Place 6 - Marko Kump

Marko Kump

Slovenia

09.09.1988

 

Type of Rider: Difficult one-day races

Biggest Success: Ronde van Vlaanderen Beloften 2010

Team/Club 2010: Adria Mobil

Stagiaire: -

Team 2011: Geox

Best Mock List Ranking: 10th (2009)

Web: www.facebook.com

 

It is March 2007, and the Porec Trophy is taking place. Kristoff, Bole, Kluge, Ilesic and a lot of other good riders are at the start. The winner is Marko Kump, a 19-year-old Slovenian in his first U23 year.

 

But let's start a little earler. On Septemer 9, 1988, a boy named Marko was born in Nove Mesto, a city known for its cyclists. The best-known is Janez Brajkovic. Even as a junior, he showed what he could do. The little Marko brought in a series of good sprint results. For further information you can look at last year's Mock List, where he finished tenth.

 

After a good year in 2007, Kump stagnated in 2008, The third place in the Porec Trophy (1.2), this time behind Kristoff and Ilesic, is his best result. His form then exploded the next year, as an explosive sprinter should do. The Porec Trophy (1.2) was even worse for him, as he finished 12th, and then 18th in 2010. But he rode many races in the west, even going to Canada with the national team.

 

The first win in 2009 came in Croatia. He won the first stage of the Istrian Spring Trophy (2.2), but not in a sprint. He picked up several seconds on his rivals, which combined with his second place in the prologue the previous day gave him the leader's jersey. One day later he lost it again, but at the end of this selective stage race finished ninth overall. The party to celebrate the Italian opener GP Costa degli Etruschi (1.1) was probably even bigger, as he finished fifth. At the Trofeo ZSSDI (1.2) he was fourth and in the Settimana Coppi e Bartali (2.1) he was second to Napolitano in the sprint of stage 1A.

 

Marko Kump continued to do well also in the jersey of the national team. He was sixth in the ZLM Tour (1NC) behind winner Luke Rowe. In Canada, at the Coupe des Nations Ville Saguenay (2.NC), he had super race, winning the second stage (but not in a sprint), wearing the leader's jersey for two days and ending up fourth overall in a stage race marked by difficult stages. Is he perhaps not a real sprinter? 1.83 meters tall and 68 km would seem to speak against that.

 

At the Tour de l'Avenir (2.NC) he took the sprint in the third stage against Stauff and Boeckmanns. Two fourth places and one tenth place joined that win. When after 263km the race Praha-Karlovy Vary – Praha (1.2) came to an end. Hondo won the sprint against Kump. The rest of the field followed at a respectable 46 seconds or more. The Worlds in Mendriso, where he finished sixth behind Sicard, closed out his season.

 

In 2010, he had his first season victory as early as March. At the Trofeo ZSSDI (1.2) he was able to get away just in time. He topped his second place stage finish from the previous year at the Settimana Coppe e Bartali (2.1). On the fourth stage, a break group stayed away successfully to the end, in which Kump dominated the sprint. He had already had a fourth place in the first stage sprint. At the Circuit de la Sarthe (2.1) he warmed himself up for the Ronde van Vlaanderen Beloften. On the first stage, he was second in the sprint behind Luis Leon Sanchez Gil, and fourth on the second stage. His biggest success of the season came a few days later in Flanders. At the race which belongs to the Nations Cup and therefore boasts an outstanding peloton, Marko Kump won, leaving the whole U23 world elite behind him. He then had a short break from racing before taking on his homeland stage race (2.1). There was no stage win. In the first stage he finished second behind Bole, on the fourth stage Chicci, Maryez and Bozic finished ahead of him. In his national championship he finished seventh and won the sprint of the field. He finished in the same place in the European championships, a bit disappointing. At the extremely difficult Zagreb-Ljubljana (1.2), he was third behind Mugerlj and Benetseder. At least he had good form on the climbs. He paid for it though in the Tour de l'Avenir, where his highest finishes were a sixth and a tenth stage finish.

 

The world championship in Australia must be exactly the course for him, some nasty climbs and probably the sprint of a small group. Whether he has been able to come back into form must still be seen, and despite his bad second season half, he must be one of the favorites for the title. His professional contract does not depend on his Worlds performance, as he will ride for the Footon follow-up team Geox next year.

 

nominated by Offi, gardener, ogkempf, wagenge, virtualprofit & chreezer, written by Offi, translated by tick