Hundreds of people cycling for bicycle festival

One of the biggest cycling gatherings in Turkey which started on Thursday, Salcano Cappadocia, continues at full speed. As part of the festival, hundreds of professional and amateur cyclists are cycling in Cappadocia, a UNESCO World Heritage site with outstanding natural beauty and unique history. The festival, which will run until Sept. 13, will host three different races for cyclists. Cappadocia is considered one of the best mountain cycling tracks in the world since the first edition of the Mountain Cycling Championship in Turkey was held. Started yesterday, the festival will include three different stages of mountain cycling races. These races, open only to registered cyclists, will feature 200 contestants.

The festival will also host Turkey's first Veloturk Gran Fondo races, a cycling parkour for amateur cyclists. The event is expected to draw a great number of people and will feature two different parkours. With 420 amateur cyclists registered, the 90-kilometer-long parkour will start from Ürgüp and finish at Mount Erciyes after a 2,200-meter climb. The 47-kilometer short parkour will commence and finish at Ürgüp city center. It has been announced that 170 amateur cyclists have registered for the short parkour. As a part of the Salcano Cappadocia Bicycle Festival, participants of the Veloturk Gran Fondo race will also help the festival reach its project goal "2,000 bicycles for 2,000 children."Speaking before the Cyclists Village Gathering, the opening day events of the festival, the organization director Abdullah Güney said Cyclists Village Gathering is celebrating its fifth anniversary. He said the festival is expected to welcome 1,200 professional and amateur cyclists. Commenting on Cyclists Village Gathering, Güney said, "Our aim is to make people love bicycles and cycling as well as show them around Cappadocia, as it is a beautiful place for cycling. Most beautiful mountain tracks for cyclists are here in Cappadocia. The Cyclists Village Gathering is more of a tour rather than a race."

Güney said the number of people participating in the festival increases every year. He relates this success to the professionalism of the festival. He said these kinds of festivals are held throughout Turkey. "Each city has their own unique parkours and invites cycling fans. Most of our inspiration comes from them," he added.

During the Cyclists Village Gathering, the group of cyclists, composed of a total of 300 people along with organizers and ambulances for emergencies, made a few stops at the villages and had lunch in Avanos. On their way back home, the group cycled through the Devrent Valley and enjoyed the matchless view. Güney said villagers were shocked to see hundreds of people cycling through their villages with the company of an ambulance. "But people make friends during such events. Villagers become curious and ask us what we are doing. Following the festival, bicycle sales jump every year. Small children want to have their own bicycles which is what we aimed for," said Güney.