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Discovering a New Playground for Heli-Biking

Building the Mondraker community brought Richard Gasperotti to the Romanian resort of Muntele Mic, where he met Romeo and Cristian Dunca, the operators of Romania's unique heli-biking experience. Read about their joint adventure in the wilderness, proving that mountain biking has no boundaries.

Fruitful connection

During his research, Gaspi stumbled upon Cristian Dunca, a key figure in Romanian heli-biking. Cristian's father, Romeo Dunca, is a renowned adventurer and motorsport pioneer, being the first Romanian to complete the Paris-Dakar Rally on a motorcycle in 2005. Romeo has also skied to both the North and South Poles and climbed Manaslu in the Himalayas. With over 9000 hours of flight time, he operates two Eurocopter helicopters—H125 and AS 355 Ecureuil 2—ideal for mountain operations. The H125, notably, is the only helicopter to have landed on Everest's summit.

Cristian, a former motocross rider, represented Romania in the European Championship's 85cc class. Reflecting on his racing career, Cristian notes, "Competing against top riders like Ken Roczen and Jeffrey Herlings, I quickly realized the challenges posed by differing economic backgrounds and cultures." After sustaining several injuries, he transitioned to enduro racing and became the youngest rider in history to start in the Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro rally. "After breaking my knee for the fourth time, I decided to stop racing in 2012. It was a turning point; I went on to study business management in Vienna, where I fell in love with mountain biking and discovered Austrian bike parks," Cristian shares.