Kick France 2013

For The First Time In The History Of Scooter Riding

“This is going to be the first ever attempt to travel approximately a 3,500km-long route of the Tour de France on scooters,” says Václav Liška, spokesman of the Czech Association of Scooter Riding and member of the Kick France 2013 team. “We are going to ride all the 21 stages on the same route as the cycle peloton, just one day ahead of them. We will have to face steep uphill ride up to 2,500 metres above sea level in the Alps as well as in the Pyrenees. At the very beginning of our journey, we will have to cope with high mountains and hot weather in Corsica where this year’s jubilee race is going to start on Saturday 29 June.”

“It is the biggest sporting challenge of our lives. We cannot assure that we will manage to reach the finishing line at Champs Élysées in Paris, but we are quite sure that we will do our best on the French roads knowing that the pain will go away, since we are absolutely determined to finish the race,” Mr Liška says.

Tour de France 2013 on Scooters
Date: 28 June 2013 (Corsica, Porto Vecchio) – 20 July 2013 (France, Paris)
Route: 21 stages ranging from 25 km up to 242 km

For The First Time In The History Of Scooter Riding

“This is going to be the first ever attempt to travel approximately a 3,500km-long route of the Tour de France on scooters,” says Václav Liška, spokesman of the Czech Association of Scooter Riding and member of the Kick France 2013 team. “We are going to ride all the 21 stages on the same route as the cycle peloton, just one day ahead of them. We will have to face steep uphill ride up to 2,500 metres above sea level in the Alps as well as in the Pyrenees. At the very beginning of our journey, we will have to cope with high mountains and hot weather in Corsica where this year’s jubilee race is going to start on Saturday 29 June.”

“It is the biggest sporting challenge of our lives. We cannot assure that we will manage to reach the finishing line at Champs Élysées in Paris, but we are quite sure that we will do our best on the French roads knowing that the pain will go away, since we are absolutely determined to finish the race,” Mr Liška says.

The most interesting stages of the Tour de France:
Series of two Pyrenean stages – the most difficult and demanding uphill ride (5 – 6 July 2013)
Mont Saint Michel individual time trial – easy flat stage (9 July 2013)
Mont Ventoux – one of the most awaited stages of the Tour (13 July 2013)
Series of the Alpine stages – the most difficult phase of the entire race (17 – 20 July 2013)

Make One’s Dream Come True

The Kick France 2013 team comprises six sportsmen and six members of the entourage. Most of them have been friends for years, and have been members of the ASK Slavia Prague athletics club, for which they have won acclaim and a number of medals. In 1999 they founded their own scooter team entitled ‘ULTIMA’, that has won 4 world championships in scooter riding (2004 – 2008) within more than 10 years of its existence and has been placed second or third many times. “We feel that scooter riding which is very close to running is the most natural way of transfer from athletics, that is why we have grown on scooters so much,” Honza Vlášek, another member of the Kick France 2013 racing team explains the reasons for the establishment of Ultima.

The sportsmen who give body and soul to practising their favourite sport want to make their lifetime dream come true and also use the legendary race to promote scooter riding and scooters as a perfect means of transport and an excellent way of exercise for the wider public.

KICK FRANCE 2013 Racing Team:
Vašek Liška – the godfather of the project, regular participant in world and European championships in scooter riding and the Czech Rollo league; theatre actor of the South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice and Fox Dancing (art-inspired exercise) couch.
Honza Vlášek – silver medallist of the Czech scooter league and multiple CR champion in team athletics; lawyer, big fan and admirer of Johnny Cash, high mountains, waves and bets.
Jarda Odvárka – bronze medallist at the 2010 World Championship in scooter riding, etc., elite football-tennis player in 1st Prague league, PE teacher, athletics, tennis and football coach.
Michal Kulka – enthusiastic sportsman and former athlete has recently bought his first scooter. He works as a lawyer and trains junior athletes at Dukla.
Alpo Kussisto – comes from Finland; world record holder for 12 and 24-hour ride on scooters. He had already planned to take part in the Tour de France a couple of years ago, but did not have enough courage. J He is a popular science fan; he loves deep forests and Bill Mason.
Rene Koning – marine engineer from the Netherlands, who took part in his first world championship on scooters in 2008. He is keen on uphill races.

Yedoo Can’t Miss Out On The Event

Dan Pilát, general manager of the company producing the brand Yedoo, is absolutely enthusiastic about the Tour de France on scooters: “It is going to be the top event of the decade and we want to be part of it, because it is also our feast. Not only are we going to financially support this wonderful group of sportsmen, we are going to encourage them in France as well. We are planning to accompany them on the longest stage of the Tour, which is 242 km long and has a very difficult and steep uphill finish on the legendary Mont Ventoux in the Alps.” The Yedoo team will start the ride some time ahead of the Kick de France team (they have not done so much training after all) but with the same strong determination.

First-Hand Experience

Anyone can join the world’s best scooter riders on any of the Tour de France stages. Members of the Kick France 2013 support team are said to take care of the racers as well as of the persons interested in taking part in the race. These will be provided with food, refreshment, accommodation, their luggage will be taken by car and at the end of each stage cooled beer will be prepared for them. Those who are interested may register until 30 April 2013 on Kick France 2013 website under section Ride with Us. 

“If you have enough courage and are physically fit, do not hesitate, since this may be once-in-a-lifetime chance. Just be careful! If you fail to keep up with the last member of our team, you may find yourself lost and lonely somewhere in France, only with your rucksack. The main priority of our team is to reach the Triumphal Arch, everything else will go aside in critical moments,” Honza Vlášek describes the uncommon offer.

Train With The Champions

With regard to the fact that the project itself is very demanding, the Kick France 2013 team members have been training hard ever since 2011. The scooter riders will spend much more time on the route, namely 10 to 18 hours a day, as opposed to the cyclists who will ride the Tour de France route only a couple of hours each day. The former won’t thus have much time to rest or relax. That is why the team members have been put on a special training regime. If you want to test your fitness and endurance, then attend any of the training sessions of the team or take part in the series of spring stage races entitled ‘Tour Bohemia’ and ‘Tour Moravia’. Up-to-date information is available on the team Facebook page.   

Vendula Kosíková on behalf of the Yedoo team