This year's Czech Tour cycling stage race started in spectacular fashion on Wednesday evening. The presentation ceremony of all participating teams took place in an electric atmosphere in the crowded Horní náměstí in Olomouc and the stars of the race, led by Julian Alaphilippe, received a thunderous welcome.
The introduction of the race participants on the eve of the first stage was one of the novelties of this year's Czech Tour. And the enthusiastic reactions of the fans clearly confirmed that the organisers' efforts to get closer to the atmosphere of the biggest Grand Tour events were a success.
"We were a bit worried when it started to rain an hour before the start. But in the end the result exceeded all expectations. The atmosphere was unbelievable, I/m speechless," said Czech Tour director Leopold König while watching proceedings at the foot of the famous Holy Trinity Column.
Although the downpour drove many fans into the nearby arcade, the sun's rays quickly dried the pavement of the square, and the space by the stage quickly began to fill up before the start of the programme. Fifteen hundred spectators eventually watched the ceremonial parade of twenty-two teams led by eight World Tour elite teams.
"I was really looking forward to the Czech Tour after a two-year break. The level of the race incredibly raised," commented Olomouc native Pavel Bittner, a member of the dsm-firmenich PostNL team, to thunderous applause. There was no end to the enthusiasm of the spectators when the UAE Emirates teammates of Tadej Pogačar, Marc Hirschi and Diego Ulissi, the 2016 Czech Tour winner, took to the podium.
The last to stride onto the podium was the Soudal Quick-Step team line-up, led by this year's biggest star, Julian Alaphilippe, with Josef Cerny close behind. "It's unreal how many people came," enthused Cerny, the overall winner of the 2017 race. "Thanks for the fantastic welcome. I love the show, you guys are great," Alaphilippe, who made his Czech Tour debut at the start of his illustrious career in 2013, said into the microphone.
The first stage of the Czech Tour awaits the riders on Thursday on the route from Prostějov to Ostrava. This year's edition will culminate on Sunday with the fourth stage from Šumperk to Šternberk. "I'm curious as to whether the winner will be decided on Saturday's climb to Dlouhé stráně or whether the winner will be decided on the cobbles in Šternberk," says Leopold König looking forward to the battle of the star-studded peloton.
One of the novelties of this year's edition are the live TV broadcasts, which will cover the last 90 minutes of each stage. Spectators unable to cheer on the riders directly at the track will be able to cheer on the elite cyclists on the CT2 channel.
Foto: Jan Brychta