The 2026 Tour of Romania will bring together approximately 150 cyclists from 23 teams representing 16 countries between September 9 and 13. Italian Olympic champion Elia Viviani will also attend the race as manager of Italy’s national team.

The five-stage competition will cover more than 800 kilometers, beginning in Chișinău, Moldova, and ending with a final circuit in Bucharest. This will be the first edition of the race to start outside Romania.

“The presence of 23 teams from 16 countries confirms the growing interest in the Tour of Romania,” Romanian Cycling Federation president Cătălin Sprinceană said. “We are pleased that the public will be able to see athletes from so many countries at the start.”

The lineup includes ten UCI continental teams, eight club teams, and five national teams. The participating countries are Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and the United States.

The national teams of Romania, Italy, Moldova, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina will compete in the race.

Elia Viviani won the Olympic omnium title at Rio 2016 and is a three-time Olympic medalist and three-time track world champion. He has also won stages in all three Grand Tours and claimed the European road race title in 2019. After a 16-year professional career, the Italian cyclist is beginning a new role as manager of his country’s national team.

The participating teams will be officially presented in Chișinău on September 8. The first stage, from Chișinău to Ungheni, will take place the following day.

The race will then continue in Romania with stages from Iași to Piatra Neamț on September 10, Piatra Neamț to Băile Balvanyos on September 11, and Brașov to Ploiești on September 12. The final stage will be held on a circuit in Bucharest on September 13.

The race will be broadcast live by Prima Sport and on the official Tour of Romania and Auchan Romania Facebook pages, while TVR Sport will air daily highlights. Further details can be found here.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: press release)