The Tour of Istanbul, the world’s only multi-stage international city cycling race, is set to pedal through the streets from Sept. 12-15, organized by Spor Istanbul, a subsidiary of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB).

After a successful debut last year and a swift promotion from a 2.2 to a 2.1 category, the Tour of Istanbul will feature 22 teams from 15 countries.

Notably, the race will welcome its first World Team, Astana, a prominent participant in the Tour de France.

Five ProTeams aiming for World Team status will also compete, alongside 15 Continental Teams and one National Team. Additionally, Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Spor, a newly established cycling team, will make its debut.

Cyclists to watch

A total of 154 cyclists will compete, with standout riders including last year’s champion Gustav Wang and runner-up Gianni Marchand.

Other notable participants are Merhawi Kudus, second in the 2024 Türkiye Tour, Mathieu Burgaudeau, stage winner at Paris-Nice, and Manuele Tarozzi.

Sprinters Timothy Dupont, Milan Menten and Luca Colnaghi, known for their victories in Istanbul, will also join the race.

Citizen cyclists join the fun

The final day of the Tour of Istanbul will feature the Historic Peninsula Bike Tour, allowing citizens to join the excitement.

Scheduled for Sept. 15, the event is open to cyclists aged 16 and over.

The 5th Historic Peninsula Bike Tour will commence at 09:00 from Yenikapı, loop through Balat and return to Yenikapı by 10:30 a.m.

Prize Pool and Race Schedule

A total of 32,400 euros ($35,728) will be awarded across the stages.

Here’s the schedule: