Skoda Tests Octavia vRS Against Olympic Cyclist Ed Clancy

SkodaSkodaCzech Rep., 1895 > present57 models
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lined up a challenge with two-time Olympic gold-medal-winning cyclist Ed Clancy and a Skoda Octavia vRSSkoda Octavia RS 2.0 TDI DSGCzech Rep., 2013 > present1 photo
to see which was faster. It would be unfair for them just to have a drag race, so to make things fair Clancy raced down a mountain with a rolling start, while the Octavia raced up it from a standing start. The stage was the Southern Borders Loop stage of the Tour of Britain on the B6399 road.

“I love a challenge and knew that taking on the new ŠKODA Octavia vRS was going to be a tough test. When I was told which section we’d be racing on and that I’d be going downhill from a rolling start, I knew I had a chance.  The route is perfectly suited to cycling,” said Clancy.

Not to spoil which side won, but Clancy averaged 50mph downhill and took 52.26 seconds to complete the course.

Skoda filmed the race and has posted it online. You can watch below.

The new Octavia vRS uses a 2.0 TSI engine with 220ps and a dual-clutch transmission. It takes 6.9 seconds to reach 100km/h and a top speed of 152mph.