The third and queen stage of the 13th edition of the Peace Race U23 brought a change at the top of the overall standings. Belgian rider Kamiel Eeman mastered the demanding day, which culminated with the climb to Dlouhé stráně, and not only claimed the stage victory but also took over the yellow jersey as the new race leader. The best-placed Czech rider was Alberto Monti, who crossed the finish line in fifth place and now holds the same position in the general classification ahead of the final stage.
“The final climb was obviously hard, but the stage itself was quite easy. We didn’t have to chase down any major breakaway. On the final ascent, my team did a great job, especially Milan Donie, who is an absolute monster on climbs. Adam Rafferty then pushed me right to the limit, and I was a little worried about the final sprint, but in the end I had more left. We’ll see tomorrow — five laps with a tough climb will be a real challenge, but we have a strong team here and I believe we can defend the yellow jersey,” Eeman said just below the summit of Dlouhé stráně.
Before the start, organisers were primarily concerned with an unfavourable weather forecast. Due to the expected extremely strong winds, it was decided to shorten the final climb to Dlouhé stráně by approximately 2.5 kilometres. As a result, the finish line was moved from its traditional location beneath the upper reservoir of the pumped-storage power plant to a hairpin bend near Salaš. The adjustment reduced the total elevation gain of the stage by roughly 150 metres. “It’s a pity we couldn’t race all the way to the top. Those final two kilometres would definitely have been interesting,” Eeman reflected.
The opening part of the stage featured numerous breakaway attempts, but none managed to establish a significant advantage. Most of the favourites conserved their energy for the decisive moments on the final climb. Slovak rider Samuel Novák won the mountain classification sprint and strengthened his lead in the King of the Mountains competition, while Václav Ježek of Team Kasper crypto4me, the highest-placed Czech rider in the overall standings at the start of the day, claimed the intermediate sprint.
The key moment came after the peloton crossed Přemyslovské sedlo. The challenging terrain split the field, leaving a leading group of around forty riders, notably without the holders of the yellow and polka-dot jerseys. The final ascent then traditionally shattered the group into a series of individual battles.
Belgian rider Eeman proved the strongest on the climb, taking victory just ahead of Ireland's Adam Rafferty. Slovak rider Richard Riška finished third, three seconds behind the winner. Israeli rider Roei Edinger secured fourth place, twelve seconds adrift of Eeman, with Czech representative Alberto Monti finishing immediately behind him in fifth, recording the same time as Edinger.
Former race leader Mads Landbo of Denmark was unable to complete a winning hat-trick. The mountainous profile of the queen stage proved too demanding for the winner of the opening two stages, forcing him to relinquish the overall lead. The new general classification mirrors the stage results, with Eeman holding a six-second advantage over Rafferty thanks to the time bonus gained with his victory. Monti is currently 12 seconds down overall.
"I'm satisfied. The pace over Přemyslovské sedlo was already very high, and there weren't many of us left at the front. About two kilometres from the finish, I tried to follow the attack by Eeman and Rafferty, but I simply couldn't stay with them. From there, I rode at my own pace to the summit. We'll see what tomorrow brings. We'll tackle the Šternberk circuits five times, so it will be tough. But we'll do our best to maintain the strongest possible result," said the 22-year-old Monti after the stage.
The overall winner of the 13th Peace Race U23 will be decided in Sunday's final stage from Krnov to Šternberk. Over the 130-kilometre route, the peloton will face a further 2,278 metres of climbing before the overall champion of this year's edition is crowned on Radniční Street in Šternberk.
Photo: Jan Brychta
