Traditional media tour of 57th Presidential Cycling Tour held

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - The traditional media tour of the 57th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkiye was held Thursday with the participation of members of the press.

The Presidential Cycling Tour will be held by the Turkish Cycling Federation from April 10-17.

The press and federation convoy, who set off from Istanbul, arrived at the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, which was opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 18.

Some 50 participants reached the European side of Gallipoli from Lapseki and traveled the length of the suspension bridge -- 4,608 meters (2.86 miles) -- by bicycle.

Turkish Cycling Federation President Emin Muftuoglu thanked all participating media organizations.

“It was very meaningful to hold the traditional media tour of the Tour of Turkiye, which we will organize this year with the theme of ‘Respect for History and Nature,’ on the 1915 Canakkale Bridge,” he said.

After the ceremony on the bridge, members of the press visited the 57th Infantry Regiment Memorial on the historic Gallipoli Peninsula.

The bicycle race, with the participation of professional teams and athletes, will start in Bodrum on April 10 and end in Istanbul on April 17.

It will continue for eight days in eight stages and will include many of Turkiye's ancient as well as cultural hotspots such as the newly built 1915 Canakkale Bridge.

The eight stages of the 1,289 kilometer track will be as follows:

April 10: Bodrum - Kusadasi (207 kilometers)

April 11: Selcuk (Ephesus) - Alacati (158.1 kilometers)

April 12: Cesme - Izmir (Karsiyaka) (122.5 kilometers)

April 13: Izmir (Konak) - Manisa (Spil) (127.4 kilometers)

April 14: Manisa - Ayvalik (191.3 kilometers)

April 15: Edremit (Akcay) - Eceabat (57th Regiment Martyrdom) (204.2 kilometers)

April 16: Gallipoli - Tekirdag (135.8 kilometers)

April 17: Istanbul - Istanbul (143 kilometers)

The Turkish Cycling Federation has been organizing the tour, previously known as the Marmara Tour, since 1963.

It gained international status in 1965 and was taken under presidential authority in 1966.