Many big names in motorcycle racing started their racing careers on bicycles and only later moved to the saddles of racing motorcycles. The experience gained behind the handlebars of bicycles was later put to good use when taming more powerful machines. Even Václav Parus, the star of Czech motorcycle racing, first shone in the cycling sky.
Václav Parus is a competitor and especially an athlete in body and soul. He developed his skills from an early age, and since he was always very talented, he has always been at the highest levels in everything he did. As a student, he played football for Slavia Prague and, through a number of different sports, he was drawn to the handlebars of a bicycle. It was no coincidence that at the age of 17 he first visited the NSK Prague cycling track. Thanks to his talent and training diligence, his first successes came in his teenage years. The press of the time also noticed him:
His performances and talent did not go unnoticed by the Slavia cycling team, and in the following years, Václav Parus was already cruising the cycling tracks with the Slavia star on his chest. However, it was not just talent, but especially hard training that moved Václav Parus among the best.
At that time, I trained on the NSK track every day. I even built a training bike with resistance rollers for the winter and trained even when it was freezing outside.
He achieved his greatest success in the men's category on August 13, 1944 at the NSK cycling track, where he won the title of Czech champion in the 50 km race. The victory was very valuable, as evidenced by the words of Václav Parus himself: "I was not good enough to win every week, but in this race for the Czech championship I gave it my all and it just worked out." Václav Parus demonstrated great fighting spirit and stubbornness and managed to win the demanding race. As the photographs from the race show, the victory was very close. After fifty kilometers on the cycling oval, the final sprint was the deciding factor. Not only cycling fans will be interested in the fact that the future legend of cycling Jan Veselý also took part in this race. The atmosphere of the race and the way Václav Parus won is best described in a letter from the head of the then cycling club Slavia Jarda Lenka addressed to Václav.
Photo book donated to the winner of the 50 km championship race at the NSK Prague track. Václav Parus and Jan Veselý In 1947, Václav Parus switched to motorcycle racing.
His career was very successful. He became the first Czech to score points in the World Championship of Road Motorcycles. He took part in the toughest race in the world, and not only that, he even brought back a silver replica from the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man. He won several Grand Prix and became a multiple champion of Czechoslovakia. I think that throughout his racing career he lived up to Jarda Lenka's motto:
Put your whole soul into it, Vaška!
Author's note: While browsing albums with Mr. Václav Parus, we came across this article:
Václav Parus commented on it with the following words: „"Jiří Velc was a Spartan, my great rival. He was an excellent rider, and also a good boy."“ So I had the opportunity to learn that Václav Parus was not only a talented rider, but he has always been and still is an honest athlete who respects his opponent. Unfortunately, these values are often neglected nowadays.
