SUSU Lecturer Named Super Cyclist Three Times

 

Senior lecturer of the SUSU Department of Electronic Computing Machines, Sergey Syaskov confirmed his title – super cyclist, having received three medals from the club ACP Audax Club Parisien (Parisian Club of the Audacious), organizers of the well-known 1200km international bicycle race Paris-Brest-Paris.

Sergey Victorovich has been a cyclist in the Chelyabinsk club Kontinent for 3 years already. In our interview, he shared how to become a radonneur (from the French word randonnée meaning “long walk”) – a cyclist who takes part in special marathon races.

– What are the rules for marathons and the training for them?

– All cyclists are invited to the marathons. The rules for the Parisian club ACP (Audax Club Parisien – Parisian Club of the Audacious) are identical for men and women: you must pass all intermediate control points before their closure. The time of completion for each marathon depends on the distance: 13:30 for 200 km, 20:00 for 300 km, 27:00 for 400km, 40:00 for 600, 75:00 for 1000 km. And traveling to the location of the marathon serves as good training in and of itself, often exceeding the length of the marathon.

– How are the routes chosen?

– We try to lay the routes along the most picturesque places of our region. One of them, for example, Trans-Ural, with a length of 1200km, crosses the Ural ridge and the border between parts of the world twice – from Asia to Europe and back.

As is well known, thanks to the famous Ural mountains, the Cheyabinsk Cycling Club has a chance to ride 1200km with a unique elevation of 11.4 km like Superrandonne (constantly-held cycling races, controlled and registered by the Parisian club ACP).

On our route are: the oldest town in the Chelyabinsk region Kundravy and the city Verkhneuralsk, passage across the Ural River and the mountain ridge Uraltau border between Europe and Asia, the Yamantau ridge, the Zilmerdak ridge (“wind stopping”, 11 times higher than the SUSU building), and the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan – Ufa.

– Are there many cyclists from Chelyabinsk who participate in marathons?

– There are quite a few participants from Chelyabinsk. The first cycling marathon of 200km, advertised around the whole city 10 years ago, gathered so many cycling fans that they would have had a hard time finding space in a two-story SUSU auditorium, but, unfortunately, lately there has not been enough informational support.

Last year cyclists from Magnitogorsk joined us, so we now have 13 super cyclists (there are 5 in Magnitogorsk) – and this is all within one season.

– Tell us about your feelings from marathons. What is there more of while riding – difficulty or happiness?

– Difficulties happen when difficult weather conditions meet with poor road conditions in different parts of the route and from the multiple-kilometer winding descents. All of this leads to many hours of fatigue for the body.

But at the same time, happiness comes from the process itself. First there is gliding (surpassing the marathon 2 or 3 times), then a day or two of the actual distance, but in the end you are happy with finishing successfully and achieving the goal you set.

The most memorable cycling marathons from last season:

  • March 19th – “white” – the first time in the club’s history when we had to ride 200m in snow;
  • May 14th – “cute” – 300km with the company of female participants:
  • During the 200km marathon on June 4th it rained, but nonetheless 15 cyclists participated, and 10 medals were awarded at the end. So this became the “wet”, “popular”, and “record” marathon;
  • June 25th – the first “legendary” 600km marathon in the club’s history, when we met with Magnitogorsk cyclists;
  • August 13th – also the first time in our club, the “starry” 200km marathon, which we completed at night time;
  • August 6-9th we had to complete the whole Trans-Ural route of 1200km in 36 degree heat, so we called this the “tropical” marathon;
  • September 24th – the European Express route of 200km became the “cool” 2255m ascent) and “splotchy” marathon;
  • And we also had the “lowland” route, “The Hound of Baskerville” – 672m ascent in 200km.

And the unique thing that closed up the last season of cycling marathons was that for technical reasons we had to make a stop on the peak of the snowy Aleksandrovskyaya Sopka. But the view was amazing – Europe and Asia at one time!

– You became a super cyclist for the third time. What inspired you to do this?

– Yes, it’s true, I was able to become a super cyclist three times – and in one season. This title was successfully defended this year. It’s the first time in Chelyabinsk – probably also the first time in the Ural region. In Russia this has happened before, but it’s rare. Having completed 6700km of marathons in one season I ended up in the top three marathoners in Russia.

It’s possible that this is because cycling marathons give me a feeling of freedom and become a favorite activity after working on science at my alma mater – SUSU.

If the cycling experience of SUSU senior lecturer Sergey Syaskov has inspired you and you already can’t wait to sit on a bike, then join us in the annual event “City walk 2017”. It includes a pedestrian (May 27th) and bicycle portion (May 28th).

According to organizers, this is a chance to spend the day in an interesting way and with purpose, meet up with your friends or family, see the corners of the city you have not been to, walk unfamiliar paths in your home park, and get to know city residents. The start line of the of the walk is at Komsomolskiy Square, and the 26km bike route begins from the Kurchatov monument.

More information at the site: http://progulka74.ru/

 

Mariya Ilina
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