The Deputy Minister of Sports, Lefteris Avgenakis presented in detail the 5 stages of the International Cycling

The Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports characterized the national bet on sports decentralization, Lefteris Avgenakis τον International Cycling Tour of Greece which revives, after 10 years of absence. The race will start from Crete and will end, after 5 stages, in Epirus.

The Undersecretary presented in detail the five exciting routes that compose the Tour for this yearhighlighting to the fullest the areas that the glowing peloton runs through “Through the world television broadcast, but also the involvement of the international media thanks to the huge popularity of racing cycling internationally”.



The International Cycling Tour of Greece, which starts on April 26 with the official presentation of the teams in Heraklion, Crete and is completed with the end of the 5th stage in beautiful Ioannina, aspires to develop into a one of the biggest cycling events in the worldbringing multiple benefits to local communities.

Nine cities, start and finish:



Heraklion

Chania

Athens (OAKA)

Willow

Delphi

Karditsa

Larissa

Meteora (Kalampaka)

Janina

Dozens of other smaller cities, villages and towns of the country compose the puzzle of the map of the wonderful routes created by the members of the Organizing Committee and in particular the Director of the Race, Vladimiros Petsas.

The routes in detail of the 5 exciting stages of the International Tour of Greece, as presented by the Deputy Minister of Sports.

Wednesday 27 April / 1st ETAP: Heraklion – Rethymno – Chania = 196.9 km



“The start of the Tour of Greece will take place at the Pankritio Stadium, in Heraklion. From there the peloton will move south to the plain of Messara. It will pass through Moires, Tympaki, outside Agia Galini and Spili.

Next is the beautiful city of Rethymnon, which will host the second intermediate sprint of the day, in a beautiful setting. Then the athletes will leave behind Atsipopoulos, Giorgioupoli, Nio Chorio, Stylo, Malaxa, Nerokourou, to enter Chania.

The finish line is located outside Neoria in the Old Port.

This is a very demanding ETAP, which moves on the outskirts of the White Mountains and highlights the diversity of Crete. A route that emphasizes the unique landscape of the island, which combines mountains and endless coastlines.

Thursday 28 April / 2nd ETAP: OAKA (Maroussi) – Itea = 165.0 km



The beginning of the 2nd day will find the caravan at the OAKA facilities. The start for the glowing peloton will be given in the area where the Wall of Nations is located, overlooking the Cycling Track, where that day it will be dressed festively for the Bike Festival, waiting for young and old with a multitude of activities.

The cyclists will pass through Fyli, Dafni, Erythres, Thebes and Aliartos, where they will meet the first intermediate sprint and immediately afterwards they will head to Livadia. Next are the mountain towns of Distomo and Desfina, to then descend along the coast, passing through the archaeological site of Ancient Kirra. From there, arrival in the finish city is a short distance away. The arch of the end is located in the picturesque port of Itea.

An impressive ETAP that combines modern Greece with its ancient civilization, highlights the mountains of Sterea and ends in the embrace of the Corinthian Gulf.

Friday 29 April / 3rd ETAP: Delphi – Lamia – Karditsa = 170.7 km



The start of the 3rd ETAP is given outside the Museum of Delphi. The Revival of the International Cycling Tour could not but pass through the “navel of the earth”.

The flag of the sovereign will fall on Chrisso and from there the fighting action will begin. The peloton will pass through Amfissa and will ascend Parnassos, passing through Voxites, Gravia, Bralos and the city of Lamia. In the latter, people will be able to see cyclists fighting for points in the intermediate sprint.

Lianokladi, Trilofo, Smokovo lake, Kallifoni and Agiopigi are some of the reference points of the route, which will be completed outside the Municipal Stadium of Karditsa.

It is one of the most beautiful routes in the world, dreamed of by many professional cyclists, as it contains a lot of action and takes place in an environment of great natural beauty.

Saturday 30 April / 4th ETAP: Karditsa – Lake Plastira – Larissa = 176.5 km



The penultimate day starts in Karditsa. Through Mitropolis and Moschato, cyclists reach a magnificent landscape, equal to those that cycling friends see in the Big Rounds. This landscape is none other than Lake Plastira. The procession continues to Agios Athanasios and Kastania, where it will become one of the most beautiful and spectacular climbing sprints.

The peloton will move again to the Thessalian plain, crossing the Gorgovites, Palamas and Farkadona, always in the direction of Larissa. Profitis Ilias will be given valuable points for the jersey of the mountains and the cyclists who wish to conquer it.

A little later, the peloton will pass through Tyrnavos, which in turn will give points for the red jersey, with the first intermediate sprint of the 4th ETAP.

Via Giannoulis the cyclists enter Larissa. There the athletes will be asked to cover a small circusΐ, before finishing in front of the statue of Hippocrates in the Alcazar Park.

This is the ETAP with the lowest degree of difficulty, a few hours before the most difficult!

Sunday 1 May / 5th ETAP: Meteora (Kalampaka) – Ioannina = 154.5 km



The 5th and last day of the International Cycling Tour of Greece, is the one that will judge the winner of the general classification.

This is the “royal” ETAP of the event. Although it is the smallest in kilometers, with a length of 154.5 kilometers, it is the most difficult of all with 2,627 meters in altitude!

The start will be given in Kalambaka and with… good morning the terrain is uphill! Cyclists will climb the unique morphology complex of rocks of Meteora, making the round to pass through Kalambaka again.

Then they head to the mountain range of Pindos, to cross the famous Katara, reaching the highest point of the Tour, at 1,700 meters!

After Metsovo begins the final stage of the ETAP and the movement to the city of Ioannina.

The finish line is located on the Miaouli Coast, against the backdrop of the beautiful Lake Pamvotida.

A shocking landscape, which is one of the most beautiful places in Greece and will be the ideal setting for the epilogue of the 19th Cycling Tour of Greece! ”

The Deputy Minister of Sports pointed out that the revival of the International Cycling Tour of Greece strengthens the return of our country to high level sports events and their multifaceted exploitation for tourism and economic development.

In addition, he praised the help of local authorities, warmly thanking the Municipalities and Regions through which the peloton passes for their very important support.

Finally, Mr. Avgenakis gave the outline of this extremely important event and the multilevel positive impact concluding:

“We are creating a tourist, entertainment and educational event for citizens across the country.

Tourist, thanks to the huge view of the cities that starts, passes and ends the peloton.

Recreational, because all citizens can watch it for free, enjoying the spectacular duels of high level cyclists who will come to our country.

Educational, as we have prepared a number of parallel events, which we will announce in the near future, with the aim of strengthening the cycling consciousness of the citizens, at a time when our every action must leave a positive ecological footprint.

Our history, our culture, our monuments and our archeological sites, eternal symbols for the world community, combined with the incomparably beautiful landscapes, compose the ideal environment to create a new framework of economic activity thanks to the great sporting events it claims and organized by our country, such as the International Cycling Tour of Greece “.