author：qinghaihu publish time：2015-05-31
The 14th edition of Tour of Qinghai Lake held its press conference on 15th May in Beijing. The event is organised by General Administration of Sport of China and the government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. About 60 officials of General Administration of Sport of China, including Haifeng Zhang and Xuanqing Wang, local representatives and officials from the national television station including deputy director Xing Zhang attended the conference.
he conference revealed the route this year and leading jerseys. 16 representatives from local government undertaking the event also attended. A signing ceremony was held with named sponsors. The leading sponsor of the race is Qinghai Rural Credit Unian. Strategic partners of the event include Tianyoude, Peak Sports, Jingdu Water, China Sports Lottery. Other sponsors include: China Unionpay, FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Audi, Santic, PICC, and Zhengxin Rubber. 70 journalists from 60 press attended the conference.
Ning Zhang, Director of Qinghai Sport Bureau , announced the itinerary of the race. The event will start off from 4th July in Xining and will cover Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia during the following 14 days. Total distance covered will be 2940km. Total riding distance will be 2021km. The stages will ride across Xining ,Duoba, Datong, Qinghai Lake, Gangcha, Xihai, Gonghe, Guide, Xunhua, Linxia, Dingxi, Tianshui, Pingliang, Zhongwei and Yinchuan.
The theme of this edition of Tour of Qinghai Lake is Green, Cultural and Harmonious. The event aims to establish a reputation of the natural and historical heritage of the diverse nationals living in the region. It also want to promote cycling in the region.
The event is highly-reviewed by officials from China and also by UCI. The event has become more mature and professional during the past years. Briain Cookson, president of UCI speaks highly of the Tour of Qinghai Lake, and is willing to offer help to the race organisers.
Over 60 professional cycling teams registered for the race and 22 of them are selected to compete the race. 154 riders from 22 teams will ride the tour, include 1 UCI WorldTeam, 3 UCI ContenentialTeams, and 17 Contenential Teams.
Being the highest-rated cycling race in China, the Tour of Qinghai lake is known for its high altitude, long distance, and hard climbs. This year, the distance is tailored to be more scientific and at the same time remain a high standard. Riding distance is shortened by 184km and transfer distance is shortened by 668km. The route now features more mountain road and less flat and circuit road, with a total of 9 mountain stages, 1 flat stage, and 3 circuit stages. In order to enhance the engagement of local visitors, the route covers more road close to the highway and countryside road.
The orginaser has also worked on new media promotion. This edition the media department will work with professional and also new media production companies to widen the reach of the event in the new age.
The event is also highly anticipated by local public. Over 90% audience would like to see another edition of Tour of Qinghai Lake. Over 97% from local areas would like to have the race held at door again.
The Tour of Qinghai Lake follows the overall ideology of national sports bureau. Xuanqing Wang, official from national cycling management center, said that The Tour has been improving the design of the route through its course for 14 years. He said he would like to see more of the development in cycling events like the Tour of Qinghai Lake.
