As the "2007 Good Luck Beijing" International Road Cycling Tournament lowered its curtain on Sunday, the most beautiful Olympic route won praise from cyclists and officials.
"The course was perfect, and the scene was beautiful, especially when you climbed the Great Wall, it was emotional," said Bosisio Gabriele, the Italian cyclist who won the men's road race on Saturday.
Starting from Yongdingmen, one of Beijing's most scenic areas, the route is through famous scenic spots such as the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Yonghegong Palace, Temple of Earth Park, the Beijing Olympic Tower and the Summer Palace, and enter the suburban stage via Badaling Highway.
The delicate design of the route offered the world a comprehensive appreciation of Beijing's beautiful landscape.
"The weather was hot and humid, but the scene was beautiful, and the course was really nice, " said Cadel Evans of Australia, the runner-up of 2007 Tour de France, who was crowned in men's individual time trial on Sunday.
After an investigation in Beijing, Patrick Mcquaid, President of International Cycling Union, considered the landscape along the route to be beautiful and commended it the most beautiful route for the road cycling event in the Olympic history.
"The test event is really a dress rehearsal for the competitions that will take place during the Olympic Games, everything in the Chinese capital has been ready for some time, We are convinced that this event will confirm the quality of preparations for the Olympics, " said Mcquaid.
The goodness of the route not only came from the beautiful scene, but also it was safe.
Beijing carried out a traffic control during the event, and motor vehicles moved according to the even or odd plate number on August 17 to 20.
"Traffic control was necessary, and it is a routine to have a traffic control during the cycling road race. Above all, safety is the most important thing of any event," said Han Jiling, an official from the Chinese Cycling Association.
During the past two days, thanks to the efforts of the organizing committee of the event, there was no accident being reported.
"We are happy to declare that the event was successful, and we did our best to provide the best service for cyclists and officials, especially to guarantee their safety," said Cao Zensen, an official of the organizing committee.
According to Cao, the organizing committee of the event provided more than 500 volunteers and 400 safety personnel to guarantee the race to run smoothly.
One year from now on, cyclists will compete in the same course in the Beijing Olympics, and Cao was confident that the road cycling event will be successful in the Beijing Olympics.
He said: "After the test event, we are much more confident of our ability to deliver a successful Olympics. We gained more experience in organizing the road cycling event, and for the Olympics, we are ready."
One of the 42 test events planned for Beijing Olympic venues to assess preparations for the August 8-24 Games next year, the "2007 Good Luck Beijing" International Road Cycling Tournament simply includes the men's road group and the men's road individual time trial.
Teams from a total of 18 countries and regions, including Australia, Russia and Italy, competed in the event.
The full length of the track and the riding distance are 102.6km and 174km respectively. The event of men's individual time trial circumambulates a circle between Juyongguan and Badaling with the full length of the track as 23.8km.
(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2007)
