L’Etape Greece by Tour de France Attracts 1,000 Cyclists to Ancient Olympia

L’Etape Greece by Tour de France presented by SKODA 2024. Photo © Sportograf

More than 1,000 cyclists participated in the L’Étape Greece by Tour de France presented by SKODA cycling race, which took place on April 6 in Ancient Olympia for the second year in a row.

Co-organized by Greek event management company EY ZHN Greece and the Western Greece Region, the event attracted some 3,000 athletes and visitors who came to observe the races. This year’s edition offered three routes: “The Race” (128 kilometers), “The Ride” (76 kilometers), and the easier cycling race of 17 kilometers, named “The Fun Ride.”

L’Étape Greece by Tour de France, an international version of France’s famed cycling race, is an organized mass participation cyclosportive event that allows amateur cyclists to have a Tour de France-like experience in Ancient Olympia, the home of the Olympic Games.

“Our goal at EY ZHN Greece is not just to organize events but to create emotions in the participants,” said EY ZHN Greece CEO Vassia Birliraki.

According to Birliraki, this year’s event saw participation surpass all previous records.

Winners of the second L’Étape Greece by Tour de France

The winner of the 128-kilometer race, Periclis Ilias. Photo © Aristotelis Bagdatoglou

The winner of the 128-kilometer race was Periclis Ilias with a time of 3:30:04, followed by Charalambos Kastrantas (3:31:10) and Martinos Moutsios (3:31:16). In the women’s category, Iro Miliaki came in first with a time of 3:42:35, followed by Varvara Fasoi (3:53:48) and Anna-Olga Mitsou (3:59:48).

At the second race of 76 kilometers, Konstantinos Rakintzis finished first with 2:11:30, Giannis Belibassakis was second with 2:12:34, and Minas Milatos was third with 02:13:28. In the women’s category, the winner was Elisavet Dimou, who clocked a time of 2:32:34, followed by Rania Nomikou (2:37:59) and Katerina Panagiotakopoulou (2:39:28).

Western Greece Region showcases tourism product

Cyclists at one of the races passing through Olympia’s roads. Photo © Sportograf

According to Western Greece Deputy Regional Governor Charalambos Bonanos, the event attracted the interest of people from all over the world, advertising the region as “a place of life, a place of beauty, a place of great events”.

Through the L’Étape Greece by Tour de France event, regional authorities had the opportunity to promote its tourism product as the routes passed through spring landscapes and picturesque villages in Olympia.

On his part, Ancient Olympia Mayor Aris Papanagiotopoulos highlighted the importance of this year’s event that marks 2,800 years since the first ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Konstantinos Rakintzis winner of the second race of 76 kilometers. Photo © Aristotelis Bagdatoglou

After a draw among the first winners of all the races, Konstantinos Rakintzis, winner of “The Ride” race of 76 kilometers, was elected to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay for Paris 2024, which will start on April 16, a position secured by the organization of L’Etape Greece.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) was a media sponsor of the L’Étape Greece by Tour de France event.