The final weekend of the 47th Tour de Hongrie delivered a spectacular masterclass in resilience for Team United Shipping. Stage 4 from Mohács to Pécs was hit by unrelenting rain, forcing organizers to shorten the route by 41 kilometers for safety, though the brutal gradients of Bárány út remained unchanged. Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek) mastered the slippery pavement to take the stage and the overall lead. For our squad, the day required quick tactical thinking: our primary climbing card, Tomáš Přidal, suffered a difficult day and could not match the top pace, shifting our focus to a phenomenal survival effort by Máté Endrédi. Despite a catastrophic mechanical malfunction right before entering Pécs, a lightning fast bike change by our support staff allowed Máté to chase back and attack the climb in perfect position. Spurred on by an incredible crowd along the roadside where the TUS VIP sections were out in full force, Máté climbed with the elite selections for two entire laps before the race was prematurely concluded at the zoo finish.
We entered the final 147 kilometer stage from Balatonalmádi to Veszprém with zero expectations, setting a modest target of simply making the morning breakaway. Erik Fetter, however, had a date with history. Braving fierce crosswinds and early rain along the shores of Lake Balaton, Erik forced his way into the day’s 7 man breakaway and proceeded to put on an absolute exhibition, winning every single categorized mountain sprint over the Gella hills. While Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) secured his third victory of the week in the final bunch sprint, Erik crossed the line to officially claim the King of the Mountains red jersey: becoming the first Hungarian rider to win the classification since 2020. Our sprint train also fired on all cylinders as Nikiforos Arvanitou navigated the chaotic, wind-shattered peloton to secure a fantastic 8th place finish, ensuring the United Shipping colors spent the entire afternoon at the very front of international television screens.
Máté’s heroic Pécs resurrection
“It was a very difficult stage today, especially the rain, which made it very hard, but we knew and prepared for it to pour all day. We dressed accordingly. Obviously, the Pécs climb decided the stage today, and to a large extent probably the general classification results as well, so it was a very important day. Just before we entered Pécs, unfortunately my shifter malfunctioned, and because of this I had to change bikes, which was managed just in time thanks to the mechanic and the team, so I made it back to the peloton in time. After that, with that momentum, I went straight to the front, trying to position myself as well as possible, as I knew this would be crucial. I started Bárány út from a very good position, and on Bárány út I already moved forward, so there was no problem with the positioning, and perhaps thanks to this I managed to stay in front. And I went two laps with them, then we found out on the radio that due to the many crashes and the lack of an ambulance there would be no third lap, but a direct finish at the top of Bárány, meaning at the zoo. And there they changed pace, especially the bigger teams and the bigger riders, and that was already too much for me, so I went up Bárány út at my own pace, even so I arrived in a pretty good place, meaning with a pretty good time result, so I am satisfied with today. The atmosphere and the cheering were amazing, really there wasn’t a single spot next to the road, everyone was shouting, I even heard my name in many places, and people came from home too, my friends from home and from my old club, thank you very much!”
Erik’s road to redemption
“We managed to get the red jersey, here at the fifth stage of Tour de Hongrie. It was a rough day, there were very tough weather conditions, really a huge wind. Rain at the start and at the beginning of the race, but really a few times already during this race we hit the floor, but we were like we cannot stay there, and really we will come out of the ditch. To bring together this red jersey and a top 10 position, here at the finish in Veszprém, and both came together, really it was a huge work, and we put everything on one card. And it came together, so Tour de Hongrie ends really positively, so it is great. We already have a white jersey from last year, now we have a red one too, so we are expanding, the family is expanding, the United Shipping family.”
Nikiforos’s chaotic sprint battle
“When the stage started I was not very happy with the heavy rain and wind. I was hoping for a better racing conditions but I prepared as much better as possible. I tried to be focused because of the dangerous conditions. At one moment the rain stopped and the roads were dry. I was feeling quite okay and I locked in for a good result. When the crosswinds started I handled it very well being in the front and after a while with all the splits the peloton was quite small. In the end I had good positioning and legs but I suddenly got boxed in and I didn’t open the sprint how I wanted to. Not the result I came for a top 10 but I am happy with how I rode today in a very strong and chaotic race. Tour de Hongrie was quite a nice experience. The weather conditions didn’t make it very pleasant but is a beautiful country and we TUS have so many passionate fans and they make it very special when cheering for us.”
