Peace Race
| Peace Race | |
|---|---|
| Local name: | Friedensfahrt (German), Závod Míru (Czech), Wyścig Pokoju (Polish) |
| Region: | Germany, Poland, Czech Republic |
| Date: | May |
| Type: | Stage Race |
| History | |
| First Edition: | 1948 |
| Number of Editions: | 57/58 |
| First Winner: | August Prosenik (Yugoslavia) |
| Most Wins: | Steffen Wesemann (Germany), 5 times |
The Peace Race is also a 1961 book by Seymour Melman
The Peace Race (German: Friedensfahrt, Czech: Závod Míru, Polish: Wyścig Pokoju, French: Course de la Paix) is a cycling event held in May. It takes place in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The first Peace Race - also known as Warsaw-Berlin-Prague - was held in 1948, when there were two editions. One was won by August Prosenik from Yugoslavia, the other by Alexander Zoric from Czechoslovakia. During the Cold War the Peace Race was known as the 'Tour de France of the East'.
Because cyclists from the Eastern Bloc were not allowed to become professional it was an amateur race. It attracted the best cyclists from communist countries, plus guest teams from non-communist countries. Communist-bloc riders tended to dominate the event, but there were exceptions: Briton Ian Steel won the 1952 version, and the British League of Racing Cyclists team also won the team competition - the first time that both classifications had gone to the same nation.
One of the later winners was Sergei Sukhoruchenkov, who also won the gold medal on the Olympic Road Race in 1980. The most successful riders in the Peace Race were Ryszard Szurkowski from Poland and Uwe Ampler from East Germany who each won the race 4 times and Steffen Wesemann from Germany who won the race 5 times. Gustav-Adolf Schur, who won the race twice, was voted the most popular East German sportsman ever in 1989.
After the end of the Cold War the race rapidly lost importance. Recently however, the race is regaining status. The most recent edition, in 2004 was won by Michele Scarponi from Italy.
For 2005 the race is cancelled.
List of Peace Races
| Year | Route | Length | Stages | Overall Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Warsaw - Prague | 1104 km | 7 | August Prosinek (Yugoslavia) |
| 1948 | Prague - Warsaw | 842 km | 5 | Alexander Zoric (Yugoslavia) |
| 1949 | Prague - Warsaw | 1259 km | 8 | Jan Vesely (Czechoslovakia) |
| 1950 | Warsaw - Prague | 1539 km | 9 | Willi Emborg (Denmark) |
| 1951 | Prague - Warsaw | 1544 km | 9 | Kay Allan Olsen (Denmark) |
| 1952 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2135 km | 12 | Ian Steel (United Kingdom) |
| 1953 | Bratislava - Berlin - Warsaw | 2231 km | 12 | Christian Pedersen (Denmark) |
| 1954 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2051 km | 13 | Eluf Dalgaard (Denmark) |
| 1955 | Prague - Berlin - Warsaw | 2214 km | 13 | Gustav-Adolf Schur (East Germany) |
| 1956 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2212 km | 12 | Stanislaw Krolak (Poland) |
| 1957 | Prague - Berlin - Warsaw | 2220 km | 12 | Nentscho Christow (Bulgaria) |
| 1958 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2210 km | 12 | Piet Damen (Netherlands) |
| 1959 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 2057 km | 13 | Gustav-Adolf Schur (East Germany) |
| 1960 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 2290 km | 13 | Erich Hagen (East Germany) |
| 1961 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2435 km | 13 | Juri Melichow (Soviet Union) |
| 1962 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 2407 km | 14 | Gainan Saidchushin (Soviet Union) |
| 1963 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 2568 km | 15 | Klaus Ampler (East Germany) |
| 1964 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2246 km | 14 | Jan Smolik (Czechoslovakia) |
| 1965 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 2318 km | 15 | Gennadi Lebedjew (Soviet Union) |
| 1966 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 2340 km | 15 | Bernard Guyot (France) |
| 1967 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2307 km | 16 | Marcel Maes (Belgium) |
| 1968 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 2352 km | 14 | Axel Peschel (East Germany) |
| 1969 | Warsaw - Berlin | 2036 km | 15 | Jean-Pierre Danguillaume (France) |
| 1970 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 1976 km | 15 | Ryszard Szurkowski (Poland) |
| 1971 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 1895 km | 14 | Ryszard Szurkowski (Poland) |
| 1972 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 2025 km | 14 | Vlastimil Moravec (Czechoslovakia) |
| 1973 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 2076 km | P, 16, E | Ryszard Szurkowski (Poland) |
| 1974 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 1806 km | 14 | Stanislaw Szozda (Poland) |
| 1975 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 1915 km | P, 13 | Ryszard Szurkowski (Poland) |
| 1976 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 1974 km | P, 14 | Hans-Joachim Hartnick (East Germany) |
| 1977 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 1648 km | 13 | Aavo Pikkuus (Soviet Union) |
| 1978 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 1796 km | P, 12 | Alexander Awerin (Soviet Union) |
| 1979 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 1942 km | P, 14 | Sergej Suchorutschenkow (Soviet Union) |
| 1980 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2095 km | P, 14 | Juri Barinow (Soviet Union) |
| 1981 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 1887 km | P, 14 | Shakhid Zagretdinow (Soviet Union) |
| 1982 | Prague - Warsaw - Berlin | 1941 km | P, 12 | Olaf Ludwig (East Germany) |
| 1983 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 1899 km | P, 12 | Falk Boden (East Germany) |
| 1984 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 1689 km | P, 11 | Sergej Suchorutschenkow (Soviet Union) |
| 1985 | Prague - Moskau - Warsaw - Berlin | 1712 km | P, 12 | Lech Piasecki (Poland) |
| 1986 | Kiev - Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 2138 km | P, 15 | Olaf Ludwig (East Germany) |
| 1987 | Berlin - Prague - Warsaw | 1987 km | P, 14 | Uwe Ampler (East Germany) |
| 1988 | Bratislava - Katowice - Berlin | 2008 km | P, 13 | Uwe Ampler (East Germany) |
| 1989 | Warsaw - Berlin - Prague | 1927 km | 12 | Uwe Ampler (East Germany) |
| 1990 | Berlin - Slušovice - Bielsko-Biała | 1595 km | P, 11 | Jan Svorada (Czechoslovakia) |
| 1991 | Prague - Warsaw | 1261 km | P, 9 | Viktor Rjaksinski (CIS) |
| 1992 | Berlin - Karpacz - Mladá Boleslav | 1348 km | P, 9 | Steffen Wesemann (Germany) |
| 1993 | Tábor - Nový Bor | 1342 km | P, 9 | Jaroslav Bilek (Czech Republic) |
| 1994 | Tábor - Trutnov | 1354 km | P, 9 | Jens Voigt (Germany) |
| 1995 | České Budějovice - Oberwiesenthal - Brno | 1379 km | P, 10 | Pavel Padrnos (Czech Republic) |
| 1996 | Brno - Żywiec - Leipzig | 1703 km | P, 10 | Steffen Wesemann (Germany) |
| 1997 | Potsdam - Żywiec - Brno | 1629 km | P, 10 | Steffen Wesemann (Germany) |
| 1998 | Poznań - Karlovy Vary - Erfurt | 1591 km | 10 | Uwe Ampler (Germany) |
| 1999 | Znojmo - Polkovice - Magdeburg | 1613 km | 10 | Steffen Wesemann (Germany) |
| 2000 | Hannover - Kudowa Zdrój - Prague | 1608 km | 10 | Piotr Wadecki (Poland) |
| 2001 | Łódź - Plzeň - Potsdam | 1611 km | 10 | Jakob Piil (Denmark) |
| 2002 | České Budějovice - Chemnitz - Warsaw | 1470 km | 10 | Ondřej Sosenka (Czech Republic) |
| 2003 | Olomouc - Wałbrzych - Erfurt | 1552 km | 9 | Steffen Wesemann (Germany) |
| 2004 | Brussels - Wrocław - Prague | 1580 km | 9 | Michele Scarponi (Italy) |