Grand Prix Framar (cycling)

The Grand Prix Framar ( Czech: Velká cena Framaru ) is a track cycling competition for sprinters that is traditionally held in Prague . It is the oldest cycling competition still held in the Czech Republic .

The history

The winner of the first event in 1938 was Josef Konarek , who also won the first railway competition in 1941. The race was first organized on the road in Prague in 1938 as a circuit race : But as soon as the “Třebešín Velodrome” cycle track opened in 1941, the race was moved to the track and held as a sprinter race. The 75th edition took place in 2017, in a few years the race could not take place for various reasons (e.g. 1968 Prague Spring , reconstruction). Due to various construction works on the track, the Grand Prix was held in Louny (1967), in Brno (1969 and 1970), in Pilsen (1989) and on the Prague indoor track (1996 to 1999 and 2005). The organizer of the tournament in the first years was its founder František Martinek, followed by his son František Martinek jr. Later the association TJ KOVO Prague took over the direction and organization.

Well-known names of the track sprint have registered for the Grand Prix Framar in the past. a. Daniel Morelon , Yave Cahard , Bruno Gonzato , Michael Hübner , Lutz Heßlich , Anton Tkac , Ivan Kučírek or John Nicholson at the Grand Prix Framar. The first international participants came in 1959, French athletes from the FSGT and cyclists from the GDR . The Grand Prix Framar took place since 1939 with one interruption in 1987, 1992 and 1999. In 2000 the Grand Prix Framar was once again included in the international racing calendar as one of the TOP 10 sprinter races of the Union Cycliste International (UCI). In the recent past, the Grand Prix has been expanded to include other disciplines such as keirin and women's sprint. For 2019, the competition was entered in the UCI racing calendar for September.

The train

The Grand Prix Framar traditionally takes place in Prague on the Velodrome Třebešín in the Prague district of Stanice. The cycling track was built in 1941 by the architect Josef Sidlo. With a length of 333 meters, a width of 7.8 meters and steep turns of 34 degrees, the concrete runway is the oldest still in operation in the Czech Republic. The track is also available to recreational athletes. There are also regular cultural events on the site.

The namesake and sponsor

The sponsor and namesake of the race is the Prague company Framar.

The Framar company is a family business with over 100 years of tradition, which was founded in 1905 by František Martínek. The company produces paints and varnishes. In 1919 the son František junior joined the company as an apprentice. In 1938 Martínek sen. the tradition of cycling called Grand Prix Framar. Martinek himself was the sole organizer in the first few years. In athletics and cycling  , he used to train using methods that are now known as scientific. As a cyclist he won five championship titles in Czechoslovakia - twice in the sprint (1927 and 1928), once over 50 kilometers (1929) and twice in the hill climb. He later continued to work in cycling as a trainer, educator and official. The tradition of the Grand Prix Framar was continued by Martinek's son, who became the owner of the paint and varnish factory in Modřany and who maintained close ties to cycling.

The winners

2019 Nien Hsing Hsieh (Taiwan) 2018 Tomáš Bábek 2017 winner not known 2016 Tomáš Bábek 2015 winner not known 2014 Jiří Janošek 2013 winner not known 2012 Jiří Janošek 2011-2008 winner not known 2007 Matthias John 2006 Mark French 2005 Alois Kaňkovský 2004-2001 winner not known 2000 Pavel Buráň 1999 did not take place 1998-1993 winner not known 1992 not held 1991 winner unknown 1990 winner not known 1989 Bill Huck 1988 Michael Schulze 1987 not held 1986 Vratislav Šustr 1985 Michael Schulze

1984 Michael Huebner 1983 Vratislav Šustr 1982 Detlef Uibel 1981 Václav Novák 1980 Fredy Schmidtke 1979 Yavé Cahard 1978 Ivan Kučírek 1977 Anton Tkáč 1976 Ivan Kučírek 1975 Miroslav Vymazal 1974 Daniel Morelon 1973 Vladimir Popelka 1972 Miroslav Vymazal 1971 Ivan Kučírek 1970 Ivan Kučírek 1969 Ivan Kučírek 1968 not held 1967 Stanislav Volf 1966 Jan Kolařík 1965 Jiří Praveček 1964 Bruno Gonzato 1963 Ivan Kučírek 1962 Antonín Staněk 1961 Zbysław Zając

1960 Jan Lambrechts 1959 Zdeněk Černý 1958 Juraj Miklusica 1957 Zdeněk Černý 1956 Ladislav Fouček 1955 Ladislav Fouček 1954 Ladislav Fouček 1953 Ladislav Fouček 1952 Ladislav Fouček 1951 Jaroslav Cihlář 1950 Václav Machek 1949 Zdeněk Štěpánek 1948 Zdeněk Štěpánek 1947 Jaroslav Cihlář 1946 Jaroslav Cihlář 1945 Jaroslav Cihlář 1944 Vladimír Čapek 1943 Vladimír Vojtěchovský 1942 Vladimír Vojtěchovský 1941 Josef Konarek 1940 Josef Konarek 1939 Josef Konarek

Web links

VELKÁ CENA FRAMARU 2017-75. ročník 75th edition in 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Noviny Prahy 12 . Prague June 3, 2003, p. 3 (Czech).
2. ↑ Matěj Černý, Marie Peřinová: 111 places in Prague that you have to see . Emons-Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-96041-166-6 , pp. 103 .
3. ↑ Trebesin Velodrome. Retrieved March 23, 2019 (Czech). 
4. ↑ Robert Bakalář, Jaroslav Cihlář, Jiří Černý: Zlata Kniha Cyklistiky . Olympia, Prague 1984, p. 182 (Czech).
5. ↑ Barvy FRAMAR sro Retrieved March 23, 2019 (Czech).