The U19 age group raced in a Criterium and a bunch race in the Czech Republic as a part of the Grand Prix West Bohemia, in addition to this year’s first major UCI category junior competition with a serious peloton and a category of 1.1 – so not part of the Nations ’Cup series.
Fifty laps – 55 kilometers, awaited the cyclists on the 1.1-kilometer long circuit on the Criterium. At the end of the race, the German Luis-Joe Lührs (Team Auto Eder) proved to be the strongest.
A 12.1-kilometer track, interspersed with ascents, awaited the riders during the bunch race, passing the finish area eleven times (133.1 kilometers). Despite the cold, rainy weather conditions, we could see an action-packed competition.
We didn’t have to wait too long for the first attacks, after nine riders took the lead in the third circuit, including the best Hungarian finisher of last year’s Hungarian World Cup, Bence Mészáros (Willebrord Wil Vooruit). From here went on one of today’s greatest talents, Cian Uijtdebroeks (Team Auto Eder), who already has a three-year professional contract with the Bora-hansgrohe WorldTeam. The Belgian rider undertook a nearly seventy-kilometer solo escape, which he then completed, resulting in a confident victory with a nearly four-minute advantage. Four people remained in the fight for the podium places, including the Hungarian cyclist, who only lost contact in the last lap, and in the end, despite all this, he rolled across the finish line in the excellent fifth place.
Presumably, we will be able to meet all of them at the Hungarian competition of the youth World Cup series, the One Belt One Road Nations ’Cup Hungary race between August 20 and 22, 2021.
