Tour of Greece explained

International Tour of Hellas
Current Event:2023 International Tour of Hellas
Date:April/May
Region:Greece
Localnames:Διεθνής Ποδηλατικός Γύρος Ελλάδος
Nickname:IToH
Discipline:Road
Competition:UCI Europe Tour
Type:Stage race
Number:20
Mostwins:No repeat winners
Website:https://www.hellas-tour.gr/

The International Tour of Hellas is a road bicycle racing stage race. It consists of five stages and is usually held between April and May.[1] The race was first held in 1968 as the Antiquities Trophy, and was later known as the Tour of Hellas (or Greece). The race was held sporadically from 1968 until 2012. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) made the race part of the UCI Europe Tour in 2005; the race had previously been held as an amateur event. The race was revived in 2022 as a category 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.[2] [3]

Cycling Greece is the organizing committee for the race in collaboration with the Hellenic Cycling Federation and the local authorities of the hosting cities.

History

Nikos Kapsokefalos envisioned the organization of the first Tour of Hellas, drawing inspiration from the popularity of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia at the time. The first edition of the race was held in 1968, and was known as the Tour of Ancient Monuments. The first stage was held on 7 October, covering from Athens to Delphi, and the first overall winner was Danish rider Gerhard Nielsen.

The second edition was held in 1981, 13 years later. That year, Greek riders completed a podium sweep, with Kanellos Kanellopoulos (PO Patras) becoming the first Greek cyclist to win the race.

After several problems, the race, now known as the Tour of Hellas,[4] returned in 2002. The race went on its most recent hiatus after 2012 due to a lack of financial resources and sponsors.

On 13 December 2021, the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports announced that the race, which was rebranded as the International Tour of Hellas, would return in 2022.[5] [6]

Past winners

Sources: [7] [8] [9]

YearWinnerSecondThird
1968
1969–1980Not Held
1981
1982
1983Not Held
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990–1997Not Held
1998
1999–2001Not Held
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007–2010Not Held
2011
2012
2013–2021Not Held
2022
2023
2024

Wins per country

WinsCountry
3
2




1




Notes and References

  1. Web site: International Tour of Hellas (Grè) - Cat.2.1 . Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu . fr.
  2. Web site: ΔΕΗ International Tour of Hellas. Union Cycliste Internationale. 20 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220420164050/https://www.uci.org/competition-details/2022/ROA/67075. 20 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Palmares International Tour of Hellas . 2023-03-18 . www.procyclingstats.com.
  4. Web site: Home . 2023-03-18 . hellas-tour.gr . en-gb.
  5. Web site: The "ΔΕΗ International Tour of Hellas" returns after 10 years. International Tour of Hellas. Cycling Greece. 13 December 2021. 20 April 2022.
  6. Web site: Preview statistics for International Tour of Hellas 2022 . 2022-06-08 . www.procyclingstats.com.
  7. Web site: Tour of Hellas. FirstCycling. 20 April 2022.
  8. Web site: Top-3 per edition. ProCyclingStats. 20 April 2022.
  9. Web site: History. International Tour of Hellas. 2 May 2022.