Twenty teams will line up for the fifth Tour of Qinghai Lake international cycling race, same as last year, while the number of riders will hit a record of about 140, said the organizers in Xining, capital city of China's northwest Qinghai Province on Monday.

According to the new regulation, every team is able to field in seven riders, one more than the previous editions, said Feng Jianping, who is in charge of the organizing work of the event.

Some of the major professional continental teams and national teams are present again this year, enhancing year after year the quality of the event, said Feng.

Since the Qinghai Lake Tour has been promoted to the highest category in the UCI classification for the Asian Calendar, more top riders from France, Italy, Spain, the United States, etc. choose to compete for the championship at the "highest" tour of the world.

The nine-day race will reel off on July 15 and last till July 23.

UCI president Pat McQuaid will visit the race for the first time.

Tour of Qinghai Lake International Road Cycling Race is held annually in July. The event, approved by UCI, is one of the largest in scale, highest in level and classification among the cycling races in Asia, which is unprecedented in the development of Chinese cycling race.

(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2006)