Project.Cross Pro Cycling

Hi friends and fans,

with much regret we have to announce that this season we will not compete as a team.

After searching for and negotiating with countless companies we have sadly not come to an agreement that would have allowed us to continue our success and grow the way we wanted it.

We have therefore decided to take a brake this season, try to regroup and hope to be at the start line again next season.

Thank you all for your support!

Cheers

Hi everyone,

after a busy yet very nice and cosy Christmas we're back to tell you everything about the last racing weekend.

Mariusz and Ben opted not to race the BPost Bank Trofee in Antwerp on Saturday so it was only Pavla representing us there.
She did a great job and led the race in the first two laps.
After that she made a few minor mistakes in the sand which she had to pay for eventually by losing touch with the leaders.
Since she already didn't feel so good that day she chose to save the energy for the following World Cup in Namen and ended up in 8th position.

All three were then to be found at the startline in Namen at the World Cup the next day.
First up was Ben.
He did a great job in taking off to a good start and even riding in the top 35 for a few laps.
Unfortunately his initial & great effort was a bit too much and he then faded out a bit.
Counting in the jetlag and this being his first ever race in Europe Ben did a fantasic job and finished 54th.

Next up was Pavla.
She came to the start trying to defend her 3rd place in the overall classification of the World Cup.
Again she took a good start sitting in the lead group but she then had to slow down.
She was feeling a bit ill.
In the end Pavla crossed the line in 11th position.

Mariusz represented us in the pro race.
He was still experiencing difficulties after just getting back from being sick and out of competition due to having had quinsy.
He managed to get some more racing hours in his hegs and took home a 45th place.

Great work everyone!

Next stop: World Cup #5 tomorrow in Zolder.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

Hi friends and fans!

We are proud to announce Ben Walkerden as our newest team member!

He is 17 years old, from Melbourne (Australia) and national cyclocross champion in the juniors ranks.

He came over here to improve on his skills and sees this trip as a chance to learn heaps.
His big goal is to ride successfully in the future in Europe and therefore took the necessary step to come over here.

We rewarded his courage to fight for his dream with a special "national champion" edition of the MRM-Avalon team kit.
He will be training with and learning from the two experienced pro riders of our team Mariusz Gil and Pavla Havlikova.

Welcome to Europe mate, we're super stoked to have you and wish you the best of luck and good legs over here!

Hi everyone!

Great news!
We will have a new rider from December 19th on!

He is a junior rider and national champion in his country.
We think he has a lot of talent and want to give him the chance to prove himself.

Tomorrow we will announce who he is.
Can you guess?

Cheers

Hey friends and fans,

we're back after a busy racing weekend with three starts and a lot of good news!
Pavla took part in the ToiToi Cup in Mlada Boleslav on Saturday as preparation for Sunday's EKZ Crosstour in Eschenbach.
Mariusz just started in Eschenbach.

Saturday's race was a good training and warm-up for Pavla.
It was also a C2 UCI race so it was ideal to gain some extra points for the UCI World Ranking.
Pavla took the lead from the start on and cruised in a controlled pace to UCI victory number 10 this season!
Great stuff!

Sunday was the big EKZ Crosstour race in Eschenbach. It was so big because Pavla was starting as the leader in the general classification, it was the last racing weekend before the next World Cup, she had to race against an extremely competitive rival: World class rider Eva Lechner!
From the start on Pavla and Eva Lechner were in the lead group and soon after the were alone at the front.
Pavla turned out to be just as strong as Eva Lechner and they fought a magnificent battle. The lead position changed after every corner and it was very exciting to watch.
In the end Pavla got the better of to equally good riders and gained herself and the team the 11th UCI win of the season!
Again, great stuff!

As a bonus on top of two UCI wins in one weekend Pavla is now not only still leader in the EKZ Crosstour but also sitting in 5th position in the UCI World Ranking!

Huge congrats to Pavla who is doing outstanding work!

Mariusz on the other hand had gotten the green light to race by the doctor after being ill with quinsy.
It turned out to be too early and Mariusz eventually finished 24th.

Even though Mariusz' result didn't turn out the way we would have wanted it to it was a great weekend of racing and we're very content for the moment!

Stay tuned for other exciting news this week!
Cheers everybody!

UPDATE on this weekend of racing!

Hi everyone,
just quick news for you becaus we're excited and want to share the excitement with you!

Pavla took out UCI wins number 10 and 11 of this season in Mlada Boleslav on Saturday and Eschenbach today on Sunday!

Details to follow soon.

Congrats Pavla!!

Hi friends and fans,

we have some good and some bad news now.

The good news are that Pavla rode a great race last Saturday at the BPost Bank Trofee in Essen.
She was off to a good start and rode a good race . In a minor fight for position on the run up with Sophie de Boer Pavla hurt her big toe and had to do the rest of the race in pain.
This cost her a possible podium place.
Her toe is now taped and she it is very painful. We hope this doesn't affect her next race too much since she has once again demonstrated that she is in great shape!
Eventually Pavla still managed to finish the race in 5th position!
She is now also sitting in 5th position overall!

Great work Pavla!
And we hope your toe gets well soon!

As well we have some more bad news about Mariusz.
After his great podium finish in Poland we thought it was going up!
Two days afterwards he got really sick and went to the doctor to see my his throat is so swolen. It turned out to be "quinsy".
He is now in bed taking antibiotics.
We now just have to wait and see how long it'll take for him to recovery.

Get well soon Mariusz!
(in solidarity with you our team manager got back on his bike and is now doing Mariusz' training for the time Mariusz is sick)

Cheers

Hi everyone,

we're back after another weekend of racing - and we're back with lots of good news!

First up Mariusz!
Sunday Mariusz raced a UCI C2 race in Poland.
The training with his new coach is starting to show first and slight improvements and he was able to put that into action.
He was leading the race from the start on in a group of three riders.
After a little mistake the win was gone (winner: Lubomir Petrus, congrats!) and he dropped to his own pace and rode a controlled race. In the penultimate lap he placed an attack on Marek Konwa who was racing with him and dropped him.
Mariusz crossed the line in second place to take his first UCI podium this season.

Very well done Mariusz!!

Pavla started in the Bpost Bank Trofee in Hamme.
The start lap Pavla unfortunately made a few mistakes and dropped to 8th place.
After changing her bike (is was so muddy she had to change every lap) she found back into the race and came back to place five.
After a flat tire she came back again and even passed van Loy who was sitting in fourth place.
In the end Pavla finished fourth and limited her time loss in the general classification and is now sitting in 6th place overall.

Well done Pavla!

Congrats to both our riders for this successful weekend!

Cheers

World Cup Koksijde (Bel) 22.11.2015

Hi everyone,

we're back with news from the World Cup in Koksijde.

Pavla did a great race and showed that she really is in form!
After a good start she dropped back to 7th place but then turned on her engine to quickly come back to race a long time in 2nd position. Unfortunately she then made some small mistakes and she dropped to a still very good 4th place.
Good job Pavla!

Mariusz still needs some time to adjust to the new training methods and was a bit tired. He showed a good basic performance that we can build on now. In the end he finished 33rd.

Cheers

ToiToi Cup Unicov (CZE) 17.11.2015

Hi everyone,

after an unwanted facebook brake (info later in an extra post) we're back with some news on Pavla's and Mariusz' latest race in Unicov.

Pavla won in a very convincing way with over two minutes ahead of second place. She dominated the race from the start on and easily rode away from the other contenders.
She said: "This was an excellent tune-up for the World Cup this Sunday in Koksijde (Bel). I'm happy."
This is already her ninth UCI-race win!

Congrats Pavla!

After having changed his coach at the beginning of November Mariusz has found some better legs to work with.
The result - 9th - place is not too bad but at the same time Mariusz was a bit unhappy because several crashes cost him any chances for a top 6 finish.

Good work anyways Mariusz Gil Mariusz Gil!
We wish you all the best with your new coach and are happy you're on the team. You have our full support on your way back to the top!

Cheers,
your MRM-Avalon Pro Cycling team

+++ Great news! +++

Quick race update on the World Cup in Valkenburg today:

Pavla rode an outstanding race and finished in third place!!

Details to follow!

Hi friends, fans, supporters!

The news just keep gettin bigger and bigger by the race for Pavla!

As seen earlier in our breaking news update Pavla has outdone herself and took one of her biggest wins in her career to take home the first round of the BPost Bank Trofee in Ronse at the GP Mario de Clerq!

It certainly wasn't as simple as it looked but Pavla was able to you just how good she is at the moment when she took a start-finish win, giving no rider a glimpse of a chance and then even making it look easy!
Wow! She really was on fire!
There is nothing much to add than that she was just too strong for many of the biggest women in world class cyclocross!

Outstanding job Pavla!
Keep up your good work!
We are very proud of you!

Here is the link on youtube for you to sit back and enjoy this special moment in full length all over again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvmQYHUCbc4

Mariusz is of course not to be forgotten as he has also successfully raced this weekend!
On Saturday he took part in the Czech ToiToi Cup in Milovice and was fighting the whole race for place 3. A small mistake in one of the last corners cost him the reward for that hard work. In the end he finished just off the podium in fourth place.

Both our riders showed great perfomances this weekend while indicating that we can hope for a good season!

Well done you two!

See you all this Sunday at the World Cup in Valkenburg (NED).

Cheers,
your MRM-Avalon Pro Cycling team