After the start in Zlín, four mountain bonuses and more than 3,300 meters of ascent awaited the cyclists in the most demanding stage of the four-day race. A wild start, in which even Julian Alaphilippe tried to escape, did not result in the departure of more riders. The leak occurred only after 80 kilometers had been traveled, and Michal Schuran, who also led the race alone, appeared among the four cyclists.
However, the English representative Paul Double from the Polti Kometa team, who won the first climb to Pustevny, subsequently left the peloton and at a constant pace overtook the first Schurano. Despite another attempt to escape, all riders were 25 kilometers before the finish line.
The final climb offered several attacks. When American Kevin Vermaerke broke away from the peloton two kilometers before the finish line, it seemed that the winner was clear. Swiss rider Marc Hirschi was the last to enter.
The Tour de France stage winner and 2020 World Championship bronze medalist broke away from his rivals with a crushing start, soon overtook Vermaerke and continued his fast pace to the finish. He took care of the 60th win of the year for the UAE Emirates team, whose biggest star is the recent Tour winner Tadej Pogačar. Diego Ulissi and Sergio Higuita got ahead of Vermaerke at the end.
“It was not easy to do this climb twice, but at the end I had great legs and I was able to make a decision in the last kilometer,” said Hirschi, who followed the team’s strategy. “We wanted to wait until the end in the climb, saying that if we have good legs, then we should go. And we had good legs, so we attacked,” he added with a smile.
“It was definitely the most difficult stage, but it wasn’t the most difficult hill to the finish line. We drove the fastest time of all those estimated. There wasn’t even a proper breakaway after the 170 kilometers and when I saw how some of the guys were commuting completely sweaty, they really had a blast a lot,” race director Leopold König assessed after the end of the stage.
The best Czech was Martin Voltr from the Pierre Baguette team in 19th place, who finished 57 seconds behind the winner. Michal Schuran wore the jersey of the best climber after the stage. Hirschi leads overall by 15 seconds ahead of Ulissi and Higuita.
