The Tour de Taiwan is to start today with almost 200 riders from 31 countries set to cycle 670.3km over five individual stages, the national cycling association said.
The 192 riders representing 23 teams are to cover 83.2km in the first stage, consisting of eight loops in Taipei from Taipei City Hall to Jing Fu Men (景福門) and back.
Stage two of the annual professional road race covers 120.59km, as the cyclists make their way from Taoyuan to Jiaobanshan Park (角板山公園) on the hilly Northern Cross-Island Highway.
Photo: CNA
Along the way, they face one of the two toughest climbs in the race.
The riders are to travel southwest along Highway No. 61 through Taoyuan’s Guanyin (觀音) and Xinwu (新屋) districts, then head southeast on Highway No. 66, through Yangmei (楊梅) and Pingzhen (平鎮) districts, and on to the Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) through Dasi District (大溪) before arriving at Jiaobanshan Park.
In stage three on Tuesday, the riders are to cover 154.5km from Hsinchu to Taichung through Miaoli County.
The longest stage is the fourth, on Wednesday, covering 169.43km in 1.5 loops around Nantou County. It features another tough climb near the Xuanzang Temple (玄奘寺).
The riders are to start at Nantou County Hall, and cycle through Jiji (集集), Shuili (水里), Yuchi (魚池) and Puli (埔里) townships near Sun Moon Lake, before heading east toward Caotun (草屯), then back toward Nantou County Hall, Jiji and Shuili and finishing at the Xiangshan Visitor Center near Sun Moon Lake.
Stage five on Thursday would have the riders cover 146.44km, facing some of the biggest climbs in the race.
They are to start from the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum in Dashu District (大樹) in Kaohsiung, then head north through Qishan (旗山), Meinong (美濃), Liugui (六龜) and Jiaxian (甲仙) townships, before heading south through Shanlin (杉林), Qishan, Dashu, Yanchao (燕巢), Nanzi (楠梓) and Zuoying (左營) townships, to finish at Kaohsiung National Stadium.
Italian road racer Omar El Gouzi, who is to compete in his first Tour de Taiwan, said at a press conference on Friday in Taipei that his team, Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizane, are well represented at this year’s event.
“We have two sprinters and three climbers, so we can defend ourselves and attack every stage. So we will try to bring home some stage races and, also, if we can, the overall race,” El Gouzi said.
Members of the Spanish Equipo Kern Pharma team also expected to do well.
“Our goal is GC [general] classification. This is a really special race for us. We prepared really well. We came with huge ambitions and nice expectations,” Spanish cyclist Urko Berrade said.
The Tour de Taiwan, which dates back to 1978, has been part of the UCI Asia Tour since the creation of the UCI Continental Circuits in 2005, Union Cycliste Internationale president David Lappartient said.
“The Tour de Taiwan shines the spotlight on a beautiful country, and offers the riders the best of all worlds, from testing climbs through stunning countryside to high-adrenaline city-center circuits,” Lappartient said in a statement.
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