This year, the stage winners and the overall victor of the Czech Tour can look forward to original trophies once again, prepared by designer Oldřich Sládek for the most significant stage race in the Czech Republic. While last year's premiere featured an eight-kilogram crystal shining in yellow, this year's dominant color is blue.
The original artifact was first awarded at the Czech Tour last year. The main trophy is a glass crystal weighing eight kilograms and standing approximately 36 centimeters tall, with its base shaped like the Czech Republic. The individual trophies for the winner of each of the four stages are designed to be quarters of the main trophy. "The concept is based on four crystals that, when put together, form the shape of the republic. The winner of each stage receives a partial piece, while the overall winner gets the large eight-kilogram crystal," explains the trophy's creator, Oldřich Sládek.
Last year, a twice-colored citrine gave the trophy a yellow hue, with dichromatic glass attractively changing to green under direct light. This year, the base color is blue, which changes to green when illuminated with UV light, making the trophy shine brightly. "We decided to change the color of the glass to make the trophy unique," says the designer, jeweler, and architect, whose portfolio also includes medals for the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2015 and the World Junior Hockey Championship in 2022, both of which were held in the Czech Republic.
The demanding process, in which the glass is melted in a mold at 850 degrees for a week, took place at the Lhotský studio in Pelechov near Železný Brod, where, among other things, a tombstone for the Danish queen was created. "After cooling, the crystal is ground, the metal parts are prepared, other surface treatments are performed, and then the trophy is assembled," describes Oldřich Sládek.
With its fresh design, the artifact for the successful riders of the Czech Tour ranks among the most original trophies in the cycling world. Perhaps the most famous is the granite cobblestone awarded to the winner of the famous Paris–Roubaix race, nicknamed the "Hell of the North," defined by the suffering of riders on its cobbled sectors. The trophy for the Giro d'Italia champion, the "Trofeo Senza Fine" (The Endless Trophy), is often considered the most beautiful. It is a ten-kilogram, 54 cm tall spiral adorned with 18-karat gold, winding upwards with the names of the winners of the famous pink race.
Since 2010, the winner of the Tirreno–Adriatico stage race has received Neptune's Trident, which is symbolically lifted from the sea by Italian coast guard divers before the start of the race. And for the past decade, the winner of the planet's most famous race, the Tour de France, has received a hand-blown trophy by Czech glassmakers, weighing 5 kg and measuring 60 cm in height.
