Mathias Vacek showed his potential at the Vuelta. He wants to prove his time trial skills at the World Championships

At the end of September, he still has the World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. Regardless of the result, we can say that Mathias Vacek has made a significant impact this year. Many predict a bright future for the only twenty-two-year-old Czech cyclist.

• Vacek rode the race of his life in Paris
• He gained respect at his first Grand Tour
• Mathias Vacek will rely on the time trial in Zurich

He shone in the time trial at the Summer Olympics in Paris. It was the race of his life. With his eleventh place, Vacek equalled the best Czech finish in the men’s category in history. He also did well in the road race, finishing 14th.

Mathias Vacek also showed his form in the subsequent Vuelta, which he headed to after the Olympics. He proved in the opening time trial that he can already compete with the world’s best cyclists despite his young age. He arrived at the finish line in a sensational second place, two seconds behind the American McNulty.

Vacek rode the Grand Tour for the very first time

Vacek also chased down the stars of the world peloton in the seventh stage of the Vuelta. In the 181-kilometre-long and hilly stage from Archidona to Cordoba, the Czech youngster finished second again, falling just short of Wout van Aert in the spurt. This was the twenty-two-year-old’s debut in the Grand Tour.

“Quite a few riders were surprised, probably nobody expected that I would be able to do so well in the first time trial and that I would also be able to go over the hill and fight for the victory in the classic stage. Some of them made fun of me for suddenly becoming a top rider, it gives you a good feeling,” Mathias Vacek confirmed to Czech Radio that he had already gained the respect of his rivals after the first stages.

Time trial is a strong weapon of the young Czech road racer. He proved it in the final stage of the Vuelta, which was held in Madrid and was once as long as the first one in Lisbon. This time Vacek finished sixth. He admitted that after three weeks of racing, he was getting tired.

“I was riding my first Grand Tour, I didn’t know how it all goes. Racing against cyclists like Primož Roglič is incredibly difficult. This year we set a goal that I would ride shorter stages that I know to get the overall. I came to the Grand Tour to ride stages,” said Mathias Vacek, admitting that he still has a lot of work to do to ride for the overall Grand Tour.

He will also rely on the time trial in Zurich

The world road cycling championship will kick off in Zurich on September 21. Mathias Vacko will not have much time to relax. His first Grand Tour took its toll on him physically and mentally. After the Vuelta, the young cyclist had a short rest and is now fine-tuning his form for the last big race of the season. In Zurich, Vacek will focus mainly on his strong discipline, the time trial.

“I have to see how I will be after the Vuelta, if my body can recover. I suppose I can still find the strength for the time trial, which is a shorter interval. I don’t want to throw away the road race, but it will definitely be extremely hard, the main favourites won’t wait for anything,” says Mathias Vacek before the start of the World Championships.

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