Commercial presentation Updated: 27/02/2024 11:04 Published: 27/02/2024, 11:04
Mora (Sweden)/Prague – Former successful biathlete Ondřej Moravec has a big challenge ahead of him, on Sunday he will be at the start of the 100th anniversary Vasova run. The three-time Olympic medalist from Sochi 2014 considers participating in the famous Ski Classics race a dream come true, he also wants to ride for his late friend and former long-distance runner Jiří Pliska. In an interview for ČTK, he said that he will have to distribute his forces well. He believes that he will be able to take part in the 90 kilometer race for the first time.
“I’m not a big fan of these mass races, but for a person, this is something like the Holy Grail. When you say the Vasa run among skiers, it’s something that everyone just knows about. And with it being the 100th year, I thought, that I will go for it,” said Moravec.
Marek Pazderský from the eD system of the Silvini Team helped him with the registration, whose colors the biathlon world champion from 2015 will defend. “Moreover, Mára proved that out of the sixteen thousand people at the start, I will stand somewhere at the front among the biggest aces, where I absolutely do not belong otherwise. It’s unreal,” Moravec pointed out.
The start of the race took on another dimension for him after last year’s tragedy, when Czech skier and long-distance specialist Jiří Pliska died while abseiling in the mountains in the American state of Wyoming. He was, for example, seventeenth in Vasova’s run in 2022.
“The whole thing makes a different sense now. The team is now riding the season with the slogan Ride for Plizi. Although my preparation did not go perfectly, this should be the biggest motivation to reach the finish line,” said the 39-year-old Moravian. “I can’t even imagine that I wouldn’t finish it now. Even if the devil rode a goat, I’ll somehow push it to the goal,” he added.
So far, the longest Moravac race was the Krkonošská 70 two years ago. The famous Vasa race is twenty kilometers longer. “Then it was pretty good at the finish, but I was also much better than now. I tried to train as much as I could, but unfortunately the winter was what it was. The snow conditions were not good. I believe that it will also help me atmosphere,” said Moravec.
On New Year’s Eve, he started a ten-kilometer race in Nové Město na Moravá, after which he completed the Orlický marathon of twenty kilometers. “What I’m a little afraid of is the so-called racer’s disease. I have it in such a way that I’m either riding on the edge and it’s not enough when it’s terribly uncomfortable. Or I’m riding below the edge and it’s good. I’m afraid of overshooting somewhere and at the 50th, 70th kilometer it cuts me off,” he revealed.
He therefore wants to plan his forces well and drive smartly. “If I started somewhere at the back, I would have to split up for about an hour. That way, after the start, everyone will pass me and I will have time off. I won’t even do the competition, but rather the classics. I didn’t train enough for that, and there would be a risk that I would get cramps somewhere. If I’m lubricated and I can throw the shifter in there, I believe I’ll survive,” he planned.
Among the Czech runners, Stanislav Řezáč, Václav Sedláček, Jan Šrail, Fabián Štoček and Martin Jakš will also be at the start. Moravec’s goal will be to finish, he has not set performance goals. “The biggest fools can drive it in less than four hours. If I drive it in six, it will be good,” he said. “It also depends what the conditions will be. If the snow is hard and fast, it will be good. I am happy for the support of the whole team, which I will have and I appreciate it very much,” added Moravec.
Sport skiing Moravec Vasův AUDIO long-distance running
