The event, included on the calendar of the International Cycling Union (ICU), was not merely a sports event but also worked like a tourism envoy, with its route featuring Turkey’s historic and natural beauties, starting from İstanbul and ending in the famous holiday resort town of Alanya in southern Turkey. In addition to the Presidential Tour, Turkey has also been hosting another internationally prestigious cycling event, the European Road Bike Championship.Turkish Cycling Federation Chairman Emin Müftüoğlu definitely has the largest share of bringing the European biking event to Turkey and the Presidential Tour’s upgrade to the 2.HC category, which denotes a multi-day beyond categorization race, and it being one of the 17 prestigious races in the same category.
Recounting that they had worked hard to upgrade the event to the HC class, Müftüoğlu said, smiling: “We told ICU President Pat McQuaid that we could do it. He told us, ‘I’ve got a rope around your necks; survive or die.’ Thank God we survived today.”
Müftüoğlu also explained that the tour was followed closely by millions around the world and asserted that audience figures even exceeded those of football matches. “I had never before seen the mass of people I saw in Alanya. We overtook football fans. We reached millions of people during those eight days,” he said.
Pamukkale, home to the famous white travertine terraces in Denizli, was also included in this year’s presidential tour and twice as many athletes and spectators attended this year’s event compared to previous years. New routes can be added to the tour if the ICU permits, Müftüoğlu said.
The European Road Bike Championship began in Ankara last Friday and concluded on Sunday. As one of the most prestigious cycling tours in Europe, the event has been held in Turkey through the efforts of the current federation board. The European Mountain Bike Championship has become the most important reference in Turkey’s bid to hold the European Road Bike Championship, according to Müftüoğlu.
“It was not easy for us to earn it. Many European countries that are good at cycling, including Greece, Ireland and the Czech Republic, presented bids. We actually wanted to hold the same championship in 2007 but could not do it. We presented our bid again in 2008 and gave Turkey earn the right to organize the event,” the federation head said.
Müftüoğlu said the next target of the federation is to host the World Road Bike Championship in 2014. “I believe that we can host it. Of course, the European Championship in Ankara is important. The success of this event will pave the way to us hosting the world championship.”
Respect for pedestrians a must before enhancing cycling in Turkey
Riding a bicycle is a childhood tradition for most Turks. Parents give bikes to their children as gifts after they bring a good report card home and on their birthdays. But cycling is not very common here on the professional level.
“Cycling is a culture and it begins in school. It must be taught in physical education classes. It is not enough to give a first grader a bike as a gift. More people have begun riding bicycles in the street recently, but we have a problem: How can we engrain respect for cycling in Turkey when people have no respect for pedestrians? We must first deal with that,” Müftüoğlu said.
While stressing that velodromes must be built to improve professional cycling countrywide, Müftüoğlu said Konya and Balıkesir used to have velodromes in the 1960s but they were removed a few years ago. Negotiations between the federation and Youth and Sports Director Yunus Akgül bore fruit: The construction of six new velodromes is under way, one of them Olympic-sized. “Once the velodromes are completed, our athletes will gain experience on professional fields,” he said.
Although lacking a lot, Turkey is working to build the infrastructure of cycling with young athletes. Müftüoğlu said it is not possible to be successful without players coming from a sound infrastructure and that and as a result of a three-year program by the federation, junior teams have been established for young athletes in the 12-15 age group. “There is incredible participation. You must see the excitement in the cyclists’ faces in competitions we hold for juniors. Their excitement thrills me, too. Their numbers grew so quickly that their competitions have begun to attract quite an audience. We can see cooperation between coaches, parents and athletes,” Müftüoğlu said.
The federation is working to strengthen the national cycling team before the 2012 Olympic Games. The German national team’s coach was brought to train Turkish cyclists. Müftüoğlu said he believes Turkish athletes will be able to compete with their European counterparts in the near future.
“Seeing an improvement in cycling depends on the clubs. When I was elected chairman, I saw how few clubs there were and took measures. I increased the number of clubs and, automatically, the number of athletes rose, too. The national team comprises successful athletes from these clubs,” Müftüoğlu explained.
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