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)