Visiting Greece This Spring? Check Out the Tour of Hellas

Greece is one of those iconic travel destinations that attracts tons of tourists every year. Athens, the Parthenon, the Oracle of Delphi, Santorini, Mykonos, and one of the other 3,ooo islands scattered throughout the Aegean are all a big draw.

But Greece as the site for a UCI pro-level race or cycling in general as an attraction, maybe not so much. The Tour of Hellas, it turns out, is a race with a lot of history that has occurred, off and on, since the late 1960s. So, if you are going to be in Greece this spring, you might be able to check out some pro teams burning up the tarmac.

About the Tour of Hellas Road Race

Tour of Hellas (the ancient Greek word for Greece) is a five-day stage race that occurs in Late April or early May. The first edition of the race took place in 1968. After this initial event, the race happened infrequently due to funding issues.

In 2005, the UCI made the Tour of Hellas a part of its UCI Europe Tour. But again, the race encountered financial, sponsorship, and other problems and wasn’t restarted until the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports decided to restart the race in 2022.

That is when the UCI designated it as a category 2.1 event and again made it part of the UCI Europe Tour. From that point forward, the race was opened to international teams. Before this time, the event was considered a race for amateurs.

Tour of Hellas Route

With so many islands in Greece, it’s easy imagine the race visiting some of them for one or more of its 5 stages. Prior versions of the race did, in fact, visit islands off the mainland.

At some point, however, that was stopped, probably due to the logistics of planning a multi-stage bicycle race, the cost, and the time required for team transfers between islands. That said, the modern version of the race sticks to the mountains and the coast on the mainland.

The 5 stages and the places the race visits are as follows:

• Stage 1 – Ioannina – Agrinio
• Stage 2 – Karpenisi – Larissa
• Stage 3 – Volos – Lamia
• Stage 4 – Atalanti – Parnitha
• Stage5 – Piraeus – Syntagma

While these towns in Greece may not be known as places to visit by tourists, they do make up an essential part of the Greek mainland and offer ocean and mountain views, as well as challenging roads.

Last Thoughts

If you are going to be in Greece during May and you want to experience some towns off the beaten path while taking in a UCI pro race, then you should check out the Tour of Hellas.

While the race doesn’t garner the coverage of the bigger world tour races like the Tour de France or even the spring classics, the Tour of Hellas is still a race where you’ll most likely see some intense battles play out on the roads.

And how often do you get to experience the spectacle of a pro bicycle race up close without the huge crowds these events usually bring in? So I’d say, book a ticket for Greece this spring and get in on some early-season pro racing. Maybe you’ll even get to ride some of these roads while you’re there.