We present the next participants of the European Individual Ice Speedway Championship, which will take place on February 25 and 26 in Sanok. Two riders nominated by the Czech Motorcycle Federation (ACCR) – Lukas Hutla and Jan Klatovsky – will present themselves on the “Blonie” ice track.
The team leader of our southern neighbors should be Hutla. This 33-year-old competitor brushed against the podium of the European Individual Championships last year, finally taking fourth place in the general classification, which is so disliked by athletes. Of the 20 points scored, eight points were won in Sanok and as many as twelve in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. Only one “eye” was missing for Hutla’s bronze medal.
This season may be different, because the Czech has signaled a high form. He started with a bang, taking second place during the qualifications for the Individual World Championships in Örnsköldsvik, which means that he will fight for the title of the Champion of the Old Continent, as well as in the fight for the title of the best rider in the world during the March competition in Inzell. Lukas is growing into one of the most serious contenders to win a medal in Sanok. Maybe even gold.
The second competitor who will ride with the Czech flag on the plastron will be Jan Klatovsky. This competitor comes from a family closely related to speedway on ice. Jan’s father – Antonin senior – is a legend of the Czech ice speedway, and his older brother Antonin junior was even more successful.
Jan also has many achievements to his credit. In Poland, he drove once, when he had the opportunity to test the track in Tomaszów Mazowiecki in 2020 before the premiere edition of Iindividual European Championship. Then he was nominated for a title fight. Unfortunately, the competition was canceled at the original date due to the pandemic caused by the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus. When the replay took place, it was in vain to look for his name on the starting list. He stopped his career for good and it seemed that he would never return to the track. And yet it happened otherwise. This year, to his surprise, he started in the Swedish league! The Czech federation decided that Jan will also try his hand at the track in Sanok in February!
Let us recall that the federations of Austria (Harald Simon, Franz Zorn), the Netherlands (Niek Schaap, Sebastian Reitsma) and Norway (Jo Saetre) had previously reported their competitors. The competition on the “Błonie” track is scheduled for February 25 and 26 (both on Saturday and Sunday at 14.00). Tickets are available online on the website bilety.speedwayevents.pl and ebilet.pl.
