Cycling Tour of Szeklerland

The Cycling Tour of Szeklerland, one of the most prestigious cycling events in Romania arrived to his 7^th edition. Between the 7^th and 10^th August, cycling takes priority on the roads of Szeklerland. Within the competition which lasts three days, the racers will face difficult stages with many climbings and stunning sprints. The Cycling Tour of Szeklerland is organized by the city council of Miercurea Ciuc, Sfantu Gheorghe, Targu Secuiesc and Gheorgheni, respectively by the county councils of Harghita and Covasna, the County’s Sports and Youth Directorate, Tusnad Cycling Team and Ciuc Sports Association.

New partners

The main sponsor of this sport event is once again the mineral water producer S.C. Apemin Tusnad S.A. The list of other main sponsors is completed by HopeSped, Bellotto and Marien Presso. Other partners supporting the race are: Tess, Mol, Fenestela, MedExpert, Waberer’s and Shimano.

Stages

The race begins on Thursday as the cyclists will ride to Covasna county. There will be three intermediate sprints on the first day. They will take place in Tusnad, Targu Secuiesc and Sfantu Gheorghe. As well, the sportsmen will face a challenging climb at Pasul Nyerges.

The second race day includes the king stage of this year’s event. There are three B category climbings (Pasul Vlahita twice, Pasul Liban) and one C category uphill segment on the race map on Friday. The intermediate sprints from Vlahita, Gheorgheni and Miercurea Ciuc will bring much joy for the evolution of this stage.

The last day consists of two half-stages. On Saturday morning, the uphill individual time trial will cause difficult minutes for all the riders due to the mountain conditions in the arrival area. Beside this, the second half-stage starts at 5 pm in Miercurea Ciuc, goes through Racu and Frumoasa and finally arrives back to the town for completing a 17 x 5.5 km long circuit track on the streets.

Newcomer: the white jersey

The overall money prices awarded this year at the Cycling Tour of Szeklerland are € 11 512. Prices will be awarded to the top 20 riders finishing a stage and to the top 30 cyclists in the final general classification. There are five different jerseys to be given to the best sportsmen. The leader of the general classification will wear the blue jersey, sponsored by the main sponsor “Tusnad”. The first placed rider in the points ranking takes the red-black jersey brought by HopeSped. Just like in the previous years, the best climber will be the proud possessor of the yellow coloured “Csikszereda” jersey. An award goes to the best U23 rider, the green jersey, sponsored by the Marien Presso, will be handed over to the best youngster. A novelty this year is the appearance of the white jersey for the best Romanian cyclist. This one is provided by the famous producer of bicycle equipment and sportswear, Bellotto.

We kindly invite you to cheer for the competitors at the start, finish and along the race track!