A caravan of 150 cyclists, 90 cars and 25 motorbikes covered 830 km at the Tour of Romania, the most important local cycling competition, organized between 10 and 14 September by the Romanian Cycling Federation, together with the National Agency for Sports and Auchan Romania, the main co-organizing partner. In addition to the elite sports spectacle, 7 mass races took place in the host cities, for amateurs of all ages, in which over 1000 children and almost 700 enthusiasts over 16 years old participated. The largest participation was recorded in the Capital, where over 1200 cycling fans took out their bikes and honored the arrival of the Tour of Romania by pedaling.
At the start of the 57th edition of the Tour of Romania, 25 teams showed up – four from Romania, three each from Hungary, Italy and Austria, two from Germany and one each from the United States of America, Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, Bahrain and the Czech Republic, plus the national teams of Romania, Poland, Greece and Turkey.
Consisting of 5 stages, the Tour of Romania started in Craiova, reached Slobozia for the first time in history and returned to traditional localities such as Râmnicu Vâlcea, Pitești, Brașov and Buzău. Thus, the “Little Loop” proposed another edition that combined sporting performance with the promotion of areas with special tourist and cultural potential. Each stage of the Tour of Romania 2025 highlighted areas representative of the country’s culture and nature: Horezu – symbol of Romanian ceramics, Topoloveni – recognized for its traditional plum jam (magiun), Voinești – “the heart of the orchards in Dâmbovița”, the Bucegi Massif – one of the most appreciated mountain destinations, Lake Siriu, and the new bridge over the Danube in Brăila. The final in Bucharest also brought a historical premiere: the circuit covered the entire Calea Victoriei.
“I am happy that we have successfully reached the end of an edition that highlighted superb areas in Romania, beyond the performances of the 150 cyclists. I am also happy that we managed, together with our wonderful team, to organize in parallel the 7 related events, including the new amateur race in Bucharest, where approx. 650 cycling enthusiasts registered. I thank our partners at Auchan and the National Agency for Sports, but also the over 150 members of the organizing team, without whom we could not have put this project on its feet. We look optimistically towards 2026, when we hope to come up with another epic route for athletes and our audience “, says Cătălin Sprînceană, President of the Romanian Cycling Federation.
“This year’s Tour of Romania has once again demonstrated the extraordinary power of sport to unite people, communities and values. It was, without a doubt, the best edition so far – an edition in which we saw energy, passion and performance at the highest level. Congratulations and thanks to all the teams involved from FRC, Auchan and partners, but also to the athletes who put on an exceptional show ! We are glad to be part of the story and to have been able to contribute to an event that is becoming, year after year, a true source of national pride, an important vector for the country’s brand.” – Tiberiu Dănețiu, Director of Corporate Affairs and Retail Media Auchan Romania, Tour of Romania project coordinator on behalf of Auchan.
The general classification of the 57th edition of the Tour of Romania was won by the Italian Cesare Chesini, from the MBH Bank Ballan CSB team, who was also the leader in the best young rider under 23 years old, and the star of the edition was the Irishman Seth Dunwoody, from the Bahrain Victorious Development Team, leader in no less than three classifications: the climbers, the sprinters and the points classification. The best Romanian, Mattew-Denis Piciu, from MENtoRISE Teem CCN, also did well in the general classification, where he ranked 5th.
Overall podium:
Cesare Chesini (MBH Bank Ballan CSB)
Colin Stüssi (Team Vorarlberg)
Alvaro Sagrado (Illes Balears Arabay)
T-shirt and trophy winners:
General ranking: Cesare Chesini (MBH Bank Ballan CSB)
Points standings: Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development Team)
Climbers’ Ranking: Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development Team)
Sprint ranking: Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development Team)
Best youngster U23: Cesare Chesini (MBH Bank Ballan CSB)
Top ranked Romanian: Mattew-Denis Piciu (MENtoRISE Teem CCN)
Best team: Illes Balears Arabay
Full results are published on the official race website. Photo galleries from each stage are available on the Tour of Romania Facebook page . Photos can be used free of charge by teams and media, but must include the “Turul României” watermark as it appears on Facebook.
To encourage cycling and a healthy lifestyle, this year’s edition included seven mass races, free of charge, for cycling enthusiasts of all ages: 4 children’s races in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Buzău, Slobozia and Bucharest and, for the first time, 3 races for enthusiasts over 16 years old: King of the Mountain (Pasul Dichiu), King of the City (Slobozia) and King of the Capital (Bucharest). The increasingly large participation in the children’s races ( over 1000, despite the fact that 2 of the races were during the week) and in those dedicated to cyclists over 16 years old (almost 700, with a record of over 400 participants in the Capital), reflects not only the appetite for competitions of this kind, but also the growth of the cycling phenomenon in Romania.
From this point of view, the Tour of Romania is an extraordinary vehicle for promoting cycling among the masses, because it takes place on a “stadium” of hundreds of km and reaches a different part of the country each edition. And the figures from the “kitchen” of the tour confirm that we are dealing with a unique event:
180 people in the organizing team
440 people, 90 cars and 25 motorcycles in the Tour caravan
1,200 hotel rooms rented
7,800 liters of water
7,250 liters of gasoline
5,500 meters of fencing
1,500 meters of tape stretched along the route
The Tour of Romania 2025 was broadcast live on Prima Sport 3 and could also be followed on www.turulromaniei.ro, as well as on the Tour of Romania and Auchan Romania Facebook pages. Daily summaries were also broadcast on TVR 1.
Event sponsors: YoPro, Rexona, Clear, Pedigree, M&M’s, Stay Strong, Cristim, Orange, Elit, Pizza Guseppe, Pepsi, Home Garden, Delikat, Born Winner, Hochland, Mondelez, Gold Nutrition.
Mobility partner: Petrom
Official car: Suzuki
Official water: Dorna
Technical partner: Bellotto
Media partners: Prima Sport (main partner), TVR
About the Tour of Romania
Inspired by the Tour de France, the publication “Revista Automobilă” organized, in 1910, the Muntenia Circuit, on the Bucharest-Sinaia-Târgoviște-Bucharest route, but the competition was put on hold 3 years later, due to World War I. In 1934, the newspaper “Sportul Zilnic” revived the idea, organizing the first national cycling competition – the Tour of Romania, also known as the “Little Loop”. The competition has been on the calendar of the International Cycling Union since 2008, and since 2019 it has been organized in partnership with Auchan Romania. More information about the Tour of Romania 2025 on: www.turulromaniei.ro and on the official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tourofromaniaofficial.
*This is a press release.
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