Tour of Romania, one of the most prestigious road cycling races in Southeast Europe and the most important international cycling event in the country this year, will take place between August 31st – September 5th on a route of over 800 km. According to the organizers, the Romanian Cycling Federation, together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Auchan Retail Romania, as the main partner, the 54th edition of the competition aims to line up about 120 cyclists at the start line.
A new route for the Tour of Romania
This year’s edition aims to line up at the start line about 120 cyclists who will fight for the famous yellow shirt. The platoon will cycle on a route of over 800 km, passing by some of the most impressive historical monuments of the country, such as Deva Fortress, Sarmizegetusa Regia Fortress, Corvin Castle, Fagaras Fortress, Bran Castle, Dacian Fortress from Capalna, but also some of the most famous fortified churches in Transylvania.
The Tour of Romania will start this year with a prologue race in Timisoara, on August 31st , this being followed by 5 stages:
- Stage 1 (1 september): Timisoara – Lugoj Caransebes – Hateg – Hunedoara – Deva
- Stage 2 (2 september): Deva – Orastie – Sebes – Poiana Sibiului – Gura Raului – Paltinis
- Stage 3 (3 september): Sibiu – Agnita – Fagaras – Poiana Marului – Zarnesti – Bran – Brasov
- Stage 4 (4 september): Brasov- Cheia- Ploiesti – Bucharest
- Stage 5 (5 september): circuit in Bucharest
According to the organizers, the configuration of this year’s route represents a premiere for the Tour of Romania, the most awaited stage being the one on September 2nd , this being also designated as the Queen Stage, the most difficult route due to the difficult climbing to Paltinis.
Regarding the participating teams, the Romanian Cycling Federation estimates a number of about 20 teams present at the Tour of Romania, among those who have already expressed their interest being Bardiani CSF Faizanè (Italy), Delko (France, team from which also includes Eduard Grosu, the champion of the 2020 edition of Tour of Romania), Felbermayr – Simplon Wels (Austria) and Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling (USA, a team that also includes the Romanian cyclist Serghei Tvetcov).
For the third consecutive year, Auchan Retail Romania is as the main partner of the event, based on a long-term collaboration started with the Romanian Cycling Federation.
Like other European cycling competitions that continue their tradition – the Tour of Italy, the Tour of France, etc., the Tour of Romania will also be organized this year with a set of strict rules on health measures drafted in accordance with the regulations of the International Cycling Union, Romanian Government and Ministry of Health.
The 53rd edition of the Tour of Romania took place last year between September 8-13 and brought together 11 teams from 6 countries that covered a total of over 700 km. The competition started with a prologue race in Timisoara, and later the cycling caravan covered 5 stages on the routes: Timisoara – Oradea, Oradea – Cluj-Napoca, Targu Mures – Sf.Ana Lake, Cartisoara – Transfagarasan – Curtea de Arges and, not lastly, the Bucharest circuit.
The big winner of the previous edition was Eduard Grosu, a member of the national team, his victory marking the 28th competition won by a Romanian.
The overall ranking was completed by Holler Nikodemus, from the German Bike Aid team, and by the Pole Krawczyk Szymon (CCC Development Team). Serghei Tvetcov, a member of the national team, and Emil Dima (Giotti Victoria – Savini Due) ranked 5th and 7th, respectively.
About Tour of Romania
The Tour of Romania or “Little Loop” is the most important cycling competition in Romania. The first edition of the Tour, won by the Bulgarian team, took place in 1934, over a distance of 1026 kilometers, with 7 stages. However, the origins of the Tour date back to the beginning of the last century. In August 1910, inspired by the Tour of France, the publication “Revista Automobila” organized the Muntenia Circuit, which was attended by 18 competitors, on the route Bucharest-Sinaia-Targoviste-Butimanu-Bucharest. With the advent of World War I, the competition stopped.
In 1934, the newspaper “Sportul Zilnic” organized the first edition of the Tour of Romania, our country becoming the sixth in the world with its own national tour. From 1950 to 1974, the Tour of Romania was organized regularly, followed by a break until 1983. From 1984, the organization of the Tour was resumed. The fastest race of the Tour of Romania was in 1974, between Pitesti and Bucharest, when the 109 kilometers were covered with an average of 52,516 km / h. Mircea Romascanu and Constantin Dumitrescu, two legends of Romanian cycling, each won the Tour of Romania 3 times, being the highest number of individual victories.