient signs but with a car instead of a gradient value) which indicated to cars that there was a climb! Oh dear God this could be fun I thought.

I dropped onto the inner ring and jumped on Golas’s wheel as he came passed. This was similar to the climb out of Skipton towards Embsay but with a couple of corners to give a false flat. I dug in again and maintained the wheel – I looked down and saw 182bpm which is my highest recorded year to date. Reaching the summit I was pretty spent only to see a few riders continuing the pace into the distance – this was the point I was going to be shelled I thought.

Absolutely turning myself inside out I got in with 5 other riders and started to get back to the group. A sharp hairpin right and long drag saw the group easing away slightly. After about a mile the road dropped away and the 5 of us gained some time and got back on the bunch. I looked at my garmin to see it tick over the 20mile mark – this was going to be a long day with ONLY 45 more to go!

I looked round to see there was only 60 of us in the group with Golas riding near the back keeping everyone on. We chatted and he got his phone out – I thought he was going to take a selfie so was keen to make sure I was in it!! Instead he just browsed his texts and responded to a couple. I deliberately looked down and noted we were traveling at 28mph. I don’t think I could focus enough to unlock my phone let alone read a text! Chapeau.

More open countryside and a tailwind saw the speed maintained. The average at this point was still 28mph. I was batting well above my standard here.

We started the second loop of the forest I spotted the 30mile mark go by. The pace relented slightly making it more comfortable up the 2 climbs which was good for me. The group was now down to 30 riders with no sign of anyone chasing.

The 40mile mark came and went with an average speed of 27mph thus far. As you can see it was about survival for me as I ticked the mileage off. I knew the last 5 or 10 miles would be brutal but wanted to stay on as long as possible.

I was starting to recover and feeling pretty confident that I could get to the 50mile mark.

As we left the forest the road was pretty rough: melted Tarmac rather than potholes but it was pretty bumpy. A few of the riders slowed and I maintained speed and stuck to the very right hand side of the group. A quick right then left saw us onto more rough Tarmac. In search of a better line the group split left and right which squeezed me towards the edge of the road. In this section the Tarmac didn’t have a straight edge before it dropped onto the gravel but instead it was uneven lumps, bumps and potholes to which I couldn’t avoid. I hit them hard enough to rotate my bars down a couple of degrees and my rear tyre popped.

I was gutted as I knew I wouldn’t get back on to the group and would need a few minutes to swap my tub. About 5 minutes later (after a bit off faffing and dejection of being out) the Kwiatkowski group of 10 came through. Not only had I been riding in the front group with Golas and some serious Pro’s / amateurs, I was in front of Kwiatkowski which made me smile inside. Obviously I appreciate they only play at events like this but it turned a negative situation into a slightly more positive one.
48 miles done and an average of 26mph was more than satisfying.

After fitting my tub I solo tapped the remaining 17miles back, stopping for a toilet break and 3 times to re-inflate my spare tub. I finally got back a tad under 3hours with an final average speed of 23.4mph.

On reflection this has to be one of the, if not THE hardest cycle events I’ve ever done. Not only the speed but the physical and mental effort needed to ride in such a large competent group. I was more than satisfied with my achievement and I cannot wait to do it again.

Just to put the cost in perspective: the entry fee was €20 which included food, goodie bag with gels and bottle etc!

I would recommend VeloTorun to any road cyclist, after all, how many times can you say you’ve ridden with 2 Team Sky Pro’s in a competitive (for most) event??