Leo Koenig has won the Queen Stage of the Czech Cycling Tour. The 25-year-old Czech rider was able to prevail as a soloist with a 1:32 minute lead on the 173-km stretch from Zabreh to Sternberk. Koenig thus gave Team NetApp-Endura its seventh win of the season. Teammate and national champion Jan Barta, who along with Koenig is riding in the tour as part of a national team, rounded off the result in 10^th place. 

With his victory today, Leo Koenig also took the lead in the general classification and will wear the yellow jersey in today’s final stage. Chances are good that he will be the first rider in the history of the tour to stand at the top of the podium for a second time. Koenig already won the Czech Cycling Tour in 2010.

A quartet was able to pull away shortly after the start of the race, but the Czech national team with Barta and Koenig took matters into their own hands. As the pace picked up, the breakaway riders were caught in the course of the race and the entire field was divided. Koenig attacked from the leading group before the final climb. Since no other rider was able to keep up, he rode solo to the finish line as his pursuers battled it out for second and third place.

“My teammates and Jan in particular did a great job today. They caught the breakaway riders and prepared the win for me. When I looked around on the final stretch, I didn’t see any other riders. I was thus able to control the race at a high speed and even win the stage with a lead,” Leo Koenig said after his victory.