Cyclists to take part in Tour of Poyang Lake 2024, Asia's longest race, in China

The national six best athletes include 2021 SEA Games champions Quang Van Cuong and young rising star Pham Le Xuan Loc.

They will be against nearly 150 rivals from 24 other teams from 33 countries and regions on 10 stages of the race which is a part of the Asia Tour 2024.

On Sept. 2, cyclists warmed up with a 10 km ride from Paigong Lane, Wucheng, Yongxiu, to Yongxiu County People's Square.

The competition will last for 11 days and will pass through 11 host cities including Jiujiang Yongxiu, Jingdezhen Leping, Shangrao Sanqingshan, Yingtan Longhushan and Ganzhou Anyuan, with a total 1,008 km distance.

It is the professional road cycling race with the most event sites and the longest total mileage in Asia this year.

Among title candidates are reigning champion Lyu Xianjing of the hosts, German Lucas Carstensen, Iranian Saeid Safarzadeh, Thai Chaiyasombat Thanakhan and Australia Carter Bettles.

In terms of event settings, this competition innovatively set up four competition formats, including group race, lap race, team time trial and individual time trial.

According to organizers, this not only makes the competition more colorful, but also greatly improves the viewing experience. At the same time, the event also set up individual overall champion, sprint overall champion, mountaineering overall champion, best young athlete, Greater China overall champion and other individual awards and team points awards, with a total prize of up to 700,000 yuan (US$98,500).

The first stage on Sept. 3 is team's time trial 32 km event around county-level city of Leping.

The Tour of Poyang Lake is a multi-day road cycling race held annually. It was first organized in 2010 and generally attracts a large number of riders from UCI continental teams.