Everything Set for 48th Annual Juniors Peace Race. Team Euroregion Elbe-Labe Confirmed to Start

Terezín - Cycling fans' attention once again turns to the famous Course de la Paix Juniors (Juniors Peace Race). Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious junior cycling events, the race is featured in the UCI Nation's Cup circuit. The starting line-up will boast the most talented junior riders in the world. They will compete for the traditional title for four days in the annual 48th Course de la Paix Juniors, taking place May 9-12, 2019. The race courses in the northern Bohemia will test the top cycling prospects who have the potential to become regular fixtures in the elite senior Grand Tour races, including the Tour de France.

The members of this year´s come from 22 countries. We hope that the 2019 Course de la Paix Juniors will provide both racers and fans with a spectacular experience and a thrilling competition which may help discover the rising stars among the youngsters. Remco Evenepoel, the reigning champion, conquered the 2018 race in a dominant fashion. The 19-year-old Belgian would later become a two-time junior world champion before signing a professional contract with Deceuninck-Quickstep.

Evenepoel's successor will emerge after a traditional four-day race which will consist of four road stages and an individual time trial. The opening ceremony will be held on May 9 on the Mírové náměstí in Litoměřice where the first stage both departs and finishes.

The next morning will belong to the town of Třebenice and the individual time trial. Shortly after its completion, the peloton will move to Roudnice nad Labem for the next stage which has been scheduled for the afternoon. The youngers will later return to Roudnice nad Labem for the stage finish to wrap the second day of the race.

The juniors will then visit Teplice on Saturday for the Queen Stage depart. The penultimate stage will lead the racing field through a difficult climb in the Krušné hory mountain range to the finish in the German town of Altenberg. After this stage, the top of the leaderboard will likely list the names of the hottest candidates for the overall victory, with the cyclists headed for the final stage.

The closing stage will now depart from Terezín, a change made by the organisers in an attempt to make the final part of the race even more entertaining. Following the tough Queen Stage, the cyclists will face yet another difficult test on Sunday, May 12, with the final stage stretching through a mountainous terrain near Litoměřice. Terezín will again play host to a traditional finish of the Course de la Paix Juniors, and the newly crowned champion will join a stellar company of former winners such as Fabian Cancellara, Roman Kreuziger, Michal Kwiatkowski, Jiří Korous, and others.

So far, 23 six-rider teams have confirmed to start in the 2019 Course de la Paix Juniors, including the Czech National Team led by former international cyclist Tomáš Konečný. For a fourth consecutive year, the line-up will also feature the Czech-German Euroregion Elbe-Labe team formed by three Czech and three German riders. The Euroregion Elbe-Labe team represents long-lasting outstanding cooperation between the two countries, which will hopefully continue in future years.

48^th Junior Peace Race 2019 – Facts and Figures

Organizer: CK Slavoj Terezín

Date: 9. 5. - 12. 5. 2019

Race Director: MSc. Svatopluk Henke

Commander of the track: Jan Sedlák

Chiefs Judge: Andreas Gensheimer (GER)

Doping Commissioner: Tihomir Jureša (CRO)

Overall length: 388.5 km

Budget: 1.7 M CZK

Auspices of the race: Oldřich Bubeníček, Governor of the Ústí nad Labem Region

Honorary Race Director: MSc. Jaromír Kníže, Director of the Police of the Ústí nad Labem Region

Patron of the race: Gustav-Adolf Schur

Partners: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, Czech Cycling Federation, Euroregion Elbe-Labe, Ústí nad Labem Region, Santini, Changroup, Cross, Vars, Intersport Litoměřice, TÜV SÜD Czech, Potraviny Krátký, Airsprings, Vinařství Podrábský, WK Servis, Staw Wurm, SBS Cargo, RUPA, Tiskárna Cyklos Š+Š, Sanilit.

Partner cities: Terezín, Litoměřice, Teplice, Roudnice nad Labem, Dubí, Úštěk, Budyně nad Ohří, Třebenice, Altenberg.

Media partners: ČT, ČT Sport, Deník, Litoměřický deník, Český rozhlas Sever, TV Litoměřicko, PatRESS.cz, Litoměřicko24, RoadCycling.cz, Cycling Photography.

Teams: 23 six-rider teams have confirmed to start in the 2019 Course de la Paix Juniors who represent 22 countries: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Euroregion Elbe-Labe, Denmark, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine.