XINING, China, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The 16th Tour of Qinghai Lake cycling race will start on Sunday in Ledu district of Haidong city, northwest China's Qinghai Province.
Steve Peterson, a representative of cycling's world governing body UCI, said at Saturday's opening ceremony that after 15 years, the Tour of Qinghai Lake has grown into one of the highest level races in the world, and also an important race of UCI.
"It has winners from more than 10 different nations. So It's a real global race. I hope this year the race can be successful and safe," said Peterson.
The Tour of Qinghai Lake Cycling Race was inaugurated in 2002. This year's race has attracted nearly 200 professional cyclists from home and abroad.
The race is to be contested across Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia from July 16 to 29 over 13 stages, with a total distance of 3347km, including race distance of 2042km and transfer distance 1305km.
