After 2020 and 2021, this is the third time that Hungary will host the best of the youth age cyclists, said the press conference of the event, which was held on 15 August at the City Hall of Nyíregyháza, not coincidentally, as the cyclists will finish the prologue in the Szabadság Square, right next to the building.

The press conference was opened by Dr. Tünde Szabó, Government Commissioner for the complex economic development of the North-East Hungary region, as one of the patrons of the event, who said that the competition had already proved its worth in the past two years and that it was slowly becoming a tradition that the event would provide opportunities for young Hungarians. “The trend that the government has started, that is, to bring more international sporting events to Hungary, is clearly paying off,” she added.

Dr. Ferenc Kovács, Mayor of Nyíregyháza, underlined the city’s commitment to sport and its love of sport. The Youth World Cup was a great success in 2020 and 2021, and we have no doubt that it will be the same in 2022.”

Sándor Filep, mayor of Vásárosnamény and Imre Trencsényi, mayor of Ibrány, praised the positive impact of the competition on cycling tourism and the involvement of their municipalities in the national cycling scene.

Thirteen teams representing twelve nations will welcome athletes from all over the world, including one or two who, despite their youth, have already signed contracts with some of the sport’s elite clubs – and one of the biggest stars of the event could be Estonia’s Frank Aron Ragilo.

Of course, a competition of this calibre will also give the sport of cycling in the country a huge advantage, as the youngsters have fortunately already proven themselves to be in competition with the world’s best. The national team will be joined this year by the MKB Cycling Team from Kecskemét.

Barnabás Vízer, the sport director of the Hungarian Cycling Federation, highlighted the importance of the competition for Hungarian cyclists: “The most important races for the U19 age group are the Nations’ Cups. This year, we will probably field the strongest Hungarian national team so far in the domestic round, and the squad will be built around Márkó Tóth,” he said.

In the 2022 season, Hungary will host the ninth leg of the ten-round series between 17 and 19 August. The race will start with a 3.8-kilometre prologue in Nyíregyháza, followed by a 111.6-kilometre field stage between the county town and Ibrány the next day. On the final day, the caravan will cycle 117.4 kilometres between Vásárosnamény and Nyíregyháza.

Zsolt Törzsök, president of the main organiser, the Movement, Health and Recreation Sports Association, said at the press conference that they would like to make the race a tradition. He added that the next – and last – race of the series will be held in South Korea, so the Hungarian event will be the last opportunity for European cyclists to collect important international points.

Race director János Solymosi said that the main aim was to bring the race to the spectators, as the individual time trial and the two road race stages would allow spectators to applaud the cyclists more than once.