European Games to include three cycling disciplines
By Amina Nazarli
The Tour d’Azerbaidjan is not the only major sporting event coming to Baku this year on May 6-10 – the city will also host the first-ever European Games.
These games are the equivalent of the Olympic Games for the
European nations, and Azerbaijan expects to greet more than 6000
athletes representing 50 countries in 20 different sports, from
June 12 to 28. And of course cycling is included!
Three cycling disciplines will be carried out at the Games: road,
BMX and mountain biking, with competitions for both men and
women.
Mountain biking will kick-start the competition on June 13,
awarding the first medals of the games. We will see 46 men and 31
women take on the challenging course at the newly built Mountain
Bike Velopark.
Last year Baku held the Mountain Bike Test Event at the same venue to test the course and ensure that all can proceed adequately.
This is the first ever Mountain Bike Velopark built in
Azerbaijan that meets international standards. All riders will come
from top European countries in this discipline. Azerbaijan has two
start places in both the women’s and men’s races.
Next up, are the road disciplines, starting with the women’s time
trial, which is 25.8 km, and the men’s - 51.6 km. The competition
will be held at Bilgah Beach northeast of Baku along the Caspian
seaside.
Azerbaijan will have two riders in each race. The races will
have a total of 50 men and 33 women athletes from different top
European nations competing in time trial races on 18 June.
On June 20-21 they will be followed by two road races, 215.8 km for
the men and 120.7 km for the women. These races will start at
Baku’s Freedom Square and will cover a 13.9 km long city circuit,
including the historical Old City of Baku. Azerbaijan will be
represented by three men and two women in the road race.
Things wind down with BMX, as the medals will be awarded on the
final day of the Games. 32 men and 16 women will face the new BMX
Velopark, with its jumps, bumps and tightly curved corners.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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