Blanka Kata Vas recalls first cyclocross emotions: "I hated the sport. Cold, wet, mud, wind"

Blanka Kata Vas has made substantial progress in her cycling endeavours, currently focusing her attention on her cyclocross season.

She reminisces about her beginnings in the world of cycling and the influence her father had on it. “He does marathon races on mountain bikes. Every holiday, he would put the whole family on the bike. When I was three, I was already making long trips on my little mountain bike. Of course then you also take part in races now and then. I usually won them, but it didn't amount to much,” Vas told Knack Sportmagazine.

Her role models were Marianne Vos and Mathieu van der Poel, but she never imagined she would one day be competing against them. “With Marianne Vos I had that the most. She was my idol, together with Mathieu van der Poel. With those two, you can see that they enjoy themselves on the bike. They make it seem hip.”

As a multi-talented cyclist, she competes in both road races and cyclocross but has a complaint about the latter. “I hated the sport. Cold, wet, mud, wind: bah! I had done cyclocross in Hungary, but at least we are smart enough to hold those races in the summer,” concluded Vas. She is having a modest season with five victories.