Indonesia’s prime Cycling event: Tour de Singkarak will again take some of the world’s most renowned cyclists on an exciting race across West Sumatra’s magnificent landscapes from 6th to 14th August 2016. Part of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) race series, the international cycling competition will be held in the class 2.2 category.
Covering a total distance of 1,100 km across 17 cities and regencies in West Sumatra, Tour de Singkarak (TdS) will take 9 days to complete and is participated by 25 Indonesian and international teams. This year, TdS will see its start at the Solok Regency, and will finish in the province’s capital city of Padang.
Slightly different from previous editions, this year’s TdS will only feature 8 stages instead of the usual 9 stages. This is due to unsafe road conditions in the Solok Selatan Regency for the competition caused by recent floods. Therefore, the 9th stage, which was initially scheduled to pass the area has been canceled. “We will be restoring the roads immediately, so it is only this year that the 9th. stage has been taken off the race, next year it will be ready again for the competition” said Nasrul Abit, Vice Governor of West Sumatra as quoted from gosumbar.com.
The 8 stages of this year TdS are as follows:
Stage 1/Grand Start (96.6Km), Saturday 6th August From Solok Regency to Payakumbuh City.
Stage 2 (119.5Km), Sunday 7th August from Limapuluh Kota to Tanah Datar.
Stage 3 (122.8Km), Monday 8th August from Pasaman to West Pasaman.
Stage 4 (150Km), Tuesday 9th August from Padang Panjang to Agam.
Stage 5 (152.6Km), Wednesday 10th August from Pesisir Selatan to Pariaman City.
Stage 6 (149Km) Thursday 11th August from Padangpariaman to Sawahlunto.
Stage 7 (133.4Km) Friday 12th August from Sijunjung to Dharmasraya
Stage 8 (146.5Km) Sunday 14th August From Bukittinggi to Padang.
On Saturday, 13th August 2016 there will be no race schedule since all participating cyclists will be taken on a City Tour to some of the most fascinating attractions in the area by the Office of Tourism of West Sumatra Province. Through the race, riders will be taking in the beauty of the countryside at Lake Singkarak, the Harau Valley, Lake Maninjau, the old coal mining town of Sawahlunto and a whole lot of other fascinating spectacles, as well as of course greeted by the welcoming smiles of the people cheering racers on along the entire track.
Through the years, Tour de Singkarak has included more and more districts in West Sumatra, as its positive economic impact spread throughout the province. The holding of the Tour de Singkarak has spurred improvements in the road infrastructure and opened up opportunities for investments and Tourism. Local creative industries have also been revived especially in those regions passed by the Tour de Singkarak.
Sources: sumbarprov.go.id , padang-today.com , gosumbar.com
