Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

One of the 20 sporting events to be played during the first-ever Baku European Games scheduled for June 12-28 is cycling.

Three cycling disciplines including mountain bike, BMX and road cycling will be held at the Games.

“Azerbaijani cyclists hold high level trainings,” Brian Cookson, the International Cycling Union president said on June 12 at the meeting with Fazil Mammadov, the president of the Azerbaijan Cycling Federation.

Addressing the meeting, Mammadov said that competitions on cycling will be held on three disciplines. “In this regard, appropriate infrastructure has been established in the country,” he said. “BMX Bike Park and mountain bike park, which will be the venues of the cycling competitions during the Games, meet all standards of the International Cycling Union.”

He went ahead saying that cycling has been developing rapidly in the country in recent years.

Cookson said that more than 300 athletes will participate in the cycling events at the Games and they will all get a chance to score points for the license to take part in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

Along with cycling events, eleven of the sports will also offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Those sports include Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Judo, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Volleyball and Wrestling.

Despite the fact that Azerbaijan is a young country, which joined the International Cycling Union, cycling is developing rapidly here, he said.

The meeting also discussed the issues for holding the BMX World Championship 2018 in Azerbaijan.

Cookson is on a visit to Azerbaijan in order to attend the opening ceremony of the first European Games Baku 2015.

The Mountain Bike Velopark, located in the north-west of the city, will be the venue for the mountain bike, which is scheduled for June 13. Some 72 cyclist across Europe including three from Azerbaijan such as Agshin Ismayilov, Orkhan Mammadov and Ulfet Nazarli will compete for the best title.

The BMX cycling competition will be held on June 26-28 in the BMX Velopark, a permanent venue built specially for the Baku 2015 European Games. Located close to Baku city centre, the venue forms part of the Western Venues cluster, and will host 1,000 spectators during the Games. This discipline will include some 45 cyclists around Europe.

The road cycling which is scheduled for June 18-21 is going to bring together a total of 209 cyclists. Azerbaijan will be represented by three men cyclist Elchin Asadov, Maxim Averin, Samir Jabrayilov, and two women cyclists Ulfet Nazarli and Olena Pavluxina.

More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will compete in 20 sporting events, including 16 Olympic and four non-Olympic sports.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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