History of the race

But let’s go back to 1938. “Everyone in the club was very happy that our first cycling race in the streets of Prague’s Žižkov district had gone well. At that time, it was held on a small circuit across tram tracks, which caused the organizers the most concern during operation. The presence of engineer Kaisr, the head of operations, solved this thorny problem. He stopped tram traffic several times by raising his hand, and the individual races were able to pass through. According to the standards of the time, there were quite a few competitors and spectators for the sprint,” recalled František Martínek.

On April 17, Emanuel Kříž from LKBB Prague, more of a pacemaker than a sprinter, won with a time of 37,750 meters in an hour. On July 10, Vilém Jakl Maraňon won. “Only two of the planned eight races took place, because serious times were coming, it was not possible to perform in public on the streets, and war was approaching,” he added.

However, the races brought a breath of fresh air not only to the cycling scene. “It was a novelty, as yet untested, a completely different way of racing over short distances, on a circuit. The cycling track in Letná, Prague, had been demolished and the sprinters were out of work, some even unemployed. That’s why we decided to give them an opportunity in a regular series of short races. We wanted to keep this discipline, which is the queen of track sports, at the top in our country. To give everyone a chance, especially those who grew up as new sprinters,” Martínek wrote.

“Not everyone understood our intention; the new concept of racing did not correspond to the old format familiar from race tracks. But we brought races where spectators had a clear view. The audience watched the start and finish, the whole race, which is the most important thing. A cycling track provides spectators with a perfect view. Without a track in Prague, we tried to maintain the interest of the riders and create a team for the future,” he added.

There was a track 100 kilometers from Prague, in Pardubice, but there were very few races there. Most of the competitors had to get there and back on their own, i.e., by bike, which was an achievement in itself… Naturally, this was reflected in the performance of the sprinters, who were called “airplanes” in the newspapers at the time. There was no specialization, and Martínek himself, as a former sprinter, knew about the consequences of “unemployed” seasons, about the decline of the sport without regular competition. And so, despite all the shortcomings, he at least provided this substitute.

“We were looking for a more suitable track for our races, and in the end we came to the conclusion that the two-way street Na Pankráci, which was relatively undisturbed by traffic, was the most suitable race track. It was paved, wide enough, with a free curve for higher gears and a whole group of riders. These were mostly technical issues that suited the riders so that they could use their racing bikes,” Martínek said of the approximately 800-meter two-lane road in Pankrác.

After the initial shock of the war and the occupation of the Sudetenland had passed, sporting life continued. In 1939, six races were held, each featuring around sixty competitors and watched by up to three thousand spectators. The year-long competition was won by Josef Konárek from AC Sparta, who dominated two events, while Vočka from Framar dominated three and Jakl, also from AC Sparta, dominated one.

A year later, the planned eight races were held, with a total of 500 competitors and 25,000 spectators. Josef Konárek defended his overall victory with three wins, the same number as Mareš from Židenice, and one each for NSK Praha, Sebastian, and Krýsl. Krýsl also set the fastest time over the last 200 meters: 12.2 seconds.

Cycling races also produced some curious moments. “Once, a club official who felt aggrieved in the heat and whose man did not make it to the final stepped up to the starting line with a serious face, raised his hand in disagreement, and loudly declared to all the referees, but mainly to the spectators: He is riding under protest. None of us knew what this gesture meant. There were no racing rules for road sprints. Everything was just provisional, something between the track and the road. Perhaps trust and fairness were supported by my person, I don’t know. We let the boy start from the second row and the result came. The wolf was fed and the goat remained whole,” said the founding father with a smile.

Over time, a tactic developed – whoever started the sprint was at a disadvantage, breaking the air, while the others rode behind him, but he chose the smoothest part of the track surface. A wave in the sprint was punished as obstruction, and the culprit was relegated to last place in the race. It was similar to six-day races on small tracks, where the judge’s observation and judgment were decisive.

In 1941, two races were held on the road on Švehlovo nábřeží near the Vltava River and one on the new NSK concrete track in Malešice. Josef Konárek won the year-long competition again and for the last time. This is how he was remembered: “When the closed group was already racing and he was stuck in the middle with no chance of doing anything, his categorical command rang out: Make way for Konárek! The young men moved aside, such was his respect, and Pepa won…”

A new generation was already appearing on the Třebešín track in Malešice. Vladimír Vojtěchovský from Slavia won twice, but was later arrested and executed by the Germans… Then Vladimír Čapek and, in the last year of the war, the legendary Jaroslav Cihlář, a great long-distance runner and later an important coach and expert. In 1946, three races were held again, dominated by Cihlář (VSK Praha), who also took on organizational responsibilities in the following years.

We arranged and paid for accommodation for competitors from other parts of the country and recommended restaurants. Everyone paid for their own meals, as they would have eaten at home anyway. The Brno competitors charged for their train travel, while those from Louny and elsewhere arrived by bicycle. The familiar amateur conditions made it easier to organize competitions. The competitors would have come anyway, as they had the opportunity to test their strength and compare their style with the best. They were driven by the natural desire of all young people to excel.

After the races, all the club members gathered at the inn at the finish line and relaxed after cleaning up the improvised stadium. The treasurer ordered two sausages, a roll, and a beer for everyone. The reward was as simple as the whole sporting life. We were dependent only on our own resources. A brief reflection on the results, insights for improving the organization of the next race, and then home. Because the day was over,” Martínek recalled again.