site.btaMore than 800 Participants from 22 Countries to Compete in First Edition of L`Etape Bulgaria of Tour de France

Over 800 participants from 22 different countries will be at the start of the first edition of L`Etape Bulgaria by Tour de France in Velingrad. Their average age is 40.4 years and 85 of them are women. The oldest participant is 79 years old from Ruse (on the Danube), said at the final news conference here on Friday Daniel Dukov, who is the organizer of the Sports Club "Sport for All - Sofia in Europe".

The stage in Bulgaria takes place on July 30, and the general sponsor is one of the major road construction companies in Bulgaria "European Roads". It has built and maintains the route along which the tour passes with its two routes - long (102 km) and short (57 km). It starts from the centre of Velingrad and passes through a number of picturesque Rhodope villages, including Ablanitsa, Tsvetino, Gorna Dubeva, Vranantsi, continues to the main road coming from Sarnitsa, and finishes again in the centre of the town.

This is the second biggest race in the Balkans under the auspices of Tour de France. The other Balkan countries hosting the race are Greece and Romania.

"Our mission is to spread the Tour de France experience to as many countries as possible and Bulgaria was the logical choice for the next destination of the Stage", said Antoine Quiers from Amaury Sport Organisation, the license holder of the Tour de France stages, who is in Bulgaria specially for the race. "Yesterday [Thursday] I personally inspected the Tsvetino - Gorna Dubeva stage and I can share that its condition is excellent, thanks to one of the main partners of the race - Groma Hold", Quiers added and expressed his expectation that this particular section will add an extra challenge and adrenaline to Sunday's race. "I am convinced that this will make L`Etape Bulgaria by Tour de France one of the most unique and memorable editions", he said. 

"L'etape Bulgaria by Tour de France opens a great perspective for Velingrad to become the new cycling destination of Bulgaria, offering great conditions for cycling enthusiasts. Thank you to the organizers, partners and all those who work to ensure that the event is held in the best possible way, because it is the good communication and interaction between institutions, businesses and the NGO sector that guarantee quality and are a request for even more participants for the next edition of the race next year," said Velingrad Mayor Kostadin Koev.