The star battles of the cycling giants are already in full swing! The 2025 season got underway in Australia, and continues in the Middle East and southern Europe. All fans are looking forward to the battles of the giants and Tadej Pogačar's attempt to break last year's record. Domestic fans of elite cycling can look forward to the Czech Tour, which will take place from 14 to 17 August and has one really big surprise in store for this year. It will be a dress rehearsal for the peloton ahead of the Vuelta, the third of the Grand Tours, where a battle of the titans is expected. And after last year's extraordinary start list, with a record number of World Tour-licensed teams, all cycling fans in the Czech Republic are properly pumped.
The start of the 2025 professional season has confirmed the balance of power from the previous year. The Santos Tour Down Under in Australia was dominated by Jhonatan Narváez of UAE Emirates XRG, a team celebrating eighty-one victories during the last calendar year! Thomas Gloag of Visma Lease a Bike, winner of the Long Slopes stage of the Czech Tour 2024, was also a winner in Australia.
In the AlUla Tour, Thomas Pidcock shone, who won the second stage of the race in the Middle East after transferring from Ineos Grenadiers. Another rider at the new address, who also shone on the Czech roads in the 2024 season, was equally dazzling: the Swiss Marc Hirschi, champion of the last Czech Tour, dominated the 1969 Valenciana classic at his first start after moving from UAE Emirates to Tudor.
It is clear that from the opening days of racing, fans will be treated to some very exciting battles. The highlight will be the spring classics, where Tadej Pogačar, the Slovenian from UAE Emirates XRG, wants to rewrite records. Just like Mathieu van der Poel of the Alpecin Deceuninck formation, who has been tuning his form in the field during cyclo-cross races, where he has dominated seven out of seven races in preparation for the World Championships!
During the holidays, everyone will be watching the Tour de France with excitement. Twenty-six-year-old Pogačar will try to add a fourth overall win, even though a pack of his biggest rivals have been plotting for months to stop the phenomenal Slovenian. Visma Lease and Bike's Jonas Vingegaard is hungry for a third win and revenge for last year's defeat. In the waiting list is Primož Roglič, a five-time Grand Tour king, but without the winning notch from the Grande Boucle. Or Ben O'Connor, the Aussie from Jayco AlUla, flush with a second place finish in last year's Vuelta.
And for the Spanish, the three-week stage race could be a great preparation for the Czech Tour. After all, it was on Czech roads last season that Pavel Bittner's spectacular ride took off, picking up podium finishes in Ostrava during a bunch sprint. The Picnic PostNL starlet finished second in the opening act of the Czech stage race, then celebrated triumph twice at the Vuelta Burgos, only to add one second place and one Vuelta win a few days later!
After last year's successful edition, the biggest domestic cycling event is once again preparing a number of novelties. "The Peloton Czech Tour will ride through brand new cities and regions this year. We will reveal exactly where the stages will lead during the spring," says race director Leopold König.
Last season, eight teams with the highest World Tour licence were at the start of the Czech Tour. The stars of the Visma Lease and Bike, Picnic PostNL, Soudal Quick Step, Red Bull Bora-hansgrohe and others dazzled the Czech fans. Julian Alaphilippe, Diego Ulissi, Sergio Higuita, Kasper Asgreen, Marc Hirschi and other riders showed spectacular battles for seconds. And this year will be no different, with the race taking place from 14 to 17 August. Just six days later, the Spanish Grand Tour kicks off in Turin, Italy.
And the hilly profiles of the Czech Tour are the perfect test not only before the Vuelta. Moreover, in 2025, the stages on Czech roads can also serve perfectly as preparation for the World Championships, which are tailored to the riders. After all, in Kigali, Rwanda, the rainbow jersey will be contested on a course with an elevation gain of 5,400 metres! The race under the supervision of the former great climber Leopold König is the perfect test for the elite climbers towards the World championships.
Foto: Markéta Navrátilová, Jan Brychta
