Twenty-year-old American talent Andrew “AJ” August of Netcompany INEOS has become the overall winner of the 18th Czech Tour, newly upgraded to the prestigious UCI ProSeries category. In a dramatic final stage finishing at Pustevny, Italian rider Alessandro Fancellu claimed the stage victory, but August safely defended his general classification yellow jersey with a seven-second lead. At the finish line, an emotional August dedicated his overall victory to the memory of Finlay Tarling.
The fourth and final stage covered 160 kilometers from Kroměříž with a total elevation gain of 2,442 meters. The profile gradually rose, culminating on the Beskydy ridge at Pustevny. The summit finish—a 5.4-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 7.6% - promised an exciting showdown for the general classification between race leader August and second-placed Fancellu.
Right from the start, which kicked off two hours earlier than on previous days, the peloton set a blistering pace exceeding 47 km/h. Czech rider Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping) launched early attacks, confirming his climbing dominance. By taking top points at the Hlaváčky categorized climb, he definitively sealed the polka-dot jersey for the best climber of the race - repeating the success he achieved two years ago.
With roughly 15 kilometers to go, the race was neutralized for a few minutes due to lowered barriers at a railway crossing. After the restart and following the catch of the last breakaway riders, INEOS took full control of the peloton. They set the pace all the way up the final slopes of Pustevny to protect their leader's position.
On the final kilometer, Italy's Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) confirmed his excellent form. After finishing second on both Ještěd and Dlouhé stráně, he managed to beat Andrew August in the final sprint this time around to claim a well-deserved stage victory. Nicolas Breuillard of TotalEnergies finished third.
"I've finished second or third several times at the Czech Tour. Today it finally worked out," said a joyous stage winner Alessandro Fancellu at the finish. "I wanted to attack on the final climb, but the tempo set by INEOS was fantastic, so I decided to wait for the sprint. I opened it up at the right moment and finally managed to win! It's really special," added Fancellu, whose charge to victory was not even derailed by a mishap at the start of the decisive battle, when his shoe unclipped from the pedal.
Nevertheless, Andrew August comfortably secured the overall triumph at the 2026 Czech Tour. In addition to the yellow jersey, he also takes home the green jersey for the points classification and the white jersey for the best young rider.
"It's truly unbelievable. I've had an amazing season. I had won stages before, but to take first place overall in a stage race is an incredible feeling. I believed in the overall victory ever since I won the second stage. I'm proud of my team. The way they rode today was truly extraordinary," said the emotional winner. He then paid tribute to the tragic event in Portugal: "I would like to dedicate this victory to Finlay Tarling. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."
Among the Czech contenders, Václav Ježek (Kasper crypto4me) delivered a fantastic performance. He finished fourth at Pustevny, securing seventh place in the final general classification and comfortably taking the red jersey as the best domestic rider.
Final Classification – Czech Tour 2026
Final Jersey Winners
This year's Czech Tour was photographed by Jan Brychta, Markéta Navrátilová, and Barbora Reichová.
