The Tour is a Tool for the Promotion of Turkey

Race organisers want to implement cycling in the heart of the community. To qualify riders for the London Olympic Games is a priority for them.

The Presidential Tour of Turkey isn’t just another race. Ranked by the UCI (International Cycling Union) as one of the highest in the Europe Tour, the event has grown tremendously since 2008 in order to reach several goals described by race director Abdurrahman Açikalin. “Cycling is a brand new sport in Turkey but it has a great potential”, Açikalin explained with a great hint of passion. “The Turkish cycling federation is in charge of the organisation of the race. The Tour is a showcase and a tool for the promotion of Turkish tourism and resources. The media impact of the event, the live telecast on Eurosport international and the growing interest showed by the world’s biggest cycling teams help us to develop cycling on a middle term basis in Turkey.”

From Istanbul to Alanya, the town where the president of Republic of Turkey Abdullah Gül and the president of the Turkish cycling federation Emin Müftüoğlü both hail from, the Turkish community gets to know this spectacular sport better and better every year. The passion grows for the national team that appears more motivated, courageous and brave all the time.

“To qualify riders for the Olympic Games in London in 2012 is the aim of the Turkish cycling federation”, Açikalin continued. “We have a development program for track cycling with the help of the UCI and the world cycling centre in Aigle, Switzerland. We’re also putting together a coherent program for road cycling. Our riders are getting experience in taking part in international races, four of them being organised in Turkey in 2010, from May to September. That’s also new. These races will help to pass the culture of cycling on to the whole country. This is our goal via the Tour of Turkey but also via these four new races as well now.”

Composed of very young riders from 20 to 23, the Turkish national team will be competing against some real stars of cycling such as top German sprinter Andre Greipel (HTC-Columbia), up-and-coming Italian Giovanni Visconti (ISD-Neri) and Frenchman David Moncoutié (Cofidis) whose longevity is an example in the sport. “I can’t say who will be the best Turkish rider”, Açikalin said. “But we definitely want them to learn how to race as a team. We want them to improve at the contact of great champions and very well structured teams. I can testify these young cyclists are very enthusiastic but I repeat, for us, the priority is to spread the international cycling culture all over Turkey.”