Cyclists representing 20 teams from home and abroad gathered this morning for a 6-kilometer parade along the Bund to kick off the 2024 Tour of Shanghai • New Cities.
As the city’s newest self-developed sports event, Tour of Shanghai will be held from September 20 to 22 in the suburban districts of Jiading, Qingpu, Songjiang, and Fengxian, as well as Nanhui in the Pudong New Area.
Ti Gong
Cyclists start the parade along the Bund on Thursday morning.
Chinese cyclists have the opportunity to ride with their counterparts from countries including France, the United Arab Emirates, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia.
“It’s a familiar feeling to cycling in my home city,” said Team Shanghai cyclist Wu Junjie.
“I didn’t have many opportunities to compete against international cyclists before, so I’m very excited,” he said. “Some of them are really quick, which might help raise our pace too.”
Dong Jun / SHINE
Chinese cyclists take the opportunity to ride with their foreign counterparts.
French cyclist Melvin Crommelinck is visiting Shanghai for the first time.
“It’s cool that we are given the opportunity to ride along the city center Waitan (Bund), seeing so many high-rises and big bridges,” Crommelinck told Shanghai Daily.
He is representing the Nice Metropole Cote d’Azur, one of the most famous UCI professional clubs in southern France.
Dong Jun / SHINE
Cyclists ride across Waibaidu Bridge.
“Our team studied the route map yesterday. It’s very challenging,” he said. “There are many flat roads. The humidity here is a lot higher than that in France, but we will do our best.”
The 115-kilometer first stage of competition will be held in Jiading on Friday. The 87.2km second stage is in Qingpu and Songjiang on Saturday.
On Sunday, the 96.5km third and final stage will come to Fengxian and Nanhui, which is followed by a lakeside cycling activity involving the public at Dishui Lake.