The nine-day international Tour of Qinghai Lake road cycling race concluded on July 23 with Tjallingii Maarten of the Dutch Skil Shimano team winning the General Individual Classification title.?

Founded in 2002 as a 2.5 HC event, the race has been elevated twice by the International Cycling Union. In 2003 it became a 2.3 HC event and in 2005 a 2 HC. This makes it one of Asia's top races alongside the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia.

This year's race boasted a record entry of 140 cyclists representing 20 teams from five continents. The professional teams Bouygues Telecomm, who competed in the Tour de France this year, and Liquigas made their debuts this year. Fourteen continental teams including Intel-Action of Poland, Relax-Gam from Spain and national teams representing the likes of South Africa, Canada and China also participated.

In the past, foreign riders regarded Qinghai as a warm-up for their big races, but that has now changed and the event is now recognized as very important. To adapt to local conditions, the Dutch Skil Shimano team arrived in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, two weeks prior to the start of the competition. And perhaps because of this, their elite rider Tjallingii Maarten won the yellow jersey for the general individual group.

The total distance of the race is 1,309.8 kilometers over nine stages. The first two stages are relatively flat as the competitors need to adapt themselves to the high altitudes of the plateau. The following stages become progressively more difficult. The riders also have to contend with obstacles such as the 3,880m Laji Mountain and the 12 hairpin bends on that stretch of road.

"This is a unique race and it's a fresh feeling for me to compete outside of Europe," said Rik Reinerink from the Skil-Shimano Team.

Ma Peihua, vice governor of Qinghai, said they were confident about further developing the plateau race and making it a world cycling tour fixture in the future.

In contrast to the rapid development of the race itself, the skills of Chinese riders require to be improved. After nine stages, the best result of the 21 Chinese competitors was a third place in stage five.

Road cycling races are normally one-day events or a group of races which can span 10 days and cover 1,000 km. The result depends on many things such as road conditions, the weather, the tactics of rivals and therefore experience is more important than strength and will, said Jiang Guofeng, an official at the Cycling and Fencing Administration Center of the State General Administration of Sports. A lack of professional cycling teams has choked the development of the sport in China, explained the official.

In the major races, the top riders all come from professional teams. Only those affiliated to the International Cycling Union can enter the top three races in France, Italy and Spain.

According to Wang Xuanqing, vice president of China Cycling Association (CCA), great importance has been attached to the professionalism of Chinese riders and their teams. A dozen riders have been sent to Europe since 2005 to compete in more than 30 events.

Wang said that it was too early to establish a professional league because the sport was not as popular as in Europe and it was proving difficult to find sponsors.

(China.org.cn by Li Xiao July 28, 2006)