Due to weather conditions, the final stage of the Tour de Hongrie road cycling race in Budapest on Sunday was neutralized. The change was an unexpected development and not everyone agreed with it.
The 150-kilometer stage was to have taken place in the capital, celebrating its 150th anniversary. However, the stage was cancelled due to the increasing rain.
Race director László Szilasi told MTI that taking into account the safety aspects and the rainy weather, they accepted the competitors’ request in agreement with the teams.
As a consequence of the decision, there were no sub-finishes or final finishers, with the field completing eight laps at an average of 35km/h instead of the planned 16 laps.
Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
“It was the wisest decision. Of course we all wanted to race, to sprint for the win, but in this weather it would have led to crashes. As racers, we have to agree with the decision, which is for our safety,” European champion Fabio Jakobsen of the Netherlands, who was fastest in the rainy Keszthely stage and won in Hajduszoboszló and Nyíregyháza last year, told MTI. He added that eight slow laps was good for the fans and for them.
Zsolt Dér, the national captain of the Hungarian national team, understood that cyclists, especially those preparing for the Tour de France, fear for their safety and that it was not possible to shorten the circuit, except for the more dangerous parts, because of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) rules. “The race could have gone the way of the smaller teams, or there could have been a breakaway that did not endanger the overall, but there was no need to make this stage a sprint,” he explained.
Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
The final results of the overall and the categories were announced on the basis of Saturday’s podium stage: the yellow jersey went to Marc Hirschi of Switzerland, while Márton Dina was the best placed Hungarian in the overall and took home the white jersey.
The jersey wearers after the fourth, queen stage:
Marc Hirschi (SUI)
Matúš Štocek (SVK)
Sebastian Schönberger (AUT)
⚪️ Márton Dina (HUN): Zoltán Vanik, Zoltán Tuba pic.twitter.com/uQZAmX2xT4
— Tour de Hongrie (@Tour_de_Hongrie) May 13, 2023
However, not everyone was in full agreement with the change to Sunday’s stage. Chief organizer Károly Eisenkrammer told M4 Sport that the situation was very unpleasant and they were sad about it. He added that he would not have made the same decision if he had been in the teams’ shoes, but they could have done it.
Moreover, despite the overcast cold weather and drizzling rain, around 300 enterprising cyclists, accompanied by Budapest’s Mayor Gergely Karácsony and the Hungarian Tour’s chief organizer cycled the 9.5-kilometer circuit, which started and finished in front of the Császár-Komjád swimming pool at 9am.
Featured photo via MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd