2,100 cyclists had a memorable experience at the second edition of L’Étape Romania by Tour de France
- On August 27, the legendary L’Étape Romania by Tour de France competition, which started from the Parliament Palace area, marked the biggest road cycling event in Romania, a true festival held in an atmosphere full of joy, excitement and competitive spirit.
- 2,100 amateur and professional cyclists took part in the competition, competing on three routes developed by specialists, one of which was also dedicated to children over 8 years old.
- The sponsors of the event, present in the Race Village located in Constitution Square, surprised both cyclists and visitors with story activities, many contests with prizes and personalized gifts, thus contributing to a memorable experience for all those present in the Race Village.
- The Para Cycling race supported by OMV PETROM offered athletes with disabilities equal chances at the start, their registration being free of charge
- Thousands cheered cyclists on the trails in a festive atmosphere
- Enthusiasts can already secure a place for next year’s edition, the Pre-registration phase is already active at the link: https://form.typeform.com/to/fwAvVe80
Bucharest, August 28, 2023: The second edition of L’Étape Romania by Tour de France gathered 2,100 cyclists at the start and was SOLD OUT two weeks before the event. All those present in Constitution Square experienced the top experience offered by the Tour de France brand and the atmosphere of a cycling festival.
L’Étape by Tour de France is a competition for amateurs and experienced cyclists, from home and abroad, who want to ride a road or mountain bike.
The event offered three races for all abilities: City Adventure – 14 km, where children over 8 years old could register, The Ride – 42 km and The Race – 85 km. Of the 2,100 riders who started on Sunday, 430 were registered for the 14 km race, while the other two more competitive races, The Ride – 42 km and The Race – 85 km, challenged more than 1,670 cyclists to line up to take to the streets of Bucharest without traffic.
Winners, notable figures, tradition & legend:
- L’Étape Romania attracted cyclists from 14 countries to the capital this year, with the largest number coming from Bulgaria.
- Over 200 children took to the start line for the City Adventure race, and the veteran of the event was the 78-year-old.
- In the Race Village, the Tour de France Museum has been set up with the help of A.S.O., the international organizers of the event. Those present were able to discover projections dedicated to the history of the Tour de France and the top cyclists, as well as symbolic exhibits that make the Tour de France so special.
- The famous yellow jersey, symbol of victory, excellence and determination, returns to the first finishers in the men’s/women’s 85 km The Race, in the tradition of L’Étape. It was won this year by Viktoriia Bondarenko and Patrick Pola, this year’s champions.
- The green jersey, the mark of daring, speed and explosiveness, goes to the cyclist with the best time in the men’s/women’s SPRINT (300m) section. They were Viktoriia Bondarenko, who covered the distance in 23.2 seconds, and Cristian Calaidgioglu, who clocked a time of 20.5 seconds.
- The white jersey goes to the fastest 15-18 year old male/female for The Race. The winner of the white jersey was Alexandru Dinculescu.
- The winners of the L’Étape du Tour 2024 invitations are: Viktoriia Bondarenko, Corina Loredana Gulei, Anca Popescu, Patrick Pola, Matteo Paci, Alex Ciocan.
- During the event the campaign “The joy of cycling, TOGETHER!” was implemented, a CSR project for the social integration of cyclists with disabilities, supported by OMV PETROM as Official Partner. The “Joy of Cycling, TOGETHER!” campaign provided disabled athletes with the opportunity to take part in the race for free, to integrate into the community of amateur athletes, to enjoy the festival atmosphere of the event and to set an example of courage, ambition and will for life to all those present or to be informed about the event and the CSR campaign.
- Under the motto Recycling – POLLUTION-FREE RACE, Reciclad’OR and Remat Holding offered competitors and spectators the opportunity to collect recyclable waste separately.
- L’Étape Romania, although only in its second edition, is already one of the biggest races in the L’Étape Series.
“What a race! What an atmosphere! What joy! We close the second edition of L’Étape Romania by Tour de France with the desire to take this event to even greater heights. These wonderful people who took the start or just visited the Race Village, as well as the sponsors who got involved with festival-worthy activities, motivate and inspire us to continue the story. We are delighted that over 200 children were at the start of the legendary race. We owe it to our children to educate them to do sport, to show them how exciting it is to take the start in such a competition, to let them understand that we have a beautiful capital, and that sport unites us beautifully, in respect for each other and for nature. Thank you all and we look forward to the 2024 edition”, says Tudor Ștefan MOCUȚA, CEO of MPG.
L’Étape Romania by Tour de France is an event with very special logistics. Over 8 months of preparation, thousands of hours of teamwork by over 300 technicians, communication and implementation specialists from the organizers, authorities, partner agencies and sponsors, over 400 volunteers, over 300 police and gendarmes, over 100 security and intervention vehicles on race day, over 5,000 safety fences and a lot of determination to offer all cycling enthusiasts a memorable experience.
Final results and more details about the local competition can be found on the official website: https://romania.letapebytourdefrance.com and on the official pages:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letaperomania and
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letaperomania
Many top Romanian companies have joined the world’s most powerful cycling brand, Tour de France at L’Étape Romania. The official sponsor of the event is Auchan, with whom they are involved as sponsors: Altex, Dorna, Vodafone, RTPR and World Class. The official suppliers and Partners of the event are: Decathlon, TechnoGym, PowerBar, Perskindol, Sanador, GETSBET, SKODA, Lindab, GIANT, Gramofon, Velux, Reciclad’OR, Remat Holding, Paste Băneasa, Black Cab, Agriro Fresh & Oliveris, JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, Detergent Pharmacy, Vesta, Movement Therapy, CPI Security, Artesana, Hama, Romcup, Isostar, Salonul Bicicletei, Cosmapp Global, AmBike, MTB Academy, Heineken 0.0%, Drovie and WWF.
The institutional partners supporting the event are the French Embassy, the Romanian Cycling Federation, the Romanian Triathlon Federation and the Romanian Paralympic Committee.
Europa FM supported the event as Main Media Partner, and was joined by TVR, Radio Romania Actualități, Radio Romania Cultural, Rador Press Agency, BIZ Magazine, Cariere Magazine, Ziarul Bursa, HotNews, B365, Romania Journal, Go4Fun, GabrielSolomon.ro, Biciclistul.ro, SportM.ro, Aimx.ro, Freerider.ro, RidersClub.ro, Sportya.net.
L’Étape Romania by Tour de France is organized by MPG Romania, a market leader in the segment of sports projects aimed at amateur participants, with a significant experience that includes the organization of over 8,000 sports events during more than 27 years of activity. The L’Étape by Tour de France event concept belongs to AMAURY SPORT ORGANISATION, France, (ASO), the world leader in the organization of cycling races and owner of the legendary Tour de France brand.
More details about the global series of events and the local competition can be found on the official website romania.letapebytourdefrance.com and on the profiles of
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letaperomania and
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letaperomania
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About A.S.O
Thanks to the prestigious Tour de France, one of the most popular international sporting events in the world, prestigious classics such as Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Flèche Wallonne and Paris-Tours, as well as stage races such as Paris-Nisa, Critérium du Dauphiné and Vuelta a España, A.S.O. is the world leader in organizing cycling races, with 100 days of competition each year. The globalization of cycling is one of its major areas of development. With the Tour of Saudi Arabia, the Tour Deutschland and the organization of the Arctic Race of Norway, A.S.O. continues to contribute strongly to the growth of cycling as an example of sustainable transport for city centers.
About L’Étape by Tour de France
L’Étape by Tour de France is the world leader in mass participation cycling events, with events in 25 countries in 2023 and 30 global events. L’Étape by Tour de France offers amateur cyclists the opportunity to race or experience a stage of the Tour de France right at home. The Tour de France is the most recognized annual sporting event in the world and is a premium brand for cycling.
Details of MPG Romania can be found at: www.mpg.com.ro
