The Czech Tour, the biggest stage race for cyclists in the Czech Republic, started with the stage between Prostějov and Ostrava, which ended with Luke Lamperti's triumph after a mass sprint on the cobbles of Masaryk Square. The American from Soudal Quick-Step beat Czech Pavel Bittner (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) in a close finish to put on the first yellow jersey.
Bittner was the first to shake his legs in the finishing sprint, managing to enter the final left-hand corner 400 metres from the tape in the ideal position. However, the long-running charge ended just a few metres from the end, where the 21-year-old American representative of the so-called wolf pack squeezed out the last of his strength. And then he explained, "This race kicks off the second part of my season this year and to start it off with a win is a great feeling."
The opening stage of the 16th edition of the Czech Tour covered 151.3 km, took the peloton to the only category 2 summit finish at Kozlov, and at the end of the afternoon the prescribed scenario was to be fulfilled in the form of a mass finish at Masaryk Square in Ostrava, where the race returned after five years. Especially because the elevation of the day of 1422 metres was actually flat.
As soon as Leopold König, the national tour director, waved off the start after 1pm, Tomas Kalojíros (Pierre Baguette Cycling) and Filip Řeha (ATT Investments), the leaders of their teams, failed to tame their ambitions and, without respect for the eight world-tour formations that the organisers had put on the start line this year, they launched a solo breakaway that eventually gave them several hours of space.
The Czech duo's advantage reached a maximum of 5 minutes, while the UAE team, who have recently become accustomed to riding where the wind blows hardest - at the front - set the pace of the peloton. Whether it's in the Czech Republic or France.
Kalojíros and Řeha raced for points on the way, first on the climb premium and then on the special stage. Both were won by the older of the duo, Kalojíros, and he will wear the jersey with polka dots for the second act, because the sprinter's jersey was blown away by Lamperti thanks to his higher points allocation. However, as the American is the overall race leader, Bittner will wear the green jersey instead.
It was the climbing bonus on Kozlov that woke up the peloton and it began to relentlessly close down the gap on the leading tandem. After a hundred kilometres of the stage the advantage dropped to two minutes, and 24 km from the end it was only a minute.
Just as the peloton was beginning to breathe on the backs of the two daredevils 10km from the finish, Kalojíros took it upon himself to double up on Řeha and his second acceleration broke the day's unity. However, even this last minute effort by an individual was futile in front of a hungry peloton full of sprinters. With seven kilometres to go, the main field swallowed up Řeha, and 2km later, the older of the pair.
Then the sprinters came into play. And in the final duel, Bittner made a bold move, but Lamperti, in his first year of professional racing, had the last word. "It's always hard for me to succeed in a flat stage," said the 21-year-old American. "Especially when you have teams full of sprinters. But you never know anyway. Thanks to the team, I'm happy."
And second-placed Pavel Bittner was also happy in the end. "I wanted to win, it was a close call, but second place in front of the home crowd counts. I'm in shape and I think there are other stages where there is a chance to win," said Bittner. He is not a specialist in steep climbs, but his team wants to win a stage on the Czech Tour. "We have the climbers," he assured. And he praised the Czech riders' break away "I am very happy that the Czechs were visible today. And the fans have been great since the first day, the atmosphere is excellent," added the 21-year-old native of Olomouc.
Foto: Markéta Navrátilová, Jan Brychta
