42nd Tour de Hongrie has Started – PHOTOS!

Hungary Today 2021.05.14.

On Wednesday, the 42nd Tour de Hongrie started in the town of Siófok, located on the shore of Lake Balaton. In the beginning 173-kilometer stage, Germany’s Phil Bauhaus managed to secure a victory and the first leader’s yellow jersey. The race continued on Thursday with the second stage between Balatonfüred and Nagykanizsa, ending with the spectacular victory by Belgium’s Jordi Meeus.

This year’s competition is perhaps the biggest in the history of Tour de Hongrie, bringing the strongest peloton to the starting grids. 130 riders from 22 teams are attending Hungary’s most prestigious cycling race, including eight WoldTeams, nine ProTeams, four Continental Teams, and the National. Riders are covering 792 kilometers in five days and five stages until crossing the finish line in Budapest on Sunday.

Photo: Tamás Vasvári/MTI

Photo: Tamás Vasvári/MTI

Photo: Tamás Vasvári/MTI

The first stage between Siófok and Kaposvár started on Wednesday amid adverse weather conditions. As soon as the caravan departed it started to rain, but after a short while, the sun reappeared.

Eventually, the opening stage came down to a bunch sprint in which German rider Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) secured a victory against Italian Jakub Mareczko (Vini Zabu), and Belgian Jordi Meeus (Bora–Hansgrohe).

Fact

The first Tour de Hongrie took place in 1925 where participants had to ride 510.5 kilometers in western Hungary. Since then, the race was held every year until World War II, except in 1928, and 1936. After the end of the war, the tour continued until 1965. As the result of the political changes, a quarter-century break came when the competition was not held. After the end of communism in Hungary, the Tour was organized again from 1993.

The second stage started on Thursday on the opposite side of Lake Balaton in Balatonfüred. The 182.6-kilometer long route to Nagykanizsa ran through a beautiful landscape directly on the lakeshore.

This stage was won by the Belgian Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe), ahead of Italian Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) and Phil Bauhaus from Germany (Bahrain-Victorious).