Slovakia deploys team masseur for World Championship road race

Vladimir Kovacik, a 28-year-old masseur for the Slovak national cycling team, competed in the men's elite road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal to ensure his country met mandatory participation requirements.

Slovakia faced a crisis after its primary riders—Martin Svrcek and Matthias Schwarzbacher—were sidelined by injury, and Lukas Kubis was not released by his professional team. Because the registration deadline had passed, the federation could not nominate new professional riders.

Kovacik, a former professional who had not competed at an elite level since 2017, stepped in to prevent the UCI from penalizing Slovakia. Failure to field a rider could have resulted in a loss of UCI points and a potential downgrade in national ranking, which would have jeopardized Slovakia's qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Kovacik successfully maintained pace with the peloton for over 100 kilometers before being pulled from the race by officials as the field moved into the more demanding final stages. His participation was described by national coach Jakub Vanco as a necessary measure to protect the future of Slovak cycling.