Skip to content

Ride Of My Life: Leopold König

CLAYTON, CA - MAY 18:  Leopold Konig of the Czech Republic riding for Team Nettapp-Endura celebrates his first place finish during Stage 7 of the Tour of C
Image: CLAYTON, CA - MAY 18: Leopold Konig of the Czech Republic riding for Team Nettapp-Endura celebrates his first place finish during Stage 7 of the Tour of C

We've rounded off our Ride Of My Life series by asking Leopold König to reminisce about his most memorable day on a bike.

We've rounded off our Ride Of My Life series by asking Leopold König to reminisce about his most memorable day on a bike before switching to Team Sky at the start of 2015.

18 May 2013: Tour of California - Stage seven: Livermore to Mount Diablo - 147.1km

In the last few seasons, Leo has marked himself out as one of the most talented riders in the peloton, having achieved top-10 finishes in all three Grand Tours. It was at the 2013 Tour of California where he enjoyed his favourite stage victory though - a win that not only marked his first WorldTour triumph, but also allowed him to tick off another long-term ambition. We caught up with him to tell us more: 

So why was this win so special for you?

Well apart from it being the biggest stage victory of my career up to that point, it also meant I got to see a major NHL game in person. I'm a life-long ice hockey fan and knew that the Los Angeles Kings were playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs that night against the San Jose Sharks. Before the stage I made a bet with the PR manager at NetApp-Endura [the team König was riding for at the time] that if I won it, he would buy us tickets for the game.

So that was what gave you extra motivation?

Yes, definitely. With the race taking place in May, I was still a little bit overweight at that point of the season, but I set myself the goal of winning that stage before the race began, and that bet was added motivation for me.

CLAYTON, CA - MAY 18:  Leopold Konig of the Czech Republic riding for Team NetApp-Endura takes the podium after winning Stage Seven of the 2013 Amgen Tour
Image: CLAYTON, CA - MAY 18: Leopold Konig of the Czech Republic riding for Team NetApp-Endura takes the podium after winning Stage Seven of the 2013 Amgen Tour

How did things play out on the road that day?

It was a hot day and the stage was really hard - finishing with a tough climb up Mount Diablo. I felt good from beginning to end though and it was one of those days where everything came together.

We managed to get one of my team-mates [David De la Cruz] in the break, which was part of our plan so it meant the rest of us didn't have to work. BMC Racing took up the chase as they had Tejay van Garderen in the leader's jersey, and they caught the escapees on the final climb.

By then we setting a really hard pace, and at the 3km to go mark I asked my last team-mate how he was feeling. He said he was on the limit so that was when I decided to take things into my own hands. I attacked and jumped over to Janier Acevedo who riding for Jamis-Hagens Berman.

We worked together for 2km before the steep section near the finish which ramped up to almost 20%. I attacked with 400m to go and by the last 200m I'd gained almost 10 seconds on him. I felt so strong and was actually enjoying the pain. I pressed on and ended up taking the stage victory by 15 seconds.

It wasn't just a special moment for me, but for my team as well. NetApp is a company based in Silicon Valley and they had a lot of VIPs in attendance that day. That extra pressure made it even better. I had a lot of emotions when I sealed my win.

And the team's PR Manager was good to his word about the NHL tickets?

Yes, we left for the game straight after I'd finished the podium presentations. It was just him and me that went to the game, and he had an extra surprise up his sleeve on our arrival. He'd managed to get us in a private box with the president of the Los Angeles Kings! He was also one of Tour of California race organisers, so it was nice to meet him and sit with him. It's a day I'll never forget.

Leopold Konig on stage eighteen of the 2015 Tour de France
Image: Leopold Konig on stage eighteen of the 2015 Tour de France

Check out our other Ride Of My Life features with David Lopez HERE, Vasil Kiryienka HERE, Xabier Zandio HERE and Nicolas Roche HERE.

Around Sky