2025

46th Tour de Hongrie – Worthy of a Century

Tour de Hongrie 2025 was all about celebration: it was a hundred years ago, in 1925, that the history of the biggest cycling race in Hungary began. The event was worthy of the special occasion: bigger crowds along the roads welcomed the world stars and their Hungarian challengers than ever before.

The programme started off with a special event, as on 13 May a cycling festival was held at the Műegyetem rakpart, next to Szent Gellért Square in Budapest. In addition to the Tour de Hongrie team presentation, spectators were able to meet Blanka Vas and Dylan Groenewegen, as well as to take part in a cycling conference, expo and a whole range of exciting events. The organisers were not short of additional activities: on the first and third stages, amateurs could test themselves on the route in the AmaTour Budapest and Cofidis AmaTour Kékes, while on the fourth stage, young cyclists could compete in the Székesfehérvár Criterium.

On 14 May, the official start of the race took place on St Gellért Square - just like the first one a century earlier. The 126 riders from 21 teams (including 6 WorldTeams) competed for the first yellow jersey in Győr, where Danny van Poppel took a surprising victory. The Dutch sprinter arrived in Hungary as a lead-out of former Tour de Hongrie stage winner Sam Welsford, but he completed the final bend so perfectly that his rivals could not catch him.

A day later, at the end of the Veszprém - Siófok stage, Van Poppel won again, but his double was bittersweet: a huge crash in the first half of the stage left three of his teammates in the dust. Eight riders underwent medical examinations after the crash, and two ended up spending extended periods in hospital. Fortunately, neither Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates XRG) nor Frederik Wandahl (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) suffered any permanent injuries.

At the end of the Queen Stage, the GC favourites had to climb the highest mountain of Hungary, Kékestető. Ecuador's Harold Martin Lopez (XDS Astana) was the fastest, taking the win in front of Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl - Trek). The minimal gap meant that the final victory was far from decided before the last two stages. Philipsen and Covi seized every opportunity to make up bonus seconds, but ultimately fell short to the first Ecuadorian winner in Tour de Hongrie history.

The sprinters battled for the victory in the last two stages, but the scenario was not without its thrills. On Saturday, the crosswinds between Tata and Székesfehérvár and on Sunday, the steep climbs of Pilis and the cobbled roads of Esztergom made things difficult for the riders. First, Dutch champion Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) took his third Tour de Hongrie stage win of his career (and his first 2025 triumph), then Juan Sebastian Molano beat Van Poppel and Tim Torn Teutenberg (Lidl - Trek) at the foot of the Basilica.

With two stage wins and two second places, Van Poppel easily secured the points classification victory and was called to the award ceremony in Esztergom in a green jersey. In the mountains classification, Belgian Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders - Baloise) defended his title from 2024. His team took home the red jersey from Hungary for the third time in the last four years.

In 2025, for the first time in the history of the race, three national Continental Teams were at the start: Epronex - Hungary Cycling Team was joined by Karcag Cycling ÉPKAR Team and Team United Shipping. A 15-strong Hungarian contingent, including MBH Bank Ballan CSB, Pierre Baguette and Euskaltel - Euskadi legionnaires, could look forward to the start. The white jersey for the best Hungarian rider was continuously held by Team United Shipping: first, János Pelikán, and then, after Kékestető, Bálint Feldhoffer. Aged just 19, Feldhoffer finished in 7th place overall, which is the best Hungarian result since Attila Valter's triumph in 2020.

46th Tour de Hongrie (14-18 May 2025, 875 km)

Stage winners:
Stage 1 (Budapest – Győr, 210 km): Danny van Poppel (NED, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) – in yellow jersey: van Poppel
Stage 2 (Veszprém – Siófok, 178 km): Danny van Poppel (NED, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) – in yellow: van Poppel
Stage 3 (Gödöllő – Gyöngyös-Kékestető, 163 km): Harold Martin Lopez (ECU, XDS Astana) – in yellow: Lopez
Stage 4 (Tata - Székesfehérvár, 154 km): Dylan Groenewegen (NED, Jayco AlUla) – in yellow: Lopez
Stage 5 (Etyek – Esztergom, 170 km): Juan Sebastian Molano (COL, UAE Team Emirates XRG) – in yellow: Lopez

General Classification:

1. (in yellow jersey) Harold Martin Lopez (ECU, XDS Astana) 19:56:53
2. Alessandro Covi (ITA, UAE Team Emirates XRG) +0:07
3. Albert Withen Philipsen (DEN, Lidl - Trek) +0:10
4. Alexander Hajek (AUT, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) +0:16
5. Jan Castellón (ESP, Caja Rural Seguros RGA) +0:26
6. Pavel Novák (CZE, MBH Bank Ballan CSB) +0:26
7. Bálint Feldhoffer (HUN, Team United Shipping) +0:27
8. Ludovico Crescioli (ITA, Team Polti VisitMalta) +0:30
9. Odd Christian Eiking (NOR, Unibet Tietema Rockets) +0:31
10. Urko Berrarde (ESP, Equipo Kern Pharma) +0:33

Winner of the points classification:
(in green jersey) Danny van Poppel (NED, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe)

Winner of the mountains classification:
(in red jersey) Siebe Deweirdt (BEL, Flanders – Baloise)

Best Hungarian rider:
7. (in white jersey) Bálint Feldhoffer (Team United Shipping)