Článek v anglickém jazyce:
The final chapter of this season was written this Saturday 19.10. on Ještěd mountain during final event of the Roadclassics race series. Cycling passion with hundreds of riders and cycling fans occupied the main square of Liberec on a fresh sunny day to end the road cycling season in Czech republic. Our team Integray L27 was part of the show with 4 athletes on the start line. Petr Fiala bravely fought for victory to the last meters of steep Ještěd climb to finish second behind Jan Brňák from Lawi Stars Giant team. Petr was strong but had some mechanical problems in critical moments of the race and lost lot of energy during the chase back to the leading group. In the final kilometers he missed a bit of that energy and lost the race. We are still proud on his performance and we are happy being on the podium during the very late final race of the season.
After longer training limitations in recent two months i have decide to challenge myself just during the main inclines and measured segments as this was also a separate competiton. It felt good to feel healthy and strong again during the ride and winning all the segments and setting even faster times on key climbs of the race than the race leaders in front was important feedback for me, that i can still be competitive and look forward to race strong and be a key rider in our team in the next season 2025. Stepping on the podium again and being recognized by the race organizers and fans gave me a warm feeling and energy to stay fit during winter and challenge some important races next year!
One week before 13.10. Petr Fiala raced in Italy where he competed in European Championships in gravel racing. Peters bad luck in recent weeks was unfortunately present also here and after one hour of racing he was in a massive crash that happend in high speed during downhill. Petr was ok, just his bike was in bad condition. Petr saw one competitor on the ground being unconscious and decided to give him first aid before the medics arrived. We are so proud of Petr that he made the right decision and prioritized helping other person in need instead of fixing his bike and trying to get back to the race for sport glory.
For czech cycling this race was a memorable moment as czech cyclist Martin Stošek won this event by a big margin of over 3 minutes! First czech European champion in history of gravel racing! Our Petr Vakoč was sick and not feeling healthy. Started the race and was able to be in the front but after few hours of big efforts he felt his body is not responding well and decided to quit and give his body some rest to recover.
I would like to say THANK YOU to all our partners for helping creating such memorable experience this season!
