Sochi on road to staging top cycling event

The Russian city chosen to host the Winter Olympics in 2014 is a breath away from holding a stage on the cycling U.S.Pro-tour event. Members of the event's council inspected Sochi’s routes, as well as hotels and the other facilities along the Krasnodar-Kr

According to the President of the Russian Cycling Federation, Aleksandr Gusiatnikov, ‘their overall response was very positive’.

The first stage of the course is to start in Krasnodar with a city race. Then it’s on to the resort city of Tuapse for the next race. Cyclists will then head to Sochi before finally arriving in Krasnaya Polyana.

The first race test will be held in September.

Several big screens around the city will broadcast live coverage of the race, giving beach-goers and locals an chance to watch some world-class cycling.

Cycling is growing in popularity around the world, attracting at times tens of thousands of spectators. Gusiatnikov is certain that the sport has huge potential in Russia.

The performance of Russian cyclists has been improving recently, boosting the popularity of the sport in the country. The wide support for holding a stage of the Pro-tour in Sochi is set to further enhance this interest and perhaps bring tens of thousands of fans to the finish line.

And government involvement in Russia is a very important factor in creating a formula for success.

Deputy Chairman of the Russian government, Aleksandr Zhukov, has agreed to head up the organising committee of the Pro-Tour in Sochi. Gusiatnikov believes his participation could arouse interest from sponsors as well as companies who will want to help get the project off the ground.