Budapest Meeting Point     

The Budapest Meeting Point classic is a very tough one day race. And yet, unlike many of the other classics, it is completely flat. Instead, it has 15 sections of extremely tough cobbled roads before finishing on the smaller cobbles of central Budapest and a sprint finish under the ancient parliament building in Buda, along the banks of the Danube.

The race begins in the town of Vac and heads into the wooded hills aro...

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The Budapest Meeting Point classic is a very tough one day race. And yet, unlike many of the other classics, it is completely flat. Instead, it has 15 sections of extremely tough cobbled roads before finishing on the smaller cobbles of central Budapest and a sprint finish under the ancient parliament building in Buda, along the banks of the Danube.

The race begins in the town of Vac and heads into the wooded hills around Budapest. The hills that do occur in this area will not trouble any of the cobblers or the sprinters but may allow the breakaway to form and gain a minute or two on the peloton. The racers will then enter Erd, the opposite side of the capital. This is the start of the long stretches of cobbles. The average stretch just 900 meters but in bad weather they are treacherous and many small groups will form with the best cobblers chasing down the break away at the head of the race. As they enter the final forty kilometers they will enter the outskirts of Budapest and the teams of the sprinters will attempt to close the gap to the leaders. They will reach the center of Budapest with just 30km to go and they will commence two circuits of a 15 km tour of central Budapest.

The circuit commences under the parliament buildings before heading up the river and crossing the river over the Margit bridge and along more cobbles to Arpad Bridge and finishing the crossing over the Danube. The riders then race back along the banks of the Danube to Erzsebet bridge where they will cross and return to the finish line.

Despite the flat finish, the winner is most likely to come from a leading group of riders rather than the main peloton, made up of sprinters. The cobbles make it a very technical race but the winner may not be the strongest cobbler, rather the cyclist who can ride the cobbles well, has a good team around him and a hint of fortune. The winner of this classic, will not only take the win for himself, but also everyone in his team.