Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey attracts great attention from abroad

The fact that increasingly competitive international teams, as well as two Turkish teams, have been participating in the race in recent years stands as a testament to Turkey’s growth in the world of cycling and sports.

TUR is an annual road bicycling stage race that has traditionally started in İstanbul and ended in the southwestern city of Alanya, covering 1,300 kilometers of western Turkey. It recently gained prestige and importance, moving up in ratings from a 2.2 event in 2006 to a 2.HC (Hors Categorie) race in 2010. It has attracted an increasingly broad range of competitive professional cycling teams from around the world in the past few years. And starting with this year’s 48th edition, the race will be reversed, starting in Alanya and ending in İstanbul -- this year’s European Capital of Sports. It will continue on in this fashion because major cycling tours tend to finish in larger cities.

Cream of the crop

“There are thousands of teams in the world, but only 40 are professional. We invite only professional teams,” TUR director Aydın Ayhan Güney told Sunday’s Zaman. “When we choose the teams, we focus on teams from all over; we have teams from Colombia and Asia, not just Europe. The popularity of the teams is important as well because media is very important in this race,” he added to explain how they choose from the list of applications they receive from around the world.

The list of world-class teams they have chosen to enter the race are as follows: Ag2r-La Mondiale (France), Pro Team Astana (Kazakhstan), GreenEdge Cycling (Australia), Katusha Team (Russia), Lampre-ISD (Italy), Lotto-Belisol (Belgium), OmegaPharma-Quick Step (Belgium), SaxoBank (Denmark), Andalucia (Spain), Accent.jobs-Willems Verandas (Belgium), Team NetApp (Germany), Bretagne-Schuller (France), Caja Rural (Spain), Colnago-CSF Inox (Ireland), Colombia-Coldeportes (Colombia), Europcar (France), Farnese Vini-Selle Italia (Great Britain), Project 1t4i (Netherlands), RusVelo (Russia), Team SpiderTech powered by C10 (Canada), Team Type 1-Sanofi (US), UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (US), Utensilnord-Named (Ireland), Konya-Torku Şeker Spor (Turkey) and the Salcano-Manisaspor Cycling Team (Turkey).

According to Güney, the appearance of two Turkish teams is very telling of the state of cycling in the country. “Before last year we did not have Turkish teams because they went professional just last year. They are not strong yet, but they will be,” he explained, adding that Turkish riders are already showing great signs of improving in TUR, as well as in other competitions and qualifications. “Turkish riders can now finish the race. The first year they had to stop in the middle. … And for the first time in 40 years, three Turks have qualified for the Olympics -- the London Olympics in 2012,” he said. While the Turkish teams are not expected to place in the top tiers of TUR this year, it may not be too long before they do, if these facts are any sign of things to come.

Significance of cycling

Turkey is growing in the field of sports, as evidenced in its hosting an increasing number of international events, from the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship Final, in which the Turks placed second, to the Winter Universiade in Erzurum in 2011. Also the fact that İstanbul is this year’s European Capital of Sports is noteworthy. Cycling is part of that trend, according to Güney. “A few years ago the federation started up a lot of projects to encourage cycling in Turkey, from which we are now benefitting. There are now lots of cycling clubs for young boys and it is growing in popularity. They want to be bicyclists now, instead of football players,” he explained.

But the Turkish Cycling Federation is not alone in its endeavors. “We also have a shield, and that is the president,” Güney noted. He added: “He came to the first race and immediately understood its value. He has supported it since.” Güney highlighted that TUR is significant as the oldest international sporting event in the country, at 48 years and running. He said: “In 2008 the officials at TUR and the president decided to make it a big, world-class race. They invested a lot of money.” This support is much of what has brought TUR to its current rating of 2.HC and its increasingly visible status in the cycling world.

This is also good for the country’s image in general. “We wanted to use this to promote Turkey and try to get more help from the tourism industry,” Güney noted. “In 2009 we managed to get on Eurosport, which made it grow, because Eurosport reaches 60 countries and millions of people. So we grew and we got more help,” he added. Güney also said that 1,200 people stay in over 60 hotels along the course of the event, making it a huge boon to the tourism industry and Turkey’s economy.

“As someone who has gone to many international events, I can say this is one of the most well organized,” the organization’s director added with pride. The Turks may not place this year, but they will put up a good fight and be remembered for their continued growth and improvement in a wide array of sports.