At the beginning of the season Frenk had generous plans about the races he would take part in. With even more generous plans for the races he would cancel came the Covid affair. And then a fierce battle began over whose plans would and would not come to fruition. Even at the end of the season, no one dares to make predictions, even a week in advance - the traffic lights are flashing like crazy.
However, the Trophy of Nations in the Finale Ligure at the end of the season has been on Frank's list since the beginning of the year. The paradox - actually, it's hard to say if that's the right word - is that it's incomprehensibly working out for Frank! He took the Enduro MR in Klin - he won and Italian ToN in a year when Italy was little safer for a while than annoying members of Mexican cartels with a fleece.
He (they!) had a blast there too!
I asked Frank for a few observations so that I could write a report of sorts from the position of someone who wasn't there. I made sure to point out a few points he should mention, lest he hit back with a text message of 4 words and twelve smiley faces, hastily tapped out while waiting for the subway.
What came in blew my mind with the magnitude of it! Yes, it came in the form of a text message, because .... because that's just Frenk, but it was so long that I managed to take two deep breaths as I scrolled through it. Now, all of you who have supported riders on your teams - who has a more conscientious heyday? Ha? No one! We have Frank, and there's only one Frank! Heck.
Only Graves wrote similarly honest reports in his day.

_________
Frenk:
Seeing the World's Fair or even attending it was a thought that had been in the back of my mind for quite a while. However, the lack of a paid fee to collect points did not allow participation, so the choice fell on the race Rider Trophy - Trophy of Nation (ITA). A race of threes,which counted also for individuals (in a trio were added times in each rz). After overcoming all fears of the metal and the road, we met the guys in Pietra Ligure.
The team consisted of Jan Vaner, Radek Kulhavy and me.
After acclimatization we went to check out the action on the hill. It was a nice spectacle. On two tracks to observe one section and see who could handle it. The Pivot team shone quite a bit at first, which was confirmed by winning the factory teams ( and then the Final👌). Probably good laps or something, haha. After the race there was a joint CZ véchas and celebration of Myšák's 33rd spot - Congratulations!
Then we moved a village down the road - from Pietra to Finale.

There were a few shuttling days, pedaling days and mostly relaxing by the sea with ice cream and stuff. The week flew by and suddenly it was Friday and official training. Two RZ's were allowed for export which we were happy to take advantage of - thanks Moudras. These erzetas were downhill and the surroundings of the track did not allow for any trail making, speculating only once. The 3rd RZ of a completely different nature was technical and wanted to tweak it a bit, but a storm and hail came and so we did not speculate much and we were greasing down. RZ4 was fine at the top, but for the lower wet part with exits, probably not only from our team to the organizers invented more than one 'marking'. The tracks were ridden, followed by servicing the machines and a good night's sleep for the 1800 elevation gain and 61km distance. Saturday start before ten - good time... Meet the guys, go to pick up the chips and leave the bikes waiting, check temperature, masks, gear, spine, etc. Big problem was tílko🤦🏻♂️ telling me to change :), luckily there was something to change into.
The first transfer was missed, there was a slight agreement on the top that I would go first, Vanik would follow me and Ráďa would close it. The long downhill RZ suited me, the guys arrive almost behind me, great feelings, we say to ourselves that if it goes on like this it will be a blast. 2RZ is more or less similar, so we keep the formation, it worked out even better and we even won it in teams! This was followed by going into town for a time-check and something under the ribs. Refreshments nothing, we opt for a quick kebab. Experienced scout Vanik keeps us on our toes and keeps track of the time. This was clearly my fastest kebab ever... I basically tuck the roll in and hooray for a three-way exit. The food was in, but even so, my strength is starting to wear thin and I'm not feeling quite top notch. Going into the triple, we're in our usual formation, although we thought Vanik was going to pull here during training, I guess it was meant to be, but it wasn't. I set off, fuzzy from the previous stages, and after a while I hit a tree. Luckily, we had arranged for more spacing, so I didn't get the boys stuck. But the pedalling followed and after that I wasn't really listening. Another mistake and stuck against a tree in the blind, I let Vanik go. So we made it to the finish, almost behind each other again. Byli jsme v tu chvíli nevědomky ve vedení, ale čekala nás obávaná šlapavá 4ka a před ní ještě dlooooouuuhý výjezd. The battery low light was flashing for the whole team 😂 and surprisingly Ráďa was the freshest - hats off to him for his performance! It was clear that the limit was fine, but the cloud in the sky was driving us on. The start to the four in the changed order of Vanik - me - Radúz was clear - with our feet he can better pull off the exits. The top of the RZ was fine for all of us - everything went well. And then the 4 minutes of endless pedalling, which was not much to take (the Swiss took 30 seconds off the deficit and gave us 10 more...).
We are at the finish!
Happy, healthy, satisfied, we give five, we are happy and feel good that it could be a good result overall. Moving on to town and a well-deserved beer on the beach. I then make the move to the car, the evening for the announcement and a beer with the bunch and more of the 5, so that threw me 90km with the race. Decent shift 😂 . Not to mention the Sunday recovery shuttling, just a nice full with a nice bunch.
It had a good vibe throughout. Thanks !!!

Congratulations to the great second place in the teams!
For completeness we add the results among individuals in the category:
Frenk 10th | Vanik 12th | Ráďa 19th.
and equipment:
Frenk - Pivot Firebird 29
Vanik - Norco
Ráďa - Pivot Firebird 29.

-rt