Hard-enduro racing returned to the rocky slopes above Ditrău with a vengeance today, and the opening day delivered exactly what riders had feared—long, physical uphills.

David Cyprian stamped his authority on Day 1, stopping the clock in 3 hours 07 minutes 04 seconds despite admitting he “wasn’t feeling well in the beginning.” The Czech rider’s trademark late-stage sprint prised open a two-minute gap over Master Bike Cluj’s Jozsa Norbert Levente, who rode with methodical precision and kept Cyprian honest all afternoon.

“Today was an alright day; I felt rough at the start, then finally found a rhythm and managed to win—but only by two minutes over Norbi. Tomorrow is apparently harder, so I’ll have to push.”

Just a minute further back sits Felix Bahker; the German is perfectly placed to pounce if either of the front two falter on Sunday’s longer, steeper route. A tight three-rider train (Jozsa/Bahker/Gomez) sits within 3:16 of the lead, meaning a single mistake on tomorrow’s longer, steeper route could reshuffle everything.

Hard-enduro legend Alfredo Gomez occupies fourth after describing the loop as “a bit fast but good training,” while Nordica Moto’s Zsolt Varga completes the top five but already trails Cyprian by more than sixteen minutes—evidence of the furious pace at the front.

Further down, Ciprian Codruț Furtună and an unlucky Kornel Ott are separated by mere seconds in sixth and seventh, still within reach of the podium if tomorrow turns into a survival test. Anthony Solar, Cezar Sulea and Raul Pătrau round out the top ten, all clustered within ten minutes of one another and poised for a scrap once fatigue sets in.

“Unlucky day for me—some technical problems pushed me back.” said Ott.

With only two minutes covering the front trio and the organisers promising “harder and higher” terrain for Day 2, the PRO class remains wide-open—exactly the kind of knife-edge battle that makes Ditrocks such essential viewing.

EXPERT

Justin Elizondo scorched a 3 h 03 m 22 s—second-fastest outright—opening an 11-minute gap on David Ioan Ignat. William Yeoman, Norbert Glockner and Dimitar Tinchev are tightly bunched within two minutes of one another, so a single slip could shuffle the medals.

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VETERAN

Zdenek Cyprian dominated in 3 h 25 m 34 s, nearly 20 minutes clear of Bart Stroișteanu. Adam Poole holds third, with Daniel Nicolae and Daniel Conopan already three-quarters of an hour back. For most of the field, survival now trumps attack.

WOMEN

Celine Mareș clocked 3 h 43 m 37 s — leaving Krisztina Adrienn Tóth 39 minutes behind. Mihaela Ionita sits third and Andrea Barabas fourth; only a major mistake will stop Mareș from sealing the win.

HOBBY

Official splits confirm Eduard Vlad Petcu’s 2 h 18 m 57 s leads the class, but Israel’s Tal Yali trails by just 27 seconds and plans a “full-gas” assault on Day 2. Ioan Chiujdea is three-and-a-half minutes back in third, with Denis Apati and Filip Macarie keeping the top five within reach.

Organisers promise “longer, nastier climbs and a sting-in-the-tail downhill” for Sunday. Tune in tomorrow as Ditrocks crowns its 2025 champions.

Foto – FRM.ro – Marius Dinca