Under-23 Peace Race in Jeseniky: The path to the top of road cycling?

A two-time winner of the Tour de France, two-time world champion, winners of stages at the Tour, the Giro D'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, as well as winners of famous classics and races of the highest category of the World Tour. Who competed on the Czech roads over the past eight years? We chose eight stars. Four of the cyclists are currently together in the UAE Emirates team, which includes the brightest star to have competed in Jeseníky.

Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia)

(UAE Team Emirates)

One of the past overall winners of the Peace Race back in 2019, Pogacar started the final stage sixth in the standings. A brilliant solo effort, during which several teams chased him in vain, brought him victory. He also took first place in the classification of hill climbers.

A few months later he dominated the Tour de l'Avenir, and in the following year he excelled, finishing third overall in the Vuelta, he dominated the Tour of California and the Tour of the Algarve.

Then, a year later, he became the king of the Tour de France. At the Grande Boucle, he was second for much of the race, but in the penultimate stage during the time trial on the La Planche des Belles Filles, he unearthed an otherworldly performance and deprived his unfortunate compatriot, Primoz Roglic, of triumph.  

Last year the young Slovenian ruled the roads. He won the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Slovenia. In 2021 he was supreme in defending his Tour de France triumph. He rode in the leader's yellow jersey for a total of 14 days, then ended the season with a sensational triumph in the famous classic, Tour of Lombardy - a race he has already dominated here twice. In addition, he celebrated a triumph in two other Monuments: Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Tour of Flanders!

The young Slovenian became a global sports star with over 800,000 people follow him on Instagram. There are even special accounts dedicated to him including his now iconic hair tufts.

Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark)

(Jumbo Visma)

In Jeseniky in the spring of 2018, the Danish cyclist claimed fifth place overall, which sealed his transfer from the continental ColoQuick team to Jumbo Visma. He won a stage at the UAE Tour and the Tour of Poland, dominated the Coppi Bartali race and, most importantly, was second overall at the Tour de France in 2021.

Last year he put in an exceptional performance during the Tour. He was able to win the most famous race on the planet, overpowering Pogacar in the mountains. He returned home in a jet escorted by fighter planes, and tens of thousands of fans welcomed him back to Copenhagen.

Joao Almeida (Portugal)

(UAE Team Emirates)

When the Portuguese rider competed in the Peace Race peloton just before the covid-19 pandemic, he did not achieve any dazzling results. At that time, he was still part of the Pro Continental line-up of the Hagens Berman Axeon team. In the spring a year later, he impressed at the Giro, where he rode as a rookie of the Deceuninck Quick Step team for 15 days in the leader's pink jersey.

In the end, he lost the battle for the Maglia Rosa, but his fourth place was a sensation. The following campaign, he won the Tour of Poland and Tour of Luxembourg. In addition to the victories from these races, he also had wins from the Tour of Catalunya.

Lennard Kamna (Germany)

(Bora Hansgrohe)

The German climber has competed three times at the Tour de France, twice at the Giro, and once at the Vuelta. He has won a stage at the Tour de France and the Giro, adding other stage triumphs at the Criterium du Dauphine, Tour of Catalunya and Tour of the Alps.

Marc Hirschi (Switzerland)

(UAE Team Emirates)

Third in the final standings of the 2018 Peace Race, a few months later, Hirschi became the under-23 world champion. At that time, he was still on the roster of the Sunweb development team. In the next season, however, he moved to the elite level and he won a stage of the Tour of Luxembourg; he won the La Fleche Wallone and can also boast a win in the 12th stage of the Tour de France 2020.

This year he dominated the Tour of Hungary race.

Pavel Sivakov (Russia)

(Ineos Grenadiers)

When, as an 18-year-old, this Russian/French dual citizen ate up the kilometres on Czech roads in the spring of 2016, the fans were rather unimpressed with his performance - perhaps just a tall figure. 

But his exceptional talent is evidenced by the fact that two years later he was on the roster of Team Sky, today's Ineos Grenadiers. Among the elite, he has won the Tour of Poland, the Tour of the Alps, was ninth at the Giro d'Italia and already has eight Grand Tours under his belt. The first of these was in Spain at the age of just 19.

Julian Alaphilippe (France)

(Quick Step Alpha Vinyl)

Alaphilippe, with his musketeer-like appearance, dazzled the Czech crowds in 2013. At that time, he finished second in the points competition at the Peace Race, two months later at today's Sazka Tour, he finished second twice, third once, and was fifth in the king of the mountains competition. Immediately afterwards, he finished fourth at the U23 European Road Cycling Championships, also held in the Czech Republic.

Alaphilipp's entry into the World Tour was more gradual. It wasn't until three years after his appearance at the Peace Race that he celebrated his first major triumph winning the Tour of California stage race.

Since then, he has patiently collected triumphs in the Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo classics, he won the La Fleche Wallone three times, and also accumulated stage wins from Tirreno-Adriatico and above all, from the Tour de France.

On home soil, in 2018, he also became the king of climbers at the Tour de France. A year later, he rode for 15 days in the yellow jersey of the Tour de France leader. He then dominated the World Championship winning the rainbow jersey two years in a row.

Enric Mas (Spain)

(Movistar)

The leader of the Spanish team raced for three years in the Deceuninck Quick Step team, and is now starting his fourth season with Movistar. He was fifth and sixth at the Tour de France, finished second three times at the Vuelta, in which he also celebrated a stage win. However, he is still waiting for a first major victory.