# Tour of Bulgaria

The Tour of Bulgaria is an annual international professional bicycle race held in Bulgaria that was first staged on 21 August 1924. It is part of UCI Europe Tour and is category 2.2. The race covers about 1,500 kilometres and lasts two weeks. As of 2017, 66 editions were held. The longest length of the race was in 1949 – 1905 km. The course changes every year, but the race has always started in Sofia.
In the race, cyclists from more than 40 countries have been competing. During the Cold War, the Tour of Bulgaria was one of the most prestigious cycling races in Europe, drawing skilled cyclists from the countries that traditionally produce strong racers, such as Italy, France and Netherlands. Although after the changes in 1989 the race lost some of its prestige for the cyclists in the peloton, nowadays it becomes more and more attractive for them. For example, in 2010 Francisco Mancebo who finished second in the 2004 Vuelta a España and fourth in the 2005 Tour de France, competed in it but only succeeded to finish third after the Bulgarian Krasimir Vasilev and Ricardo Mestre.
In 2017, the race was split into two three-day races based on geographical location.

## Winners
### Tour of Bulgaria

| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
| 1924 | Bulgaria | Georgi Abadschiev | |
| 1924 | Bulgaria | Kosta Djulgerov | |
| 1925 1934 | No race | No race | No race |
| 1935 | Bulgaria | Marin Nikolov | |
| 1936 1948 | No race | No race | No race |
| 1949 | Bulgaria | Milko Dimov | |
| 1950 | Bulgaria | Milko Dimov | |
| 1951 1954 | No race | No race | No race |
| 1955 | Bulgaria | Stoyan Georgiev | |
| 1956 | Bulgaria | Dimitar Kolev | |
| 1957 | Bulgaria | Nentcho Christov | |
| 1958 | Bulgaria | Bojan Kozev | |
| 1959 | Bulgaria | Bojan Kozev | |
| 1960 | Bulgaria | Bojan Kozev | |
| 1961 | Bulgaria | Dimitar Kolev | |
| 1962 | Bulgaria | Ivan Bobekov | |
| 1963 | No race | No race | No race |
| 1964 | Bulgaria | Boris Botschev | |
| 1965 | Czechoslovakia | Jiří Háva | |
| 1966 | Bulgaria | Ivan Bobekov | |
| 1967 | Czechoslovakia | Ján Wenczel | |
| 1968 | Bulgaria | Vesko Kutuev | |
| 1969 | Italy | Selvino Poloni | |
| 1970 | Netherlands | Fedor den Hertog | |
| 1971 | Poland | Ryszard Szurkowski | |
| 1972 | Bulgaria | Ivan Popov | |
| 1973 | Soviet Union | Ivan Skosirev | |
| 1974 | Soviet Union | Rinat Charafulin | |
| 1975 | Poland | Janusz Kowalski | |
| 1976 | Soviet Union | Alexandre Gusiatnikov | |
| 1977 | East Germany | Siegbert Schmeisser | |
| 1978 | Bulgaria | Nentcho Staykov | |
| 1979 | Soviet Union | Yuri Barinov | |
| 1980 | Bulgaria | Nentcho Staykov | |
| 1981 | Soviet Union | Boris Issaev | |
| 1982 | Soviet Union | Leon Deschitz | |
| 1983 | Bulgaria | Venelin Chubenov | |
| 1984 | Bulgaria | Nentcho Staykov | |
| 1985 | Bulgaria | Petar Petrov | |
| 1986 | Bulgaria | Boyko Angelov | |
| 1987 | Bulgaria | Petar Petrov | |
| 1988 | Bulgaria | Valentin Shivkov | |
| 1989 | France | Didier Pasgrimaud | |
| 1990 | Bulgaria | Pavel Shumanov | |
| 1991 | Yugoslavia | Aleksandar Milenković | |
| 1992 | Bulgaria | Pavel Shumanov | |
| 1993 | Netherlands | Mano Lubbers | |
| 1994 | Bulgaria | Hristo Zaikov | |
| 1995 | Bulgaria | Hristo Zaikov | |
| 1996 | Bulgaria | Hristo Zaikov | |
| 1997 | Bulgaria | Pavel Shumanov | |
| 1998 | Bulgaria | Krassimir Vassiliev | |
| 1999 | Kazakhstan | Maxim Gourov | |
| 2000 | Poland | Seweryn Kohut | |
| 2001 | Bulgaria | Dimitar Dimitrov Gospodinov | |
| 2002 | Bulgaria | Dimitar Dimitrov Gospodinov | |
| 2003 | Bulgaria | Ivailo Gabrovski | |
| 2004 | Poland | Tomasz Kloczko | Dominscout-Sniezka-Lody |
| 2005 | Slovakia | Martin Prázdnovský | CK ZP Sport A.S. Podbrezova |
| 2006 | Bulgaria | Ivailo Gabrovski | CC Nessebar |
| 2007 | Bulgaria | Evgeni Gerganov | Cycling Club Bourgas |
| 2008 | Bulgaria | Ivailo Gabrovski | CC Nessebar |
| 2009 | Bulgaria | Ivailo Gabrovski | Heraklion-Nessebar |
| 2010 | Bulgaria | Krassimir Vassiliev | SK Dobrich |
| 2011 | Bulgaria | Ivailo Gabrovski | Heraklion-Nessebar |
| 2012 | Kazakhstan | Maxat Ayazbayev | Continental Team Astana |
| 2013 | France | Rémy Di Gregorio | Team Martigues SC-Vivelo |
| 2014 | No race | No race | No race |
| 2015 | Bulgaria | Stefan Hristov | Brisaspor |
| 2016 | Italy | Marco Tecchio | Unieuro–Wilier |
| 2017 North | Ukraine | Sergiy Lagkuti | Kolss Cycling Team |
| 2017 South | Ukraine | Vitaliy Buts | Kolss Cycling Team |
| 2018 2019 | No race | No race | No race |
| 2020 | Poland | Patryk Stosz | Voster ATS Team |
| 2021 | Germany | Immanuel Stark | P&S Metalltechnik |
| 2022 | Ukraine | Kyrylo Tsarenko | Gallina Ecotek Lucchini |
| 2023 | Czech Republic | Michal Schuran | ATT Investments |
| 2024 | Italy | Matteo Malucelli | JCL Team Ukyo |