2021 Sibiu Cycling Tour - Stage 2 Preview

Today’s penultimate stage of the 2021 Sibiu Cycling Tour will be the next real test for the overall contenders: We are hitting the mountains again, for the traditional stage to Bâlea Lac. After yesterday's exciting finale in Păltiniș, the finish at the glacial lake Bâlea Lac at 2040 m is a very challenging one, and with its 25 kilometres of climbing through many hairpins in a beautiful mountain landscape it is expected to have a major impact on the final outcome of the race.

The parcours

Stage 2 on Monday, 5 July, takes the peloton onto the Transfăgărășan Road up to the glacial lake Bâlea Lac for a mountaintop finish at an altitude of 2040 metres after 187.5 km of racing. Following the sign-in and ceremonial start on the Piața Mare, the real start is given in the south-western outskirts of Sibiu, after which an early intermediate sprint in Orlat is immediately succeeded by the first uphill to Poiana. Over rolling roads, the peloton will then pass through Dobârca, Apoldu de Sus, Cristian and Cisnădie before heading towards the Carpathian Mountains.

Going east from Avrig, the race turns south in Arpașu de Jos. After Cârțișoara, the special-category climb to Bâlea Lac slowly, but surely starts. The first kilometres are still very gentle, but once the road enters the forest, the Carpathian Mountains start for real. The last 25 kilometres climb at an average 5.8 percent, and the steepest parts are up to 12 percent. Even more than the gradient, though, it is the length and altitude of the climb that will separate the best climbers from the rest of the field.

Stage 1 podium:

1. Giovanni Aleotti (BORA - hansgrohe)
2. Fabio Aru (Team Qhubeka NextHash)
3. Sergey Chernetskiy (Gazprom RusVelo)

Jersey wearers on stage 2:

General Classification: Giovanni Aleotti (BORA - hansgrohe)

King of Mountain Classification: Daniel Turek (Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels), for Aleotti

Points Classification: Pascal Ackermann (BORA - hansgrohe), for Aleotti

Best Young Rider U23: Karel Camdra (Topforex - ATT Investments), for Aleotti

5 July Stage 2: Sibiu - Bâlea Lac, 187.5 km

Starting Time: 11:00 / Estimated Finish Time: 15:45
Live Coverage: 10:35 - 10:50 & 11:30 - 16:00 on livestream.com
(Eastern European Summer Time, UTC+3)

2021 Sibiu Cycling Tour parcours
3 July    Prologue: Historic City Centre of Sibiu, 2.5 km
4 July    Stage 1: Sibiu - Păltiniș, 177.9 km
5 July    Stage 2: Sibiu - Bâlea Lac, 187.5 km
6 July    Stage 3: Sibiu - Mediaș - Sibiu, 205.3 km

Sibiu Cycling Tour palmarès
2011