PREVIEW | Tour de Hongrie 2023

Preview. The main race within Hungary. The Tour de Hongrie sees one more year in the road directly alongside the Giro d'Italia, with a route that features stages for all types of riders. The race takes place from the 10th to 14th of May.

Stage 1 will be a day for the sprinters. Into Szentgotthárd, the race will favour the sprinters in it's first arrival with the first race lead to be decided in a flat finish. Stage 2 of the Tour de Hongrie is another flat one. Not a pan-flat one, as it features two categorized ascents. However, none of them are significant and a bunch sprint should be inevitable as the race heads into Kezthely. 

Stage 3 will be the first big day for the overall classification. It isn't a serious mountain stage but features a tough final circuit. There is a 4-kilometer climb at 4.7% to be ridden twice before the finish, but the final ascent to Pecs is where the race will be decided. It is 6.3 kilometers long at 5.7% to be ridden twice. The finale is then halfway up the climb, in a 3.5-kilometer climb at 6.1%. Stage 4 is ultimately the queen stage of the race. It features three categorized ascents before the final of the day. It is one split into two, with a steep initial hilltop that has 2 kilometers at 8.7% finishing with 9 kilometers to go. A short descent follows and then the main part of the climb to Dobogókõ is 8 kilometers long at 4.8%. 

The final day of the race sees the peloton race into the capital. It is not an easy day as the riders take on 15 laps of an urban circuit which has a small hilltop. It's only a kilometer at 4.3% but throughout the day it provides opportunities to attack and for the breakaway to keep on pushing a hard pace. A sprint is expected to wrap up the race however.

Estimated start and finish times for Tour de Hongrie:

Stage 1: 12:35 - 16:20CET

Stage 2: 12:35 - 16:35CET

Stage 3: 12:05 - 16:30CET

Stage 4: 11:20 - 16:20CET

Stage 5: 11:00 - 14:20CET

*** Luke Plapp, Max Poole
** Damien Howson, Egan Bernal
* Ben Tulett, Herman Pernsteiner, Oscar Onley, Finn Fisher-Black, Ben Hermans

Pick: Max Poole