Saimaa Cycle Tour traffic arrangements 10-12 July 2026
The Saimaa Cycle Tour, which has grown into Finland's largest cycling event, will be held on Fri 10.7 - 12.7 and the event will cause traffic disruptions in Imatrankoski and the Lappeenranta harbour area. Cyclists will also ride in Taipalsaari, Savitaipalee, Mikkeli and Puumala city centre without any traffic disruptions. For more information on the traffic arrangements, see this page.
General information about Saimaa Cycle Tour
More than 5 500 cyclists participate in theimaa Cycle Tour. The cyclists start the tour with a maximum of. The cyclists will ride in groups of max. 50 cyclists every four minutes. The groups will set off from the Imatrankoski bridge on Friday 10 July between 16:00 and Saturday 11 July 01:30 and on Sunday 12 July between 08:00 - 11:30 on the gravel roads.
The 300-kilometre main route of the Saimaa Cycle Tour will take the cyclists around Lake Saimaa, starting from Imatra and then cycling clockwise through Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Savitaipale, Mikkeli, Puumala and Ruokolahti back to Imatra.
Check the Saimaa Cycle Tour routes
We ask car drives to be patient when overtaking groups of cyclists
Cyclists will start from max. Groups of up to 50 cyclists start in groups of up to 50 people and progress at different speeds, ranging from slower-paced touring cyclists to professional teams cycling the 300 km route at up to 40 km per hour. Groups of cyclists starting from different starting points can accumulate over the course of the route to form groups of over 100 cyclists.
Traffic rules will be observed and we hope that motorists and motorcyclists will also take safety considerations into account when passing both large groups of cyclists and individual cyclists:
- Please remember to keep at least 1.5 metres of lateral distance from cyclists in all situations, or preferably in the oncoming lane.
- Please do not overtake groups of cyclists at points of poor visibility e.g. uphill gradients and bends.
Traffic management and warning signs
There will be hundreds of traffic controllers at intersections along the event route and more than 500 event-related warning or guidance signs along the route.
Some of the traffic controllers will be guiding cyclists, and at some intersections traffic controllers will stop other traffic to allow cyclists to move smoothly. This can cause waiting times of a few minutes.
Exceptional traffic arrangements in Imatra during 8-13 July 2026
The Saimaa Cycle Tour event centre is located at Inkerinaukio in Imatrankoski. The starting and finishing points of the event are located on Imatrankoskentie. As there are thousands of cyclists in Imatra on Thursday and Saturday, we hope that all road users, from motorists to pedestrians, will pay attention in traffic.
TRAFFIC ARRANGEMENTS IN IMATRA
On Wednesday, July 8th at 13:00, the lanes on Helsingintie on the side of Inkerinaukio square, between Torkkelinkatu and Imatrankoskentie, will be closed. The closure will remain in effect until Monday, July 13th at around 03:00. Traffic in both directions will be redirected to the lanes on the city center side.
At the same time, Inkerinaukio square will also be closed to through traffic. Inkerinaukio and the Saimaa Cycle Tour EXPO will open to the public on Thursday, July 9th, and will be open from 16:00 to 20:00. During the night, the area is closed and guarded.
From Friday, July 10th at 09:00:
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Imatrankoskentie will be completely closed between the city center and the Pistetalot roundabout. Access for rescue vehicles is permitted. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic over the bridge is allowed at all times.
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Helsingintie and Tainionkoskentie will be closed between Torkkelinkatu and the City Hall roundabout. Local driving access to properties on the Tainionkoskentie side is permitted.
Reopening Schedule:
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Saturday, July 11th at approx. 12:00: Helsingintie and Tainionkoskentie will be opened to traffic.
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Sunday, July 12th at approx. 03:00: The Imatrankoski bridge will be opened to traffic.
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Overnight between Sunday and Monday, July 12th–13th: Helsingintie and Inkerinaukio will be mostly opened to traffic. The Kuohun kulma market area will remain restricted during the tent dismantling work until Monday, July 13th.
CHANGES TO IMATRA LOCAL TRANSPORT ROUTES JULY 10–12, 2026
During the Saimaa Cycle Tour from July 10th to 12th, 2026, traffic arrangements will change in Imatra, and bus lines 21, 22, and 23 will be diverted to exceptional routes. During the event, the Imatrankoski–Jakola section of line 23 will be operated by a separate bus according to the current schedules.
Traffic arrangements in Lappeenranta
The Saimaa Cycle Tour event will cause traffic diversions in the Lappeeranta harbour area between Myllysaari and Pikisaari.
As the cyclists will be passing through the Lappeenranta harbor area during Friday evening, we kindly ask pedestrians to be extra attentive when crossing roads in the harbor area, as the cycling groups will be moving at high speeds.
TRAFFIC ARRANGEMENTS ON AINONKATU, SATAMATIE AND KIPPARINKATU JULY 10–11, 2026
Ainonkatu, Satamatie, and Kipparinkatu will be closed to traffic on the section between Lappeenranta Central Hospital and Pikisaari. The right lane coming from the direction of the hospital will be reserved exclusively for cyclists. The left lane from the direction of Torikatu and Pikisaari towards the central hospital roundabout will remain open to normal traffic.
The traffic closure will begin on Friday at 19:00 and the roads will be reopened to traffic on Saturday night at 04:00 (or as soon as the last group of cyclists has passed the harbor area).