Team United Shipping arrived at the West Bohemia Tour determined to make a statement, and the squad wasted no time animating the front of the peloton across an action-packed opening block. Between the sharp, lung-searing effort against the clock and an undulating, torrential road race, the peloton faced narrow Czech roads, punishing elevation, and unforgiving tactical warfare. By maintaining an aggressive presence in every key move, hunting intermediate sprints, and braving high-speed chaos across slick cobblestones, the team secured a stage top ten, third in the daily team ranking, and the polka-dot jersey.
Prologue
The race commenced in Starý Plzenec with an explosive 4 km test featuring 194 meters of vertical climbing. It was a pure contest of raw power where Adam Pešek (Kasper crypto4me) blasted to victory at an average speed of 32 km/h. Tomáš Přidal led the charge for Team United Shipping, laying down a formidable ride just 11 seconds behind the winning time to take 13th place, while Barnabás Vas rode blind following an early power meter malfunction to secure a solid result. The strong collective showing reflected sharp form and immediate recovery across the roster, setting an ambitious tone for the road stages ahead.
Tomáš on finding his racing rhythm
“Of course, it could always be better, but it could also be worse, so we have to accept it and hope it’s going to improve in the other stages. I have to say, I got so much better, these three days before the race helped me with my recovery a lot. I already checked the profile for each day, but it’s hard to tell which one is going to be the key stage. We have to be ready for everything and try to do our best day by day. Our team is really strong here, so I think we are ready for the sprints and hard racing.”
Barni on riding by feel and off-road prep
“I felt quite good yesterday, this morning during the warmup ride, and during the race as well. Unfortunately, my power meter was not measuring during the effort, but it didn’t really bother me, I just pushed as hard as I could.
I really don’t like efforts like this, but despite that, today went pretty well. I feel ready for the upcoming stages. I think all of them suit me reasonably well, and I am hoping for a good result.
Of course, yesterday’s activation ride was the best so far: it had a bit of gravel, some off-road sections, and narrow, potholed roads, so after that, nothing on the upcoming stages can really surprise us! 😆”
Stage 1
Stage 1 dished out a punishing 145 km loop around Rokycany, packing 2006 meters of relentless climbing over twisty, narrow asphalt with virtually no flat relief. From kilometer zero, the tactical objective was total vigilance: covering every breakaway attempt and aggressively contesting every summit and intermediate sprint. The team executed the plan to perfection. András Pakot snagged 3rd at an intermediate sprint, Barnabás Vas scooped up a mountain point, and Tomáš Přidal dominated the climbs with a 1st and a 2nd place to amass 11 points, capturing the King of the Mountains jersey and slicing his general classification deficit to 9 seconds with bonus seconds. Heavy rain transformed the final 30 km into a treacherous thriller, neutralizing late breakaway moves over the final climb. Late punctures struck both Pakot and Rastko Nikačević in the chaotic final 15 km, requiring rapid wheel changes in the wet. Nio Vandevorst (Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team) took the stage win at 43 km/h from a reduced bunch sprint, where Márkó Tóth navigated treacherous, rain-slicked cobblestones to deliver an impressive 10th place. The united effort earned the squad 3rd in the stage team classification and earned glowing praise from the team car for a massive step forward.
Tomáš’s polka-dot prize
“I was trying to get the jersey and it worked, so obviously I’m happy. I don’t think that the weather was horrible, it could have been much worse. Of course I prefer sun, but this is something that we can’t influence, so I’m happy that at least it wasn’t rainy all day. I don’t know about the upcoming days, it all depends on the legs. I would like to be active in the next stages and we will see.”
Márkó’s wild ride on the wet cobbles
“Honestly, it wasn’t even a real sprint at the end: there were lots of corners on wet cobblestones in the rain, we just hammered it, and ultimately whoever was in the best position at the end took the win. I wasn’t feeling overly confident in the final dash, even though all day I felt like ‘I’m going for the stage win’. I tried to pull myself together as much as possible, but I didn’t take the final roundabout very well: I came out of it in tenth, and over the final 200 to 300 meters, I just couldn’t overtake anyone.
Přidal managed to take the polka-dot jersey, which is fantastic, and the whole team moved well, we were right there at the front and in the attacks all day. Barni and Přidal are very strong, and I saw Rastko up front a lot too.
Maybe today was the ‘easiest’ day. The rest will be similar, but stages three and four have longer climbs, so I’m not sure if those will suit me. It will mostly be about survival, and if somehow I’m still there at the end, I will definitely go for the sprint! The atmosphere and the whole team are simply super right now!”
Photo: Márton Sitku