This season's Peace Race will take place from 30 May to 2 June and will once again be an important step for young cyclists on their way to a World Tour team. Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Julian Alaphilippe, who are currently among the biggest cycling stars in the world, have raced in Jeseníky in the past. And last year's winner Antoine Huby from France recently signed a two-year contract with World Tour team Soudal Quick-Step. The eleventh edition of this competition for under-23 national teams will again be part of the elite Nations' Cup series.
"The best young cyclists in the world will come, the quality will be at the highest level. I am sure we will welcome some of the future stars of the world peloton. We have prepared challenging stages, including the climb up the legendary Dlouhé stráně, the overall altitude will test their quality. And of course I am looking forward to the performances of Czech talents," said race director Leopold König. Among the domestic cyclists to have competed in the Peace Race are Mathias Vacek (World Tour contract with Lidl-Trek), Pavel Bittner (Team DSM firmenich PostNL), Petr Kelemen (Tudor PRO) and Milan Kadlec (Development Team DSM firmenich).
The opening day will take the riders from Krnov to Opava and it will be a full 123 km stage, not a prologue as last year. The next stage from Uničov to Rýmařov will be 6 km shorter, but more challenging in terms of altitude. A key day awaits the cyclists on Saturday, as they will ride from Bruntál to Dlouhé Stráně, climbing 2,156 vertical metres in just under 100 kilometres. The finale from Šumperk to Jeseník will be 126 km long with an elevation gain of 2,223 metres. In total, the cyclists will ride 468 kilometres and climb 7,981 metres. The Peace Race is a part of the Nations Cup, which is an international elite category for riders under 23 years of age and which also includes the French Tour de l'Avenir and the Orlen Nations Grand Prix in Poland.
"We are going to traditional and new places. We appreciate the support of the locals, towns and regions because they all help us a lot to prepare the courses and make the race absolutely safe, which is extremely important for us. We hope that as many spectators as possible will come to see the best young cyclists in the world and we promise that they will have a great experience. We also pledge to only restrict traffic for the time actually necessary, and clean up after ourselves. We want to be good neighbours," promised Leopold König. For the spectators, the organisers are preparing a fan zone with a programme for the whole family.
Programme of the U23 Peace Race - Grand prix Jeseníky
- Stage 1 - 30 May (start: 13:00, finish: 16:15): Krnov – Opava (123 km/1 739 vertical metres)
- Stage 2 - 31 May (start: 13:30, finish: 16:35): Uničov – Rýmařov (117 km/1,863 vertical metres)
- Stage 3 - 1 June (start: 12:00, finish: 14:35): Bruntál – Dlouhé Stráně (99 km/2,156 vertical metres)
- Stage 4 - 2 June (start: 10:30, finish: 13:45): Šumperk – Jeseník (126 km/2,223 metres)
Accompanying programme, starting towns
- Presentation of the teams on the podium
- Flag ceremony, speeches by personalities
- National anthem
Accompanying programme, finishing towns
- Stage commentary
- Competitions, interviews
- Cultural performances
- After the end of the stage, announcement of the stage winners
- Presentation of jerseys to the best competitors
