A Stellar Season Finale Among the Pros: Stage 6th Place and Top 8 Team Finish at Tour de Serbie

Tour de Serbie (UCI 2.2) – Požarevac

Between October 16 and 18, our squad brought the curtain down on the 2026 road racing campaign in spectacular fashion at the prestigious Tour de Serbie (UCI 2.2). We lined up for the 3-day international stage race with an ambitious 6-man Hungarian roster: core teammates Bendegúz Pusztai, Gergő Vörös, and Kristóf Bojsza were joined by guest riders Tamás Hancz, Márton Filepko, and Bálint Kárpáti.

Operating in his role as Sports Director, Tamás Nagy spearheaded all logistics: arriving in Požarevac by 11:00 AM on Friday to handle team registration, hotel check-in, team list confirmation, race number distribution, and technical prep so the riders could focus on rest and recovery.

Prologue: Explosive Launch over 2.2 km

The race got underway with an electric 2.2 km individual prologue through Požarevac:

  • Psychological Punch: Kristóf rolled off the ramp first for our squad and second overall in the entire international field. Catching his 30-second minute-man within the opening kilometer, he ignited team morale right out of the gate.
  • Compact Team Splits: Geri, Bende, Tomi, Marci, and Bálint each laid down fully committed runs. Despite the rare, hyper-explosive nature of a short street prologue, all riders maintained tight gaps to the winner: Bálint conceded just 14s, Marci and Tomi 16s, Bende 20s, Geri 23s, and Kristóf 24s.

Stage 1: Wet Tarmac, Ruthless Firepower, and Mechanical Heartbreak

By Saturday morning, the rain had subsided, leaving wet asphalt across a fully closed 11.4 km circuit to be tackled 12 times clockwise.

  • Early Attrition & Costly Flats: The bunch lit the fuse immediately. Slick surfaces and widespread punctures wreaked havoc across the peloton, eventually forcing Kristóf and Geri off the back and out of the race. Bende maintained flawless positioning until misfortune struck on lap 5 with a devastating puncture. Positioned 12th in the team car convoy without radio access, our technical response was delayed. While the gap to the charging field proved impossible to close, Bende showcased immense grit to ride solo and secure an official finish.
  • Voices from the Peloton:
    • Tamás Hancz: “With tiny margins from the prologue, teams like Bardiani, MBH, ATT, Tus, and Bike Aid were never going to let this end in a routine bunch sprint. Relentless moves fired off all day, with the winning breakaway establishing itself late as fatigue dismantled the peloton. We held on in the 40-man chasing peloton to contest the sprint as best as possible on empty legs.”
    • Márton Filepko: “Bálint and I moved together, managing energy reserves efficiently. The circuit invited breakaways, and every attack was heavily contested. When the final moves fired over the last three laps, we dug deep, but the leaders stayed clear.”
  • Late Misfortune: Just 4–5 km from the line, Bálint suffered a puncture outside the 3 km safety barrier, preventing him from contesting the bunch sprint and handing him lost time.

Stage 1 Results:

  • Tamás Hancz: 22nd
  • Márton Filepko: 43rd
  • Bálint Kárpáti: 49th
  • Bendegúz Pusztai: 59th

Stage 2: Tactical Mastery and Kárpáti Bálint's 6th Place Heroics

The final stage reversed the 11.4 km circuit to run counter-clockwise, offering a significantly harder profile. Despite an even lower convoy position and no team radios, mechanical luck flipped in our favor: zero flats all day.

  • Fighting the Clock: Bende paid the physical toll for his stage 1 chase, losing contact on lap 6. Despite crossing the line within the calculated time cut, race commissaires controversially ruled him a DNF, upholding the verdict despite an official appeal. Marci, just two weeks removed from a COVID-19 infection, dug extraordinarily deep to battle home in 44th.
  • Bálint's Breakthrough Breakaway:
    • Bálint Kárpáti: “Team TUS tried controlling the pace to defend the yellow jersey, but the big teams attacked relentlessly to isolate the leader. With three laps to go, the chase began to fracture. When a fresh counter-move launched with no Tus riders, I knew this was the train to catch. We bridged across to make a 12-man front group that was clearly going to contest the stage win. After shutting down a late solo Belgian attack on the final climb, we sprinted out of the final corner—and I managed to secure 6th place!”
    • Tamás Hancz: “Once Bálint successfully jumped into the break, we focused on neutralizing counter-attacks from the peloton, shutting down moves to ensure Bálint’s group stayed clear to fight for the win.”
  • Tomi delivered another massive performance in the main bunch sprint, securing 14th place!

Team Classification & Season Retrospective

Tour de Serbie pitted our club directly against seasoned ProTeam and Continental setups (Bardiani, MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort, ATT Investments, Bike Aid, Team United Shipping).

In this premier international field, Optika Oros Cycling Team clinched a remarkable 8th Place in the General Team Classification—finishing as the second-highest amateur club on the entire roster, surrounded exclusively by pro setups. Bálint Kárpáti’s 6th place finish in a UCI pro race and the tactical maturity shown by the entire squad serves as the ultimate crowning achievement for our 2026 campaign. What a way to close the season!

 

Photo: Ivana Davidov