{"id":62863,"date":"2026-06-29T16:50:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sloveniadownhillcup.si\/2026\/dh-pohorje-vroce-prasno-dirkanje-na-stotinke\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T13:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:42:26","slug":"dh-pohorje-vroce-prasno-dirkanje-na-stotinke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sloveniadownhillcup.si\/en\/2026\/dh-pohorje-vroce-prasno-dirkanje-na-stotinke\/","title":{"rendered":"DH Pohorje: Hot, Dusty Race Decided by Hundredths"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the second round of the Slovenian downhill series, the 20chocolate Downhill Cup, held on a shortened World Cup track at the Pohorje Bike Park in Maribor, there were a series of close finishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The classic track, on which the forest section with the \u201cRock \u2019n\u2019 Roll\u201d rock garden has remained virtually unchanged since 1998, was slightly shortened at the top this time. Instead of starting at the Luka hut, the start was set about 200 meters lower in elevation. The 122 participants from eight countries were spared the steep and technical section in \u0160pelcin log, as the start was located just below it. The track was thus 1.5 km long with a 300-meter vertical drop. The fastest riders completed it in less than two and a half minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lana is the official pre-runner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Marshalls should not be running low on energy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The start this time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The shorter track was more forgiving, especially for younger riders, but for everyone it was once again the battleground for that one race of the season, which holds a special status due to its difficulty and history\u2014even if it is \u201cjust\u201d a series race. Attempts to race on enduro bikes\u2014which are quite common in most Slovenian races\u2014stand no chance of success here; the brutality of certain sections simply does not allow for bikes with a shorter wheelbase, steeper angles, and shorter suspension travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dry and hot weather with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius, the track was dusty and slippery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number 1 Remains on Top<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"marko
Marko Niemiz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marko Niemiz (Bikehanic Lumar), who won the DH Poseka\u2014the first race of the series\u2014two weeks ago in Ravne na Koro\u0161kem and claimed the elite national championship title last year in Maribor, was once again the fastest. In the final, he clocked a time of two minutes, 18 seconds, and 71 hundredths. He was closely followed by Croatian Matija Crnkovi\u0107 (Coast Riders), who is getting faster and faster as he competes regularly in the European and World Cups for the national team. In the seeding run, Crnkovi\u0107 was the fastest, finishing 41 hundredths of a second ahead of Niemiz. In the final, both improved their times by a few seconds, but Niemiz won with a 49-hundredths-of-a-second lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"matija
Matija Crnkovi\u0107<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Svit Kunaver Smolkovi\u010d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Simone
Simone Leo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Marko Niemiz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Top five men<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Third place went to Italian Simone Leo (Bike O\u2019Clock) in both runs. In terms of time, the only other rider to challenge Niemiz and Crnkovi\u0107 was the fastest junior, Svit Kunaver Smolkovi\u010d, Marko\u2019s teammate on the Bikehanic Lumar team. Svit also won his second race in a row and claimed third place on the overall podium for both elite and junior riders. He finished 1.28 seconds behind Niemiz. Leo, who placed fourth, finished 5.1 seconds behind the winner, while Miha Jerki\u010d (KK \u010crn trn) came in fifth, 7.34 seconds behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the juniors, Kunaver Smolkovi\u010d was followed by local riders Sven Podvornik (\u0160D Grabit) in second place and \u017diga \u017di\u017eek (DGK Pohorje \u2013 Spank Team) in third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe final run was pretty good\u2014a couple of mistakes, but I think everyone made them. I\u2019m happy I won. It was pretty slippery; it\u2019s very easy to make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\nNiemiz, who, as Kristjan Vre\u010dek noted in an interview at the finish line, is one of the very few competitors who race on flat pedals.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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