Record Number of Hungarian Athletes at the 100-Year-Old Tour de Hongrie

MTI-Hungary Today 2025.05.04.

It has never happened before that three or four Hungarian continental teams have competed in a race of this level, said Domonkos Schneller, President of the Hungarian Cycling Federation, about the Tour de Hongrie, starting in two weeks.

“I think there would have been people five years ago who would have given half an arm if there had been only one continental team in Hungary. These are the teams that already represent an opportunity for young cyclists to get a chance to break out and develop,” the head of the federation said on M4 Sport on Tuesday, stressing that the race will be special in terms of the number of Hungarian or Hungarian-interest teams and the number of Hungarian cyclists.

A “csikós” herdsman riding alongside the peloton of the 45th Tour de Hongrie in the Hortobágy plains. Photo: MTI/Derencsényi István

In the 46th edition of the Tour de Hongrie, six World Tour teams, nine pro-continental, five continental, and one cross-country team will compete.

The field will include three Hungarian continental teams, Epronex-Hungary, United Shipping, and Karcag Cycling ÉPKAR Team, as well as the Italian-registered but Hungarian title sponsor MBH Bank Ballan CSB, with Hungarian cyclists.

In total, there will be up to 16 Hungarian cyclists in the field. Domonkos Schneller stressed that never before in the world has there been a Pro Tour race with so many Hungarians.

Peloton at the 45th Tour de Hongrie’s Tokaj – Kazincbarcika section, near Tarcal. Photo: MTI/Derencsényi István

Never before have there been more than 10 Hungarian riders in a race of this category, and now there could be up to 16. I think this says a lot about the development of the sport of cycling in Hungary,”

he noted.

Kazincbarcika, in the 45th Tour de Hongrie’s Tokaj – Kazincbarcika section. Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt

The 46th Tour de Hongrie, celebrating its centenary, will take place between May 14 and 18. This year’s program includes three flat stages, one mountain stage, and one transition stage.

As reported by Hungary Today, the 885-kilometer race will feature ten categorized climbs: in addition to the first category, Blue Roof, cyclists will have to conquer four second and five third category “climbs” to score mountain points, with a total of more than 7,000 meters of ascent. The route passes through a total of 101 towns and villages, in addition to the capital.

45th Tour de Hongrie’s Budapest – Etyek section on the Chain Bridge in Budapest last year. Photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán

Fact

The Tour de Hongrie was first held in 1925. The first race was won by Hungarian Károly Jerzsabek, and the current defending champion is Swiss Marc Hirschi. Initially, the Tour de Hongrie was only contested by national cyclists, with the first foreign contender taking part in 1929. The race was interrupted several times: in 1928, the World Cycling Championships and in 1936, the Olympic Games meant that the race was cancelled. Even after the Second World War, there were minor interruptions, while following the 1965 race there was a long break of 28 years. Although it was finally held again in 1993, there were still a few years of hiatuses from the competition calendar.

Tour de Hongrie in 1949. Photo: Fortepan / Kovács Márton Ernő

Since 2015, however, the Tour de Hongrie has continued to evolve and has successfully moved up the international cycling calendar on several occasions: the race was part of the UCI Europe Tour from 2015 to 2022, and in 2022, the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) announced that it would be included in the second highest level of road cycling, the UCI ProSeries, from 2023 to 2025.

46th Tour de Hongrie Route Unveiled

The competition, 100 years old this year, was first held in 1925.Continue reading

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt