The third day of the Tour of Hellas was a grueling test of endurance, spanning 207 km from Volos to Lamia with a staggering 4230 meters of vertical gain. The morning began under a cold, gray sky with rain turning the roads into a slippery challenge. There was even talk among the peloton about neutralizing the first descent for safety, but ultimately the race proceeded as planned: and it was anything but easy. The temperature hovered around a cool 16 degrees, making the long climbs even more taxing for the riders.
Our tactical objective was clear: we needed a man in the breakaway. Michal Schuran made the first move, but it was Veljko Stojnić who eventually forced the split. While his time at the front was relatively short-lived due to the high intensity of the chase, it set the tone for the day. Mid-race complications added to the drama as Zétény Szijártó suffered a puncture on the very first climb, and Nikiforos Arvanitou required a bike change later on for reasons yet to be fully determined. Despite these setbacks, the focus shifted entirely to supporting Tomáš Přidal for the final selection. Veljko stayed with him through the massive second climb and until the final 50 km, where the relentless pace of the ProTeams finally forced a separation. In the end, a select group of only 28 riders arrived in Lamia to contest the finish. Jelle Johannink (Unibet Rose Rockets) took the victory, followed by Václav Ježek, with our own Tomáš Přidal crossing the line in a superb 3rd place.
Tomáš’s podium climb
I felt quite good today, though not 100%, so I’m very happy with third place. The ProTeams pushed hard all day, which suits me, even if the tempo on the last climb was extremely tough and had me at my absolute limit. I didn’t have the best position for the sprint, and the first two guys were just too fast: congrats to them, especially to my fellow Czech, Václav Ježek.
You can’t compare Mersin to Hellas; this is a much harder and better competition. Today wasn’t as much about the team as a whole; like I said, we were just sitting on the wheels of the ProTeams. On the other hand, it was great to have Veljko with me going into the last KOM. He did a few small things that really helped me in the end, so the ‘ride of the day’ definitely goes to him.
Veljko’s fight of the day
I tried to go for the KOM, but the guy from Hrinkow opened a few bike lengths on me from the start and just kept pulling away. Schuri was on his wheel, but after 5 km he dropped as well because the guy was really strong today; he definitely deserves to wear the jersey. I reached the top as 2nd, about 1:30 behind him and 1:30 ahead of the peloton.
It was raining for the first part of the race and the roads were quite sketchy, so the group must have risked a lot to catch us, especially as they were attacking each other on the descent. Later, I stayed with Pridal over the climbs and tried to help as much as I could until the last 50 km, where I was dropped. I felt really strong today, but I spent too much energy in the beginning to stay with the group later on. I’m convinced I could have made it in the first group without that early effort.
I’m really enjoying this race, especially wearing the national champion jersey; the Greeks have been very welcoming because of it. The organization is good: there are no cars on the road and everything is on time. The hotels are super nice, too. The only issue is the slippery roads, but there isn’t much they can do about that. It is what it is; as I mentioned before in Turkey, we as cyclists need to adapt to every country’s conditions. I have no clue about tomorrow since I’m still recovering from a six hour race with 400 TSS. We will definitely go all out for Pridal, as he did a superb job today and finished 3rd. He is one hell of a rider!
