Pavel Bittner

Impressing in the junior categories with wins throughout the two years, including two Czech Republic national road race titles, Pavel joined the team’s Development program in 2021 where he continued to put in some brilliant displays, ultimately being promoted to the Men’s program in the summer of 2022. After a solid first year at WorldTour level, 2024 truly became Pavel’s breakout season. After narrowly missing out on his first professional victory at the Grand Prix Criquielion, the Tour of Norway, and the Czech Tour, he could finally put his hands in the air and celebrate his first two wins at the Vuelta a Burgos. He carried that momentum into his Grand Tour debut at La Vuelta a España just weeks later. Alongside other strong results, he sprinted to an impressive stage victory on stage five, crowning his second full season in the professional peloton.

Pavel is from a cycling family with his granddad, dad and uncle all active cyclists, but despite that, he was “never pressured” into the sport. Instead, he has loved riding a bike since he was a kid, whether that was around the village with his granddad or going to training sessions at his local club. A fan of sports in general, Pavel tried anything and everything as a youngster such as swimming, moto cross, skiing, athletics and so on, but it was cycling that stuck for him.

“I really like the freedom of being able to go wherever you want but I also like the adrenaline from the speed in the downhills and taking corners smoothly.”

Still in his very early twenties, Pavel has a mature head on his young shoulders and allows himself time to take stock as to what he has achieved so far as a rider, but he is also fully aware that a lot of hard work is ahead of him.

“I always give 100 percent and see where it takes me and I’m super happy with where I am with the team. I think if we all work together, so riders and staff, then we will achieve some really nice things in the years to come.”

Leaving home at a young age to pursue his dreams and throwing himself fully into the team has helped Pavel develop not only on the bike but also growing as a person off it too.

“You really need to develop your communication skills and being with people from all over the world really grows you as a person. You’re not a kid anymore without any responsibilities, you need to be smart about your actions and what you do.”

Looking back over his few seasons with the team so far it is hard for Pavel to pick one performance or race out as a highlight, but he really likes how the team raced at the Tour de Normandie.

“Things really clicked that week; if we had a goal, we achieved it. We all worked really well together and gave each other 100 percent. A lot of the guys at that race have now moved up from the Development program and turned pro, so if we can build that at higher races in the future it will be a core memory for sure.”

Describing himself as “open”, “intense” and “loyal”, Pavel certainly has the qualities and characteristics to continue to improve as a rider and push himself and those around him to be better.

Away from cycling, Pavel likes to spend his time riding his motorbike or working on his car; socialising with his friends and having a good laugh with them down at the local café. If not, you might find him practicing his gaming skills so that he can beat the rest of the guys at Team Camp.