JAKUB BOUČEK

The Czech rider who has proved that he’s good over punchy courses

We need to talk about Jakub...

The 20 year-old Czech is one of the most promising prospects coming through the U23s, following in the footsteps of countrymen Roman Kreuziger and Zdeněek Štybar.

What kind of rider is he?

He’s still developing, but he appears to be quite a punchy climber with the potential to be good in the high mountains. Where have I heard of him before?

If you closely paid attention to the junior road race at the Worlds in Harrogate in 2019, as I’m sure you did, you’ll have seen the young Czech rider finished ninth. The race was won by Trek-Segafredo’s Quinn Simmons.

What about other results?

2020 was tough for Jakub, who was riding with Czech team Topforex Lapierre. He did manage to finish fifth at the Czech Nationals, but that’s often not the largest or deepest field. 2021 has been different, since he signed for the Israel Cycling Academy. He has managed multiple top 20s, including 15th at the Trofeo Calvia, part of the Mallorca Challenge and a 1.1 race to boot.

The Israel Cycling Academy?

The ICA is the development team for the WorldTour’s Israel StartUp Nation, but confusingly kept the name of the old ProConti team. For 2021 they have focused on younger riders, rather than simply being a B team to the WorldTour squad

How did he get into cycling?

Jakub told Czech magazine RoadCycling in 2019: “I have been cycling for eight years. Dad was a football player, so I went to some football tournaments, but I didn’t do well. Sometimes we rode a bike, and I did quite well. I tried some smaller races.”

What next?

In that same interview, the young rider was realistic about his chances. He said: “I know I want to make a living from cycling, but I also know that I still have a long way to go. I won’t say that I would like to win a grand tour, for example, but I would like to go.”