Illustrative photo – Joint championship of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in road cycling – men's elite time trial, June 23, 2022 in Kovářov. Jakub Bran.
Tlmače (Slovakia) – Jakub Otruba became the national champion in the road time trial. The 25-year-old cyclist of the domestic stable ATT Investments won in the elite category for the first time. He won the joint championship in Tlmačy, Slovakia, ahead of Petr Kelemen and Mathias Vack. Defender Jan Bárta took seventh place. At the premiere in the elite category, only eighteen-year-old Eliška Kvasničková was the best among women.
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Otruba flew the 46-kilometer course at an average speed of 50.77 kilometers in 54 minutes and less than 22 seconds. Kelemen was more than 23 seconds slower, Vacek even lost almost a minute. The race ended in disappointment for Bárta, who will end his career after the season. The 38-year-old record holder wanted his eighth time trial title, but he was two and a quarter minutes short at Otrub.
Otruba took another step up the leaderboard today. He won bronze last year in Kovářov, the year before that he finished fourth in Bánovce nad Bebravou. Between 2018 and 2020, he triumphed three times in a row among cyclists under the age of 23.
“It's great, my big dream came true. It hurt a lot, but now the joy prevails,” said Otruba for the Czech Cycling Association and he recalled the difficult climatic conditions. “The heat is always a problem for me, that's why I also trained on the ergometer at home. I took a jacket and long pants to get used to the heat. And it definitely helped,” boasted Otruba.
Kvasničková also won her first title. Kristýna Burlová finished just second, Nikola Bajgerová, defending the silver medal, finished third.
Kvasničková (SportRaces Cycling Team) needed 31 minutes and 14 seconds to cover 23 kilometers. With a triumph, she confirmed her performance in the duels with the chronometer. Last year, when she was still competing among juniors, she took fourth place in the time trial at the World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. At the national championship in Kovář's time trial, she clearly won the junior women's time trial and was subsequently second in the road race.
“I am very happy. It was very challenging also because of the heat. I may have overheated the beginning, but luckily I managed and it turned out great,” declared Kvasničková.
Burlová was four seconds slower than Kvasničková, Bajgerová lost 21 seconds to the new champion. Thirty-seven-year-old Jarmila Machačová finished at the bottom of the podium, defending champion Denisa Slámová took fifth place.
Among men under 23, Pavel Bittner was clearly the fastest. In the juniors category, Pavel Šumpík won, one minute ahead of Kryštof Král. The best junior was Nela Kaňkovská.
The championship will continue during the weekend with races with a mass start. On Saturday, the women, juniors and juniors will fight for the titles, and on Sunday, the men's elite and riders will have a portion of approximately 228 kilometers waiting for them. “The heat and the length will definitely play a role. The profile is not difficult, so I think it will probably end in a mass sprint. But a lot of things can happen,” Otruba pointed out.
Czech Road Cycling Championship in Tlmačy – time trial:
Men (46 km): 1. Otruba (ATT Investments) 54:22, 2. Petr Kelemen (Tudor Pro Cycling) -23, 3. M. Vacek (Trek Segafredo) -55, 4. Turek -1:28, 5. Jakoubek (both ATT Investments) -2:00, 6. A. Ťoupalík (Elkov Kasper) -2:09.
Women (23 km): 1. Kvasničková (SportRaces Cycling) 31:14, 2. Burlová (Lotto Dstny) -4, 3. Bajgerová (MAT Atom Deweloper Wroclaw) -21, 4. Machačová (Dukla Praha) -1:04, 5. Slámová (Cyklotrenink) -1:28, 6. Ševčíková (Dukla Praha) -1:48.
Men to 23 years (34.5 km): 1. P. Bittner (DSM) 41:46, 2. Řeha, 3. Telecký (both Elkov Kasper) both -1:11.
Juniors (23 km): 1. Šumpík (Roman Kreuziger Cycling Academy) 27:57, 2. Král (Auto Eder) -1:00, 3. J. Bittner (Mapei Merida Kaňkovský) -1 :04.
Junior women (11.5 km): 1. Kaňkovská (Cc pave 76) 16:15, 2. Douděrová (Jaroslav Kulhavý Cycling) -3, 3. Kovaříková (Ústí Cycling Center) -10.
