World road cycling is coming to the Czech Republic again, even if just its future stars. The twelfth edition of the Peace Race for riders under 23, a prestigious event on the Nations Cup calendar, will take place this year from 29 May to 1 June. The next generation of elite riders will clash on the challenging course in the Jeseníky Mountains, including the legendary climb to Dlouhé Stráně. In total, twenty-two national teams will compete in the Peace Race. It also includes a children's race on Saturday 31 May in Kouty nad Desnou.
"Another year has passed, we can again look forward to an attractive duel among the world's cycling hopefuls. I expect racing at the highest level again, and I am curious to see which of the talents will shine in Jeseníky in the best form and become a star of the future. I would be very happy if a rider wearing the Czech colours would again be among the best," says Leopold König, Director of the Peace Race.
Leader of the Czech team could be 18-year-old Pavel Šumpík of the development team Picnic PostNL, which also includes another Czech talent, Pavel Bittner. The Czech national team also includes Tomáš Přidal, Štěpán Zahálka, Adam Bittman, Daniel Mráz and Václav Ježek. The goal of the line-up is to have at least one of the national team members in the elite ten of the overall standings, or one stage win.
"I have been following the boys for a long time, we are in touch continuously, we communicate and I believe that we have selected the best possible team for the peak of the season for this age category. I will be very happy to see them fighting for the top positions and hope, after a year’s break, we will return to the elite ten," said Petr Kaltofen, the coach of the Czech team.
In the last four editions, the Czech Republic has always attacked the top ten. After the 2020 season, when the U23 Peace Race was not held due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mathias Vacek was sixth overall in 2021. A year later, two riders in the Czech colours were among the best, with Mathias Vacek finishing third and his brother Karel seventh. During the 2023 season, Karel Camrda was ninth, and last year Tomas Pridal finished the second part of the Nations Cup series eleventh.
Although the peloton will ride through familiar venues, this year's race will be slightly different from last year. The opening stage from Krnov to Šternberk is 168 km long and the cyclists will have to climb 2571 metres. The second day will be the same as last year from Uničov to Rýmařov, the route is 19 km shorter. The third Queen’s stage will take the peloton again to Dlouhé Stráně, this year from Zábřeh. The final part will then lead in the opposite direction to last year - this time from Jeseník to Šumperk. In total, the peloton will cover 566 km with a cumulative elevation gain of almost 9500 metres.
"This year the peloton will go through traditional places on the newly designed stages. We appreciate the support of local governments and entire regions, because they all help us a lot to prepare the route and ensure an absolutely safe race, which is extremely important for us. We hope that as many spectators as possible will come to support the cyclists. At the same time, we commit to the minimum necessary traffic restrictions, and to clean up after ourselves," promised Leopold König.
Pavel Turek, Chief Officer of Global Partnerships at Allwyn, the official general partner of the Peace Race comments: "At Allwyn, we’ve always believed in the transformative power of sport to change lives for the better. That’s why we’re incredibly proud to continue our role as the official general partner of the Peace Race for 2025. The Peace Race is more than just a competition – it’s a platform for fostering camaraderie, a symbol of resilience and cooperation, and a launching pad for young athletes to the highest levels of international cycling."
The Peace Race is part of the elite under-23 Nations Cup series, just like the French Tour de l'Avenir or the Orlen Nations Cup in Poland. Its popularity is clearly evidenced by the fact that in 2018, the biggest cycling star of today, Tadej Pogačar, rode to the yellow jersey in Jeseniky and rivals of the Slovenian ace, Jonas Vingegaard and Julian Alaphilippe, have also competed for laurels here.
The race is a traditional foreplay to the Czech Tour, the most prestigious stage race in the Czech Republic, which takes place from 14 to 17 August.
Czech nomination: Tomáš Přidal, Pavel Šumpík, Václav Ježek, Adam Bittman, Daniel Mráz, Štěpán Zahálka.
U23 Peace Race programme
- Stage 1 - 29 May (start: 13:00, finish: 17:03 - 17:29): Krnov - Šternberk (168 km/2552 vertical metres)
- Stage 2 - 30 May (start: 13:30, finish: 17:05 - 17:27): Uničov - Rýmařov (149 km/2195 vertical metres)
- Stage 3 - 31 May (start: 11:45, finish: 14:55 - 15:15): Zábřeh - Dlouhé stráně (131 km/2847 vertical metres)
- Stage 4 - 1 June (start: 11:00, finish: 13:53 - 14:11): Jeseník - Šumperk (116 km/1883 vertical metres)
Foto: Markéta Navrátilová
