Kalas cares: Supporting young cyclist
We are continuing the tradition of effort to support cycling and will donate all proceeds on Tuesday 5 December to youth projects. So, if you buy any product on our eShop on this day, you will also contribute to the support of young Czech talents.
In 2021, during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Kalas, we decided to donate one day's sales from pre-Christmas purchases on our eShop to support youth cycling projects in the Czech Republic.
We believe that youth teams, projects, races and academies are one of the most important pillars for the development of cycling in our country. With this idea in mind, Čestmír Kalaš founded his first workshop to produce cycling clothing. At the beginning of the 1990s, when the Tábor club lacked sufficient material support, he made a risky decision and embarked on a precarious business venture to keep the club running so that he could develop the talents of his charges.
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At the beginning of the 1990s, Čestmír Kalaš founded his first textile workshop to produce cycling clothing to provide funds for the running of the Tábor club and thus develop the talents of his charges. At the same time, he was actively involved in coaching. In the photo he is in the role of a coach encouraging his ward Jiří Sosnovec during the Prague races at Višňovka.
This year we are supporting the following project:
MS BIKE ACADEMY
A unique cycling academy for children of all ages. The MS Bike Academy team, led by former professional mountain bike racer Milan Spěšný, participates in all kinds of mountain bike races, but mainly focuses on the Czech MTB Cup.
"We would like to invest our financial support in materials to better support the team. One of them could be a motorized power washer, which would be used to wash the bikes after training and races. As the number of kids grows, we need to expand bike parking at the team tent, so we would increase the number of bike racks and retrofit the team tent facilities. From the rest of the funds, we will improve the mechanic's tools, which are needed at every race," says Milan Spěšný.
In previous years we supported:
JUNIOR CUP
A mountain bike race aimed exclusively at children, the Junior Cup is a unique concept that allows young riders to experience both a time trial and a mass start race in one day. In addition, the terrain circuit is varied with several jump obstacles that teach technical skills to novice cyclists.
"With the donated amount, we are going to get jump obstacles such as bunnyhop planks, ramps and a start/finish gate. These are things of long-term use that most participants will enjoy and will make us all happy," says Jan Hruška, a former successful cyclist and current director of the Junior Cup race.
MAPEI MERIDA KAŇKOVSKÝ ACADEMY
This cycling club based in Olomouc, in the East of the Czech Republic, whose origins date back to 2003, focuses mainly on youth road cycling and the education of young racers. Every year they have around twenty racers, from which several talents regularly make their mark in the adult categories or with professional teams. Such successful examples are Jakub Otruba, Jiří Petruš or Pavel Bittner, among others.
"We will be extremely grateful for the financial contribution and we will use it to buy equipment for our young athletes," plans the head of the team Jiří Kaňkovský.
VELO ACADEMY
A cycling academy of over 100 active children under the age of 12 from the Prague area. The young racers regularly participate in the Czech MTB Cup, the Czech Road Race Championships and the Czech Cyclocross Cup. In the winter, their training activities move to the indoor track in Motol, where they diligently prepare for the spring and summer season. The Academy organizes suburban and residential camps and is currently building a training centre for XCO near Kladno (Traily Mayrau).
With the received amount of 91,536 CZK, they purchased track bikes, which enabled beginner cyclists to acquire basic cycling habits and skills.
CTW JUNIOR CUP
A series of cyclocross races organised by a group of enthusiastic cyclists from September to December, mainly in South Bohemia, trying to provide the best possible racing conditions for young racers in a friendly atmosphere. Dozens of beginner cyclists from 4 to 18 years of age regularly participate in the individual races, improving their cyclo-cross skills and learning about racing cycling on attractive courses.
"Thanks to the support of the Kalas brand, last year we managed to attract new organisers and expand the number of races. We also focused on the quality of the awards for the riders competing for points in the overall standings. We have improved the service for competitors, fans and organisers. We have expanded our track building and marking equipment. The benefit of our races for the development of young racers is reflected in their excellent results in the Czech Cup," documents Petr Zikmund, director of the entire CTW Junior Cup series.
