Great finish to the Peace Race: a stunning Dutch solo; Frenchman takes the yellow jersey

After a breakaway lasting more than half of the final stage of the U23 Peace Race, Dutch rider Wessel Mouris celebrated one of the biggest successes of his career in Jeseník on Sunday. Frenchman Brieuc Rolland was the overall winner of the Nations Cup race. The member of the Groupama FDJ continental team donned the yellow jersey after yesterday's stage.

"We saw four hard stages, the fight for the overall ranking was open until the last hill. Overall, we rate the race very positively. And we are very happy with the warm welcome we received in the new towns of Krnov and Opava. But a huge thank you to all the cities, regions and partners, without whom the race would not have been possible," said race director Leopold König at the finish line.

The final stage of the U23 Peace Race from Šumperk to Jeseník was one hundred and twenty-six kilometres long and the cyclists had to overcome 2223 vertical metres. Frenchman Brieuc Rolland started in the yellow jersey of the race leader. His compatriot, Paul Magnier, rode in the green jersey of the leading man in the points competition, the leading man in the KOM competition was Belgian Tim Rex. Belgian Aaron Dockx also rode in the white for the best under-21 rider. The best of the Czech riders before the final stage was Tomáš Přidal in twelfth place.

The riders had to climb the second category climb Nad Dlouhou vsí, which was 6.1 kilometres long, and then the climbing premium Rejvice, which was 100 kilometres long. Sprinters fought for points in Heřmanovice.

Right after the start, Dutch rider Wouter Toussaint went on the attack and was caught by Alexandere Kess (Luxembourg), Iker Mintegi (Spain), Alessandro Borgo (Italy) and Moritz Czasa (Germany). However, the peloton gradually caught all the riders.

Nevertheless, the efforts to create a strong breakaway did not stop. The quartet of Enekoitz Azparren (Spain), Nicoló Arrighetti (Italy), Wessel Mouris (Netherlands) and Jaka Marolt (Slovenia) gradually built up a lead. Fifty-eight kilometres after the start, the riders had three minutes in hand.

With twenty-five kilometres to go in Jeseníky, the main field began to accelerate substantially. As the kilometres ticked by, the lead of the escapees rapidly diminished. Under pressure, the leading quartet broke up on the climb to Rejvíz.

Wessel Mouris of the Netherlands continued alone at the top with fourteen kilometres to go, followed by Jaka Marolt of Slovenia with five seconds to spare. Another ten seconds behind was Nicoló Arrighetti of Italy with Enekoitz Azparren of Spain a further ten seconds behind. The peloton was one minute and twenty seconds behind at that moment him.

The twenty-one-year-old Dutch rider then managed to keep his lead over the accelerating peloton with all his strength and celebrated one of the greatest successes of his career in Jeseník.

Brieuc Rolland from France became the overall winner of the U23 Peace Race. The green jersey was defended by his compatriot Paul Magnier, the champion of KOM challenge was Tim Rex of Belgium, and his compatriot Aaron Dockx won the white jersey for the best cyclist under 21. The best Czech cyclist was Tomáš Přidal in twelfth place, the winner of the team competition was the Netherlands.

The overall winner of the U23 Peace Race is Brieuc Rolland from France. "The last day was not easy at all, lots of attacks and heavy rain at the end, so the descent to Jesenik was dangerous. I was a bit stressed before the start, but now I'm very proud of myself and the whole team for making it to the end," Brieuc Rolland commented.

His compatriot Paul Magnier defended the green jersey, Belgian Tim Rex became the champion of the climbing competition and his compatriot Aaron Dockx won the white jersey for the best cyclist under 21.

The best Czech cyclist was Tomáš Přidal in eleventh place, the winner of the team competition was the Netherlands. "It was nice to be at the awards with the best. The result could have been a bit better, but I am glad I survived," said Tomáš Přidal.

The Peace Race was a prelude to the Czech Tour in July, which will visit the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions on 25-28 July. "During the Peace Race we were of course tuning the notes for the Czech Tour. This year we will welcome the best line-up in history, we have eight teams from the elite WorldTour category," added Leopold König.

Peace Race U23 2024 – stage 4

Šumperk - Jeseník, 126 km, 2223 metres elev. gain, av. speed 41,2 km/h

1. Wessel Mouris (Netherlands) 3:03:29 hod.
2. Paul Magnier (France) +0:28
3. Tibor del Grosso (Netherlands) ‘‘
4. Niklas Behrens (Germany) ‘‘
5. Carlos García (Mexico) ‘‘
6. Robert Donaldson (Great Britain) ‘‘
7. Alessandro Borgo (Italy) +0:29
8. Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Italy) ‘‘
9. Jente Michels (Belgium) ‘‘
10. Daniel Cavia (Spain) +0:30
…
28. Tomáš Přidal (Czechia) +0:34
30. Daniel Vysočan (Czechia) +0:35
48. Martin Bárta (Czechia) +1:49
68. Martin Obdržálek (Czechia) +4:03
71. Matyáš Fiala (Czechia) +4:31
85. Daniel Rubeš (Team Aricoma) +9:08
Did not finish:
Štěpán Dalecký (Team Aricoma)
Tomáš Novák (Team Aricoma)