A multi-day cycling battle is as much a test of mental fortitude as it is a display of pure physical power. Over five relentless stages, the peloton faced everything from chaotic tactical stalemates to grueling alpine ascents, establishing a blistering rhythm that tested our international roster to its absolute limits. Facing off against heavy-hitting WorldTour outfits, Team United Shipping embraced an aggressive racing philosophy, hunting breakaways and fighting for every single meter of tarmac. The speed was punishing, the tactical stress was palpable, and the sheer volume of vertical meters required a perfect blend of resilience and calculated teamwork from our riders and staff.
Stage 1a and 1b: Breakaways, Cobbles, and a White Jersey
The opening day delivered a frantic double-sector schedule. In the morning Stage 1A, a 110 km route with three climbs, Zétény forced his way into the day’s main breakaway after a sharp 6:30 AM wakeup call. The group held a steady advantage of 1 or 2 minutes, but late in the stage, the gap tumbled to 20 or 25 seconds. Turning onto the cobbled kicker with 500 meters to go, Zétény out-sprinted his breakaway companions, only to be cruelly caught 100 meters from the line by two hard-charging riders from Red Bull – Bora – hansgrohe, who snatched the stage win and left him with a bittersweet 4th place.
The afternoon completely rewrote the narrative. Stage 1B brought a highly technical 3 km individual time trial through the tight city streets. Tomáš Přidal unleashed an incredible ride to stop the clock in 7th place, triumphantly capturing the white young rider jersey for Team United Shipping.
Tomas’s calculated gamble
I really didn’t expect it, especially on a technical course like this, but it’s a nice surprise! Honestly, I have no idea how I got this placing. I was basically trying to ride smart and didn’t take any risks at all. Maybe it was just the raw power and the fact that I saved energy for the sections where it mattered most.
My plan for tomorrow is to follow the WorldTour teams and try to stay up there with them! I just hope everybody saves their energy to the finish. I promise I’ll do my best, and we’ll see how it ends up.
Zéti’s agonizingly close breakaway
Today’s stage was short, but we were flying all day. Not just at the front, but according to the guys, the pace was proper in the back too.
My job today was to get into the breakaway, and it worked out. We rode at a pretty high pace the whole time, our advantage was constantly around one and a half minutes. Naturally, I tried to go for the mountain primes and intermediate sprints, but unfortunately with little success: I finished third once on the climb and once in the sprint.
As we approached the end, after the final bump, we only had 20 to 25 seconds of an advantage left. From there, however, the road dipped down a bit and we had a tailwind, so we managed to pull the gap back up somewhat. At that point, we were getting more and more motivated, seeing that this could actually go all the way. The guy from SWATT attacked with about 1 km to go, which we couldn’t cover. Then at 500 meters we turned onto the short, cobbled climb, where I out-sprinted the remaining three guys from the break, but in the end, I was overtaken about 100 meters before the finish by the two RedBull guys… ;(
I don’t like these double days. The prologue course is also hard and technical: the streets are the same as last year, but they rearranged the whole thing.
Stage 2: Surviving the WorldTour Screw
Beautiful weather accompanied the peloton across a rolling, undulating 150 km route that culminated in a devastating final ascent. The tactical goal mirrored the opening day, with team management giving four designated riders a green light to hunt the breakaway and gather crucial classification points. However, a ferocious battle ensued at the front, requiring nearly an hour of nonstop attacking before a move could stick.
Unfortunately, the decisive break went clear without a TUS jersey, and despite frantic chasing efforts, the undulating terrain and a protective peloton sealed the gap. The breakaway was finally reabsorbed just before the primary climb, where the world-class riders from UAE Team Emirates took control of the pace, turning the screws and shattering the peloton into pieces. While the team experienced zero technical issues, the sheer speed dictated by the WorldTour squads made it an extraordinarily punishing finale, ultimately won by a dominant climber from UAE Team Emirates.
Zsombi’s masterclass in grit
At the beginning, I felt sort of “average,” these early starts don’t really suit me, plus there is a one-hour time difference too. Yesterday I was moving well during the regular stage, less so in the time trial, but I figured that the good feeling would come around for the second half of today.
My well-being did improve nicely, but then on the mountain, they dictated a brutal pace, sőt, igazából már előtte is, ahogy a kisebb településeken mentünk át és nyúlt meg a sor. We started the climb in a good position, but then of course the peloton shattered, so after that, I had to fight my way back to the front. Later, when UAE took the lead, I unfortunately dropped, and there were a few kilometers that felt properly awful. In the end, a few of us gathered, for example, Pidcock’s brother and some UAE guys, and it went better with them, and I made it home in this group.
I expected more from today, I hoped for better feelings, but they were riding very hard at the front, so in the end, it is what it is.
At the start of the day, the breakaway didn’t come together, but that wasn’t the job for me and Přidal today: I was mostly instructing the others. On the flat section, nothing really wanted to form, then on the hills, there were some promising moves, one of which broke away. I think everyone from our side was already a bit tired by the time the winning move went, so we couldn’t really react to it. Even after that, we tried to bridge across to them, but on one hand, the peloton didn’t like it, and on the other hand, the terrain proved to be too difficult. After they went away without us, from then on we just prepared for the finale.
There were still a few unpleasant hills before the big mountain, and there was one where they really pushed it. Tomorrow this will be less of a factor, so the first part might be easier, but after that, the mountain will be a very long and rock-hard ride. I think it will mean a one-hour climb for the front of the peloton. Still, I expect our legs to be better, and because of the later start, we can also sleep more. I hope we can put ourselves out there, we will be on top of it. On an ascent like this, you can win and lose a lot: I haven’t climbed such a long mountain in a race yet, we’ll see what happens.
Máté’s selfless shift
It wasn’t an easy day, the final climb made it truly difficult. Highlighting today was obvious, but I have ridden harder races this year. Since I couldn’t really fight for a great result on the final mountain, I wouldn’t call it horribly hard, if I had been up there in the front, that would be a different story and much more demanding.
Tomorrow will also be a very hard day, in fact, it might be my toughest racing day ever, because I haven’t done such a long climb in a race before. Mentally it’s not easy either, but I am preparing for it. I would like to ride well, but right now I am primarily here as a helper for Tomás. He is in very good shape, and he can bring home a truly beautiful result if he has a good day.
Unfortunately, the breakaway didn’t work out today, even though we wanted it to. We were active, and without any exaggeration, this was the only attack that made it home without a TUS rider in it. We reacted rotationally at the beginning, I was very active too, putting a huge effort into it, but unfortunately, we couldn’t be there in the decisive breakaway. This went away very late anyway, because a huge battle took place before it: it took nearly an hour to form.
We are doing well and the mood is good. Obviously, the two big WT teams make the race difficult, but we are doing everything we can. Personally, I am already a bit tired, since apart from the forced rest after the TdH crash, I haven’t rested at all this year and I have raced a lot. After this, I will finally have a longer break, spending a week fully resting, but before that, I want to squeeze everything out of myself.
Stage 3: Braving the Wind up the Transfăgărășan
Excellent, rain-free racing conditions and windy skies welcomed the peloton for a high-altitude showdown, where temperatures plummeted to 14 degrees at the summit of the iconic Transfăgărășan. The sports director’s tactical directive once again called for Zéti, Rastko, or Márkó to initiate a breakaway, but a chaotic opening phase saw UAE Team Emirates clamp down on the field, flatly refusing to let any dangerous moves slip away.
The tension spiked when the peloton fractured through a crosswind-buffeted feed zone. Every single time a rider attempted to establish a gap, either Bora-Hansgrohe or UAE Team Emirates aggressively massed at the front to pull the string taut, forcing a blistering 47 km/h average speed all the way to the base of the final climb. Navigating heavily degraded roads riddled with deep potholes and jarring railway tracks made feeding and hydration a stressful ordeal for our staff. While Přidal, Zsombi, and Máté carefully preserved their reserves for the final assault, the ultimate victory was snatched by a premier climber from UAE Team Emirates. In an exceptional display of climbing prowess against an elite international field, Přidal delivered a masterclass performance to spearhead the team’s effort, with Máté and Zsombi executing stellar rides just behind him.
Tomáš’s alpine breakthrough
I’m quite happy with the result. Of course, a top-10 finish would have been better, but the competition is really strong here and I couldn’t have given any more.
The stage was pretty fast right from the beginning because UAE wanted to be in the breakaway, and once they made it, Bora had to chase. It was also in the crosswinds most of the time, so it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t too hard before the final climb either. On the Transfăgărășan, I set my own tempo and was more or less able to hold it until 3 km to go, and from that point on, I went all out. I would like to thank all the riders and staff: they are doing a perfect job here. We are looking forward to tomorrow: it should be a sprint finish, and I’m ready to help Márkó.
Rastko’s high-altitude learning curve
To be honest, I really enjoyed the climb today. I’ve never experienced a climb that long in a race before, but the fans and the atmosphere were incredible.
Two hard stages are behind us now. In both stages, I tried to get into the breakaway but didn’t succeed, so I shifted to doing everything I could to help Tomas.
I’m still trying to learn the smartest way to make it into the breakaway, but I guess I just need a bit more experience! 🤞🏻
Stage 4: Márkó Tóth Storms into the Top Five as the Race Concludes
The final day of the Sibiu Cycling Tour delivered a breathtaking display of high-speed racing across an undulating 181 km course around Sibiu, packing 1336 vertical meters of climbing. From the drop of the flag, the pace was unrelenting, with the peloton recording a blistering average speed of 48 km/h. Tomáš Přidal ignited the early action just one kilometer into the day, launching an aggressive attack up a short hill that forced a grueling 50-minute full-gas chase. Although an expanded breakaway formed, tactical uncooperative riding ruined their chances, and the final remnants of the day’s escape were swallowed up by the peloton 15 kilometers from the line. As the race thundered toward a massive bunch sprint, Team United Shipping brilliantly switched to their primary plan, providing a textbook lead-out for Márkó Tóth. Danny van Poppel of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe claimed the ultimate stage victory, but TUS proved they belong at the sharp end of the sport with an incredible top-five performance.
Tomáš’s non-stop breakaway engine
I don’t really feel any difference between racing here or anywhere else, but my legs feel pretty good and I wanted to work as much as possible for the team. After yesterday’s stage, my position in the GC wasn’t great anymore, so our plan was to get into the breakaway, and I had to give it a try. Right after the start, maybe one kilometer in, we went full gas up a small hill. At the top, there were just four of us riders left, so we kept pushing. However, the peloton didn’t want to let us go, so we had to ride flat out for about 50 minutes before a bigger group of around 10 riders finally caught up to us.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a good rotation going and failed to work together. Eventually, two riders managed to attack and go solo, and then two more guys joined them. We weren’t far behind, but like I said, there was no cooperation in our group. In the final stretch, I did everything I could to help Márkó, but I was already somewhat empty and exhausted. I just hope I was able to help him a little bit.
Márkó’s masterclass in the final corner
Today that was the original plan, that we would go for me, and the top 5 was the goal 🙂
We moved together with Pridal, Zétény, and Zsombi until the last kilometer and a half, but from there I handled the positioning on my own. The last corner was the key, which I managed to nail perfectly, and that’s how I got this 5th place in the end.
It really seems like bunch sprints and sprint finishes suit me the best, so it’s definitely worth working on this in the future. Next year I’ll bulk up a little more, do a lot of gym work in the winter, and in ’27 I’ll try out in earnest what it’s like to be a sprinter. 🙂
Photo: Tibi Hila
