The Tour of South China Sea has been drastically shortened this year to just a single 80-kilometre, 10-lap race on Tsing Yi Island because of organisational complications thrown up by the Asian Games.
The tour is normally held over seven stages of about 100km each on various routes through Guangdong, with one or two stages in Hong Kong before ending in Macau.
Organisers said this year's race was cut because approval for the riders to race in Guangdong had not been forthcoming from mainland authorities, partly because of security measures for the Asian Games in Guangzhou last month.
Last year, the tour was cancelled because it clashed with the East Asian Games in Hong Kong.
'We felt that, for the sake of continuity, we needed to stage the race in at least an abbreviated form rather than not at all,' said Walter Yue Ka-lok, executive director of the Hong Kong Cycling Association. 'Letting two years go by without a race might have damaged the long-term future of the event.'
The race was first held in 1996.
