Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Tour d’Azerbaidjan will again take the peloton on a trip across Azerbaijan – from the Caspian shores to the Caucasus Mountains.

Azerbaijan’s Cycling Federation announced that the UCI 2.1 five-day Tour d’Azerbaidjan stage race will start on May 4 in Baku and finish on May 8, in accordance with confirmation of the International Cycling Union (UCI).
This will be the fifth edition of the event, which started in 2012 as the Heydar Aliyev Anniversary Tour (U23) and in 2012 - the tour became an annual event, later transformed into Tour d'Azerbaidjan.

“It is great that we can organize this event for the fifth consecutive time,” said Sahib Alakbarov, head of the organizing committee and vice president of the Cycling Federation of Azerbaijan.

“When we started our cycling project, our objective was to represent Azerbaijani sport at the highest level, and this race is really important to do so. It is a great way to show our country to the world and to teach our country more about this beautiful sport. We're proud to see our first Azerbaijani Olympian cyclist in the Games of Rio 2016, Maksym Averin. This is a great result of the Baku Cycling Project and we hope that the sport will continue to grow and that the race, the federation and the team will enable more and more Azeri riders to represent Azerbaijan successfully.”

Last year the tour brought together 24 teams from around the world, which competed in a five stage race covering the entire Azerbaijan. The total distance covered by riders was 870 kilometers. The race was held across Baku, Sumgayit, Ismayilli, Gabala, Mingachevir and Sheki.

The 2015 race saw Primož Roglič (SLO) win the general classification and Marko Kump (SLO), Primož Roglič (SLO), Joshua Edmondson (GBR), Daniel Turek (CZE) and Sergey Firsanov (RUS) take the stage wins.

The Tour d'Azerbaidjan has a special place in the hearts of the Azerbaijanis, said Farhad Aliyev, General Secretary of the Federation, adding that thousands of spectators are expected to follow this exciting sports event in 2016.

“The Cycling Federation has taken a massive responsibility by strengthening and paying attention to the organizational side of the event,” he said.

Furthermore, some big name guest stars can be expected at the race.

“Last year we invited 2013 Vuelta winner Chris Horner. Our spectators enjoyed seeing him in Baku, and this year as well we decided to make this event a lot more interesting for our spectators,” Aliyev said.

The official also highlighted the rising interest amongst teams to take part in the Tour d’Azerbaidjan. “A number of teams have requested to take part in the Tour. We are proud that top pro-continental teams found their way to Azerbaijan, such as Team Novonordisk (USA), Bora Argon 18 Pro Cycling Team (GER) and Drapac Team (AUS)", said Aliyev.

With only four months to go, the Federation has everything under control and well in hand until the first stage of the Tour d’Azerbaïdjan sets off from the shores of the Caspian Sea in the capital city of Baku on May 4.

After Azerbaijan National Cycling Federation was founded in 1997, the cycling became to revive in the country. Although the Federation is too young, but the achievements and the projects that have been put in practice still to give a better result.

One of the main commitments standing as a priority for the Cycling Federation is to establish new cycling schools and clubs across Azerbaijan's provinces, as well as stimulating the young generation into loving the sport.

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