World’s best cycling teams invited to Hong Kong 2023 Cyclothon, event returning to city for first time in 5 years
- Tourism Board targets top cyclists to compete in Asia Tour 1.1 event in Tsim Sha Tsui in October
- 2023 Cyclothon to feature races of different lengths for professionals, amateurs and families
The Hong Kong Cyclothon will make a full return next month for the first time in five years as an International Cycling Union (UCI) Asia Tour Class 1.1 race.
Organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, officials hope teams on the world tour will head to the city for the October 22 event, which takes place a week after the 4th Tour of Guangxi in China.
Featuring a 4.3km (2.7-mile) route of 24 laps, cyclists will race through Hung Hom and Tsim Sha Tsui East.
So far, Team Jayco-Alula of Australia, of which former Hong Kong rider Cheung King-lok was a member, have entered, while the city’s representative team are also invited.
“Our team will return to Hong Kong after the Asian Games in Hangzhou and it should be a good opportunity for them to race against these top riders,” Leung Hung-tak, the Hong Kong Cycling Association chairman, said.
“We understand the organisers are still in discussion with individual world tour teams and hopefully more can be revealed closer to the race day.
“The Hong Kong team also competed last time when the Cyclothon took place in 2018, and we do look forward to the same opportunity this time as the competition returns.”
The 2018 race, which featured 11 UCI world tour teams, three Pro Continental Teams and hosts Hong Kong, was the finale of the international professional Hammer Series.
Team Jayco-Alula, who at the time went by the name Mitchelton-Scott, won the Hong Kong leg and were crowned the overall champions of the series that year.
Despite organisers’ initial plans to return with the same international race the following year, social unrest in 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic prevented its continuation. In late 2022, organisers decided to resume the event, although only local cyclists took part.
The 2023 Cyclothon will also feature a shortened racecourse in Tsim Sha Tsui, with a men’s and women’s open race for local riders and riders from the Greater Bay Area. There will also be a 50km ride with a route running from Tsim Sha Tsui to Ma Wan and back.
A shorter distance 30km ride will allow racing from Tsim Sha Tsui to Tsing Yi and back, while a family fun ride will give people the opportunity to enjoy cycling along closed roads in Tsim Sha Tsui East.
