The opening stage of Peace Race served up a brutal 112 km introduction to Czech racing, packing 1651 vertical meters of climbing into a relentless afternoon. A punishing 5 km ascent shattered the peloton immediately after the rollout from Jeseník, setting a frantic tone for the day. While the technical, twisting roads offered almost zero flat sections, the weather cooperated nicely, with a chilly morning giving way to a sunny, breezy afternoon. Our sports director noted that the tactical plan was simple: stay near the front, conserve energy in the heavy crosswinds on narrow roads, and cover any dangerous moves. The peloton shut down multiple breakaway attempts, with the largest group of the day only gaining a gap of just over a minute. Despite the crosswinds and frequent 180-degree turns constantly shifting the breeze, Team United Shipping kept three riders safely in the front selection of around 100 men.
Mads Landbo of Denmark took the final sprint victory, but a higher placing was well within reach for the team. Our sports director reported that Márkó Tóth, Máté Endrédi, and Barni Vas were perfectly positioned until a late tangle directly ahead forced a heavy brake check in the penultimate corner. This cost Márkó valuable momentum, forcing him to settle for 15th, while Máté and Barni crossed safely in 37th and 47th within the same time. Further back, Csongor Kardos and an under-the-weather Rastko Nikačević suffered on the opening climbs after being caught out of position but fought hard to finish the day. Moving from team car 19 up to car 13 tomorrow, the squad is motivated for a longer stage and a clear shot at the top 10.
Márkó’s one-eyed battle
After the climbs, the peloton thinned out quite a bit, but then a lot of riders caught back up to us. On one of the descents, my contact lens fell out of my right eye, and it was interesting from that point on… It took about half an hour for my brain to get used to the image being sharp in only one eye. The finish came down to positioning. I did it pretty well, I was calm, but there was a minor tangle in front of me, and I slipped back before the final corner, so today this was all it was enough for.
I think you can absolutely feel that everyone wants to prove themselves here, at this race. A U23 peloton like this is different: there is no control, everyone goes full gas, and it is quite chaotic sometimes. If I can make it up the final climb tomorrow with the front group, there will definitely be a very good result.
Barni’s building momentum
It went pretty well today, especially considering that I haven’t been feeling my best over the past 4-5 days. This time, the feeling on the bike was better throughout. I want to achieve the best possible result with the team and come home from the race with a podium finish. I switch from mountain bike to road very easily, but the other way around is usually a different story.
Photo: Marcell Lippai