The race will take place from August 4 to 7 and its first stage will start in the Olomouc Region in the town of Uničov. Over the following days, cyclists will pass through beautiful Moravian terrain and the finish line will await them in the town of Šternberk. In total, the athletes will cover a route 731 kilometres long with an elevation gain of 12,600 metres.
The beauties of nature
Besides the sporting performances, viewers can also be drawn in by the route itself. It passes through attractive locations, such as the Bumbálka mountain pass, the popular ski resort Červenohorské sedlo, and the Pustevny pass with its almost fairy-tale wooden buildings.
Last year 140 riders from the twenty best Czech and world professional cycling teams — the World Teams — started in the race, and this year participation will be even more exclusive. And it won’t just be professionals who will find something to enjoy — amateur cyclists will too.
Try one of the toughest sections
From this year’s edition, the SAZKA Tour Challenge is also part of the event. The 12-kilometre race will take place on August 6 ahead of the main peloton on one of the most feared sections — the ascent to Dlouhé stráně.
„We want to give amateur cyclists the chance to find out how much it hurts to go uphill. They will experience a steep climb and will be able to compare themselves with each other or with the best riders in the main peloton. They will see the demands of the race from very close up and will probably feel quite a bit of pain,” explained Leopold König, former Czech rider, winner of the second and fifth editions of SAZKA Tour and current race director.
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Author of the opening photo: Jan Brychta.
2022 Edition
Kukrle was second after a breakaway in the final stage of SAZKA Tour, overall winner was third-placed Rota
Czech cyclist Michael Kukrle of team Elkov Kasper finished second in today’s final stage of Sazka Tour, which covered 180 kilometres and ran from Šumperk to Šternberk over a total of 2,720 metres of climbing. The final leg was won after a breakaway by Frenchman Alexis Guerin.
Race leader in the overall standings Italian Lorenzo Rota had to change a wheel during the stage, but in the final stretch he managed, with the help of his teammates, to get close enough to the leading group, finished third today and narrowly defended the yellow jersey for the overall winner of the prestigious stage race. On the finish line he beat Dane Anthon Charmig by just three hundredths of a second, who had been threatening him in the overall lead. The best Czech in the overall standings Jan Hirt finished twenty-first today and is eleventh overall.
„Today is my lucky day. The team worked hard for four days and it paid off,” celebrated Rota, who just a few metres before the finish line was still losing to Charmig and only overtook him on the line. „It was tough, but I’m satisfied. The breakaway today was no problem, we knew we’d catch them, but the finish was dramatic,” said the leader of team Intermarché Wanty Gobert Materiaux.
About twenty kilometres from the start the peloton split into several groups; the leading one had more than ten riders including three Czechs — Kukrle, Daniel Turek and Karel Camrda. The group held the lead for most of the stage and Dutchman Mathijs Paaschens was threatening the yellow jersey of Italian Lorenzo Rota. The team remained calm, even though the peloton at times had a deficit of nearly five minutes. In the final stretch of the stage it was Czech cyclist Jan Hirt who played a big role in chasing down the leading group and breaking up the field.
Approximately 60 kilometres before the finish, the pair of cyclists Guerin and Kukrle — who won the final stage of Sazka Tour in 2018 — broke away from the leading group. The gap of the brave duo looked very promising and the peloton ultimately failed to catch them. Olympic athlete from Tokyo Kukrle did not respond to the Frenchman’s final attack and rode to second place with a deficit of four seconds. In the final kilometres the field broke apart significantly, Rota arrived another 24 seconds back.
„The breakaway took a long time to form and was difficult, they were chasing us, it was very tough to get into it, we had to ride very fast over the first three climbs,” Kukrle assessed at the finish. He had broken away from the large group before Moravský Beroun, gained a lead and Guerin joined him. „I was glad about that, we cooperated until the last climb,” said Kukrle. While in the first stage he was disappointed by his third place, today he was satisfied. „He was stronger today, had better legs, I didn’t have more in me,” he acknowledged.
Before the race Kukrle had been confident about the first and last stages. “I’m glad I managed it, that I was visible, that I achieved good results. In the first stage I could have raced differently in the final, but today it came down to performance and there was nothing better I could do. I believe these results will help me for the further development of the season. I want to prepare mainly for the world championship, that is a great motivation for me,” Kukrle added.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
Eleventh-placed Hirt helped Rota keep the yellow jersey at SAZKA Tour
Czech cyclist Jan Hirt escorted his teammate Lorenzo Rota to sixth place on Dlouhé stráně and helped him keep the yellow jersey as the overall leader of Sazka Tour. Hirt finished eleventh in the third stage and was especially active on the final climb. The 150-kilometre stage from Moravská Třebová, on which riders climbed 2,730 metres, was won by Kamiel Bonneu from Belgium, who in a close finish beat Anthon Charmig from Denmark.
Shortly after the start a large breakaway group of twelve riders formed, including four Czechs. They held their lead for a long time, but approximately thirty kilometres before the finish on the first climb to Dlouhé stráně they were caught. The main peloton came back together and headed into the second ascent of the feared hill in the Jeseníky mountains as a group. But then it broke apart — the riders of team Intermarché Wanty Gobert Materiaux were very active.
Hirt felt considerably better today than in previous stages. „It was good, I could have achieved a result for myself as well,” Hirt said. His task was, however, to help his teammates. „I think today I could have attacked, but on the last climb I was setting the pace for the guys and I’m very happy it worked out and we kept that yellow jersey, even though the end wasn’t perfect and we weren’t on the podium. The others had better legs in the final. But it was a nice race today, it helped a bit that the weather improved and we cooled down a little and fortunately didn’t get soaked,” Hirt assessed.
The final Sunday stage of SAZKA Tour covers 180 kilometres from Šumperk to Šternberk and cyclists face 2,720 metres of elevation. There are several demanding climbs, but it can be expected that Hirt’s team will guard the overall lead. „Tomorrow it will suit our guys better, it also has a more technical finish, so I believe we’ll hold it,” added Hirt, who will be racing for the top team Quick Step next year.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
Rota won the second stage of Sazka Tour, seventeenth-placed Hirt helped him to victory
Shortly after the start, a group of several cyclists broke away from the main peloton. None of the Czech representatives were among them, but the five-rider group built a lead of more than six minutes at one point and held it almost until the final climb. There the peloton swallowed them up and the final second ascent to Pustevny shook up the standings.
Hirt was very active, helping teammates on the climb, but in the end he couldn’t keep up. „I wanted to be a bit higher up, but today it was very much about team cooperation. It’s great that we have the winner and another rider in third place,” Hirt assessed the stage. „The tactics before the race were set — I would ride for the guys, Rota was very active and ultimately he carried it through to the end. I’m happy, we’re in a good position as a team, that’s the main thing,” he said.
On Saturday the riders face the queen stage from Moravská Třebová to Dlouhé stráně, which will actually be ridden twice. Riders will climb a total of 2,730 metres, mostly in the second half of the 150-kilometre stage. „It will be demanding, but we won’t ride defensively, we’ll definitely want to win again as a team and keep the yellow jersey, I also want to be right up front. And we still need to add those runner-up spots in second place,” Hirt said with a smile — he will be racing for the top team Quick Step next year.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
Kukrle was third in the first stage, victory to Belgian Herregodts
Michael Kukrle made it onto the podium in the first leg of SAZKA Tour, the prestigious cycling race whose opening stage was held today from Uničov to Prostějov and covered 181.5 kilometres. The Elkov Kasper rider finished third in the final sprint of a five-rider group that just barely held off the breakaway all the way to the finish straight. The winner was Belgian Rune Herregodts ahead of his compatriot Johan Meens. The biggest Czech star of the race Jan Hirt finished with the main peloton in 76th place.
Kukrle, an Olympic Games participant in Tokyo, was part of a group that broke away shortly after the start and built a lead that it somewhat unexpectedly held all the way to the finish. „I knew it would be tough, it was up and down, but I wanted to try it and win the stage, even though I thought it didn’t have much chance of success,” Kukrle assessed. „And when it did make it to the finish, I didn’t manage to win it, so I’m not entirely happy with how it turned out,” said Kukrle.
The second Czech in the breakaway group Jan Kašpar was fourth and lost the battle for third place to Kukrle. Into the top ten in eighth place came young sprinter Pavel Bittner. „Tomorrow it will change, today’s lead won’t play a role, we won’t be in the overall standings,” reckoned Kukrle, who similarly escaped the peloton at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. „But today was painful, I was ill a month ago and I’m not yet in ideal form. Tomorrow we’ll ride for Honza Bárta and Kuba Otruba and we’ll see how it goes,” he planned.
The second stage starts on Friday in Olomouc at Horní náměstí and will finish at the well-known hill Pustevny, which cyclists will climb twice during the stage. In total they face 189.3 kilometres and 2,910 metres of elevation, which will certainly shake up the overall standings.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
2021 Edition
Zana defended his lead at SAZKA Tour, Johannessen won the stage laurels again
Italian youngster Filippo Zana of team Bardiani-CSF-Fiazane defended the yellow jersey for best rider of SAZKA Tour in the final stage of the race. The stage covering just under 175 kilometres from Šumperk to Šternberk was won by Norwegian Tobias Halland Johannessen of UNO-X Pro Cycling Team ahead of Zana, and in third to the delight of Czech fans was Adam Ťoupalík of Elkov Kasper. The best domestic rider in the overall standings was Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) in seventh place.
The peloton faced a total of eight mountain premiums. It started with the well-known Jeseníky climbs such as Červenohorské sedlo, Vidly, Lyra or Hvězda, and at the end the riders completed four scored premiums on Ecce Homo in the finish town of Šternberk.
After the first mountain premium on Bratrušovský kopec, a quintet broke away from the main field consisting of New Zealander Jack Bauer, Daniel Turek, Dutchman Jen van den Dool, Serb Veljko Stojnič and Pole Pawel Cieslik, with Belgian Jan Bakelants also joining them. The six-rider breakaway maintained almost the same gap of two and a half minutes, and it only started to shrink as the finish circuits near Šternberk approached.
With the first circuit crossing, the breakaway was also neutralised and a group of 40 riders — including all the best in the standings — moved to the front. Elkov Kasper showed their strength in the finale, with Adam Ťoupalík finishing third and Jakub Otruba, Michael Kukrle and Jan Bárta finishing sixth through eighth. Zana completed his successful mission on Czech roads, having also dominated the Under-23 Peace Race two months earlier.
In the approach to the final lap Kukrle attacked, but his small gap was closed by his rivals. At that moment the best pair went to the front at the finish, gained a few metres and held them all the way to the finish line, repeating the same order as Saturday’s stage on Dlouhé stráně.
„On the way to Šternberk it was quite windy, the pack was nervous, so the gap shrank quickly. On the first descent into Šternberk we moved to the front and tried to save as much energy as possible. There were quite a few of us, so we kept attacking. First it was Honza Bárta who tried it and approaching the final lap Michael Kukrle — who had already won a stage here in 2018 — attacked and quickly gained a 15-second lead. In the end those two best riders came down and nobody could match them. The guys set me up brilliantly for the finale and it resulted in third place, just like last year,” summed up the finale of the fourth stage of SAZKA Tour by third-placed Adam Ťoupalík.
Although he finished highest among Czech riders in the overall standings, Jan Hirt showed no particular enthusiasm. „I certainly didn’t come to the race wanting to be the best Czech. It’s a very beautiful race, I just needed better form. The placing isn’t that bad, but nor is it one I’d be particularly proud of,” said Hirt.
Results:
Stage 4: Šumperk – Šternberk (174.1 km):
1. T. H. Johannessen (Nor./Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) 4:21:18, 2. Zana (It./Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) same time, 3. A. Ťoupalík (Elkov Kasper), 4. Maas (Neth./Leopard Pro Cycling) both +4, 5. Gabburo (It./Bardiani-CSF-Faizane), 6. Otruba, 7. Kukrle, 8. J. Bárta (all Elkov Kasper) all +5, …15. Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) +9, 29. Neuman +1:54, 45. Zahálka +3:43, 60. Petr Kelemen (all Elkov Kasper) +4:34, 72. M. Vacek (Gazprom – RusVelo), 73. Turek (Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels) both +8:05.
Final standings:
1. Zana 16:45:21, 2. T. H. Johannessen +15, 3. Taaramae (Est./Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) +40, 4. Schultz (Austr./Team BikeExchange) +43, 5. Zoidl (Aut./Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels) +1:04, 6. Covili (It./Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) +1:30, 7. Hirt +1:34, …12. Kukrle 2:27, 13. Otruba +2:44, 14. A. Ťoupalík +2:50, 15. J. Bárta +3:59, 42. Zahálka +22:41, 43. Turek +22:52, 44. Neuman +22:58, 51. Petr Kelemen +28:10, 75. M. Vacek +43:36.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
Italian Zana takes the yellow jersey at SAZKA Tour, fastest on Dlouhé stráně is Norwegian Johannessen
Sad that he didn’t claim the stage win, pleased with moving to the top of the overall classification. That’s how the final metres could be experienced by Italian youngster Filippo Zana (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) in the third stage of SAZKA Tour. In the closing metres he was overtaken on the climb to Dlouhé stráně by Norwegian Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team). Of the Czechs, Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) was again the best, crossing the line in seventh place — the same position he holds in the interim standings heading into the final stage.
For the second time this year the organisers placed the stage finish on a climb, making it clear that climbers would be the stars. Right from the start after the beginning in Moravská Třebová, the riders set off on the just under 144 kilometres at a brisk pace. Attempts at a breakaway were frequent, but after the first major climb a group of six riders managed to escape, including Dominik Neuman (Elkov Kasper). And he was very active. On the mountain premiums at Horní Město and Skřítek he took two second places and actually won the only sprint premium, which earned him a podium place for the most combative rider of the stage.
However, the escapees never built a lead of even three minutes, and on the first climb to Dlouhé stráně the peloton absorbed them. On the ten-kilometre climb a group of twenty riders crystallised at the front, including the Elkov Kasper trio of Adam Ťoupalík, Michael Kukrle and Jakub Otruba, plus Hirt and other favourites.
On the second climb it looked promising for Kukrle, who was in a break with a pair of riders, but seven kilometres from the finish they were caught. Shortly afterwards the pair of Zana and Johannessen broke clear and fought for the win until the final metres. Approximately 500 metres before the finish Zana attacked, built a lead, and it seemed he was heading for a double at Dlouhé stráně having won there two months earlier at the Under-23 Peace Race. But this time he ultimately didn’t succeed, as his rival overtook him with a superb finish on the steepest part of the climb, with Estonian Rein Taaramae (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) finishing third half a minute back. The yellow jersey-wearing Australian Nicholas Schultz (Team BikeExchange) finished fourth 40 seconds behind and dropped to the same position in the overall standings.
The quartet of riders from the best Czech team Elkov Kasper — Jakub Otruba, Michael Kukrle, Adam Ťoupalík and Jan Bárta — arrived in the second ten and that’s also where they stand overall. „I think from our perspective it was good. The four of us who are riding for the overall classification were there and we put in good performances. This year’s race is strictly for climbers and we simply aren’t that. Profile-wise it would suit Michal Schlegel, but he unfortunately isn’t here for known reasons. But the race doesn’t end until tomorrow in Šternberk, and it can still be shaken up a lot, we aren’t giving up on anything,” said fourteenth-placed Michal Otruba at the finish.
Results:
Stage 3: Moravská Třebová – Dlouhé stráně (143.2 km):
1. T. H. Johannessen (Nor./Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) 3:48:41, 2. Zana (It./Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) +3, 3. Taaramae (Est./Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) +29, 4. Schultz (Aust./Team BikeExchange) +40, 5. Zoidl (Aut./Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels) +40, 6. Covili (It./Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) +53, 7. Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) +1:12, …14. Jakub Otruba +1:52, 16. Kukrle +1:52, 18. A. Ťoupalík +2:22, 19. J. Bárta +2:22, 45. Zahálka (all Elkov Kasper) +14:04, 49. Turek (Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels) +14:04, 55. Neuman +14:04, 60. Petr Kelemen (both Elkov – Kasper) +16:12, 78. M. Vacek (Gazprom – RusVelo) +21:18.
Standings after stage 3:
1. Zana 12:24:09, 2. T. H. Johannessen +22, 3. Taaramae +29, 4. Schultz +30, 5. Zoidl +49, 6. Covili +1:05, 7. Hirt +1:19, …13. Kukrle +2:16, 15. Otruba +2:33, 16. A. Ťoupalík +2:44, 18. Bárta +3:48, 33. Turek +14:47, 45. Zahálka +18:52, 51. Neuman +20:58, 56. Petr Kelemen +23:30, 80. M. Vacek +35:25.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
Nicholas Schultz (Team BikeExchange) first at Pustevny and leads overall too
The first breakaway formed fairly quickly, consisting of Serb Veljko Stojnič, David Per from Slovenia and Polish rider Sylwester Janiszewki. The last of them won the first sprint premium, but fairly soon couldn’t keep up with his two fellow escapees. The peloton let the break ride, even though their lead grew to five and a half minutes.
Racing became more intense once the stage crossed into its second half. After the first passage through Pustevny, a duo from Norwegian team Uno-X Pro Cycling Team — Idar Andersen and Jonas Hvideberg — set off in pursuit of the leading pair and succeeded, while Per dropped away. But by then the peloton had also sped up, driven by riders from WorldTour teams Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, Team BikeExchange and also the cyclists of Elkov Kasper.
First of the trio in front, Andersen couldn’t hold on, then neither could Stojnič, and Hvideberg lasted the longest, but eight kilometres from the finish his effort also ended. The decision came on the second climb to Pustevny, where the front of the race split into virtually individual riders. Schultz had the most energy in the final hundreds of metres, arriving with a seven-second advantage over the winner of the recent Under-23 Peace Race, Italian Filippo Zana of Bardiani-CSF-Faizane, and Jan Hirt’s teammate Estonian Rein Taaramae. Of the Czech riders, Adam Ťoupalík, Michael Kukrle, Jakub Otruba (all Elkov Kasper) and Daniel Turek (Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels) finished in the second ten with a small deficit.
„We had no special tactics. We wanted to attack individually, but our opponents wouldn’t let us into a break. I stayed up front together with Rein, but the best man won and that was Nicholas Schultz (Team BikeExchange). I haven’t raced much since the Giro and I always have a weaker second half of the season. But today was good. Of course we wanted to win, but the winner was stronger, the stage was decided by the final climb. We’ll see how things develop tomorrow,” said Jan Hirt, who will wear the red jersey for best Czech rider into Saturday’s stage.
Results:
Stage 2: Olomouc – Pustevny (203.4 km):
1. Schultz (Austr./Team BikeExchange) 5:00:28, 2. Zana (It./Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) +7, 3. Taaramae (Est./Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) +10, 4. Hirt (Czech Republic/Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) +17, 5. Zoidl (Aut./Team Felbermayr – Simplon) +19, 6. Covili (It./Luca Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) +22, …11. A. Ťoupalík +32, 13. Kukrle +34, 17. Otruba (all Elkov Kasper) +51, 18. Turek (Czech Republic/Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels) +53, 30. J. Bárta +1:36, 55. Zahálka, 56. Petr Kelemen both +4:58, 68. Neuman (all Elkov Kasper) +7:04, 83. M. Vacek (Czech Republic/Gazprom – RusVelo) +11:46.
Standings after stage 2:
1. Schultz 8:35:18, 2. Zana +7, 3. Taaramae +10, 4. Hirt +17, 5. Zoidl +19, 6. Gabburo (It./Bardiani-CSF-Faizane) +22, …12. A. Ťoupalík +32, 13. Kukrle +34, 16. Otruba +51, 18. Turek +53, 28. J. Bárta +1:36, 52. Zahálka +4:58, 60. Neuman +7:04, 62. Petr Kelemen +7:28, 82. Vacek +14:17.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
First stage of SAZKA Tour for Huppertz
German rider Joshua Huppertz of Team Lotto – Kern Haus claimed victory in the opening stage of SAZKA Tour. It ran from Prostějov to Uničov and after 150.8 kilometres he beat Norwegian Idar Andersen of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team in an evenly matched sprint. The best of the Czech riders was Dominik Neuman (Elkov Kasper) in fifth place.
After seven kilometres from the start the riders returned to Prostějov, where there was the first sprint premium, won by Luxembourger Colin Heiderscheid with Petr Kelemen (Elkov Kasper) in third. Almost immediately afterwards the first breakaway formed and, as it turned out, this was the defining moment of the stage. In it were Huppertz, Andersen, German Tom Lindner, Adne Koster from the Netherlands and Pole Damien Papierski.
The weather was certainly not favourable to the riders — it rained for practically the entire time, sometimes very heavily, and the thermometer showed a maximum of 15 degrees. The group built a lead of three and a half minutes. On the climb to the first mountain premium at Veselí at the 105-kilometre mark, Koster and Papierski dropped away, but the remaining trio bravely held on. At the second mountain premium on Bouzov their lead shrank considerably — first to a minute, then to half a minute — and it seemed it was only a matter of time before they succumbed to the superiority of the peloton.
But they kept fighting and nobody in the main field was keen to “pull”, so the small group managed to hold on all the way to the line. On the long finishing straight Lindner couldn’t match the pace, but the remaining pair sprinted to the very last metre and Huppertz was the happier one — he will wear the yellow jersey of race leader into the second stage. The main field was brought to the line by German Jonas Koch (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and immediately behind him was Neuman. Rounding out the top ten in seventh place was his teammate and Olympic athlete Michael Kukrle.
„I’m satisfied, except that the trio failed to hold off the chase, otherwise we would have been on the podium. Neuman was ninth here last year, today he finished second in the pack, and Kukrle was there with him. He showed himself to be in good shape after the long journey back from the Olympics,” said Elkov Kasper coach Otakar Fiala.
Results:
Stage: Prostějov – Uničov (150.8 km):
1. Huppertz (Ger./Team Lotto – Kern Haus) 3:34:35, 2. Andersen (Nor./Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) same time, 3. Lindner (Ger./Metalltechnik) -1, 4. Koch (Ger./Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), 5. Neuman (Elkov – Kasper), 6. Urianstad (Nor./Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), 7. Kukrle, …36. A. Ťoupalík, 38. Bárta, 55. Otruba (all Elkov Kasper), 56. Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), 57. Turek (Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels), 59. Zahálka all +15, 74. Petr Kelemen (both Elkov Kasper) +2:46.
The complete start list can be found under the “Teams” tab / Start list https://sazkatour.cz/cs/tymy
Results / Results https://sazkatour.cz/cs/vysledky
Photo credit “Jan Brychta / SAZKA Tour”
Source: SAZKA Tour
Czech Tour becomes SAZKA Tour
The biggest and traditionally the most prestigious cycling race on Czech roads is changing its name. The thirteenth edition of the UCI category one stage race will, instead of the previously known name Czech Tour, carry the name SAZKA Tour from this year. It will take place in four regions from August 5 to 8, 2021.
This year the organisers again promise an exceptional sporting experience, as well as a very interesting accompanying programme. For 2021 they have prepared several premium bonuses. The most significant, alongside the new title partner — the Sazka company — is also new race management.
Just as last year, Leopold König will again be race director — a great personality in Czech and world cycling. The former top Czech cyclist, whose greatest successes include seventh place in the overall standings of the Tour de France in 2013 and sixth place at the Giro d’Italia. König also represented the Czech Republic at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, where he finished eleventh in the individual time trial. Robert Kolář, member of the Sazka supervisory board, has been appointed as chairman of the organising committee, and race founder Jaroslav Vašíček moves to the position of technical and safety director.
„I am hugely delighted that today, March 25, I can officially announce that Sazka has become a new major partner of the race, and we believe that together we will mount an assault on even higher goals all the way to the World Tour category,” revealed Vašíček’s ambitious plans.
„We are entering a new era and new life experiences. We are very much looking forward to this work and I realise we have a unique opportunity to make SAZKA Tour one of the most prestigious cycling events in the world,” added Leopold König, who himself won Czech Tour twice — in 2010 and 2013.
„Sazka has been the main partner of Czech sport for 65 years. We are glad that alongside the general partnership of the Czech Olympic Team we can also add sponsorship of the largest cycling race on Czech roads. I firmly believe that together with the organisers we will push this renowned race another step forward,” added Robert Kolář, member of the Sazka supervisory board, on the partnership.
Another great piece of news for this race are the already confirmed top teams, led by the defending champion from the last two editions, Team BikeExchange (previously Mitchelton Scott), whose Damien Howson triumphed in the individual standings last year. Otherwise the start list is currently being fine-tuned in the context of the coronavirus situation and the organisers believe they can expect excellent competition, the likes of which has never before been seen on Czech and Moravian roads.
This year’s SAZKA Tour route will be 731 km long with 12,600 m of elevation gain and is situated in the regions of Olomouc, Moravian-Silesian, Pardubice and Zlín. The route is interwoven with visually attractive locations where mountain and sprint premiums are placed — already well known to the world peloton, such as Dlouhé Stráně, Červenohorské sedlo, Videlský kříž, Ecce Homo, Pustevny and Bumbálka. An interesting fact is that for the first time in SAZKA Tour history the finish will be at the top of the Dlouhé stráně pumped-storage power plant. This most demanding climb in the Czech Republic will be tackled by riders twice during the race.
Only 20 teams will start at SAZKA Tour, selected by race management according to the UCI ranking and current form. There will be 140 starters in total — the best selected seven-member world and Czech professional cycling teams from the World Teams, Pro Continental Teams and national selections made up of Elite and U23 category riders.
SAZKA Tour is the only cycling stage race of this significance in the Czech Republic, held annually in August. Over time SAZKA Tour has been rising in prestige among cycling races in Europe, and with growing popularity the route has been extended. Today it ranks among the very important cycling races in Europe. The race is part of the UCI Europe Tour, meaning competitors must hold a UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) licence. The organiser of SAZKA Tour is the company TTV Sport Group CZ and Czech Cycling Tour s.r.o.
Just as in the 2020 edition, this year the official vehicle partner of SAZKA Tour will be Best of British Cars – Jaguar Land Rover Ostrava. Great thanks are due to Sazka a.s., the state institutions that have contributed financially to the realisation of the event, the National Sports Agency, Czech Tourism, the Olomouc Region, the Moravian-Silesian Region, the statutory city of Frýdek-Místek, the town of Uničov, the town of Šternberk and the town of Šumperk.
Source: SAZKA Tour
Credit photo: Czech Tour