Pavel Vršecký

* 1942

  • “I really do think that I was unpopular with the racers. They didn’t like me, because I was strict, tough. I sometimes demanded more from them than was right. But in hindsight, today, when I meet them, then perhaps two percent of them still hate me. The others recognise me, remember. So I think that I was lucky that I built on the team, and I was lucky that I always managed to get the key people that I needed to win over. They were able to keep the team in the right direction and support me in that.”

  • “Well, that was my greatest dilemma. Because I had been wowed by the flat. I also got it within two months - in Černý Most. I came out in front of the boys; Kocek, Doležal, Vačkář were there. Kocek was placed third in the worlds, Vačkář was the runner-up. I was an average cyclist who raced in all the categories but excelled in none. So that was a big dilemma. I loved cycling; from that time on I cycled with them on all the training runs, until 1980, the Olympics. In the first phase, I pushed in the direction I was taught by Mr Cihlář. General fitness, team. I took advice from Doležal, Kocek, and Vačkář, whom I had a lot of disputes with. I wasn’t the type to say something would be like this or like this. I always worked things out somehow. I got the hang of it in time. Personally, I don’t remember a single case in my whole career when a racer would refuse to listen to me or would tell me I was a dick.”

  • “I can always remember that because it was a roadster, an English bike - you can see one occasionally on footage from England - it had handlebars pointing up. It was a utility bike, so I had to make it into a racing one. They only had Favorits back then, but they were difficult to come by. So I bought components - handlebars, a saddle - and I rebuilt the bike so I could ride on it. That was good in that I learnt a lot through it. I gained a connection to it. I even sewed up my own tubs [tubular tyres - trans.]. The connection was really close. I still feel it, and I think that it gave me a good foundation.”

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    Praha, 01.03.2018

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I was strict and the racers didn’t like me

54544-photo.jpg (historic)
Pavel Vršecký
photo: autoři natáčení

Pavel Vršecký was born on 2 February 1942 in Prague. He grew up in very humble conditions; he lived with his parents in the allotment garden in Žižkov. His life changed in 1956 when he was chosen for a cycling club during a big youth recruitment drive. He trained as a toolmaker, worked as an auto body technician, but mainly devoted himself to cycling. He competed for Tesla Žižkov and Kovo. He did track, road cycling, and cyclo-cross. In 1975 he was appointed coach of the national cyclo-cross team and soon transferred as coach to the army sports cycling section of Dukla Praha. His trainees went on to win a number of championships and gain various other achievements. He is labelled the most successful coach of Czechoslovak track cycling. He was infamous for being very harsh with his trainees and for participating in their strenuous training programs. He remained loyal to cycling even in his retirement; he began training young cyclists in Příbram in 2016.