Tour de France Beijing to grow cycling culture

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China Daily, October 25, 2018
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Cyclists wait to start. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 2,000 cycling enthusiasts raced in Beijing's first ever Tour de France-class event on Sunday, as the world's most prestigious cycling tour enters its second year in China after inaugural races in Shanghai and Changsha last year.


L'Étape Beijing by Le Tour de France, a challenge race for amateur cyclists, got world attention as it was charted along the Yanxi lakeside in suburban Beijing's Huairou District, where APEC leaders met in 2014. Tour de France champion Andy Schleck joined the races, while Taiwan actor Ethan Juan served as ambassador for the China events and kicked off the race.


The L'Étape race covers 81 kilometers, featuring Tour de France-class mountain climb classifications and sprint stages along the city's mountainous area.


The men's winner clocked in at 2 hours 16 minutes and 2 seconds, while the women's champion finished in 2:36:54 and will be invited to L'Etape Du Tour in France next year.


According to Kathy Zhou, general manager of Activation Group, a Tour de France-class rescue and medical team, neutral service vehicles and photography services were included in the L'Etape race, and a Club DE L'Étape China program was combined to attract loyal cyclists who are allowed to wear customized jerseys and bicycle plates.


China Criterium, the second leg of the China events and race for professional cyclists, will be in the downtown area of Shanghai covering landmarks and skylines of the city in November.


Chris Froome, a four-time winner of the Tour de France, won the 2017 China Criterium in Shanghai.


Activation, which landed China's first La Liga club in 2016, was cautious about its import of more top world sporting events into the Chinese market. "To grow a sport is more than just to organize to compete. We need to grow the culture of the sport, building sport-themed areas," said Zhou.


Yang Lin, general manager of Guo'an Sport, a Beijing-based sports organizing and marketing group and organizer of the Beijing race, said Guo'an will further build cycling at all levels and grow the cycling culture together with fashion and tourism.


Yang said she believed the cycling market in China is promising although the country lacks world professional cyclists and population who cycle as a lifestyle. "We need to start with high-quality cycling events to produce social benefits before we can make the market profitable."


China was home to a cycling population of 12 million in 2017, and the number is expected to reach 15 million in 2018.The cycling population mainly comes from major cities and eastern provinces like Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province, and are aged 20 to 25 with high education and pay.


With a history of 115 years, Le Tour de France attracts 10 million spectators and 3.5 billion TV viewers worldwide.


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