The track in Szczawno Zdroj is in south west Poland is widely regarded as one of the finest 4X tracks in the world. In the heart of the city, it is the pride of the town, lined by hedgerows and trees. At around 40 seconds long, there is a mix of high and low speed, technical and huge jumps. There is something to suit all the riders and the racing is always amazing.
Riders began to arrive in Szczawno on Thursday. The immaculately prepared track looked perfect. The 40-foot double jump on the last straight had riders talking as it was a pretty daunting feature at the end of the track and this became a real focus of practice as riders tried to tame the huge jumps.
On race day the skies were blue and temperatures were round 23 degrees. With the race promoted in local shopping malls, hotels and shops, there was no surprise that thousands of spectators turned up to watch qualifying and the race itself. With food and beer stands at the track, the atmosphere was amazing, and the riders were ready to get round 4 of the 2025 4X ProTour started.
QUALIFYING:
The home crowd were going wild for all the local Polish riders. One by one the riders gave it their best shot to claim the fastest time in qualifying. Still, we feel, one of the allures to 4X crowds around the world is that 4X demands a single perfect lap just to qualify. A mistake and quite simply riders will go home and do not even race in the main event. It’s a ruthless system but one 4X riders and fans love. The pressure on each rider is immense, but who could keep their cool and take the fastest times.
In the women’s it was Katherine Byng who took the fastest time. With an awesome lap, she stopped the clock in 52.67 seconds. Second went to Josie McFall and third was Natalia Bartosiewicz.
In the men’s, Tomas Slavik continued his domination of the 2025 4X ProTour, taking the fastest time with 40.15 ahead of Jachym Vanek and Scott Beaumont. Just 0.9 Separated the top 3!
The guys were absolutely on the ragged edge. They make it look so easy but the speed that they hit this track and these jumps at has to be seen to be believed.
RACING:
So it was onto the knock-out stages. The racing was superb all night. So much calculated racing from all the guys it was great to watch.
In the quarter finals, the top 4 riders – Slavik, Vanek, Beaumont and Dadela moved through to the semi finals with ease. Tomas Brozik came under some heavy pressure from Dave Richardson, but managed to hold Richardson off. Ian Forsyth was looking good and Pawel Tyburski was keeping the home crowd on their feet making it through to the semi final. Piotr Matula, Jan Kolar, Albert Zanka and Marvin Schaupp were all eliminated in the quarter finals.
In the first semi, Slavik lined up against Gustaw Dadela, Ian Forsyth and Pawel Tyburski. The gate dropped and Slavik got his trademark start, taking the lead. The battle for second was on. Dadela was holding the line whilst Forsyth threw everything he had trying to make the pass. At the finish line it was Slavik and Dadela going through to the final.
In semi final 2, it was Vanek, Beaumont, Brozik and Joe Wallbridge who was having his best 4X ProTour ever. As the gate dropped Beaumont got the snap and took the holeshot from Vanek. Exiting turn 3 Beaumont made a small mistake and Vanek was through to the lead. On the final straight drag race, Beaumont was able to close the gap and across the line it was Vanek and Beaumont separated by 0.03 seconds! They were in the final.
FINALS:
In the women’s small final it was all on the line. Katherine Oldfield had carried consistency through the whole season and she needed 5th to take the overall title. With all the pressure, she grabbed the holeshot and checked out to take the small final win, 5th for the night and the overall title. Congratulations to her on an incredible season. Anna Piekos took 2nd, Elena Schnele took 3rd and Maja Boneczko in 4th.
In the women’s main final, Katherine Byng was in gate 1, Natalia Bartosiewicz in 2, Josie McFall in 3 and Weronika Pinda in 4. The gate dropped and McFall got the holeshot. She did not look back riding some great lines and hitting most of the huge jumps. Katherine Byng was holding second until a small mistake had huge consequence. Rolling through the road gap, she clipped the landing and went over the bars. She was back on her feet but Bartosiewcz and Pinda were through. At the finish it was McFall, Bartosiewcz, Pinda and Byng.
So it was onto the men’s finals. In the small final it was all to race for with the winner taking 5th for the evening and the final step of the podium. Tomas Brozik took the win in the small final leading from start to finish and this gave him the last step of the podium in fifth for the night. Ian Forsyth ended a good night finishing 2nd, Pawel Tyburski in 3rd and Joe Wallbridge with his best ever finish in 4th.
The final race was the big one. Tomas Slavik took gate 1, Jachym Vanek took gate 2, Scott Beaumont in 3, and Gustaw Dadela in 4. The gate dropped and Slavik grabbed the holeshot. Vanek, Beaumont and Dadela bumped bars with Beaumont going off worst. Vanek slotted into 2nd with Dadela chasing hard. It wasn’t a classic final with all 4 riders just holing position all the way to the finish. They were all so evenly matched the gaps simply held all the way.
The podiums, national anthems and ceremonies capped off a great event, and went into the 4X history books for this amazing venue. Everyone left the venue for the after party in the local night club. An awesome event and a real showcase for the 2025 4X ProTour. We can’t wait to return again in 2026.
Results:
Round 4 4X ProTour 2025:
Women:
1st – Josie McFall
2nd – Natalia Bartosiewcz
3rd – Weronika Pinda
4th – Katherine Byng
5th – Katherine Oldfield
Men:
1st – Tomas Slavik
2nd – Jachym Vanek
3rd – Gustaw Dadela
4th – Scott Beaumont
5th – Tomas Brozik
4X ProTour Overall Results 2025:
Women:
1st – Katherine Oldfield
2nd – Katherine Byng
3rd – Josie McFall
4th – Natalia Bartosiewicz
5th – Elena Schnele
Men:
1st – Tomas Slavik
2nd – Scott Beaumont
3rd – Jachym Vanek
4th – Ian Forsyth
5th – Gustaw Dadela
If you require further information on the 4X ProTour, have a look at the official website:
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