Start: 14 May 2026 (Thursday) 13:00 (CET), Szarvas Water Theatre
Finish: ~17:30 (CET), Paks, Kishegyi Road
Elevation gain: 335 m
On May 14, another city will make its debut as host of Tour de Hongrie. The peloton will head west from Szarvas and, after three Intermediate Sprints, crosses the Danube at Kalocsa. In the final kilometers, the sprinters will first have to tackle the race’s first categorized climb, followed by the final kilometer in Paks, which has a gradient of 8%.
The Szarvas Water Theater will provide a fitting backdrop for Tour de Hongrie’s first visit in Szarvas. On the banks of the Holt-Kőrös River, next to the arboretum, the peloton will complete a short slow start lap before leaving the city in the direction of Békésszentandrás.
Paks is hosting the race for the second time. In 2017, the start of the third stage was held in Tolna County’s largest city, with Finland’s Matti Manninen winning the finish in Cegléd. However, Paks is a newcomer as a destination, so the short but steep climb up Újtemplom Street and Kishegyi Road will be a novelty for everyone.
According to the latest news on 16. April 2026, the organizers have made the following changes in this stage:
- The route of the slow start has been modified.
- The peloton will leave Szarvas to the south. Between Szarvas and Lakitelek, we will use the M44 highway instead of Route 44.
- Kiskőrös SPR has been slightly moved.
- The city route in Kalocsa has been modified, the SPR has been slightly moved.
- The city route in Paks has been slightly modified.
- The length of the stage after the changes: 205,8 km
- Start time stays the same, the finish will be a few minutes later (around 17:35) – the broadcasting times won’t change