
Rhodes International Cycling Tour
The International Tour of Rhodes is the only cycling event registered in class ME 2.2 which regularly takes place in Greece over the last four years. It is being held under the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) rules and includes three stages.
The event was inaugurated in 1987 in an island that boasts a long tradition in cycling, with one of the pioneers in Greek road racing, Olympian Kanellos Kanellopoulos, claiming the top spot of the final classification.
Organisers struggled to follow up with a second Tour until 1995, when the International Tour of Rhodes was not only held again, but managed to attract famous cyclists from all over the world as well.
In 2001 the Tour was granted professional status. Two-time Olympic time trial champion and four-time World Championships gold medallist Fabian Cancellara from Switzerland was in the spotlight in the early pro years of the Tour emerging victorious in both the 2001 (his maiden pro win) and 2002 races.
After nine consecutive seasons with lots of emotions at display, the Tour was cancelled and didn’t return to the UCI calendar before 2017.
The latest edition was held between 6-8 March 2020 right before worldwide lockdown restrictions were imposed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Cyclists followed a 494,4km-long route riding through the island’s beautiful countryside. The Tour totaled 10,459€ in prize-money.
The organisation is always of the highest level with guests and fans enjoying a spectacular race on the streets of one of the most popular destinations of the Mediterranean Sea, at a time that Rhodes is less crowded with tourists and thus allowing more opportunities to explore the island’s landmarks and the countryside.
The race is open to local based UCI professional Continental teams, up to two UCI foreign professional Continental teams, Continental teams, National teams, Regional teams and Club teams. Foreign national, regional and club teams should have the authorisation of their national federations. The maximum number of foreign teams eligible to compete is 22. Every team must consist of minimum five and maximum seven riders.