For the fourth year, he wins the European Cup overall
The representative of the Jelgava BMX cycling club “Mītavas kumeļi” (pictured) Įrts Jonkus has won the European Cup in cruisers in the 40-44 age group for the fourth year in a row.
“This year, I participated in only eight out of 12 stages in the European Cup. I managed to win six of them, and that was enough to triumph in the overall standings as well,” says G. Jonkus modestly. He says that 47 athletes from 19 countries competed in cruisers in the 40-44 age group. Stages were traditionally held in pairs in the same city and track. The first two stages took place in Italy. There G. Jonkum 3rd and 1st place. The third and fourth stage took place in Belgium, where he won both. He missed the fifth and sixth stages, which took place in France, while he won the seventh and eighth stages in the Netherlands. Girts also missed the ninth and tenth stages because he was preparing for the world championship, but in the last two stages, which took place in the Czech Republic, he took 1st and 2nd place, respectively. “What is my success factor? It’s hard to say, but, most likely, everything is based on long-term and purposeful preparation. Also experience, because I had already competed in three of the four tracks before,” says G. Jonkus.
It should be emphasized that the European Cup overall rating evaluates athletes from the age of 13, and two riders from “Mītava’s colts” entered the top eight in the overall rating – G. Jonkus and Armands Kāpiņš, who is 5th in the cruisers in the 30-39 age group. “The rest of Jelgava’s BMX riders did not cycle to the European Cup this season, the emphasis was placed on the European and World Championships,” explains Jelgava’s BMX coach Uldis Balbeks, evaluating the past season as successful. At the World Championship, four out of seven jelgav players made it to the finals, that is, among the top eight. In addition, 114 athletes represented Latvia in the world championship, of which seven made it to the finals. In the European Championship, seven Jelgava BMX riders out of 27 reached the finals, which is also a good result. “The combined team of the Jelgava BMX club “Mītavas kumeļi” and the Jelgava Children and Youth Sports School won the 1st place in the club competition this year and became the champions of Latvia, which is considered a very valuable achievement,” says the coach.
After the end of the season, the athletes had a break, but training resumed in November – mostly they work on physical preparation. But as long as the weather permits, training also takes place outside on wheels.
