Riders and fans meet will witness today the queen stage of the ΔΕΗ International Tour of Hellas 2024! The non-categorised climb to Velouchi will most likely decide the GC winner.
The third stage is the queen stage of the ΔΕΗ International Tour of Hellas 2024 the crown jewel of this year’s edition. Its length is 159,7 km and the elevation gain 4,528 m.
The starting point is placed outside the Municipal Stadium in Karditsa. The peloton will then make a counterclockwise circle which will lead them to the east side of Plastira Lake. From there they will briefly ride in Evrytania, then return to the Prefecture of Karditsa, and leave Thessaly behind for good to move to Central Greece; first in Fthiotida and then to the Prefecture of Evrytania.
A great battle for the jersey of the king of the mountains is expected to unfold, since Stage 3 includes four categorised climbs, which award 35 points out of a total of 64 available at the entire Tour. A cat. 1 climb in Tsouka will precede and in the second half of the stage, the athletes will first pass through Lipouhi and Tymfristos (both cat. 2 climbs), to reach Karpenisi. From there, they will tackle a very challenging ascend that ends in the finish line in Velouchi; a 12 km race with an average gradient of 8.52% and a maximum gradient of 15.3%!
The riders will first pass through three categorised climbs, before they reach Karpenisi. From there, they will tackle a very challenging ascend that ends in the finish line in Velouchi; a 12 km race with an average gradient of 8.52% and a maximum gradient of 17.3%!
The climb to Velouchi will be the climax of the stage and many attacks are expected to take place amongst the blue jersey contenders.
Velouchi or Tymfristos highest peak is at 2,315 m. The end of the stage is located at Diavolotopos, at an altitude of 1,858 metres, where lies one of the largest ski resorts in Greece, established by individuals in 1974.
Stage 3 Facts
Karditsa – Karpenisi (Velouchi) 159,71 km
Points of interest
0 km: Starting Point / Karditsa (Municipal Stadium)
27,4 km: KoM 1 (Cat. 1) / Τsouka
50 km: Intermediate Sprint 1 / Zaimi
60,9 km: Intermediate Sprint 2 / Loutro junction
101,2 km: KoM 2 (Cat. 2) / Lipouchi
132 km: KoM 3 (Cat. 2) / Tymfristos
159,71 km: KoM 4 – (Cat. HC) / Velouchi
159,71 km: Finish Line / Velouchi (Ski Resort)
