UCI Nirvana Gran Fondo World Series Antalya International Cycling Race is organized by the International Cycling Union - UCI - International Cycling Union and organized by the destination partner Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), with the main sponsorship of Nirvana Hotels, between 17-20 November. It was a scene of great excitement with 1065 cyclists from 35 different countries.
The race, whose time trial stage took place on November 18, ended after the para-cycling disabled athletes' race, as well as the long track and short track stages. Athletes who finished the long track race in the 20th percentile won the right to participate in the UCI Gran Fondo World Series 2023 World Championship to be held in Glasgow, Scotland. In the 98-kilometer Long Course General Classification, Byrne came first in women, and Gökhan Uzuntaş came first in men. In the long track women's general classification, Byrne was first, Yulia Polevaya was second, and Victoria Collins was third; Gökhan Uzuntaş came first in the men's general classification, Kirill Krasavin finished second and Eyüp Karagöbek finished the race in third place. The struggle in the 66-kilometer short-track race was breathtaking. In the short course, in which 423 athletes competed in total, 23 female and 30 male athletes won medals in nine different age categories for women and men.
Korhan Alşan: “Our Investments in Sports and Athletes Will Continuing Soon”
Nirvana Hotels CEO Korhan Alşan said, "One of our main strategies is to constantly invest in sports. Because we are aware of the power of sports. We have made very serious investments in sports infrastructure, especially in Nirvana Hotels. After this work that started with football, we built 5 indoor sports halls. We created a very developed fitness club infrastructure. Lastly, we hosted the Gran Fondo races, the first of which we did last year, as a cycling sport, and the Gran Fondo races led by the International Cycling Union (UCI). Our investments in sports and athletes will continue soon. " said.
"Our Short Term Goal Is To Bring The World Championship Here"
Pointing out that Antalya is very attractive in terms of bicycles, Alşan said, "Cycling is a sport that appeals to a very wide market in the world, and that, according to the latest data, has produced a market of 44 billion Euros, especially in Europe. It is a sport that everyone does. Antalya is also very attractive in this regard. We need to have a place in cycling, both in terms of climate and facilities and infrastructure. There are close to 15 thousand bicycle-friendly facility certifications, especially in our rival Southern European countries. Currently, this number is around 40 in Turkey. This parameter tells us how far we are at the beginning of the road. All our tourist facilities in Turkey must obtain a bicycle-friendly certificate. After all, we live in a digital age. When any bicycle lover, amateur or professional, searches the internet for this data. The more we increase the number, the better. As Nirvana Hotels, our short-term goal is to bring the World Championship here. Everything that is done attracts the attention of world authorities. Athletes from more than 30 nations are here. Maxim, the world champion of 2019 and 2021, also competes here. These are very important values. It should be underlined that the bicycle customer has a high socio-economic profile," he said.
"After 5 Years Antalya Will Become One of the Most Important Bicycle Destinations in the World"
Expressing that Antalya will be one of the most important cycling destinations of the world in the coming years, Korhan Alşan said, "There is a seasonality problem in Turkish tourism. We cannot find a place in any hotel between June and September. However, in low-season areas, cycling can be a very important market for us. Because it is a sport that spreads to a wide audience and also spreads tourists to the city. Antalya is an open-air museum, so to speak. Every cyclist tells his/her own experience here. A marketing process is born for itself. "It is imperative that we invest. In 5 years, Antalya will be one of the most important cycling destinations in the world. I invite all tourism professionals to invest in this matter," he said
Necdet Alkandemir: “We want to bring the World Championship here"
Expressing that the first 2 organizations are always more difficult, UCI Nirvana Gran Fondo World Series Antalya Organization President Necdet Alkandemir said, "We held the Antalya leg of the UCI Nirvana Gran Fondo World Series, which we organized for the second time this year. Last year, 561 athletes participated. We made 1065 entries this year. "Our numbers have almost doubled. I think the number will increase from now on and we will progress better. The number of participants was better than we expected. This year, we have a short course of 68 kilometers and a long course of 98 kilometers. We also ran a 20-kilometer time trial on Friday." There were 1065 participants in total. There are 225 foreign participants from 36 countries. It is very difficult to organize, especially 1 and 2. The 1st was very difficult, but we succeeded. We want to bring the World Championship here after we finish the 3rd. We will try,” he said.
Batuhan Kızılöz: “Our Goal Is To Have 8 Thousand Participation"
UCI Nirvana Gran Fondo World Series Antalya Organization Vice President Batuhan Kızılöz, who said that they organized the organization for the second time this year and that they aim to have 8 thousand participants in the coming years, said, "We first did this in Casablanca. Then we met Necdet Bey in Antalya. We did it together for the first time last year. This year we are organizing the 2nd one. My goal is to bring 8 thousand people here. This year the participation was approximately 1100 people. Participants came from more than 30 countries. A target of 8 thousand people in two years we can,” he said. (Olgucan Kalkan & Serhan Turk- DHA).
