U23
On a par with the big names: Rookies impress at the Czech Tour
At the Czech Tour, the U23 team faced a field of three WorldTeams and ten ProTeams. After four stages, Romet Pajur secured a podium finish and Max Bock finished sixth in the general classification.
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As the peloton approached the final metres on the first day of racing at the Czech Tour, after a 163.2-kilometre stage from Prague to Karlovy Vary in West Bohemia, it seemed clear that the established WorldTour professionals would be fighting it out amongst themselves for the win. But alongside Riley Sheehan of the NSN Cycling Team and Ben Turner of Netcompany INEOS, a rider whom hardly anyone had expected to be there surged forward to take third place: Romet Pajur (21, Estonia) in the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies jersey.
We came here without any pressure – with the aim of learning from the WorldTour and ProTeams.
The fact that this third place was no fluke was to be confirmed several times over the course of the week. Admittedly, as a UCI 2.Pro stage race, the Czech Tour is a race in which three WorldTeams and ten ProTeams lined up at the start this year. However, the Rookies were among the few U23 teams in the field who rode on a par with the seasoned professional cyclists. “We came here without any pressure – with the aim of learning from the WorldTour and ProTeams,” said Sports Director Pello Olaberria. “We rode without fear, took the race on and were always at the front. You couldn’t be any happier,” he concluded with satisfaction.
Romet Pajur (centre) crosses the finish line in third place.
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Three consecutive mountain finishes
Indeed: what sprinter Pajur hinted at on the first day was taken over by the climbers from the second stage onwards. The following three days all ended with an uphill finish – culminating in the queen stage, a 160.2-kilometre route from Kroměříž up to Pustevny. A route profile tailor-made for 21-year-old Max Bock, who demonstrated his talent at all three mountain finishes, finishing in the top ten three times in a row and working his way up the general classification day by day. In the end, the young German finished in sixth place – his best result of the season so far.
“I’m really pleased with sixth place in the general classification. It’s really down to the whole team.”
“The route profile suited me very well, as the last three stages finished with a mountain finish,” said Bock after crossing the finish line on the final stage. “I’m really pleased with sixth place in the general classification. It’s really down to the whole team,” he continued, referring to the Rookies’ united team performance at the Czech tour: “The lads were right there at the crucial moment in the race and positioned me perfectly going into the climb, so that I could keep up with the favourites,” said Bock.
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Next stop: Tour de l’Avenir
However, the Rookies won’t have much time to celebrate their achievements. From 20 to 26 August, the Tour de l’Avenir – the biggest stage race on the U23 calendar – is on the agenda – the “Tour de France for young riders”, whose list of winners includes numerous future Grand Tour champions. The demands there are different to those in the Czech Republic, as there are more metres of climbing and a greater distance to cover, and only riders from their own age group are on the start line.
Max Bock showed his talent on the mountain.
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Nevertheless, what the team from the Czech Republic has learnt is transferable – and this ‘aha moment’ began as early as that first afternoon in Karlovy Vary: Any U23 team that makes it onto the podium in a sprint against WorldTour professionals and finishes the tour in sixth place overall a week later has proven that it need not hide amongst the big names.
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