Digging Deep Against the Elite at a Brutal V4 Grand Prix

Visegrad 4 Grand Prix Slovakia – Nová Baňa

We arrived at the final major challenge of the first half of the season: lining up for the prestigious Visegrad 4 Grand Prix Slovakia. Facing a notoriously punishing parcours around Nová Baňa, we deployed a 5-man combined squad. Alongside our primary roster riders—Gergő Vörös and Bendegúz Pusztai—guest riders Tamás Hancz, Márton Filepko, and Kubo Husár joined our ranks to represent the team in this top-tier UCI 1.2 test.

Relentless Firing and a Mountain War of Attrition

The international peloton showed no mercy, igniting the race from the opening kilometers:

  • Fierce Opening & Selfless Team Play: The pace was blistering even during the rollout, and once the road pitched up on the first major ascent, the peloton shifted into an even higher gear. Coming off a hard race the day before, Gergő struggled to find his climbing legs due to limited recovery time. Digging deep until the end of lap one, he made the selfless decision to step off the bike and head straight to the feed zone to support his teammates for the remainder of the day.
  • Breakaway Moves in Lap Two: In the second lap, a decisive group broke clear without our colors represented. Tamás Hancz launched an aggressive solo counter-attack across the gap; however, the blistering pace and open roads proved too taxing to bridge successfully.
  • The Final Circuit Breakdown: Our remaining riders rode smart and held their ground in the bunch until the final short finishing circuits. There, the brutal gradient completely shattered the field into pieces: pelotons ceased to exist as riders crossed the line one by one in a pure battle against gravity.

Team Finishes:

Despite the extreme elevation gain and strict time-cut regulations, four of our riders—Bendegúz Pusztai, Tamás Hancz, Márton Filepko, and Kubo Husár—fought relentlessly through the wall of fatigue to register hard-earned official finishes among the pro peloton.

Summary

The Visegrad 4 GP delivered everything expected of a UCI one-day classic: ruthless pacing, tactical warfare, and no room for error. Immense credit goes to the squad for their grit—Gergő for immediately switching into bottle and feed duty, and the four finishers for emptying the tank to secure official results on the toughest course of the season so far. Outstanding effort, boys!