Breslau/Chemnitz (dpa/sn) - Around 120 cyclists are starting today for the second edition of the European Peace Ride in Wroclaw, Poland. There are riders from the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, including multiple Tour de France participant Marcus Burghardt and parasportsman Markus Tritt. On the other hand, the originally announced participants from Ukraine had to cancel because they were not allowed to leave the country as firefighters, as the organizers informed on request.
Two stages with a total of 430 kilometers lie ahead of the athletes. The route first leads over the Giant Mountains to Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic and on Sunday over the Ore Mountains to Chemnitz.
The European Peace Ride (EPR) is a project for the European Capital of Culture 2025. It aims to celebrate sports culture. At the same time, it is reminiscent of the earlier International Peace Ride - the cycle race was launched in 1948 to contribute to European understanding. It was last held in 2006.
A year ago, around 80 amateur cyclists rode from Chemnitz to Prague and back for the first edition of the EPR.
