05.06.2020
NEW NORMAL: HELTER SKELTER 2020
You’ve heard of it, haven’t you? It is clear why it needs to be different this year, right?
A challenging year for everyone, a bunch of difficult and uncertain decisions, but the decision to organize the race as soon as circumstances allowed it, was made a long time ago. General ideas about what the world will look like after Covid have long since been told. On this occasion, we want to tell you what the races will look like in 2020.
So let’s go.
Husqvarna Adria Bike Challenges – The Series was predictable, with exact schedules and dates, lead and supporting actors, directors, props and set design. This year, things will be a bit different. Since time are more challenging. One race at a time. Day by day. And we’ll see where that takes us all together. So we changed the name to Husqvarna Adria Bike Challenges.
Scoring – dates have changed, we don’t know how many races there will be or when they will take place. Any scoring would be irregular. Therefore there is no scoring.
Prizes – no scoring, no cash prizes. But the cash prizes for the top 10 or the fastest were the first on the list of budget restrictions resulting from the pandemic’s major impact on the tourism sector and their share of race funding. In other words: no money. Just glory!
Epidemiological measures – keeping your distance, disinfection, serving food and drinks properly are the ones you heared about the most in the past few months. But there are more: contact control, masks, measuring temperature, records of employees and participants… A masked race! But no, it’s not a masquerade.
Race organization – The races you will attend in 2020 will be somewhat different in organizational terms from the ones you have attended so far.
This is the “new normal”.
There will no longer be plastic cups on the feed zones but we will pour isotonic or water directly into the water bottle you get in the starter pack. The bananas will no longer be cut in half but you will get whole. Beer will be in cans. We will not kiss the winners and we will not hang medals around their necks.
There won’t be crowd at the registrations because the distance will have to be 2 meters. The start of the race will be in blocks so there will be no crowds on the track, which was often a remark.
There will also be a change as far as the trails are concerned – our focus will be to explore, clean and prepare the most attractive approx. 30-35 km for you to ride. Quality will be ahead of quantity so that we can adequately secure each segment of the track. We do not know the exact numbers, but about 35 km and 800 m altitude. For those who want to know more – two rounds. The so-called multi-lap marathon.
Some things remain the same and will never change: a superior race experience, well-marked tracks, a professional approach to participant safety and race organization, timely and accurate communication. And most importantly – a lot of famous and smiling faces. With or without a mask. At a distance of two meters or a little closer.
Welcome to the new normal.
Welcome to the Helter Skelter MTB Marathon.