Cyclists from 3 continents take part at the 69th Tour of Bulgaria

One of Europe’s oldest cycling tours begins today

published on 8/27/22 10:05 AM

Photo: library

120 cyclists from 20 teams from 3 continents and a total of 20 nationalities are to take part at the 69^th Tour of Bulgaria.

The start of the tour will be given in front of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia at 4 pm today (August 27).

Within 5 days the cyclists will ride more than 800 kilometers on a varied and a quite difficult route throughout Bulgaria. The grand finale to the 60^th Tour of Bulgaria will be on September 1 in the town of Momchilgrad, located in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains. The cycling race aims to promote this sport in Bulgaria.

The history of the organized cycling movement in Bulgaria began at the end of the 19^th century when the first clubs appeared. In 1902 they united in a union - the Bulgarian Cycling Union (BCU). General Georgi Vazov, a war hero and brother of the renowned Bulgarian poet Ivan Vazov, was elected its first chairman.

In 1909, the Bulgarian Cycling Union organized the first cycling Tour of Vitosha, which entered the world history of this sport as one of the oldest and best quality races.

In 1924, the first Tour of Bulgaria took place. It was among the oldest and most prestigious races in the world and was preceded only by the Tour De France (which started in 1903), the Tour of Belgium (1908) and the Giro d’Italia (1909).

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