{{Short description|Road bicycle race in Greece}} {{Infobox cycling race | name = Tour of Hellas | current_event = | image =Tour of Hellas-logo 2022.png | image_caption = | date = April/May | region = Greece | english = | localnames = Ποδηλατικός Γύρος Ελλάδος {{in lang|el}} | nickname = ToH | discipline = Road | competition = UCI Europe Tour | type = Stage race | organiser = {{ubl|''Cycling Greece''|Hellenic Cycling Federation}} | director = | first = {{Start date|1968}} | number = 21 | final = | firstwinner = {{flagathlete|Gerhard Nielsen|DEN}} | mostwins = ''No repeat winners'' | mostrecent = {{flagathlete|Harold Martín López|ECU}} |website=https://www.hellas-tour.gr/}}
The ''' Tour of Hellas''' is a road bicycle racing stage race. It consists of five stages and is usually held between April and May.<ref>{{cite web |title=International Tour of Hellas (Grè) - Cat.2.1 |url=http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.eu/etapes/eta_td_hellas.php |accessdate= |work=Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu |language=fr}}</ref> 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.<ref name="historical" /> The race was revived in 2022 as a category 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uci.org/competition-details/2022/ROA/67075|title=ΔΕΗ International Tour of Hellas|publisher=Union Cycliste Internationale|access-date=20 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420164050/https://www.uci.org/competition-details/2022/ROA/67075|archive-date=20 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Palmares International Tour of Hellas |url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/international-tour-of-hellas/2023/history/palmares |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=www.procyclingstats.com}}</ref>
''Cycling Greece'' is the organizing committee for the race working together with 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 {{convert|170|km}} 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,{{clarify|date=April 2022|reason=What problems?}} the race, now known as the ''Tour of Hellas'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.hellas-tour.gr/portal/en/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=hellas-tour.gr |language=en-gb}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hellas-tour.gr/portal/en/news/112-10|title=The "ΔΕΗ International Tour of Hellas" returns after 10 years|work=International Tour of Hellas|publisher=Cycling Greece|date=13 December 2021|access-date=20 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Preview statistics for International Tour of Hellas 2022 |url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/international-tour-of-hellas/2022/gc/overview |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=www.procyclingstats.com}}</ref>
== Past winners == <small>Sources: <ref name="historical">{{cite web|url=https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=513|title=Tour of Hellas|website=FirstCycling|access-date=20 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/international-tour-of-hellas/2022/gc/history|title=Top-3 per edition|publisher=ProCyclingStats|access-date=20 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hellas-tour.gr/portal/en/media-toh-2/history|title=History|publisher=International Tour of Hellas|access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref></small> {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Winner ! Second ! Third |- ! 1968 | {{flagathlete|Gerhard Nielsen|DEN}} | {{flagathlete|Noël Vantyghem|BEL}} | {{flagathlete|Břetislav Souček|CZE}} |- ! 1969–1980 | align="center" colspan="3" | '''''Not Held''''' |- ! 1981 | {{flagathlete|Kanellos Kanellopoulos|GRE}} | {{flagathlete|Evaggelos Papadakis|GRE}} | {{flagathlete|Ilias Kelesidis|GRE}} |- ! 1982 | {{flagathlete|Henri Manders|NED}} | {{flagathlete|Pascal Kolkhuis Tanke|NED}} | {{flagathlete|Dragić Borovičanin|YUG}} |- ! 1983 | align="center" colspan="3" | '''''Not Held''''' |- ! 1984 | {{flagathlete|Asiat Saitov|URS}} | {{flagathlete|Evgeni Korolkov|URS}} | {{flagathlete|Vasily Zhdanov|URS}} |- ! 1985 | {{flagathlete|Jonas Romanovas|URS}} | {{flagathlete|Marat Ganeyev|URS}} | {{flagathlete|Vassili Schpundov|URS}} |- ! 1986 | {{flagathlete|Roland Königshofer|AUT}} | {{flagathlete|Kanellos Kanellopoulos|GRE}} | {{flagathlete|Stancho Stanchev|BUL|1971}} |- ! 1987 | {{flagathlete|Olaf Jentzsch|DDR}} | {{flagathlete|Kanellos Kanellopoulos|GRE}} | {{flagathlete|Jan Schur|DDR}} |- ! 1988 | {{flagathlete|Gintautas Umaras|URS}} | {{flagathlete|Michel Zanoli|NED}} | {{flagathlete|Dan Radtke|DDR}} |- ! 1989 | {{flagathlete|Frank Kühn|DDR}} | {{flagathlete|Jan Schur|DDR}} | {{flagathlete|Andreas Wartenberg|DDR}} |- ! 1990–1997 | align="center" colspan="3" | '''''Not Held''''' |- ! 1998 | {{flagathlete|Thomas Liese|GER}} | {{flagathlete|Hristo Zaikov|BUL}} | {{flagathlete|Matthew Stephens|GBR}} |- ! 1999–2001 | align="center" colspan="3" | '''''Not Held''''' |- ! 2002 | {{flagathlete|Fraser MacMaster|NZL}} | {{flagathlete|Philippe Schnyder|SUI}} | {{flagathlete|Adam Gawlik|POL}} |- ! 2003 | {{flagathlete|Vasilis Anastopoulos|GRE}} | {{flagathlete|Svetoslav Tchanliev|BUL}} | {{flagathlete|Ioannis Tamouridis|GRE}} |- ! 2004 | {{flagathlete|Assan Bazayev|KAZ}} | {{flagathlete|André Schulze|GER}} | {{flagathlete|Maxim Iglinskiy|KAZ}} |- ! 2005 | {{flagathlete|Valeriy Dmitriyev|KAZ}} | {{flagathlete|Alexandr Dymovskikh|KAZ}} | {{flagathlete|Nebojša Jovanović|SRB|2004}} |- ! 2006 | {{flagathlete|Pavel Brutt|RUS}} | {{flagathlete|Vladimir Koev|BUL}} | {{flagathlete|René Andrle|CZE}} |- ! 2007–2010 | align="center" colspan="3" | '''''Not Held''''' |- ! 2011 | {{flagathlete|Stefan Schäfer|GER}} | {{flagathlete|Ioannis Tamouridis|GRE}} | {{flagathlete|Markus Fothen|GER}} |- ! 2012 | {{flagathlete|Robert Vrečer|SLO}} | {{flagathlete|Davide Rebellin|ITA}} | {{flagathlete|Ioannis Tamouridis|GRE}} |- ! 2013–2021 | align="center" colspan="3" | '''''Not Held''''' |- ! 2022 | {{flagathlete|Aaron Gate|NZL}} | {{flagathlete|Lennert Teugels|BEL}} | {{flagathlete|Mark Stewart|GBR}} |- ! 2023 | {{flagathlete|Iúri Leitão|POR}} | {{flagathlete|Aaron Gate|NZL}} | {{flagathlete|Stanisław Aniołkowski|POL}} |- ! 2024 | {{flagathlete|Riccardo Zoidl|AUT}} | {{flagathlete|Hermann Pernsteiner|AUT}} | {{flagathlete|Valerio Conti|ITA}} |- ! 2025 | {{flagathlete|Harold Martín López|ECU}} | {{flagathlete|Anton Schiffer|GER}} | {{flagathlete|Adrien Maire|FRA}} |- ! 2026 | {{flagathlete|Václav Ježek|CZE}} | {{flagathlete|Domenico Pozzovivo|ITA}} | {{flagathlete|Nikiforos Arvanitou|GRE}} |}
=== Wins per country === {| class="wikitable" ! Wins ! Country |- | align="center" | 3 | {{flagu|Soviet Union}} |- | align="center" | 2 | {{flagu|East Germany}}<br>{{flagu|Greece}}<br>{{flagu|Kazakhstan}}<br>{{flagu|Germany}}<br>{{flagu|New Zealand}}<br>{{flagu|Austria}} |- | align="center" | 1 | {{flagu|Denmark}}<br>{{flagu|Netherlands}}<br>{{flagu|Russia}}<br>{{flagu|Slovenia}}<br>{{flagu|Portugal}}<br>{{flagu|Ecuador}}<br>{{flagu|Czech Republic}} |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{official website|https://www.hellas-tour.gr/}}
Category:Cycle races in Greece Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1968 Category:UCI Europe Tour races Category:1968 establishments in Greece