PEN(E)

Cycling · Road Cycling · Prvenstvo Pen(e)zica 2026

Race report

Four hot laps, one proper local podium.

Prvenstvo Pen(e)zica 2026 was a small local road race organized by BK Dinamo, and it turned into exactly the kind of hard, honest day that makes these events worth showing up for.

It was quite hot, the route repeated the same segments four times, and I am glad I could turn that into 3rd place in Veteran A. The recorded day was much longer than the race itself because I rode to and from the start by bike.

Small local races have a different texture: fewer barriers between arriving, pinning a number, chatting, and suddenly needing to race properly.

Race summary

Veteran A3rdCategory podium.
Race distance64.8 kmFour laps.
Race time1:57:36GPX race-window time.
Total ride113.6 kmRace plus riding there and back.
Average HR163 bpmRace-window GPX average.

Route overview

Elevation Profile· hover map or profile

What the GPX shows

The map is the whole recorded day, because I rode from Zagreb to the race and back.

The race itself was four laps for 64.8 km around Kraljevecki Bregi, Bregana Pisarovinska, Velika Jamnicka, and Bratina.

That extra distance changed the day: this was not only a race effort, but a long hot road ride wrapped around it.

What made it hard

Heat made pacing and drinking matter from the first lap.

Repeating the same segments four times made the race mentally demanding.

Every lap made the same roads feel slightly longer, because the only correct answer was to push again.

Race numbers

Heart rate distribution

GPX-derived heart-rate zones for the race window only: 1:57:36 across four laps, excluding the ride to the race, the post-race stop, and the ride home.

Power distribution

Intervals.icu activity i160948033 power stream, clipped to the race window only and excluding the ride to the race, the post-race stop, and the ride home.

Race day

Heat made the simple format feel much less simple.

On paper, four laps should be easy to understand. In the race, that simplicity became the hard part. Each lap repeated the same terrain, the same places to accelerate, the same places where the group stretched, and the same mental negotiation about how much more effort was still available.

It was hot enough that the day never felt cheap. The loop was not complicated, but doing it four times while pushing as hard as possible made it mentally sharp. You know exactly what is coming, which somehow makes it harder rather than easier.

The Veteran A podium made the day feel especially worthwhile. Third place was a good reward for staying focused through four hard laps.
The heat was part of the race as much as the route. Every lap asked the same question again, just with a little less freshness available.

Result

Third in Veteran A made the whole day feel properly paid back.

I am glad to take 3rd place in the Veteran A category. It was not a huge race, and that is part of why it felt nice: a compact field, a clear course, real timing, and enough pressure to make the podium feel earned.

The extra ride to and from the race made the total day much bigger than the race circles themselves. By the time I got home, the effort had become a full road day rather than only a local race.

Organization

BK Dinamo kept the race small, easy, and worth repeating.

The organization was really well handled. Registration was easy, timing was organized, and after the race there was lunch for participants at Tihi Gaj restaurant. That kind of simple, practical setup makes a local race feel welcoming without needing to become a big production.

All in all, this was a small local race by BK Dinamo that I would gladly repeat. It was hot, repetitive, and hard in exactly the way a short road race should be.

The finish logistics were easy, timing was handled well, and lunch at Tihi Gaj gave the whole event a relaxed local-race ending.

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