Tour de France's 1st stop in Asia offers fantastic show

More than 2,000 cyclists participated in the Tour de France Zhuji stop held in Zhuji, Zhejiang province on Sunday.

Hu Hao from China and Emilie Rochedy from France became champions in the male and female whole journey groups respectively.

It was the debut of the Tour de France's global series of sub-station events in Asia and also the first challenge match in the Yangtze River Delta region this year.

A 133-km whole journey group and a 28.6-km short-range group were arranged for different categories of participants. The route was totally closed to guarantee the race was free of outside influence.

One characteristic of the match was that cyclists enjoyed the most beautiful scenic spots of Zhuji under the support of the local government. They rode through Xishi's Hometown, a national 4A-level scenic spot, and Shanxiahu town, home of fresh water pearls. They also passed Dongbai Lake scenic spot, downtown roads, and ancient residential buildings, which integrated Zhuji's culture with the fun of cycling.

The top 10 percent of participants qualified to compete with the world's best cyclists at the 2020 Tour de France World Championship.

The match was a big move of Zhuji's in promoting national fitness and sports plus tourism, according to Yu Yue, deputy mayor of Zhuji.

The CPC Zhuji Municipal Committee and local government had paid greatattention to hosting quality sports events and improving sports infrastructure, she said. Zhuji will also develop a competitive sports spirit into a driving force for promoting innovation and development to further advance all-for-one tourism.

Kathy Zhou, general manager of sports of Activation, the operator of the Tour de France, said Zhuji has profound historical and cultural heritages.

It is also full of vitality and sports spirit, suitable for offering a cycling route that is fun and challenging, Zhou added.

By introducing the internationally renowned competition to China, Activation not only aims to attract more cycling enthusiasts to participate in the sport, but also promote the spirit and culture of sports to the whole nation, Zhou said.