ANTALYA, Türkiye
Race Director of Tour of Türkiye, Vladimiros Petsas, highlighted the important role of the 58th edition of the eight-day cycling event in developing economy and tourism.
“This unique sport brings Türkiye to all the world,” Petsas told Anadolu.
He said the uniqueness of Türkiye’s landscape is a significant and often underappreciated asset.
“Cycling roads serve as a unique blend of sport, history, and tourism, contributing to the promotion and appreciation of a country in multiple ways,” he said.
Pointing out the importance of broadcasting the competition live, beauties such as the mountains and the seaside and big hotels would be promoted and broadcast all over the world.
Petsas said the” quality of the race is at world standards,” and he emphasized that “there was intense interest even though it was off-season.”
“Taking into consideration that we are outside of the racing period because it’s October, some teams have already made their plans for next year but the quality of those teams coming here — they are really very high. And I expect a lot of combats, a lot of war up in the mountains,” he said.
The Tour of Türkiye kicked off Sunday in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, with 168 cyclists and 24 teams from 36 countries gathering for the race.
Starting from the Alanya district of Antalya and ending in Istanbul on Oct., the cyclists would have traveled 1,235 kilometers (767 miles) in the Turkish Riviera by the end of the eight-day race.
The Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye, which is the only “intercontinental bicycle tour” in the world, will host four world tour teams, seven professional, 12 continental and one national team.
