Zdenek won the Skoda Cycling Challenge today. Our champion beat his countrymen Alois Kankovsky and Jaroslav Kulhavy in the streets of Prague. “It was a short, but difficult race. I’m happy I was able to win.”
The Skoda Cycling Challenge was a 70 kilometer race for professionals and amateurs. The riders faced a course that featured three climbs. “We rode really fast and it looked like a sprint would decide the race.”
With track world champion Alois Kankovsky in the group, Styby didn’t think he had much of a chance to win. “That’s why I kept attacking on the climbs. The group was reduced to 15 riders and a little while later there were only seven left.”
By the end of the race, the group was reduced to three champions: Styby, Kankovsky and new mountain bike world champion, Jaroslav Kulhavy. “I had to get rid of them if I wanted to win. With 1,500 meters to go, I decided to take a chance and I was gone.”
Styby crossed the finish line first with a small lead and is now ready for the new cyclocross season. “This was really a test for next week,” he said after the race. “I’m already looking forward to it.”