Piotrek Krajewski 'Kraja' takes bronze 🥉 at the infamous Transmadeira 2024
What a rollercoaster it was, to begin with! What started as Jan Kilinski's plan in 2023 was one of the most demanding times in Piotrek Krajwski's sports career! Why? The context of this story is simple - Janek wanted to race the Madeira for a long time and brought everything he got to get there, from scratch plan to getting us along in his journey. Yet, his old injury prevailed and made him stan in Poland as even with the best plan - you can't predict how your body will respond when it is broken - and his wrist is.
Just a few weeks before the event, it was obvious that Janek would not be able to compete at the level he desired. Accepting the fact a whole year of training getting demolished by an injury is a tough pill to swallow, but Jan is a true warrior so he gave his mission to the one and only - Kraja.
As Kraja is a freerider at heart he accepted the challenge to get fit for racing on such short notice, with daily climbing sessions during his camps in France and Eastern Europe while daily working as an MTB coach.
In short - it paid off big time, granting him a 3rd spot and unbelievable experience of racing an iconic Trandmadeira.
Piotrek and Mateusz Szachowski came a week before an event for a photo session and acclimatization on the ever-spring island just to witness the true beauty of Madeira. This place is hard to comprehend with words, but biking there, oh boy, you gotta try it. From every surface possible and any kind of weather you like (or not) - it has everything. It was probably the most demanding photo shoot for the team ever, as the guys wanted to stay original and cruised the island without the shuttle making Piotrek train a little bit extra to get the car back for Mateusz and his camera toys.
The race itself is also a community event. Racing along with comrades, meeting new people, and simply enjoying the journey around epic views on the best trails you can imagine is a dream come true. The photos and videos won't do justice to what we have encountered, as the wildlife is one of a kind.
Day after day, Piotrek climbed the leadership ladder to make it to the bronze overall among one of the best enduro racers on the planet, making us jaw drop even more as he did all of this on Janek Kilinski's Dartmoor Bikes Thunderbird CF Pro!
What a Champ!
