EN The first sharp test of the 2026 season is upon us. Most of the riders of the Talent Team, the BMX National Team and some of the challenge category riders visited Verona, Italy, where the European bicross season traditionally begins. The local track is one of the most demanding in Europe, and since the domestic winter was very unfavorable this year and did not allow training on the home tracks, most of our representatives lacked a bit of racing pace. On the other hand, the physical preparation of all drivers was very good and we believe that we will score more and more points in the next races. Compared to previous years, the program was spread over three racing days, which was good news for the challenge category, as they were not in danger of shortening their race. Evropský pohár Audio version Listen to article Open audio Your browser does not support audio playback. Quite a lot of first-years (Boys 15/16, Men Junior and U23) took part in the start of the race this year and they did well with this transfer together with the demanding track in Verona. We would highlight the performances of Dominik Ráliš, Matěj Pavka and Matyáš Krnáč (Boys 15/16), Vít Gruntorád (Men U23) and Marko Neužil, who started for the first time among the Elite, where in the first round of the EP he reached for the final position. For both race days, we had the same trio of our competitors in the final races. In the Boys 15/16 category, Dominik Ráliš placed third and second, while Matěj Pavka finished fifth and seventh. Junior Elen Lapková confirmed her place among the TOP 8 of her category with Friday's seventh place and Saturday's fourth place. As already mentioned, Neužil finished in the semi-finals and Matyáš Krnáč also achieved the same position. Eliška Bartuňková improved her Friday ranking by participating in the semi-finals in Saturday's second round of EP, and David Lapka also made it to Saturday's semi-finals among Boys 15/16. In the challenge categories, we have already become accustomed to a large number of Czech finalists, and this year this trend continues. In Friday's block of the first round of the EP, we had three representatives on the highest rung. Jakub Skřejpek (Cruiser Men 40/44), Mia Roškotová (Girls 8) and Laura Tejmarová (Girls 9) took care of her. The other finalists of the day were third Mia Šantavá and fourth Amálie Řezáčová (both Girls 8), fifth Sebastián Štěpánek (Boys 9), seventh Radim Průcha (Boys 10) and in the category Boys 11 bronze Kryštof Dvořák and fourth Max Roškot. Saturday's block of the first round of the EP was golden for Tomáš Souček, who was joined by Jan Očenášek in second place in the Boys 12 category. Sára Kalábová placed seventh in the Girls 13/14 category, Jiří Kabriel placed fifth among Boys 14 and Kristýna Utínková finished sixth in the Women 17+ category. Sunday was exclusively marked by the second round of the EP for the Challenge category, and the four Czech winners of the first round repeated their position in the second round as well. Jakub Skřejpek, Mia Roškotová, Laura Tejmarová and Tomáš Souček took gold twice from Verona. The other finalists of the second round of EP were second Mia Šantavá and fourth Amálie Řezáčová (both Girls 8), Sebastián Štěpánek (fourth place - Boys 9), Petr Vacek (seventh place - Boys 10), fourth Max Roškot and eighth Kryštof Dvořák (both Boys 11), Jan Očenášek (second place - Boys 12), Štěpán Janeček (seventh place - Boys 13) and Barbora Maarová, who she placed sixth among girls 13/14. The continuation of the UEC European Cup is scheduled for Easter in Tiel, the Netherlands. The domestic bicross season will start on the last Saturday in March with the Open Season race in Prague-Řepy.