Peace Race

The Peace Race (German: Friedensfahrt, Czech: Závod míru, Slovak: Preteky mieru, Russian: Велогонка Мира (Velogonka Mira), Polish: Wyścig Pokoju [ˈvɨɕt͡ɕik pɔˈkɔju], French: Course de la Paix, Italian: Corsa della Pace, Romanian: Cursa Păcii) was an annual multiple stage bicycle race held in the Eastern Bloc states of Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Poland. First organized in 1948, it was originally created with the intent of relieving tensions existing between Central European countries following the interwar period and World War II.

Peace Race
Logo of the 1987 edition. Although the design changed during the years, it usually featured a white dove, representing peace.
Race details
Date1 May – 9 May
RegionCzechoslovakia / the Czech Republic
East Germany / Germany
Poland
English namePeace Race
Local name(s)Friedensfahrt (in German)
Závod míru (in Czech)
Preteky mieru (in Slovak)
Wyścig Pokoju (in Polish)
Course de la Paix (in French)
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI Europe Tour
TypeStage-race
OrganiserRudé právo, Neues Deutschland
and Trybuna Ludu (until 1989)
History
First edition1948 (1948)
Editions59
Final edition2006 (2006)
First winner August Prosinek (YUG)
Most wins Steffen Wesemann (GER) (5 wins)
Final winner Giampaolo Cheula (ITA)

Maintained by the three states ruling Communist parties' newspapers (Rudé právo, Neues Deutschland, and Trybuna Ludu), it was dubbed to be the "world's biggest amateur cycling race"[1] and "Tour de France of the East".

Following the fall of Communism in 1989, the Peace Race was no longer state-sponsored and organizers faced trouble with gathering funds. The event was last held in 2006.[2]

History

The first Peace Race was held in 1948, when there were two editions connecting the cities of Warsaw and Prague. The one to Prague was won by August Prosinek, the other one to Warsaw by Alexander Zoric, both from Yugoslavia. 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 a purely 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 race, 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.

An Indian team took part in the race in 1952, 1954 and 1955. Indian racers were popular with the public, although they were not competitive. In 1954, Supravat Chravati[3] completed the race in 77th position, 19 hours and 16 seconds after the winner. In 1955, Dhana Singh[4] finished 28 hours, 24 minutes and 38 seconds after the winner.[5]

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: Steffen Wesemann from Germany who won the race five times; Ryszard Szurkowski from Poland and Uwe Ampler from East Germany each won the race four 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 lost its significance. No race was held in 2005, and the 2006 race turned out to be the last.

German schoolgirls in Tessin (Rostock, Mecklenburg) making an English-language sign to be used to greet riders in the 1961 Peace Race.

In 2006, the 58th edition took place on 13-20 May. It started in Linz in Austria and via the Czech Republic headed to Germany where it ended in Hannover. No capital city of these countries were crossed during the race.

After 2006, the race was removed from the cycling calendar.

Legacy

In April/May 2012 Alan Buttler organised a re-run of the 1955 Peace Race as a tribute to his father, Alf Buttler, who was the GB cycling team mechanic for many events in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. He was joined by former peace riders including Gustav-Adolf Schur, Geoff Wiles, John Woodburn, Alan Jacob, and Axel Peschel.

There is a museum in Kleinmühlingen in Germany dedicated to the Peace Race.

Junior Peace Race

A Junior Peace Race was first held in 1965 and held again the following year. After a hiatus it was revived in 1974 and has been held every year since, continuing after the senior race was no longer organised. Several riders who won the junior race have gone on to senior success, including Roman Kreuziger, Sr., Roman Kreuziger, Jr., Denis Menchov, Fabian Cancellara, Peter Velits, Tanel Kangert and Michal Kwiatkowski.[6]

Peace Race U23

An Under-23 Peace Race for riders under 23 years was added in 2013.[7] From 2015 the race has been part of the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup.[8]

List of races
Olaf Ludwig (East Germany), Morten Saether (Norway), and Uwe Raab (East Germany) on the podium during the 1987 edition
Year Route Length
(in km)		 Stages Overall winner Winning team
1948 Warsaw - Prague 1104 7 August Prosinek Poland I [1/9]
1948 Prague - Warsaw 842 5 Alexander Zoric Poland I [2/9]
1949 Prague - Warsaw 1259 8 Jan Veselý France II
1950 Warsaw - Prague 1539 9 Willi Emborg Czechoslovakia [1/5]
1951 Prague - Warsaw 1544 9 Kaj Allan Olsen Czechoslovakia [2/5]
1952 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2135 12 Ian Steel United Kingdom
1953 Bratislava - Berlin - Warsaw 2231 12 Christian Pedersen East Germany [01/10]
1954 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2051 13 Eluf Dalgaard Czechoslovakia [3/5]
1955 Prague - Berlin - Warsaw 2214 13 Gustav-Adolf Schur [1/2] Czechoslovakia [4/5]
1956 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2212 12 Stanisław Królak Soviet Union [01/20]
1957 Prague - Berlin - Warsaw 2220 12 Nencho Khristov East Germany [02/10]
1958 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2210 12 Piet Damen Soviet Union [02/20]
1959 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 2057 13 Gustav-Adolf Schur [2/2] Soviet Union [03/20]
1960 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 2290 13 Erich Hagen East Germany [03/10]
1961 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2435 13 Yuriy Melikhov Soviet Union [04/20]
1962 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 2407 14 Gainan Saydkhushin Soviet Union [05/20]
1963 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 2568 15 Klaus Ampler East Germany [04/10]
1964 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2246 14 Jan Smolík East Germany [05/10]
1965 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 2318 15 Gennady Lebedev Soviet Union [06/20]
1966 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 2340 15 Bernard Guyot Soviet Union [07/20]
1967 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2307 16 Marcel Maes Poland [3/9]
1968 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 2352 14 Axel Peschel Poland [4/9]
1969 Warsaw - Berlin 2036 15 Jean-Pierre Danguillaume East Germany [06/10]
1970 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 1976 15 Ryszard Szurkowski [1/4] Poland [5/9]
1971 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 1895 14 Ryszard Szurkowski [2/4] Soviet Union [08/20]
1972 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 2025 14 Vlastimil Moravec Soviet Union [09/20]
1973 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 2076 P, 16, E Ryszard Szurkowski [3/4] Poland [6/9]
1974 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 1806 14 Stanisław Szozda Poland [7/9]
1975 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 1915 P, 13 Ryszard Szurkowski [4/4] Soviet Union [10/20]
1976 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 1974 P, 14 Hans-Joachim Hartnick Soviet Union [11/20]
1977 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 1648 13 Aavo Pikkuus Soviet Union [12/20]
1978 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 1796 P, 12 Alexander Averin Soviet Union [13/20]
1979 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 1942 P, 14 Sergei Sukhoruchenkov [1/2] Soviet Union [14/20]
1980 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2095 P, 14 Yuriy Barinov Soviet Union [15/20]
1981 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 1887 P, 14 Shakhid Zagretdinov Soviet Union [16/20]
1982 Prague - Warsaw - Berlin 1941 P, 12 Olaf Ludwig [1/2] East Germany [07/10]
1983 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 1899 P, 12 Falk Boden East Germany [08/10]
1984 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 1689 P, 11 Sergei Sukhoruchenkov [2/2] Soviet Union [17/20]
1985 Prague - Moscow - Warsaw - Berlin 1712 P, 12 Lech Piasecki Soviet Union [18/20]
1986 Kiev - Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 2138 P, 15 Olaf Ludwig [2/2] Soviet Union [19/20]
1987 Berlin - Prague - Warsaw 1987 P, 14 Uwe Ampler [1/4] East Germany [09/10]
1988 Bratislava - Katowice - Berlin 2008 P, 13 Uwe Ampler [2/4] Soviet Union [20/20]
1989 Warsaw - Berlin - Prague 1927 12 Uwe Ampler [3/4] East Germany [10/10]
1990 Berlin - Slušovice - Bielsko-Biała 1595 P, 11 Ján Svorada Czechoslovakia [5/5]
1991 Prague - Warsaw 1261 P, 9 Viktor Rakshinsky Poland [8/9]
1992 Berlin - Karpacz - Mladá Boleslav 1348 P, 9 Steffen Wesemann [1/5] Germany
1993 Tábor - Nový Bor 1342 P, 9 Jaroslav Bílek Czech Republic [1/2]
1994 Tábor - Trutnov 1354 P, 9 Jens Voigt Czech Republic [2/2]
1995 České Budějovice - Oberwiesenthal - Brno 1379 P, 10 Pavel Padrnos Poland [9/9]
1996 Brno - Żywiec - Leipzig 1703 P, 10 Steffen Wesemann [2/5] Team NE Telekom
1997 Potsdam - Żywiec - Brno 1629 P, 10 Steffen Wesemann [3/5] Team Deutsche Telekom [1/2]
1998 Poznań - Karlovy Vary - Erfurt 1591 10 Uwe Ampler [4/4] Team Mroz [1/3]
1999 Znojmo - Polkowice - Magdeburg 1613 10 Steffen Wesemann [4/5] Team Mroz [2/3]
2000 Hannover - Kudowa Zdrój - Prague 1608 10 Piotr Wadecki Team Nürnberger
2001 Łódź - Plzeň - Potsdam 1611 10 Jakob Piil no competition
2002 České Budějovice - Chemnitz - Warsaw 1470 10 Ondřej Sosenka Team Mroz [3/3]
2003 Olomouc - Wałbrzych - Erfurt 1552 9 Steffen Wesemann [5/5] Team CCC Polsat
2004 Brussels - Wrocław - Prague 1580 9 Michele Scarponi T-Mobile Team [2/2]
2006 Linz - Karlovy Vary - Hannover 1283 8 Giampaolo Cheula Team Unibet.com

P=prologue, E=epilogue

Peace Race 2006.

Most individual wins

Cyclists with three wins at least listed

Overall:

  • 5 wins: Steffen Wesemann
  • 4 wins: Ryszard Szurkowski, Uwe Ampler

Sprinter competition:

  • 8 wins: Olaf Ludwig
  • 3 wins: Ryszard Szurkowski

Mountain climbers competition:

  • 3 wins: Sergei Sukhoruchenkov, Uwe Ampler, Jaroslav Bílek

Most team wins
  • 20 wins: Soviet Union
  • 10 wins: East Germany
  • 9 wins: Poland
  • 5 wins: Czechoslovakia
  • 3 wins: Team Mroz

Winners by country

Individual overall competitions were won by cyclist from following countries:

  • 12 wins: East Germany
  • 10 wins: Soviet Union
  • 7 wins: Poland, Germany
  • 5 wins: Denmark
  • 4 wins: Czechoslovakia
  • 3 wins: Czech Republic
  • 2 wins: SFR Yugoslavia, France, Italy
  • 1 win: United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Belgium
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See also

References
  1. Dubiański (2001), p. 50
  2. "Wyścig Pokoju po raz drugi w historii odwołany" [Peace Race cancelled for the second time in history]. Wirtualna Polska. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  3. Photo
  4. Photo
  5. Ferenc, Jakub (2008). Sport w służbie polityki. Wyścig Pokoju 1948–1989 [Sport used by politics. The Peace Race 1948–1989] (in Polish). Warsaw: Trio, Collegium Civitas. p. 102. ISBN 978-83-7436-160-6.
  6. "Winners list". Course de la Paix Juniors / Junior Peace Race. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  7. "Závodu Míru U23" [Peace Race U23]. ttvsportgroup.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  8. "UCI 2015 list of NCup stage races" [Peace Race U23].

Further reading
  • Ferenc, Jakub (2008). Sport w służbie polityki. Wyścig Pokoju 1948–1989 [Sport used by politics. The Peace Race 1948–1989] (in Polish). Warsaw: Trio, Collegium Civitas. ISBN 978-83-7436-160-6.
  • Dubiański, Wacław (December 2001). "Wyścig (nie)pokoju" [The (Un)peaceful Race] (PDF). Biuletyn IPN (in Polish). Institute of National Remembrance (11/2001): 48–53.

01. K. Małcużyński, Zygmund Weiss : Kronika wielkiego wyścigu, Ksiażka i wiedza, Warszawa, 1952

02. Adolf Klimanschewsky: Warschau-Berlin-Prag. Ein Erlebnisbericht von der Friedensfahrt 1952. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1953.

03. Brigitte Roszak/Klaus Kickbusch (Redaktion): Friedensfahrt. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1954.

04. VII. Internationale Friedensfahrt. Volkskunstverlag Reichenbach, 1955.

05. VIII. Wyscig Pokoju, Zavod Miru, Friedensfahrt. Verlag: Sport i Turystika, Warszawa 1955.

06. Horst Schubert: Etappengefüster. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1956.

07. Horst Schubert u.a.:Jedes Jahr im Mai. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1957.

08. Herbert Kronfeld: Zwischen Start und Ziel. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1957.

09. Egon Lemke: Giganten der Pedale. Verlag Junge Welt, Berlin, 1958.

10. Autorenkollektiv: Friedensfahrt. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1962.

11. Klaus Ullrich: Kluge Köpfe - schnelle Beine. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1963.

12. Alles über alle Friedensfahrer. Verlag Neues Deutschland, Berlin, 1964.

13. Täves Friedensfahrtlexikon. Verlag Neues Deutschland, Berlin, 1965.

14. Klaus Ullrich (Hrsg.): Fahrt der Millionen. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1967.

15. Trzdziesci lat Wyscigu Pokoju. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Warszawa, 1977.

16. Klaus Ullrich: Die große Fahrt. Sportverlag, Berlin, 1977.

17. Günter Teske: Das gelbe Trikot. Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin, 1981.

18. Klaus Ullrich: Jedes Mal im Mai, Sportverlag, Berlin, 1986, ISBN 3-328-00177-8.

19. Ulf Harms: Der verschwundene Friedensfahrer. Militärverlag der DDR, Berlin, 1987, ISBN 3-327-00433-1.

20. Gustav-Adolf Schur (Hrsg.): Friedensfahrt, Spotless-Verlag, Berlin, 1995, ISBN 3-928999-47-8.

21. Tilo Köhler: Der Favorit fuhr Kowalit: Täve Schur und die Friedensfahrt. Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-378-01015-0.

22. Manfred Hönel/Olaf Ludwig: 100 Highlights Friedensfahrt. Sportverlag, Berlin,1997, ISBN 3-328-00717-2.

23. Maik Märtin: 50 Jahre Course de la Paix, Agentur Construct, Leipzig, 1998, ISBN: ohne.

24. Klaus Ullrich Huhn: Die Geschichte der Friedensfahrt. Spotless-Verlag, Berlin, 2001, ISBN 3-933544-52-1.

25. Bogdan Tuszynski/ Daniel Marszalek: Wyscik Pokoju 1948-2001, Verlag FDK Warszawa, Warszawa, 2002, ISBN 83-86244-33-X

26. Andreas Ciesielski: Das Wunder von Warschau, Scheunen-Verlag, Kückenshagen, 2005, ISBN 3-934301-83-5

27. Alan Buttler/Klaus Huhn: Wie die Friedensfahrt "ausgegraben" wurde, NORA Verlagsgemeinschaft Dyck & Westerheide, Berlin, o.J., ISBN 978-3-86557-301-8

28. Rainer Sprehe: Alles Rower? Ein Wessi auf Friedensfahrt. Covadonga-Verlag, Bielefeld 2012, ISBN 978-3-936973-70-9

Audio/Video:

  • Kopfsteinpflaster und Asphalt. Radio-Feature des MDR. 1 CD. Pool Music und Media, 1998, 4260031180232.
  • Hagen Boßdorf: Geschichte der Friedensfahrt. VHS-Video. 1997, ISBN 3-328-00770-9.
  • Friedensfahrt Course de la Paix 1978, Dokumentation des WDR, Köln, 1978
  • Damals in der DDR. 3 CDs, 2001, BMG 743218855023.
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