The Peace Race (german: Friedensfahrt, cs, Závod míru, sk, Preteky mieru, russian: Велогонка Мира (), pl, Wyścig Pokoju , french: Course de la Paix, it, Corsa della Pace, ro, Cursa Păcii) was an annual multiple stage

bicycle race "Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls", rea ...

held in the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

states of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. First organized in 1948, it was originally created with the intent of relieving tensions existing between Central European countries following the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Maintained by the three states ruling Communist parties' newspapers ('' Rudé právo'', ''

Neues Deutschland ''Neues Deutschland'' (''nd''; en, New Germany, sometimes stylized in lowercase letters) is a left-wing German daily newspaper, headquartered in Berlin. For 43 years it was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany ...

'', and ''

Trybuna Ludu ''Trybuna Ludu'' (; ''People's Tribune'') was one of the largest newspapers in communist Poland, which circulated between 1948 and 1990. It was the official media outlet of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and one of its main propaganda o ...

''), it was dubbed to be the "world's biggest amateur cycling race"Dubiański (2001), p. 50 and "

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

of the East". Following the

fall of Communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in 1989, the Peace Race was no longer state-sponsored and organizers faced trouble with gathering funds. The event was last held in 2006.

History

The first Peace Race was held in 1948, when there were two editions connecting the cities of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The one to Prague was won by August Prosinek, the other one to Warsaw by

Alexander Zoric Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, both from

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

the Peace Race was known as the '

of the East'. Because cyclists from the

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 British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

Ian Steel John "Ian" Steel (28 December 1928 – 20 October 2015) was a Scottish racing cyclist who in 1952 won the Peace Race, a central European race between Warsaw, Berlin and Prague. He was the only Briton, and the only rider from the English-speakin ...

won the 1952 race, and the

British League of Racing Cyclists The British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC) was an association formed in 1942 to promote road bicycle racing in Great Britain. It operated in competition with the National Cyclists' Union, a rivalry which lasted until the two merged in 1959 to ...

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 completed the race in 77th position, 19 hours and 16 seconds after the winner. In 1955, Dhana Singh finished 28 hours, 24 minutes and 38 seconds after the winner. One of the later winners was Sergei Sukhoruchenkov, who also won the gold medal on the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Road Race in 1980. The most successful riders in the Peace Race were: Steffen Wesemann from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

who won the race five times;

Ryszard Szurkowski Ryszard Jan Szurkowski (12 January 1946 – 1 February 2021) was a Polish road bicycle racer, widely regarded as a legend of the sport in Poland. Career He was a silver medalist in the team trial at the Cycling at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 ...

from

and

Uwe Ampler Uwe Ampler (born 11 October 1964) is a retired track and road cyclist who competed for East Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There he won the gold medal in the men's team time trial, alongside Jan Schur, Mario Kumm ...

from

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. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-81646-0001, Tessin, Anfertigen von Schildern für Friedensfahrt

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-81646-0001, Tessin, Anfertigen von Schildern für Friedensfahrt

In 2006, the 58th edition took place on 13–20 May. It started in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

in Austria and via the Czech Republic headed to Germany where it ended in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

. No capital city of these countries was crossed during the race. After 2006, the race was removed from the cycling calendar.

Legacy

In April/May 2012 Alan Buttler organised
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 Geoff Wiles (born 18 June 1944) is an English former professional racing cyclist. He won the national road championship as a professional in 1976 and competed for his country as an amateur. He organised cycling and other races, helped form BMX ...

, John Woodburn, Alan Jacob, and Axel Peschel. There is
museum
in

Kleinmühlingen 100px, Coat of arms Kleinmühlingen is a former municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since January 2008, it is part of the municipality Bördeland Bördeland is a municipality in the district Salzlandkreis, in ...

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 Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (russian: Денис Николаевич Меньшов; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general clas ...

Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was born in Wohlen bei Bern, Switzerland. Cancellara began r ...

Peter Velits Peter Velits (born 21 February 1985 in Bratislava) is a Slovakian former professional road racing cyclist. His career highlights included third place overall and a stage win at the 2010 Vuelta a España, the 2007 World Under-23 Road Race Champi ...

Tanel Kangert Tanel Kangert (born 11 March 1987) is an Estonian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2008 to 2022. Early life Kangert was born in Vändra, Estonia. He attended kindergarten alongside fellow Estonian cyclist Rein Taar ...

and Michal Kwiatkowski.

Peace Race U23

An Under-23 Peace Race for riders under 23 years was added in 2013. From 2015 the race has been part of the

UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup is an annual, season-long competition for under-23 male road cyclists. It was created by the Union Cycliste Internationale in 2007 to aid in the development of young riders. It is the most important competition for u ...

List of races

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0511-029, Olaf Ludwig, Morten Saether, Uwe Raab

* P =

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

* E =

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

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