Tereza Huříková

Tereza Huříková (born 11 February 1987 in Vimperk) is a Czech professional road cyclist and mountain biker.[1] Throughout her sporting career, she has won numerous Czech national championship titles in women's cross-country, road races and time trial, and more importantly, a prestigious gold medal in the junior time trial at the 2004 UCI World Championships. Hurikova later represented the Czech Republic, as a 20-year-old junior, at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and also rode for USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo and Česká Spořitelna MTB Cycling Teams since she turned professional in 2006. Currently, Hurikova trains and races under an exclusive, two-year sponsorship contract for Germany's Central Haibike Pro Team, along with her teammate and 2008 Olympic champion Sabine Spitz.[2]

Tereza Huříková
Personal information
Full nameTereza Huříková
Born (1987-02-11) 11 February 1987
Vimperk, Czechoslovakia
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb)
Team information
Current teamCentral Haibike Pro Team
DisciplineMountain biking, road
RoleRider
Rider typeCross-country, all-around
Professional teams
2006–2007Česká Spořitelna MTB
2007–2008USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo
2008–2009Česká Spořitelna MTB
2010Trek-Lorca Taller del Tiempo
2011–2012Haibike Pro Team
2013–Specialized Racing: XC MTB
Medal record
Women's road cycling
Representing  Czech Republic
World Championships
2004 VeronaJunior time trial
2005 SalzburgJunior time trial

Racing career

Before her professional sporting career, Hurikova had sought global headlines, as a junior road rider and a member of the Czech cycling team, at the 2004 UCI World Championships in Verona, Italy, where she claimed her first and only gold medal in the women's time trial.[3]

In 2006, Hurikova turned her sights to and took up seriously as an elite athlete in mountain biking. She flourished her first career success at the Czech MTB National Championships, and later mounted top three finishes in the women's cross-country races at the European Championships, UCI World Cup, and Race Under The Sun Cup Series (Cyprus) in that same year.[4] Strong results in cross-country mountain biking landed her a spot on the Česká Spořitelna MTB Team, followed by short, yet succeeding stints on Italy's USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo for a single season.[5]

Hurikova qualified for the Czech squad, as a lone female rider, in the women's cross-country race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving an automatic berth both from UCI and Czech Cycling Union, based on her best performance at the World Cup series and Mountain Biking World Rankings.[6] Since the start of a 4.8-km cross-country course, Hurikova immediately became the major casualty on the initial lap, as she had been collided with another cyclist and then suffered from a mild rib fracture by falling off into the treacherous, rocky course path. Because of a heavy fall at the very start, Hurikova officially failed to complete the full distance of the course.[7][8][9]

Shortly after the Olympics, Hurikova left USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo on her second stint for her nation's Česká Spořitelna MTB Team. In 2009, she managed to restore from her disheartening Olympic stint by capturing two tournament titles each in women's road race and time trial at the joint Czech and Slovak Championships in Bánovce nad Bebravou, Slovakia, signifying her sudden return to road cycling. At the end of 2009 season, Hurikova decided to join the Spanish mountain biking team Trek-Lorca Taller del Tiempo for the succeeding season, and signed exclusively under a three-year contract.[10] While competing for Team Trek-Lorca, she capped a successful 2010 season by delivering a sensational surprise bronze medal for her Czech squad in mixed relay at the European MTB Championships in Haifa, Israel.[11]

At the start of the 2011 season, Hurikova confirmedly joined with her teammate and 2008 Olympic champion Sabine Spitz for three seasons on Germany's Central Haibike Pro Team, as her short cycling stint with Team Trek-Lorca had been disbanded due to bankruptcy and lack of sponsorship.[2][12]

Career achievements
2004
UCI World Championships (ITT, Junior), Verona (ITA)
2005
UCI World Championships (ITT, Junior), Salzburg (AUT)
3rd Overall, Eko Tour Dookola Polski, Poland
1st Stage 3
8th UCI World Championships (Road, Junior), Salzburg (AUT)
2007
1st Czech Championships (ITT), Brno (CZE)
2nd Czech Championships (Cross-country race), Czech Republic
2nd Race Under the Sun (Cross-country race), Limassol (CYP)
3rd European Championships (Cross-country race, U23), Turkey
14th UCI World Championships (ITT), Stuttgart (GER)
2008
3rd European Championships (Cross-country race, U23), Sankt Wendel (GER)
2009
1st Czech and Slovak Championships (Road), Bánovce nad Bebravou (SVK)
1st Czech and Slovak Championships (ITT), Bánovce nad Bebravou (SVK)
2010
3rd Czech Championships (Cross-country race), Kuřim (CZE)
3rd European Championships (Cross-country race, Team relay), Haifa (ISR)
2012
1st Czech and Slovak Championships (Road), Czech Republic
2013
1st Czech and Slovak Championships (Road), Czech Republic

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Tereza Huříková". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  2. "Spitz's Central Pro team becomes Central Haibike Pro Team". Cyclingnews.com. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  3. "Hurikova, Brajkovic Blaze a Trail to Gold". Agence France-Presse. Arab News. 28 September 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  4. "Nejlepšími bikery jsou Boudný a Huříková" [Boudný and Huříková are the nation's best bikers] (in Czech). Mladá fronta DNES. 15 July 2006. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  5. "Tereza Huříková byla na Kypru třetí" [Tereza Huříková finished third in Cyprus] (in Czech). Prachatický deník. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  6. "Bikerka Huříková touží po účasti na olympiádě" [Biker Huříková longs for participation in the Olympics] (in Czech). Týden. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  7. "Women's Cross-Country Race". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  8. "Spitz wins scorcher in Beijing". Velo News. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  9. "Huříková horská kola nedojela, spadla hned v úvodu" [Huříková fell off since the beginning and did not finish mountain biking] (in Czech). Aktuálně Centrum. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  10. George, Sue (24 November 2009). "Team Trek-Lorca signs Tereza Hurikova". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  11. "Montaña: Hurikova gana la medalla de bronce en el europeo de Haifa" [Mountain biking: Hurikova wins the bronze medal at the European Champs in Haifa] (in Spanish). Trek Bikes. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  12. "Bikerka Huříková cítí zlepšení, má nového trenéra i motivaci" [Biker Huříková has greatly improved and found her motivation, working with a new coach] (in Czech). Mladá fronta DNES. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
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