Course de la Paix – Grand Prix Jeseníky 2023, a showcase of the world's greatest road cycling talents, will take place from 8 to 11 June 2023. This traditional event will once again be part of the Nations Cup, the most important race series in the given age category. Fans can therefore look forward to seeing young riders who in a few years will make history on the World Tour.
"The top riders travel here every year. They are often already on the rosters of elite teams. National teams send their best cyclists here as it is a great test of their strength and climbing skills. We offer a truly world-class race, and the Peace Race, together with the Tour de l'Avenir, is the pinnacle for all the lads in the under-twenty-three category," says Leopold König, director of the Peace Race.
The 2022 under-23 Peace Race was a great display of Czech talent. Mathias Vacek won the prologue and wore the leader’s yellow jersey. Then Pavel Bittner sprinted into second on the first stage and took over at the head of the standings. In the second stage, which finished on Dlouhé stráně, the Czechs excelled and Mathias Vacek retained third place. In the final third stage, Pavel Bittner celebrated a potential triumph, but the photo finish dropped him into second place. Mathias Vacek, who joined the Trek Segafredo team in August, retained third overall.
The results confirmed the exceptional ability of the Czech team, which finished in second place, just one point ahead of Denmark, in the final Nations Cup standings. Overall, first place was won by the Belgian cyclists, including Cian Uijtdebroeks who won the Tour de l'Avenir and Lennert Van Eetvelt, who dominated the Peace Race.
Past editions of the under-23 Peace Race have been completed by cyclists who quickly became stars of the professional peloton. Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia won the Tour de France twice after an excellent performance in Jeseníky, Tao Geoghegan Hart dominated the Giro di Italia, and Julian Alaphilippe won gold twice at the World Championships.
Twenty-three six-member teams line up at the start according to the current UCI ranking order, and the fans are therefore able to see the elite of the under twenty-three category. This year from 8 to 11 June, won’t be any different.
