The origins of what was to become possibly the greatest amateur cycling events of all-times, seem lost in the mist of time, over half a century ago. Given the utter devastation of Central Europe by World War II, the beginnings of the Peace Race in 1948 had to, by definition, be relatively humble. What might have been lacking in technical expertise and material support was more than made up by the enthusiasm of the participating riders, the dedication of the countless volunteers who ran the race and the support of the masses of spectators who lined the route of the entire race. The 1948 was the only year when the Peace Race had been run as two simultaneous events connecting Prague and Warsaw. Both events ran over roads that were in terrible condition, saw riders plagued by endless mechanical problems and, on occasions, even left the race officials confused. However, even with these problems, the public response to the race was nothing but phenomenal. By the time the 1848 winners Alexander Zoric and Augustin Prosenik returned to their native Yugoslavia, cycling officials in Prague and Warsaw were already busily planning the 1949 event.

1949 saw the triumph of the rider who was denied victory in the inaugural event by plain bad luck, Jan Vesely [CSR]. Vesely really was the most influential rider, not just during the Beginnings years of the Peace Race, but throughout its entire first decade. In addition to his 1949 individual victory, Vesely led the Czechoslovak team to four Team Competition wins in 1950,1951, 1954 and 1955: while he himself was twice the runner-up in the individual classification (1952 and 1955) and won the total of 16 Peace Race stages.

In 1950 began the period of Danish domination of the "May Stages" (as the Peace Race was often called). Willy Emborg took out the 1950 race, followed by Kai Allan Olsen a year later, and by Christian Pedersen in 1953. The 1952 winner came from across the English Channel and his name was Ian Steel.

There was, however, much more to remember about Peace Race peloton during the first six years of the Great Race then simply the names of the race winners. There were the exploits of  that great Czechoslovak road sprinter Vlastimil Ruzicka, the sheer bad luck that pursued the promising Austrian rider Franz Deutch, the tireless team work of the Danish road captain Wedell Oestergaard and the brilliant individual efforts of Jean Stablinski, the future Professional World Champion and the "right-hand" of the great Jacques Anquetil.