Luke Lamperti of Soudal Quick-Step claimed victory in the opening stage of the Czech Tour 2025, leading the peloton from Prague to Karlovy Vary. The 22-year-old American repeated his triumph from last year’s first stage, with Dominik Neuman of Czech team ATT Investments finishing fourth.
"I can now say that the Czech Tour is one of my favourite races. Starting from the capital was amazing — we really enjoyed the Prague scenery. The team did a fantastic job to guide me to my first win of the season. It wasn’t easy, as the stage was raced in hot conditions, but I’ll take heat over rain any day," said Lamperti after his victory.
Right from the start of the 163 km stage (with 1,999 m of climbing), a seven-rider breakaway formed. The most active riders in the group were Michal Schuran of United Shipping and Nicolo Garibbo of Team Ukyo, battling for points in both the mountain and sprint classifications.
The escapees built up a lead of two minutes, but at the head of the peloton, Soudal Quick-Step’s Josef Černý, Gil Gelders and James Knox worked tirelessly to keep the gap under control. The Belgian squad — nicknamed the “Wolfpack” — ensured the advantage never became unmanageable.
Despite the breakaway’s cooperation, the joint efforts of World Tour teams Soudal Quick-Step and Visma | Lease a Bike steadily reduced the gap. With 22 km to go, the peloton came back together, setting the stage for a bunch sprint finish.In the mountains classification, Nicolo Garibbo of Team Ukyo leads with 18 points after winning all three classified climbs of the day, all second category. Michal Schuran, last year’s winner of the polka-dot jersey, sits second with 12 points, followed by Michiel van Vliet of Metec Solarwatt p/b Mantel in third.
Approaching the finish, Soudal Quick-Step and ATT Investments pushed the pace hard, but the Belgian team controlled the front. On the final straight, Luke Lamperti was untouchable, powering to a dominant win. Davide Donati of Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies sprinted to second, Gleb Syritsa of XDS Astana Development took third, and Dominik Neuman finished fourth. "We launched the sprint quite well; it’s a pity we couldn’t hold the position. We were just a fraction away from third place," said Neuman, 29.
The Czech Tour continues on Friday with Stage 2, a 172.8 km route from Pardubice to the summit of Dlouhé stráně, featuring 2,447 m of elevation gain.
Foto: Jan Brychta, Markéta Navrátilová
