![]() | |
![]() | |
Race details | |
---|---|
Date | April/May |
Region | Greece |
Local name(s) | Διεθνής Ποδηλατικός Γύρος Ελλάδος (in Greek) |
Nickname(s) | IToH |
Discipline | Road |
Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
Type | Stage race |
Organiser |
|
Web site | www |
History | |
First edition | 1968 |
Editions | 20 |
First winner | ![]() |
Most wins | No repeat winners |
Most recent | ![]() |
The International Tour of Hellas is a road bicycle racing stage race. It consists of five stages and is usually held between April and May. [1] The race was first held in 1968 as the Antiquities Trophy, and was later known as the Tour of Hellas (or Greece). The race was held sporadically from 1968 until 2012. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) made the race part of the UCI Europe Tour in 2005; the race had previously been held as an amateur event. [2] The race was revived in 2022 as a category 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. [3] [4]
Cycling Greece is the organizing committee for the race in collaboration with the Hellenic Cycling Federation and the local authorities of the hosting cities.
Nikos Kapsokefalos envisioned the organization of the first Tour of Hellas, drawing inspiration from the popularity of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia at the time. The first edition of the race was held in 1968, and was known as the Tour of Ancient Monuments. The first stage was held on 7 October, covering 170 kilometres (110 mi) from Athens to Delphi, and the first overall winner was Danish rider Gerhard Nielsen.
The second edition was held in 1981, 13 years later. That year, Greek riders completed a podium sweep, with Kanellos Kanellopoulos (PO Patras) becoming the first Greek cyclist to win the race.
After several problems,[ clarification needed ] the race, now known as the Tour of Hellas, [5] returned in 2002. The race went on its most recent hiatus after 2012 due to a lack of financial resources and sponsors.
On 13 December 2021, the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports announced that the race, which was rebranded as the International Tour of Hellas, would return in 2022. [6] [7]
Wins | Country |
---|---|
3 | ![]() |
2 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
1 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common competition formats are mass start events, where riders start simultaneously and race to a set finish point; and time trials, where individual riders or teams race a course alone against the clock. Stage races or "tours" take multiple days, and consist of several mass-start or time-trial stages ridden consecutively.
Ronde van Drenthe is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Drenthe, Netherlands and sanctioned by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union. The women's event is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, and the men's event is part of the UCI Europe Tour.
The International Tour of Rhodes is an annual professional cycling stage race held in Rhodes, Greece. It was first held in 1987, but the second edition only took place in 1995. Between 2001 and 2003 it became a professional race. Fabian Cancellara won the race twice, in 2001 and 2002, including his first victory as a professional in 2001. The race was not held from 2004 until 2017 when it returned to the calendar as a 2.2 event and part of the UCI Europe Tour.
The 2014 Tour of Qinghai Lake is the 13th edition of an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Qinghai Province, China since 2002, named after Qinghai Lake. The race is run at the highest category (apart from those races which make up the UCI World Tour, and is rated by the International Cycling Union as a 2.HC race as part of the UCI Asia Tour.
Demi de Jong is a Dutch former road cyclist. As a junior, de Jong won the bronze medal in the women's junior time trial at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships. She started her professional career in 2014 at Boels–Dolmans. In her last season she rode for UCI Women's Continental Team VolkerWessels Women Cyclingteam, but ended her career due to a knee injury. She is the younger sister of the 2016 Cyclo-cross World Champion, Thalita de Jong.
Eider Merino Cortazar is a Spanish professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team Lifeplus Wahoo. Prior to joining the Movistar Team in 2018, Merino rode for five years with the Lointek team. Her elder brother Igor Merino is also a professional cyclist, but is currently suspended from the sport.
Stanisław Aniołkowski is a Polish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Cofidis.
The 2017 UCI World Tour was a competition that included thirty-seven road cycling events throughout the 2017 men's cycling season. It was the ninth edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2009. The competition started with the opening stage of the Tour Down Under on 17 January and concluded with the final stage of the Tour of Guangxi on 24 October. Slovakia's Peter Sagan was the defending champion. The 2017 edition featured ten new events.
The 2017 UCI Women's World Tour was the second edition of the UCI Women's World Tour. For the 2017 season, the calendar consisted of 20 races, up from 17 in 2016. Two one-day races – the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, to complete an Ardennes classics week – were added along with the Ladies Tour of Norway and the Holland Ladies Tour; all 2016 races returned for the 2017 calendar, with the exception of the cancelled Philadelphia International Cycling Classic.
Mark Stewart is a Scottish road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Team Corratec–Vini Fantini. Representing Great Britain and Scotland at international competitions, Stewart won the bronze medal at the 2016 UEC European Track Championships in the team pursuit.
Victor Langellotti is a Monegasque cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Burgos BH.
Jakub Otruba is a Czech racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team ATT Investments. He rode for Elkov–Author in the men's team time trial event at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships.
Bolton Equities Black Spoke was a New Zealand UCI ProTeam status cycling team focusing on road bicycle racing. The team was run by ex-professional Scott Guyton and folded at the end of the 2023 season.
Corbin Strong is a New Zealand road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Israel–Premier Tech. He won the points race and finished second in the team pursuit at the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
Jon Barrenetxea is a Spanish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Movistar Team.
Sainbayaryn Jambaljamts is a Mongolian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Burgos BH. He is the current road race champion of Mongolia and a medalist at the Asian Games. He is the first rider from Mongolia to become a professional cyclist.
Team Corratec–Vini Fantini is a UCI ProTeam status road bicycle racing team based in Italy.
The 2022 International Tour of Hellas was a road cycling stage race held between 27 April and 1 May 2022 in Greece. It was the 18th edition of the Tour of Greece. The race returned after a 10 year absence from the sport.
Logan Currie is a New Zealand road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Lotto–Dstny.