The ΔΕΗ Tour of Hellas continues its beautiful journey on the paths of international road cycling with the 2023 edition.
Starting from May 2 and up until May 6, 120 riders representing 20 teams will cover a distance of 660.6 km (and a total of 7,174m at altitude), which includes a prologue and four stages across three Regions (Crete, Peloponnese and Western Greece), 13 Municipalities, and 23 cities and towns.
This year, the Tour, which returned in 2022 to the UCI calendar as a 2.1 competition following 10 years of absence, includes brand new created routes.
The person behind the revival of the Tour, Deputy Minister of Sports, Lefteris Avgenakis, along with the members of the Organising Committee (Cycling Greece), welcomed to the old headquarters of ΔΕΗ in Faliro, the Tour staff, representatives of the Regions and the Municipalities the riders will pass through, Tour sponsors, as well as other members of the cycling family in Greece.
There will be five days of action, for the riders representing 6 ProTour, 11 Continental and 3 National teams.
Addressing the guests, the Deputy Minister of Sports, Lefteris Avgenakis said:
“We weren't discouraged by the Tour’s huge demands. We worked closely with the local communities to make this event happen. We went higher and stronger!
“We understand that cycling is not simply a sport but something bigger. The bike is a close companion for a rider, whether he/she is a pro athlete or just use it for recreation and fun. A bike is a means of transportation, of entertainment, of doing sports, but it is also a gateway for the mind.
“The wheel is like a kinetoscope, like those that gave cinema its first images.
“Greece, the land of various, different landscapes, colours, combinations and historical monuments now has its own big Tour. We are all working hard to make it even bigger.
“The ΔΕΗ Tour of Hellas is not just a big sporting event, but also a journey through history.
The new routes highlight the ancient Greece mentioned in Homer's epics.
“This year’s Tour will pass from the centres of the Minoan civilization, Knossos and Gortyna; Cave Ideon Antron, the birthplace of God Zeus; the Mycenae, home of the legendary king Agamemnon; Ancient Tiryns and its cyclopean walls; the Venetian castles of Methoni and Koroni; Pylos and the Gulf of Navarino, where victory for the Greeks at the War of Independence was sealed; the hill of Egliano and the palace of King Nestor; and finally the Ancient Olympia.
I want to reassure you that in each of the goals we set, no matter how challenging they may seem, we aim for perfection. Our goal is to see the Tour of Hellas among the best in the world.”
The Deputy Minister of Sports presented appreciation awards to police officers, Anastasios Kaltsas, Konstantinos Tziotzias, Georgios Felemegkas, Ilias Roditis, Konstantinos Mitakis, and Nikolaos Sehatis, all responsible throughout the 2022 Tour for the security of the peloton.
ΔΕΗ is the title sponsor of the Tour of Hellas for the second successive year
On behalf of the title sponsor of the Tour of Hellas, the ΔΕΗ Director of Corporate Relations and Communication, Sofia Dimtsa welcomed the attendees to the Old Steam Electric Plant of ΔΕΗ:
“We welcome you to the Station that electrified Athens and Piraeus for the first time in 1903.
Encouraging the use of bikes is part of ΔΕΗ’s green policy which is a priority for us. We want the image of Greece to travel around the world like last year and we hope that everything will run smoothly this year as well”.
Besides the sponsor title, the Tour of Hellas is also sponsored by other major brands in Greece: Kotsovolos, Betsson, SIXT, COSTA NAVARINO, AEGEAN, and is supported by local communities, Regions and Municipalities, while the Greek National Tourism Organisation is a strategic ally of the Deputy Ministry of Sports.
The ΔΕΗ Tour 2023 of Hellas race profile
Details about this year's routes were unveiled by the Race Director, Vladimiros Petsas and the member of the Organising Committee Vassilis Anastopoulos, a Tour of Hellas former winner in 2003 when he won the general classification in the last stage finish line in his hometown, Megalopolis.
Prologue:
Karteros-Karteros, 8.1km (78m altitude)
Stage 1: Heraklion-Heraklion, 187.7 km (2,561m altitude)
- Intermediate Sprint 1: at 81.6 km/ Tymbaki
- Intermediate Sprint 2: at 117.3 km / Harakas
- KOM 1: at 54.8 km / "Cretaceous Jupiter" Theme Park
- KOM 2: at 164.7 km / Meleses
Stage 2: Mycenae-Kalamata, 178.3 km (1,825m altitude)
- Intermediate Sprint 1: at 34.5 km / Myloi
- Intermediate Sprint 2: at 79.9 km / Tripoli
- KOM 1: at 55.8 km / Achladokampos
- KOM 2: at 105.6 km / Vigles
- KOM 3: at 129.5 km / Paradiseia
Stage 3: Costa Navarino-Kyparissia, 153 km (1,621m altitude)
- Intermediate Sprint 1: at 28 km / Finikounda
- Intermediate Sprint 2: at 88.4 km / Kalamata Airport
- KOM 1: at 37 km / Poros
- KOM 2: at 133.2 km / Kopanaki
Stage 4: Costa Navarino-Ancient Olympia, 133.5 km (1,089m altitude)
- Intermediate Sprint 1: at 32.2 km / Marathopolis
- Intermediate Sprint 2: at 85.4 km / Zacharo
- KOM 1: at 14.8 km / Trifylias Tower
- KOM 2: at 98.9 km / Samiko
You can watch the entire presentation of the ΔΕΗ Tour of Ηellas at the link below:
https://www.hellas-tour.gr/portal/el/
