Peace Race
Logo of the 1987 edition. Although the design changed during the years, it usually featured a white dove, representing peace.
|
|
| Date | 1 May – 9 May |
|---|---|
| Region |
Czechoslovakia / the Czech Republic East Germany / Germany Poland |
| English name | Peace Race |
| Local name(s) | Friedensfahrt (German) Závod míru (Czech) Preteky mieru (Slovak) Wyścig Pokoju (Polish) Course de la Paix (French) |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
| Type | Stage-race |
| Organiser |
Rudé právo, Neues Deutschland and Trybuna Ludu (until 1989) |
| First edition | 1948 |
| Editions | 59 |
| Final edition | 2006 |
| First winner |
 August Prosinek (YUG)
|
| Most wins |
 Steffen Wesemann (GER) (5 wins) |
| Final winner |
 Giampaolo Cheula (ITA)
|
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.
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" 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.
...
Wikipedia