The SZABADICS Ride will set off for the tenth time in June, following the MAPEI Tour de Zalakaroson

The SZABADICS Ride Company Challenge team competition will be held for the tenth time between 19 and 21 June as part of the MAPEI Tour de Zalakaros. At the event’s press conference on 8 May, Tamás Kovács, chairman of the SZABADICS Építőipari Zrt., spoke about how the initiative has grown far beyond a corporate sports programme in recent years and has now become a genuine community-building event.

Speakers at the event included Judit Czirákiné Pakulár, the mayor of Zalakaros, Dr Domonkos Schneller, president of the Hungarian Cycling Federation, and Béla Markovich, managing director of Mapei Kft., the race’s title sponsor.

The joy of movement and being together

Tamás Kovács recalled the early days, when the SZABADICS Ride Company Challenge team competition was first held in 2017.

„The past nine years have been all about constant change and construction, but it’s been a real rollercoaster ride,” said the chair of SZABADICS Építőipari Zrt..

He emphasised that, over the course of SZABADICS Group’s existence, the event has now become one of the key occasions for corporate team-building.

„It is the joy of movement and being together that makes all of this truly meaningful”

- said.

Interest in the competition is greater than ever this year; registrations opened back in February, and more than fifty teams have signed up for the event.

It’s no longer just partners who are coming

According to Tamás Kovács, it is particularly significant that companies and communities with no direct connection to the group are now entering the competition.

„We’ve already had 10 teams sign up this year who have never taken part in the event before and have no personal connection to us whatsoever. They simply heard about it and wanted to be part of the experience,” he emphasised.

The original aim of SZABADICS Ride was to bring together local communities, groups of friends and partners through shared sporting experiences. According to the organisers, the initiative has now grown into a community event known throughout the country.

Values that go beyond sport

At the press conference, Béla Markovich, managing director of Mapei Kft., spoke about how supporting sport actually means supporting people, and that the most important thing is for them to enjoy being active.

„Mass participation in sport and recreational sport are healthy, and we need them,” he said.

He added that, for them, it is not just the race itself that matters, but also the sense of community and positive atmosphere embodied by the Tour de Zalakaros and SZABADICS Ride.

„Every year I meet people here who are cheerful and smiling, and it’s lovely to see that. That’s why it’s worth supporting this competition,” he said.

An increasingly important event in Hungarian cycling

Domonkos Schneller, president of the Hungarian Cycling Federation, described the Tour de Zalakaros as one of Hungary’s most important amateur cycling events. He emphasised that such events not only build a sense of community but also attract new people to the sport.

The association is therefore supporting the competition again this year; despite rising costs, it continues to grow and attracts more participants every year.

They are gearing up for a memorable competition

According to the organisers, this year’s Tour de Zalakaros and the SZABADICS Ride are set to be particularly memorable, with new routes, community events and a record number of participants expected. At the end of the press conference, Tamás Kovács said,

„I’m sure that this year, too, we’ll be putting on a memorable event that will leave everyone saying it was well worth being there.”