A true road race experience
I’ve done some smaller local triathlon races that featured cross-country cycling, and I even completed a half-ironman where I rode my road bike. But those experiences were far from actual road cycling. The half-ironman, for example, was mostly flat, with only 500 meters of elevation over 90 km. And, crucially, no drafting was allowed. It felt more like riding alone.
Signing up for L’Étape is different. For those unfamiliar, L’Étape is a series of amateur cycling races organisedby the same team behind the Tour de France, offering riders the chance to experience the thrill of a professional-style event. The Czech Republic’s hilly stage I chose covers 100 km with 1,500 meters of elevation. Navigating a large peloton of 1,400 cyclists and taking advantage of the draft will be a big part of the race. But beyond the riding itself, L’Étape is a spectacle, the biggest amateur race in Czechia, with so many cyclists in one place that it’s bound to attract fans and create an electric atmosphere. That’s what makes it so appealing to me: it’s a chance to experience the dynamics of group riding and the buzz of a major event.
A passion for the sport
Over the past four years, I’ve become deeply invested in watching road cycling. It started with the epic battles between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar in the 2022 Tour de France. Then, the Netflix documentary Tour de France: Unchained gave me a behind-the-scenes look at the strategy, tactics, and team dynamics that make the sport so fascinating. From there, I was hooked. I began watching all three Grand Tours, then one-week stage races, and eventually, the road classics. Now, I pretty much watch every road race that’s on Eurosport.
Getting a small taste of what it feels like to be in a race organised by the same team behind the Tour de France is exciting. It’s not just about the physical challenge. It’s about immersing myself in the culture and atmosphere of the sport I’ve grown to love.
Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu
Racing on closed roads in my backyard
The third reason that made the decision a no-brainer is the location. This year, the hilly stage of L’Étape Czech Republic starts in Prague, and both the start and finish lines are less than a kilometre from where I currently live. Even the first 30 km of the course follows the most common route I take on my road bike rides. Getting to experience these familiar roads completely closed off to cars and reserved for cyclists is a rare opportunity.
Setting my goals
So, I signed up, paid the entry fee, and I’ll be on the start line on June 20th alongside 1,400 other amateurs who’ve chosen the medium-length 100 km course. There was also the option of a shorter 60 km course, but that felt too short to justify the training and cost. The long 130 km course was tempting, but the minimum average speed requirement of 25 km/h over such a hilly distance felt risky for my first road race. I’ve only ridden more than 100 km once in my life, and sustaining that pace with the added pressure of a large peloton and potential mechanical issues made me decide that the 100 km distance was the sweet spot.
One of my main goals is to have an interesting and memorable experience. But I also have competitive aspirations, not in the sense of winning or placing highly, but in pushing myself to finish in a respectable time. I know I can ride 100 km on a bike, but I want to see how fast I can complete it under race conditions. That means no café stops, no waiting at traffic lights, and no navigating cars. It means managing my nutrition on the bike, pushing hard for multiple hours without breaks, and navigating the peloton to get the most out of riding in a group. That’s what makes this race so exciting for me, and why I’m motivated to train and prepare thoroughly.
What’s next
The rest of this series will follow my journey from the beginning of the year all the way to tapering before the race. I’ll share my training, fuelling strategy, my bike and gear choices, and the ups and downs of preparing for my first road race. Stay tuned!
