Local cyclists are likely already aware of the current situation regarding the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which we are currently dealing with along the Slovak-Hungarian border.
This disease affects cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats, and it may have an impact on this year’s Race through Slovakia.
For humans, the disease does not pose a risk. According to Wiki, only one confirmed case in a human was recorded back in 1966 in the UK. Although there have been three to four dozen unconfirmed cases since the late 19th century. For example among workers handling infected or dead animals during the 2001 UK outbreak (the most significant outbreak in recent memory), no human infections were confirmed.
Moreover, at least at this point in time, your race route and transfer segments in Slovakia do not pass through any affected areas.
We want to clearly state that your health – which is our top priority – is not at risk due to foot-and-mouth disease. What might be affected, however, is the planning of your route.
Currently, as part of the disease control measures, some border crossings between Slovakia and Hungary are closed. These restrictions are in effect until May 7, 2025, and should not affect the race—in an optimistic scenario. The more realistic scenario is that the closures may continue beyond this date.
We are working with the realistic assumption that the current closures will still be in place during the race. That’s why we’re providing you with a list of the affected crossings and asking you to double-check your planned route to ensure you’re not relying on any of them. If so, please prepare an alternative route using open crossings.
On the 1,000 km route, the mandatory segment from Slovakia into Hungary passes through Štúrovo to Esztergom, and this crossing is not affected by any restrictions.
However, riders on the 1,000 km route heading from Bükki Nemzeti Park to the next segment in Poland must consider the restrictions.
For riders on the 650 km loop, the situation is a bit more complex—you should check both the crossing from Banská Štiavnica to Bükki Nemzeti Park and your return route back to Slovakia.
These are the currently closed border crossings between Slovak and Hungarian municipalities:
You can find a graphic map version of the closed crossings here:
https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/22308155/embed
No restrictions for RTSK ‘25 participants at this time at Slovak-Polish borders.
We think these measures may still be active in early May during the race. That’s why we’re notifying you now—to help with planning. It’s also possible that the situation improves enough that these restrictions are lifted entirely.
A pessimistic scenario would involve stricter controls and additional border closures. If that happens, we might need to modify the mandatory segments of RTSK ’25 and change their order. This is an unlikely, extreme case—but we want to be transparent and prepare you for every possibility.
If the situation worsens, we’ll notify you via the newsletter and Whatsapp community promptly and publish alternative segments.