2023 Racing Season Awards – The Best, Hardest & Ugliest

Racing season recap about what was the most interesting, hardest and worst experiences during year of 2023.

This is my last race analysis video this year – will these series continues in 2024 we will see, but for now it’s a strong wrap of a strong season.

2023 Season MTB Races Analysis with EN Commentary:

2023 Season MTB Races Full Onboards:

@IG: https://www.instagram.com/tom10crafted/
@Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/30245571

Insights about the bike & gear:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL67TKb1Z1m827efgu30bedNZ78xHLRGyF

After Stats:
https://www.youtube.com/@afterstats
https://www.instagram.com/after.stats/

Information about the gear used:
Footage captured: GoPro Hero 11 + Max Lens
Tracking device: Garmin Edge 1040
Power meters: Stages Cycling XT/XTR
Bike: Scott Spark RC Pro 2022

Hello everyone hello everyone hello everyone hello everyone hello everyone hello everyone hello everyone hello everyone what’s going on here hello everyone for the last time this year I’m saying you hello in race analysis video I will separate them in different categories the most interesting one the hardest the best

Organized one and definitely we have to mention the worst in terms of the course this will cover the races and we will also have rashes of the season and a few bits about the statistics as well it’s been a long one 27 starts all with MTB

Out of which few of them were in stage races 65 hours in the saddle moving time almost 1,400 kilm in race mode which is almost 15% driven on the bikes in year of 2023 so whether it’s a lot or not I don’t know but that’s just the numbers

And if you’re wondering where I got those numbers from you can think that I calculated everything in the Exel sheets by hand but in reality I did all of this automatically so let’s just dive into the most interesting ones this year was special because I started racing in

Portugal and it was Al gara’s bike challenge serban Portuguese Nikita we raised in Peis and algara bike challenge it was 3day stage race apart from the fact that it was my first time riding experience in Portugal in Al garz region it was just brilliant and I loved every

Tiny piece of it because it was just beginning of the season I didn’t push too much just to make my feet wet into the racing but it was just something which stuck in my memories for the good the other one was muflon tracks which was also stage race three-day stage race

In the mountains of Poland organizer says that there are above 70% of of racing in single tracks and I wanted to just testify that on my own and guess what it was actually the true three days every single day had so many single tracks and those single tracks are not

Like just riding somewhere in the forest majority of those were trail park Network single track so they are human made it was very nice experience because not always you get to ride for 40 50 kilm of such distance majority of which is all but those single tracks and you

In racing mode even though the three days were not enough to make yourself uh Tire as hell but it was brilliant experience the third one in the list would be kosita single tracks yeah you can see that I’m a bit attached to single tracks so what’s for the next

Season maybe it will be J single tracks or something else kosa single tracks were actually exm champ of Slovakia and at the same time it was 20 anniversary went so I didn’t wanted to miss such chance to experience a legendary race in Slovakia it was from one degree pretty

Hard 75 kilomet with almost 2K of elevation a lot of single tracks also human-made features in the bike park scenario but majority was actually single tracks it was great experience and I loved every single part of it even though it was hard and I was definitely

Not up to the speed of locals but it was just experience which you would probably want to repeat in the future as well there are races which you might want to come back and there are other ones which you just do it and forget it these three were from those which you would

Definitely want to repeat again and even though none of them are in Lithuania probably because there is a ratio between hard and fun and interesting out of those three a bike challenge would be runner up because even though it was stage race it was more or less only two

Actual stage races and it was prologue on the first day where we had to go only few kilometers in the night in time trial uh style in the city of Tava it lacked a bit of technical features among all the uh single tracks but single tracks but in general it was just

Amazing EXP experience and I don’t know maybe it’s because it was the first race of the Season maybe it was because it was a pair maybe it was because of a lot of people there were 1K of participants uh riding in pair so it was around 500

Pairs or so all things considered it was good vever good company Great Courses and it definitely uh left something in the memory the most interesting doesn’t have to be the hardest so for for that reason mlon tracks would go for the first place in 2023 season as the most

Interesting race for me as mentioned just because you go into the Bike Park trails you go full speed for 40 50 kilomet sometimes you go in double tracks but it’s just minority and other um lse duration and race scores is single track nonetheless it was great

Experience and even though I slept a bit on the brakes from time to time it was just perfect however I know that if it would be the bad weather The Experience would be slightly different because in those uh Forest where are wooden uh Bridges which get slippery there are

Also some Roots here and there so in the Poland when it’s wet it’s a bit more tricky but I believe that the only difference would be that you are going a bit slower or maybe it just takes longer duration on the race course riding in those single tracks was something nice

To experience mu on tracks happens in the end of May so that was perfect timing and all the cars shuffled in a great way so my number one take for 2023 season as the most interesting race is M on tracks important thing to mention I

Was not too Satisfied by uh the way how event was organized but the courses were great mark was fine and in general it was just uh not that type of wi which um there is in some other races as it’s about the race course and it’s the most interesting experience mland tracks

Takes the first place and you can also check all those videos I have race analysis done in single video and as well as uh full on board so you can just check out how and why it was so much interesting for me hold good in English tube no pumpka pump take

It yes okay I am going somehow we will catch up if you stumble across my channel for the first time my name is Thomas bu AKA Tom 10 rafted here as well you can check MTB related stuff as well as race analysis full on boards and the other

Side of the topic where it’s about gear maintenance and a bit of analysis of technical side of things as well so if you’re into those topics just check videos in my channel and there is also travel videos where we travel to raises so we cover some tips and tricks and

Those type of things which might be useful if you are considering maybe you are doing it on your own and want to see how our does it as well so these kind of things which we love to share with Community as well contenders for the hardest race of

The season are from three different countries one is from Estonia other is from Lithuania surprise surprise and the other one is from Slovakia so we’ll begin with Hana 100 which is the hardest MTB race in baltics where we go for 100 kilm a lot of single tracks a lot of

Unrolling meadow if it’s wet you can go that distance if you are competitive from 5 to 7 hours if you are weekend warrior it can take you up to 10 hours as well so for me this year it took a bit more than 5 hours it was dry almost

As dry as it never is but still it was a hell of a ride surprised ringly my longest race of the Season happened to be at the end of the season kind of normal usually you start racing at not such long distances and then you go

Towards the end of the season higher up my race calendar didn’t have that bump in the middle of a season it was all around around 50 km duration up to 3 hours in the saddle more or less half and or 1 hour plus so you can imagine

That going that type of race at the end of the season was a bit of a a challenge to do already mentioned as the most interesting Kos single tracks was also pretty hardc course almost 2 of valuation 75 kilm it was something because the single tracks were in some

Cases technical the climbs were also pretty steep I was also a bit born out after riding nitki Marathon one week ago so the card shuffle in a way where Kos was pretty hard for me but I somehow managed to uh live it through without muscle cramps which was a bit of a

Problem this year uh during the season but it still was very hard and one of the rare contenders in this list is going to be leuan National EXO champ which was created by Karma experiments this year and the course happened to be in villus sapina for those who are not

Aware what vill or sapina is it’s very steep hills area almost in the city of villus so actually it is a part of a city it was very hard and I haven’t had any easy race courses in subina because it’s really Steep and Technical and draining your energy at

The same time I was not feeling really well on that day and it was just compounded into one hard struggle you can check race Nows about Nationals as well this re considered the runnerup would be Kos because even though it was hard it was feasible to do and the

Hardest of hardest was the hardest race in baltics which was Hana 100 I really struggled there but somehow I managed to finish it still no surprise that this race is being called the hardest in the baltics and if you want to testify it on your own fur just register it at the end

Of September most often the middle or the end end of September and just testify it yourself maybe it will be easy for you maybe it will be hell it’s very much depends on the dev but if you are lucky you might survive it relatively easy if you are not so lucky

You might come back to this video and say in the comments that hell yeah that was the hardest one for me as well that completely does not mean that other races were easy I was just trying to figure out which were the hardest by feeling for me but actually I could just

Have a look at the strain level databased comparison which was the hardest which I might add on the screen as well so we will see our data supports which I actually said here in my social channels you can find videos where I include my yearly analysis do some graph

Visualization Etc so if you into that type of thing you can subscribe me on Instagram at Thon crafted chances are really high that you can rewind my timeline rewind my feed and find out more about racing in general and if you are into Data I thinks if you are

Not before I mention best organiz M and best organization of the races I actually noticed one very smart thing in Slovakia hopefully it will oh W wo wo wo no so apparently it holds too great so so I will just add an image here basically they have very smart solution

For uh food and drinks after the races you have a bib number where the corners are triangular and there is a markup one for drinks one for eating after the race you come to the foot point you cut those Corners with scissors surprise surprise and you just don’t have to BB your head

Where You’ put those uh paper pieces which you get for the food like like you would get in Lithuania for example or in other places it’s very great solution and that’s something for of us to learn from Slovakian guys but one other thing you could or you should not learn from

Slovakians is that after the race with the drink triangle I don’t know there were as much as you would want to but the beer spills around freely so I don’t know whether it’s a good idea but it’s happening in Slovakia so if you love racing and you love beer and you want to

Testify whether SL and beer is good or not you should just visit some Slovakian races maybe they are not giving the beer in all the ones but SN nitki and koshita single tracks definitely does it myself I don’t drink almost at all and actually after Hana there was a beer as well I

Didn’t saw that it’s alcoholic one I just took it sip it and then realize that it’s alcoholic one and fro away sui leaving beer things aside we have best organiz surprisingly kosit takes a party here as well maybe it was because it was their xcm champ also 20th anniversary event everything there was

Topnotch in this category we have a new mention which is vivos elv marathons so MTB marathons in laia to give you a bit more of an overview I’m from Lithuania and I’m racing for the third season but from from last year I started to participate in ltia as well and I was

Surprised by everything from a level of organization to the race courses to uh amount of participants and how strong they are this year I also visited laia for a few times and as usual they keep the level high everything is very well fought and it just makes it feel good to

Return back there at any given time the isace courses there are also pretty hard a lot of single tracks in the forest non-rolling things experience something different you should definitely try MTB in ltia it should be those MTB marathons because they are the hardest in ltia so apart from organization keep in mind

That they’re also very good as race courses too and last but not least alaras bike challenge by the way it was 10th anniversary event Tom 10 went to 10th anniversary event it started on March 10 so so it was just a lot of things together compounded into a lot of

Tents in terms of the organiz of things algara had really high level as well and if we take a look how these three contenders uh stacked together at the third place it would be vivos then kosit was great and at the first place 10 votes go to Gara bike challenge I don’t

Know the reasons as well maybe it was because 10th un ver event maybe because there are a lot of participants you just have to uh keep the quality high in order to make everyone happy but basically freay stage race uh great starting package great organizm food afterwards Etc so it was just great

Event uh through all the angles before we go into the worst race course of the season I want you to check the race crashes of the Season where surprisingly I participated in only few of them others I just managed to capture at the right moment at the right time then

Everything happened and un wailed in front of the camera just few meters away from me from that sense and from other I was lucky I didn’t crash myself too much and I managed to record others being crashed so hopefully everyone is fine there was one dislocated collar bone for

Sure hopefully Yan from Czech Republic healed successfully without any consequences and also Lan uh legendary flaxes managed to heal his uh broken ribs and he will return stronger next year to maybe take yet another win in tart Marathon who knows if you like what you see you can

Always hit that like button as well as subscribe and we will meet in other videos as well all good in English I have to change and do you have spear or not what you don’t have what you need pump no no no CO2 no no no I just

Can ah the valve don’t have and I need change it and yeah got it but I don’t have any tools unfortunately to add few data points about that in 27 races the average uh weight at wats was 280 total elevation per race reached out almost 1K of met

Per single race what else I could add about this the highest speed was almost 32 km per hour which most likely was in tto Marathon we also had the longest distance of 102 kilm and the biggest weighted WS of 332 for free hours I guess or something

Like that but I started to create those videos 3 years ago without anyone asking me to do so my main intention was to showcase the race courses for the world and maybe just maybe someone will arrive to Lithuania and try those races experience those and just spread the

World about racing in Lithuania on MTB the reality strike me quite fast once I started to go abroad and last ATA in Estonia in Poland and a bit farther down uh from our region just to figure out that there are tons of race events there are different series different

Disciplines at the best someone from foreign countries might arrive if a c shuffled in the right way just like I do uh in other uh countries and not just for the sake of very great race sces maybe someone out of curiosity can visit Fury races of karma experiments because

They are exceptional on their own also maybe someone would visit LA or CL outa just experience the taste of MTB in Lithuania so shout out to Scott from Australia uh yustina from Poland as well as few lvan guys who expressed their wishes and intentions to someday maybe

Visit Lithuania and race there it’s very nice when Foreigner who lives in Lithuania after watching those videos on YouTube decides to participate in One race orever so shout out to Ilia Roman so if you are watching this and you want to participate in the races in Lithuania

Just go there do it and everything will be fine however the worst experience by the race course is not going to have any contenders there is one and single one and it’s no this nearby p VES where this year we had xcm champ so the race course

Is not terrible in terms of how it is but then we consider national champs being organized in such race SC where we go into the fields 30 kilomet plus per hour and that’s about the technique you need to have what has the higher power in the legs wants the race that’s the

Reason why I would say such race is not suitable for XM especially when you compare what ours has so for example in ltia this year it was app 100 100 kmet probably 1K plus of elevation very hardcore you definitely can compare with Poland where they do XM this year in Yen

Gora I believe with 2K plus of elevation in Lithuania you could also have a lot better choices for a Sam champ surprisingly after a lot lot of negative feedback about the race scores for Nationals Etc in 2024 it’s going to happen there as well in these type of situations you understand that Lithuania

Is different part of the world when it comes to MTB and understanding what it is even though there are some really great cups like Karma experiments the others has very tiny amount about MTB in general if you can go in such race on the gravel bike

That’s the end of the story that being said this was race analysis of 2023 if you like what you see it chances are high that you will also like race analysis of specific races which are all added in the playlist based on the season so you can find races from 2023

2022 and 2021 but it was without the commentary at that time and it was just pure highlights but if you want to check the races how they look like it’s just a perfect scenario to have a look at what 2024 will bring we will figure out very

Soon all I can say to you is to keep your eyes open and look for number 10 the 10 is the Answer