Tour de Taiwan, the nation’s top professional cycling event and part of the Union Cycliste Internationale Asia Tour, is set to kick off March 1 in Taipei City.
Nearly 100 cyclists from 30 countries and territories representing 17 teams, including five locals competing for Team Taiwan, will battle it out over the five-stage, 661.35-kilometer north-south route.
Participants are scheduled to take off from Taipei City Hall for the eight-lap, 83.2-km first stage in the capital, before moving on to challenging mountain climbs in the 118.88-km second stage through the northern city of Taoyuan.
For the third stage, competitors will complete a 156.5-km stretch along Taiwan Romantic Route 3 winding past Hakka villages in the northern counties of Hsinchu and Miaoli as well as the central city of Taichung.
The 174.3-km fourth stage is scheduled for southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County, where riders will pass popular tourist attractions such as Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area. A winner will be decided March 5 after the last stage, a 128.47-km route around the southern city of Kaohsiung finishing in Yancheng 228 Peace Memorial Park.
According to the event organizer, Kaohsiung-based Chinese Taipei Cycling Association, the final 90 minutes from every stage of the tour are set to air on European TV channel Eurosport 1 in 20 languages, broadcasting Taiwan’s natural beauty to living rooms worldwide.
Established in 1978 by King Liu, founder of world famous bicycle maker Taichung-based Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Tour de Taiwan was first included in the UCI Asia Tour in 2005.
Since 2003, the Tour has climbed from the lowest 2.6 grade on the UCI scale for international cycling competitions to its current position as a 2.1 race, one level below the UCI Continental Circuits in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania and two below the UCI World Tour events, such as the prestigious Grand Tours in France, Italy and Spain. (YCH-E)
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