Czech neo-pro wins world cup race on home soil - World Cup round three wrap-up

Radomir Simunek Jr (Palmans) has stepped into his father's footsteps by grabbing his first big win on home soil in the international cross race in Tabor (Czech Republic).

The neo-pro was delighted with the win: "This is a dream that comes true for me. I always started good in the previous races but I couldn’t keep up the up because I’m that young. With the hard underground over here I could stay in the slipstream of Wellens."

The victory of Simunek comes as a surprise as he could only manage a 15th (Aigle) and 28th place (Ruddervoorde) in previous world cup races. Still, this win is more than luck as Simunek is one of the hottest prospects in cyclo-cross. With 23 yea-old Radomir Simunek and 20 year-old Niels Albert, it lookes like Charles Palmans has the future of cycling in his team!

Belgian Bart Wellens (Fidea) and Simunek rode together for most of the race. The race looked like a copy from the race in Hoogerheide last year where the two riders also engaged an early attack. The advantage was mainly the work of Bart Wellens. He explained the tactics he used: "I didn’t know what to do with Simunek - as he was in my wheels all the time - so I just kept going. I wanted to get a sprint." In the end it didn’t came down to a sprint as Simunek got rid of Wellens in the last lap. The Belgian commented on that finale: "It was a very tough last lap. Simunek suddenly had 20 metres and I couldn’t catch him anymore. He’s a big winner so I congratulate him. But now it can start raining because the courses are too fast for me," the Belgian laughed.

See full race results, report and photos from the World Cup round three here.