ČT Author Cup

Riders have been coming to the Jizera Mountains for this race since 1996, and it has grown into one of the biggest amateur mountain bike races in Czechia. It is held in the middle of October, when late autumn has already reached the hills, so the field often races in cold and damp conditions through forest that is turning gold and red.

The course mixes climbs and descents with fast gravel roads, short tarmac links and the traditional concrete forest roads of the range, passing the Josefův Důl reservoir and the Královka lookout tower. That mix has started a friendly argument every year about whether a gravel bike or a classic mountain bike is quicker, and well known road professionals have lined up on gravel bikes to test it.

The race is run by Kolo pro život, the association behind a national series of mass participation rides, and it keeps room for everyone: a shorter race course for recreational riders and juniors, and a non competitive family loop open to children and e-bikes, so friends can keep up a tradition some of them have shared for three decades.