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World's largest recreational bicycle race to stop in Yunnan next month

Tuesday, 18th August 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

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After two years in Jilin province's Changbai mountain, the Vätternrundan recreational bicycle race will be held in the small city of Yuxi in Yunnan province next month.

Vätternrundan China will start in downtown Yuxi – 90 kilometers south of Kunming – from where it will head toward Fuxian Lake. The race will circle Fuxian Lake and then return to Yuxi for a total of 175.5 kilometers.

Vätternrundan started in Sweden as a recreational ride around Lake Vättern in 1965 and has since become the largest recreational bicycle race in the world. It is brought to China by sporting event company Nordic Ways.

As it is not a competitive race, there is no official ranking of race finishers according to time. The ride, known in Swedish as a motionslopp "recreational ride", does keep official times of all riders. Results are posted in no particular order afterward.

Until recently, the ride around Fuxian Lake was difficult to complete due to poor road surface on the eastern portion of the loop. The completion of the road combined with next month's Vätternrundan are likely to raise Fuxian Lake's profile as an international sporting event destination ideal for cycling races as well as marathons and triathlons.

For more information on registering for the upcoming Vätternrundan China, check out the race's registration page. For other information about the race, contact Ellinor Axner Yin at ellinor.axner[at]nordicways[dot]com or call (010) 5203 6968 extension 121.

Fuxian Lake image: nordicways.com

Tags: bicycling, cycling, Fuxian Lake, Kunming, Nordic Ways, Vätternrundan, Yunnan, Yuxi

China's Biggest Mountain Biking Race

Tuesday, 13th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Chinese rider Li Fuyu (李富玉) came in first place in the 50-kilometer race at the Huangshan MTB Festival, China's biggest mountain biking event, over the weekend. The female winer was Zheng Lufang. Since Li is a professional, he ceded his 12,000 yuan prize to Piers Touzel from Australia, who came in 46 seconds behind him.

The race, sponsored by TREK Cycling, included about 460 riders and a few hundred spectators, according to Sara Andersson, who works with Nordic Ways, the Beijing-based company that organized the event. In addition to TREK, Nordic Ways sponsors include Adidas, Volvo and Pearl Izumi.

If your China life keeps you cooped up inside an office in Beijing or Shanghai, and most of the bikes you see are cheap and beat-up old messengers, then you might be surprised to hear that China has a growing mountain biking scene. The Huangshan MTB festival is in its third year. The inaugural race in 2006 attracted about 300 riders. Among this year's entrants, 160 were foreigners and the rest were Chinese.

"I think that with the Olympics coming, people are more interested in sports, and also there's more international influence in China right now," Andersson said. "People are more interested in fitness and healthy lifestyles."

Nordic Ways also puts on road biking races and ski competitions. Download their calendar here.

Tags: Li Fuyu, mountain biking, nordic ways, TREK