Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Cyclists from 3 continents take part at the 69th Tour of Bulgaria

One of Europe’s oldest cycling tours begins today

2
Photo: library

120 cyclists from 20 teams from 3 continents and a total of 20 nationalities are to take part at the 69th Tour of Bulgaria. 

The start of the tour will be given in front of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia at 4 pm today (August 27). 

Within 5 days the cyclists will ride more than 800 kilometers on a varied and a quite difficult route throughout Bulgaria. The grand finale to the 60th Tour of Bulgaria will be on September 1 in the town of Momchilgrad, located in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains. The cycling race aims to promote this sport in Bulgaria. 



The history of the organized cycling movement in Bulgaria began at the end of the 19th century when the first clubs appeared. In 1902 they united in a union - the Bulgarian Cycling Union (BCU). General Georgi Vazov, a war hero and brother of the renowned Bulgarian poet Ivan Vazov, was elected its first chairman. 

In 1909, the Bulgarian Cycling Union  organized the first cycling Tour of Vitosha, which entered the world history of this sport as one of the oldest and best quality races. 

In 1924, the first Tour of Bulgaria took place. It was among the oldest and most prestigious races in the world and was preceded only by the Tour De France (which started in 1903), the Tour of Belgium (1908) and the Giro d’Italia (1909).



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

Gallery

More from category

Swimming in Oceans Seven marathon, Petar Stoychev sets Triple Crown record

Bulgarian open water swimming star Petar Stoychev showed an outstanding performance and broke the record for the Triple Crown. It includes crossing the English Channel, swimming around Manhattan Island and crossing the Catalina..

published on 6/11/24 11:44 AM

Grigor Dimitrov retains his 10th position in the ATP rankings

Grigor Dimitrov retained his 10th position in the ATP tennis rankings published today, while Viktoriya Tomova climbed six places in the women's rankings. Dimitrov returned to the top 10 on April 1. Grigor has 3,775 points following his quarterfinal..

published on 6/10/24 10:04 AM

Bulgaria draws 1:1 with Slovenia in a friendly match

The Bulgarian national football team drew 1-1 with Slovenia in a friendly match played in Ljubljana. So far, the team played sixth matches under the leadership of Ilian Iliev. It recorded five draws against Hungary, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Romania and..

published on 6/9/24 3:12 PM