Foreigners Dominate 'Tour de Hongrie' Road Cycling Race

  • 19 May 2025 3:27 PM
Foreigners Dominate 'Tour de Hongrie' Road Cycling Race
Ecuadorian cyclist Harold Martín López has claimed victory in the 46th Tour de Hongrie, Hungary’s 100-year-old road cycling race. The final stage on Sunday was won by Colombian Juan Sebastián Molano.

The race concluded with a 170-kilometre stage between Körpince Street in Etyek and the Esztergom Basilica, bringing the total race distance to 875 kilometres.

Featuring 1,960 metres of elevation gain, the stage saw Hungarian rider Zétény Szijártó break away in a group that ultimately whittled down to five riders contesting the finish. Molano proved the fastest, while López retained his overall lead, becoming the first Ecuadorian winner in the history of the Tour de Hongrie.

Despite rain beginning two hours before the start in Etyek—home to one of the earlier mountain sprints—many fans still gathered along Körpince Street. At the beginning of the day, López’s lead over Italy’s Alessandro Covi was a narrow eight seconds, and even third-placed Albert Philipsen of Denmark was only 13 seconds behind, making time bonuses a key strategic element.

There were some delightful scenes along the route: in Biatorbágy, two uniformed firefighters pedalled atop spinning bikes mounted on a fire truck. In Herceghalom, the number “100” was displayed in Hungary’s national colours to honour the race’s centenary. One fan even watched from a ladder on top of a bus stop.

From the start, numerous breakaway attempts were made. Belgian Siebe Deweirdt, wearing the red climber’s jersey, joined nearly every attack to solidify his win in the King of the Mountains classification, which he also won last year. The overall contenders remained focused on collecting precious time bonuses during the intermediate sprint in Zsámbék, where Philipsen managed to reduce his gap by three seconds.

The peloton passed by the iconic “Üvegtigris” roadside food stand before heading into a loop circuit in Pilisvörösvár, where local cyclist Erik Fetter—celebrating his name day—was cheered on with banners and signs. Sadly, Gergő Gönczy crashed, dislocated his shoulder, and had to abandon the race.

Eventually, seven riders broke away, including Szijártó and Deweirdt, who went on to win all three mountain sprints and comfortably secured the red jersey. The lead group built the biggest time gap seen in this year’s race—around five minutes—but the peloton, pushing hard on the climbs, steadily reeled them in.

Fetter thrilled his hometown fans with a solo move in Pilisvörösvár, but was caught in Piliscsaba. The final two and a half laps in Esztergom featured cobbled sections and a short, steep climb under sunny skies. Covi snatched a one-second bonus at the last intermediate sprint.

With just one kilometre remaining, the breakaway was caught, setting up a dramatic five-man sprint in front of the Esztergom Basilica, where Molano sealed his win. López, holding on to his time advantage, was crowned the 2025 Tour de Hongrie champion.

Hungarian rider Bálint Feldhoffer kept his white jersey as the best Hungarian competitor.

Molano told MTI that his team’s lead-out plan worked perfectly and began just 300 metres from the finish due to the difficulty of the final cobbled climb.

"The last corner, just 150 metres from the line, was critical—I had to come through in second position,” he said happily after the win.

López described the day as feeling more like a classic one-day race due to the rain, wind, and the repeated cobbled sectors.

"It wasn’t easy, but my teammates did a great job keeping me in front all day. The yellow jersey is beautiful—but it also comes with pressure, as it’s the most important colour in cycling,” he added.

Feldhoffer said the final stage was stressful, especially the finish in Esztergom.

"I knew I had to stay in front—one crash and I could’ve lost everything,” he explained, noting that the final circuit was particularly demanding. He also said he kept a close eye on those ahead of him in the general classification—especially López—and mostly managed to stay with them.

“A small gap opened behind the leading group, but luckily it wasn’t big enough for me to lose my position.”

Source:
MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent. Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all the key narratives within the media landscape.

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